History of Singapore

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Ancient times

The earliest written record of Singapore was a China/Chinese account of the 3rd century, describing the island of "Pu Luo Chung", probably a translation of the Malay language/Malay ''Pulau Ujong'', "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula.) The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on the island sometime during the 13th century. Catching sight of a strange creature that he thought was a lion, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. It is unlikely that there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century.

The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described a small Malay people/Malay settlement containing a number of Chinese residents. The island was apparently a haven for pirates preying on passing ships. The Nagarakretagama, a Java (island)/Javanese epic poem written in 1365, also referred to a settlement on the island, which it called Temasek ("Sea Town").

During the 1390s, Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, fled to Temasek after being deposed by the Majapahit Empire. Notwithstanding the legend from the Sejarah Melayu, the "Singapura" name possibly dates to this period. Parameswara held the island for a number of years, until further attacks from either the Majapahit or the Ayuthia Kingdom in Siam forced him to move on to Melaka.

Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese. Its fortifications apparently allowed it to withstand at least one attempted Siamese invasion. During the 17th century, it briefly regained some importance as a trading centre of the Johor Empire, but eventually sank again into obscurity.

Founding of modern Singapore (1819)

Between the 16th century/16th and 19th century/19th centuries, the Malay archipelago was gradually taken over by the Europe/European colonialism/colonial powers, beginning with the arrival of the Portuguese Empire/Portuguese at Malacca in 1509. The early dominance of the Potuguese was challenged, during the 17th century, by the Dutch colonial empire/Dutch, who came to control most of the region's ports. The Dutch established a monopoly over trade within the archipelago, particularly in spices, then the region's most important product. Other colonial powers, including the British Empire/British, were limited to a relatively minor presence.

In 1818, Thomas Stamford Raffles/Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed as the governor of the British colony at Bencoolen. Raffles believed that the British should find a way to replace the Dutch as the dominant power in the archipelago, since the trade route between China and British Raj/British India, which had become vitally important with the institution of the opium trade with China, passed through the archipelago. Furthermore, the Dutch were stifling British trade within the region; the British were prohibited from operating in Dutch-controlled ports, with the exception of Batavia, where unfavourable prices were imposed. Raffles reasoned that the way to challenge the Dutch was to establish a new port in the region. Existing British ports were not suited to becoming major trading centres. Penang was too far away from the Straits of Malacca, the main ship passageway for the India-China trade, whereas Bencoolen faced the Sunda Straits, a much less important area. Many other possible sites were either controlled by the Dutch, or had other problems.

In 1818, Raffles managed to convince Warren Hastings/Lord Hastings, the governor-general of India and his superior at the British East India Company, to fund an expedition to establish a new British base in the region. The island of Singapore seemed to be a natural choice. It lay at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula, near the Straits of Malacca, and possessed an excellent natural harbour, fresh water supplies, and timber for repairing ships.

Raffles' expedition arrived in Singapore on 29 January 1819. He found a small Malay settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River, headed by a Temenggong (governor) of Johor. The island was nominally ruled by Johor, but the political situation there was extremely murky. The current Sultan of Johor, Tengku Abdul Rahman, was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis, and would never agree to a British base in Singapore. However, Abdul Rahman was Sultan only because his older brother, Tengku Hussein, had been away in Penang getting married when their father died.

With the Temenggong's help, Raffles managed to smuggle Hussein, then living in exile on one of the Riau Islands, back into Singapore. He offered to recognize Hussein as the rightful Sultan of Johor, and provide him with a yearly payment; in return, Hussein would grant them the right to establish a trading post on Singapore. This agreement was ratified with a formal treaty signed on 6 February, 1819, and modern Singapore was born.

Early growth (1819 - 1826)

Raffles returned to Bencoolen soon after the signing of the treaty, leaving William Farquhar/Major William Farquhar in charge of the new settlement, which initially consisted of some artillery and a single regiment of Indian soldiers. Establishing a trading port from scratch was in itself a daunting prospect, but Farquhar's administration was, in addition, practically unfunded, as Raffles did not wish his superiors to view Singapore as a liability. In addition, it was forbidden from earning revenue by imposing port duties, Raffles having decided from the outset that Singapore would be a free port.

