About Singapore’s History
The islands of Singapore situate at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. Even before British colonisation, Singapore’s position has made it a natural destination for foreign traders and travellers. Chinese ships bearing trade goods berthed on Malay shores and met their Indian and Arabian counterparts to barter in pottery, metalware, textiles and porcelain among other things. Local traders added to the exchange with agricultural produce.
From the Malay Annals, a ruler from Palembang once established a thriving city of trade in 1299, naming it “Singapura” (or “Lion City” when translated). The area must indeed have been important, as the next few centuries had records of Thai and Javanese empire attempting to control the region through force. Eventually, Singapura fell into the hands of a fleeing monarch who later founded the Malaccan Empire. It was not until 1613 that Portuguese invaders wrested control of the island and reportedly destroyed a trading outpost. Records of the area afterwards are muted.
In 1819, it would have been nearly two centuries later when Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Trading Company happened upon more peaceful scenes on the islands of Singapore. His mission to find a viable trading port leads him to set up a British colony in the very area where trade once prospered. As before, the trading port flourished and outpaced rival ports in growth and traffic.
With negotiation, British control moved from owning the port to encompassing the entire island. Singapore maintained its role as a British settlement until 1942 when the small island was overwhelmed by Japanese troops during the Second World War.
In the aftermath of WWII, British rule returned to the relief of the war-ravaged isle. In the following years, Britain increasingly loosened its grip on authority over Singapore. Eventually, it became self-governing.
Perhaps recognising its limited boundaries, the new government agreed to become one with its Malay neighbour in 1963. Unfortunately, the union was incapable of solving a wave challenges and disagreements. Lasting less than three years, Singapore left the agreement in 1965 to become the independent nation that it is today.
Despite a history of invasion and changes in authority, the modern Singapore reiterates its past as an economic success. The marks of previous visitors from long ago are still available in the island. Those knowledgeable of Sir Raffle’s division of the city can still make out the lasting imprints on the modern city.
For those visitors further interested in Singapore’s past, make sure to visit Singapore’s museums of its history.