In spite of these difficulties, the new colony rapidly proved to be a spectacular success. As news of the free port spread across the archipelago, Bugis, Peranakan/Peranakan Chinese, and Arab traders flocked to the island, seeking to circumvent the Dutch trading restrictions. During the first year of operation, $400,000 (Spanish dollars) worth of trade passed through Singapore. By 1821, the island's population had increased to around five thousand, and the trade volume was $8 million. By 1825, the population had passed the ten thousand mark, with a trade volume of $22 million (in comparison, the trade volume for the long-established port of Penang was $8.5 million during the same year.)

Raffles returned to Singapore in 1822. Although Farquhar had successfully led the settlement through its difficult early years, Raffles was critical of many of the decisions he had made. For instance, in order to generate much-needed revenue for the government, Farquhar had resorted to selling licenses for gambling and the sale of opium, which Raffles saw as social evils. Raffles arranged for Farquhar's dismissal, and set about drafting a set of new policies for the settlement. He arranged for a second treaty with the Sultan and Temenggong, signed on 7 June 1823, which extended British possession to the entire island, except for the residences of the Sultan and Temenggong. The latter also gave up their rights to numerous functions on the island, including the collection of port taxes, in return for lifelong monthly payments of $1500 and $800 respectively. This agreement brought the island squarely under British law, with the proviso that it would take into account Malay customs, traditions and religion, "where they shall not be contrary to reason, justice or humanity."

After installing John Crawfurd, an efficient and frugal administrator, as the new governor, Raffles departed for Britain in October 1823. He would never return to Singapore. Most of his personal possessions were lost after his ship, the Fame, caught fire and sank, and he died only a few years later, in 1826, at an age of less than 45.

The Straits Settlements (1826 - 1867)

Raffles' founding of Singapore was based on rather shaky legal grounds, and the Dutch had lost no time in issuing bitter protests to the British government, arguing that their sphere of influence had been violated. The British government and the East India Company, though originally sympathetic to these complaints, became increasingly less so as Singapore's importance grew. By 1822, it was made clear to the Dutch that the British had no intention of giving up the island.

The status of Singapore as a British possession was cemented by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, which carved up the Malay archipelago betwen the two colonial powers. The area north of the Straits of Malacca, including Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, was designated as the British sphere of influence, while the area south of the Straits was assigned to the Dutch. This division had far-reaching consequences for the region: modern-day Malaysia and Singapore correspond to the British area established in the treaty, and modern-day Indonesia to the Dutch. In 1826, Singapore was grouped together with Penang and Malacca into a single administrative unit, the Straits Settlements, under the British East India Company.

During the subsequent decades, Singapore grew to become one of the most important ports in the world. Several events during this period contributed to its success:
* British intervention in the Malay peninsula from the 1820s onwards culminated, during the 1870s, in the formation of History of Malaysia#Colonial era/British Malaya. During this period, Malaya became an increasingly important producer of rubber and tin, much of which was shipped out through Singapore. Singapore also served as the administrative center for Malaya until the 1880s, when the capital was shifted to Kuala Lumpur.
* The British government ended the East India Company's monopoly on the China trade in 1834, allowing other British companies to enter the market and leading to a surge in shipping traffic.
* The China trade was opened with the signing of the Unequal Treaties (China)/Unequal Treaties, beginning in 1842.
* The advent of ocean-going Steamboat/steamships, which were faster and had a larger capacity than sailing ships, reduced transportation costs and led to an boom in trade. Singapore also benefited by acting as a coaling station.
* The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 dramatically reduced the travel time from Europe to East Asia, again providing a boost for trade.

By 1880, over 1.5 million tons of goods were passing through Singapore each year, with around 80% of it transported by steamships.

Despite Singapore's growing importance, its government was generally underfunded, weak, and ineffectual. The Straits Settlements were a division of British India, and administrators were usually posted from India with little or no knowledge of the region. As long as British trade was not affected, the administration was unconcerned with the welfare of the populace. For instance, in 1850 there were only twelve police officers to keep order in a city of nearly 60,000.

As early as 1827, the Chinese had become the largest ethnic group in Singapore. During the earliest years of the settlement, most of the Chinese in Singapore had been Peranakans, the descendents of Chinese who had settled in the archipelago centuries ago, who were usually well-to-do merchants. As the port developed, much larger numbers of Chinese coolies flocked to Singapore looking for work. These migrant workers were generally male, poor and uneducated, and had left China (mostly from southern China) to escape the political and economic disasters wracking the country. They aspired to make their fortune in Southeast Asia and return home to China, but most were doomed to a life of low-paying unskilled labour. Until the 20th century, few Chinese ended up settling permanently, primarily because wives were in short supply. The sex ratio in Singapore's Chinese community was around fifteen to one, mainly due to restrictions that the Chinese government imposed, up till the 1860s, on the migration of women. The second largest ethnic group in Singapore, around the 1860s, was the India/Indians. These included unskilled laborers like the Chinese coolies, as well as traders, soldiers garrisoned at Singapore by the government, and a number of convicts. There were also a large number of Malays in Singapore. Although many of the Malays continued to live in kampungs (traditional Malay villages), most worked as wage earners and craftsmen, rather than farmers like those in Malaya.

As a result of the government's hands-off attitude and the predominantly male, transient, and uneducated nature of the population, the society of Singapore was rather lawless and chaotic. Prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse (particularly of opium) were widespread. Chinese criminal Secret society/secret societies (analogous to modern-day triads) were extremely powerful; some had tens of thousands of members, and turf wars between rival societies occasionally led to death tolls numbering in the hundreds. Attempts to suppress these secret societies had limited success, and they continued to be a problem well into the 20th century.

Singapore as a Crown colony (1867 - 1941)

Image:Map_of_Singapore.jpg/thumb/300px/1888 German map of Singapore

As Singapore continued to grow, the deficiencies in the Straits Settlements administration became increasingly apparent. Apart from the indifference of British India's administrators to local conditions, there was immense bureaucracy and red tape which made it difficult to pass new laws. Singapore's merchant community began agitating against British Indian rule, in favour of establishing Singapore as a separate colony of Britain. In 1867, the British government finally agreed to make the Straits Settlements a Crown Colony, receiving orders directly from the Colonial Office rather than from India.

As a Crown Colony, the Straits Settlements was ruled by a governor, based in Singapore, with the assistance of Executive Council/executive and Legislative Council/legislative councils. Although the councils were not elected, more representatives for the local population were gradually included over the years.

The colonial government embarked on several measures to address the serious social problems facing Singapore. For example, a Chinese Protectorate was established in 1877 to address the needs of the Chinese community, including controlling the worst abuses of the coolie trade. Nevertheless, many social problems persisted up through the post-war era, including an acute housing shortage and generally poor health and living standards.

Singapore was not much affected by World War I (1914 - 1918), as the conflict did not spread to Southeast Asia. The only significant event during the war was a 1915 mutiny by the British Muslim Indian sepoys garrisoned in Singapore. After hearing rumours that they were to be sent off to fight the Ottoman Empire which was Muslim, the soldiers revolted, killing their officers and several British civilians before being suppressed by troops arriving from Johor and Burma.

After the war, the British government devoted significant resources into building a naval base in Singapore, as a deterrent to the increasingly ambitious Empire of Japan/Japanese Empire. Originally announced in 1923, the construction of the base proceeded slowly until the Mukden Incident/Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. When completed in 1939, at a staggering cost of $500 million, it boasted what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months. It was defended by heavy 15-inch naval guns stationed at Fort Siloso, Fort Canning and Labrador, as well as a military airfield at Tengah Airbase. Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the East."

Unfortunately, it was a base without a fleet. The British Home Fleet was stationed in Europe, and the British could not afford to build a second fleet to protect its interests in Asia. The plan was for the Home Fleet to sail quickly to Singapore in the event of an emergency. However, after World War II broke out in 1939, the fleet was completely tied up in defending Britain.

The Battle of Singapore and the Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945)

''Main article: Battle of Singapore''

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific War began in earnest. One of Japan's objectives was to capture Southeast Asia, because of its ample natural resources (at the time, Malaya produced 40 percent of the world's rubber and 60 percent of its tin.) Singapore, as the main Allied base in the region, was the obvious military target.

In Singapore, it was widely assumed that the Japanese attack would come from the south, by sea, since the dense Malayan jungle to the north served as a natural barrier against invasion. Although the British had drew up a plan for dealing with an attack on northern Malaya, preparations were never completed. Both the armed forces and the civilian population were confident that "Fortress Singapore" would be able to withstand any Japanese attack, and this complacency seems to have led to a great underestimation of the Japanese forces. Local confidence was further boosted by the arrival of Force Z, a squadron of British warships dispatched to the defence of Singapore, consisting of two capital ships, the modern new battleship ''HMS Prince of Wales (1939)/HMS Prince of Wales'' and the veteran cruiser ''HMS Repulse (1916)/HMS Repulse'', with their accompanying destroyers ''HMS Electra'', ''HMS Express (P163)/Express'', and ''Tenedos'', and ''HMAS Vampire (D68)/HMAS Vampire''. The squadron was to have been accompanied by a third capital ship, the aircraft carrier ''HMS Indomitable (R92)/HMS Indomitable'', but it ran aground en route, leaving them without benefit of air cover.

On 8 December, 1941, Japanese forces landed at Kota Bahru in northern Malaya. Just two days after the start of the invasion, ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'' were sunk 50 miles off the coast of Malaya by a force of Japanese bomber and torpedo bomber aircraft, in the worst British naval defeat of World War II. Allied air support did not arrive in time to protect the capital ships. The Japanese army advanced swiftly southward through the Malay Peninsula, crushing or bypassing Allied resistance. The Allied forces had no tanks, as they were considered useless in the jungle, and their infantry proved powerless against the light tanks fielded by the Japanese. By January 31, 1942, a mere 55 days after the start of the invasion, the Japanese had conquered the entire peninsula, and were poised to attack Singapore.

The causeway linking Johore and Singapore was blown up in an effort to stop the Japanese. However, the Japanese crossed the Straits of Johor in inflatable boats days after. Several heroic fights by volunteers of Singapore's population against the advancing Japanese, such as the Battle of Pasir Panjang, took place during this period. It is a common misconception that Singapore's naval guns could not fire upon the Japanese because they could only face south. This was not true; the guns could turn to the north, and they did in fact fire upon the advancing Japanese columns. However, the naval guns were designed to pierce hull armour, not take out infantry. With most of their defences shattered and supplies almost exhausted, Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and the British forces finally surrendered to General Tomoyuki Yamashita of the Imperial Japanese Army on 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war. The fall of Singapore was largest surrender of British military personnel in history.

Singapore, renamed '''Syonan-to''' (昭南島 ''Shōnan-tō'', "Light of the South Island" in Japanese language/Japanese), was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese Occupation is generally regarded as the darkest period of Singaporean history. The Japanese had claimed that they were liberating Southeast Asia from colonialism, but in reality they were far harsher rulers than the British ever were. Numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops, particularly the ''Kempeitai'', the Japanese military's secret police. For instance, the Sook Ching Massacre of ethnic Chinese, including civilians who had donated to charities to aid the war effort in China, claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore.

Post-war period (1945 - 1955)

After Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, there was a state of anomie in Singapore, as the British had not arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. Incidents of looting and revenge-killing were widespread. Much of the infrastructure had been wrecked, including the harbor facilities and electricity, water, and telephone services. It would take four or five years for the economy to return to pre-war levels.

When British troops returned to Singapore in September 1945, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets to cheer them. Still, the fact remained that the British had failed to defend Singapore, and in the eyes of many Singaporeans this had cost them their credibility as rulers. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalism/nationalist and anti-colonialism/anti-colonial sentiments. The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya.

The first Singaporean elections, held in 1948, were rather limited. Participation was restricted to British subjects, of which only 23,000 Voter registration/registered to vote, and in any event only six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected. Three of the seats were won by a newly-formed conservative party, the Singapore Progressive Party (SPP), whose leaders were disinclined to press for self-rule. Three months after the elections, an armed insurgency by communism/communist groups in Malaya the Malayan Emergency broke out, and the British imposed harsh measures to control Left-wing politics/left-wing groups in both Singapore and Malaya; the infamous Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial for persons suspected of being "threats to security", was introduced at this time. Since the left-wing groups were the strongest critics of the colonial system, progress on self-government stalled for several years. A second Legislative Council election, in 1951, was again swept by the SPP.

In 1953, with the communists in Malaya suppressed and the Emergency over, the government appointed a commission, headed by George Rendel/Sir George Rendel, to study the possibility of self-government for Singapore. The commission proposed a limited form of self-government, consisting of a Legislative Assembly with twenty-five out of thirty-two seats chosen by popular election, from which a Chief Minister (head of government) and Council of Ministers (cabinet) would be picked under a parliamentary system. The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as a veto over legislation.

The government agreed with the recommendations, and Legislative Assembly elections were scheduled for April 2, 1955. The election was a lively and closely-fought affair, with several newly-formed political parties joining the fray. In contrast to previous elections, voters were automatically registered, expanding the electorate to around 300,000. At the end of the day, the SPP was soundly defeated, winning only four seats. The newly-formed, left-leaning Labour Front was the largest winner with ten seats. Another new party, the leftist People's Action Party (PAP), won three seats.

Self-government (1955 - 1963)

The leader of the Labour Front, David Saul Marshall/David Marshall, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. He presided over a shaky government, receiving little cooperation from either the colonial government or the other local parties. In April 1956, he led a delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule, but the talks fell through due to British concerns about labour unrest and communist influence, and Marshall was forced to resign. His successor as Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock, launched a crackdown on communist and leftist groups, imprisoning many trade union leaders and several pro-communist members of the PAP under the Internal Security Act of Singapore/Internal Security Act.

The British government approved of Lim's tough stance against communist agitators, and when a new round of talks was held beginnning in 1957, they were amenable to granting almost complete self-government. A State of Singapore would be created, with its own citizenship, consisting of persons born in Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, British citizens of two years' residence, and others of ten years' residence. The Legislative Assembly would be expanded to fifty-one members, entirely chosen by popular election, and the Prime Minister and cabinet would control all aspects of government except defense and foreign affairs.

Elections for the new Legislative Assembly were held in May 1959. This time round, the PAP swept the election, winning forty-three of the fifty-one seats. They had accomplished this by courting the Chinese-speaking majority, particularly those in the labour unions and radical student organizations. The leader of the PAP, Lee Kuan Yew, became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.

The PAP's victory was viewed with dismay by foreign and local business leaders. Although Lee and the other leaders of the PAP hailed from the "moderate" wing of the party, many of the other members were staunchly pro-communist. Many businesses promptly shifted their headquarters from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Despite these ill omens, the PAP government embarked on an vigorous program to address Singapore's various economic and social problems. The plan for the economy was overseen by the superbly capable Goh Keng Swee, the new Minister of Finance, whose strategy was to encourage foreign and local investment using a wide variety of measures, ranging from low tax rates and tax holidays to the establishment of a new industrial estate in the Jurong area. At the same time, the education system was revamped with the goal of suiting the workforce to the needs of employers; more technical and vocational schools were established, and English was promoted over Chinese as a language of instruction. The long-standing problem of labour unrest was suppressed by consolidating existing labour unions (sometimes forcibly) into a single umbrella organization, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which was closely affliliated with the government. On the social front, an attack was launched on the long-standing housing problem by an aggressive and well-funded public housing program, overseen by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Headed by the banker and industrialist Lim Kim San, the HDB constructed more than 25,000 high-rise, low-cost apartments during its first two years of operation.

Despite their successes in governing Singapore, the leaders of the PAP, including Lee and Goh, believed that Singapore's future lay with Malaya. They felt that the historical and economic ties between Singapore and Malaya were too strong for them to continue as separate nations, and campaigned vigorously for a merger. On the other hand, the sizeable pro-communist wing of the PAP were strongly opposed to merger as entering an autonomous region, fearing a loss of influence in such an event, since the United Malays National Organisation/UMNO government in Kuala Lumpur was staunchly anti-communist, and would support the PAP in such an event against them. The UMNO leaders were also skeptical of the idea; there was some distrust of the PAP government, and were concerned that merger with Singapore, with its large urban Chinese population, would alter the racial balance on which their political power base depended. The issue came to a head in 1961, when Ong Eng Guan, a long-standing member of the PAP, stormed out of the party and beat a PAP candidate in a subsequent by-election, a move that threatened to bring down Lee's government. Faced with the prospect of a takeover by the pro-communist wing of the PAP, UMNO did an about-face on the merger. On May 27, Malaya's Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, mooted the idea of a Federation of Malaysia, comprised of the existing Federation of Malaya, Singapore, and the British Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak. The concept that the additional Borneo territories' Malay population would offset Singapore's Chinese population.

The Malaysia proposal ignited the long-brewing conflict between the moderates and pro-communists in the PAP. The pro-communists, led by Lim Chin Siong, left the PAP to form a new opposition party, the Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front), to campaign against entry into Malaysia with conditions of which the PAP wished. In response, Lee called for a referendum on the merger, to be held in September 1962, and initiated a vigorous campaign in advocation of their proposal of merger, possibly aided by the fact that the government had a large influence over the media.

It should be noted that the referendum did not have an option of objecting to the idea of merger because no one had raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly before then. However, the method of merger had been debated, by the PAP, Singapore's People's Alliance and the Barisian Socialis, each with their own proposals. The referendum was called therefore, was to resolve this issue. The referendum called had three options. Singapore could join Malaysia, but would be granted full autonomy and only with fulfillment of conditions to guarantee that, which was option A. The second option, option B, called for full integration into Malaysia without such autonomy, with the status of any other state in Malaysia. The third option, option C, was to enter Malaysia "on terms no less favourable then the Borneo territories", noting the motive of why Malaysia proposed the Borneo territories to join as well.

After the referendum was held, the option A received 70 percent of the votes in the referendum, with 26 percent of the ballots left blank as advocated by the Barisan Socialis to protest against option A.

Merger with Malaysia (1963 - 1965)

Merger was thought to be the solution to resolve unemployment, a stagnating economy and the security threats posed by revolutionary elements in the period. This would be done by forming a new nation where no trade taxes would be imposed between them, thus a market would open up, solving economic and unemployment woes. Therefore, in 1963, London agreed to hand over Singapore Sabah and Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur, convinced that Singapore's security would be safeguarded by the much larger Malaysia.

Yet in less than a year, problems sprung up. Racial tensions had increased dramatically, fueled by the tactics of a desperate Barisan Socialis and the disdain of the Chinese by being discriminated against due to the racist bumiputra Federal policy which granted special priveleges to the Malays. In return, the Malays and Muslims in Singapore were being increasingly incited by the Malaysian Federial Government's accusations that the PAP was mistreating the Malays. Numerous racial riots resulted, and curfews were common in order to restore order. One of the more notorious riots was the riot that took place on Prophet Muhammad's birthday with massive casualties with Chinese and Malays attacking each other. Today, it is still disputed how it started, and theories include a bottle being thrown into a Muslim rally.

In addition, the Federal Government of Malaysia, dominated by the United Malays National Organisation, feared that as long as Singapore remained in the Federation, the bumiputra policy of positive racial discrimination to the Malays would be undermined and therefore not in the interest of their pro-Malay agenda. One of the major causes of this fear was that the PAP kept calling out for a "Malaysian Malaysia" - the fair and equal treatment of all races. A second cause also includes the very real possibility that the economic dominance of Singapore's port might inevitably shift political power away from Kuala Lumpur later on, should Singapore remain.

The rivalry between the PAP and the Federal Government, especially with the participation of both sides in each other's government elections, escalated greatly to such intensity that talks soon broke down. Singapore was expelled from Malaysia on 7th August, 1965, gaining official sovereignty two days later on August 9 with Lee Kuan Yew as its first Prime Minister. Among the problems the fledgling nation faced included mass unemployment, housing problems, lack of natural resources and land.

Independent Singapore (1965 - present)

The dismal state of the country led to the infamous world conclusion that "Singapore would never make it". On the contrary, economic reform and implementation of industrial infrastructure, especially in Jurong, led to an economic stimulation which saved Singapore from economic doom. In order to resolve racial tension, a policy to create national identity through education in schools and flag raising and lowering ceremonies was implemented. Further economic success continued through the 1980's onwards.

Singapore has thus become one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its Port of Singapore/port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. During the early years, it was led by prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose policies were responsible for Singapore's prosperity and development. In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew passed the reins to successor Goh Chok Tong, who saw the country through some of its most serious postwar crises, including the 1997 Asian economic crisis and SARS in 2003. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister of Singapore.

Links and references

= External links =

* http://www.sg/explore/history.htm A brief history, hosted by the Singapore Government.
* http://countrystudies.us/singapore/ Entry for Singapore in the Library of Congress' Country Studies handbook, featuring a fairly detailed history.
* http://www.knowledgenet.com.sg/ The biographical and geographical histories are of particular interest.
* http://www.nhb.gov.sg/NAS/nas.shtml Features a huge number of historical documents and photographs. Unfortunately, (i) the copyright terms are rather unreasonable, and (ii) the site is poorly-organized.
* http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/Malaya_and_Singapore/body_index.htm A detailed history of the Battle of Singapore.

Tag: History of Singapore
Tag: History by nation/Singapore
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