Singapore History

In the 1300’s, Singapore and the islands around Sentosa were known as Temasek, meaning “place surrounded by water”. At this time, Singapore Harbor served as a trading center. About 1390, a Sumatran prince, Parameswara who lived in Palembang, killed the local chief and took over the area. By 1400, the city had become known as Singapura, which means “lion city” in the Sanskrit language. However, Parameswara only ruled Singapore for a few years, before Majapahit or Thai forces drove him out.

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official of the British East India Company, arrived to set up a trading post in the southern area of the Malay Peninsula. Raffles received permission to establish a trading post for the United Kingdom, and Singapore became an immediate success for the British. It soon became a center of free trade for the region. This caused the small population to grow quickly, and in 1822, Raffles drew up a town plan for Singapore to help calm some of the violence and disorder that had risen. Each community was given a village section of its own, which were created for various ethnic groups, as well as government and commercial districts.

As trade continued to grow, the importance of the port of Singapore increased after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. This canal shortened the distance between London and Singapore, and more people started to use the Strait of Malacca instead of the Sundra Strait when traveling between Europe and the Far East. Singapore became a major port for ships trading between these two regions. This growth in trade and population prompted the British East India Company to attain all rights to Singapore. In 1824, Temenggong Abdul Rahman and Sultan Hussein sold their control of the island to the British. Two years later, Singapore was united with Penang and Melaka forming the presidency of the Straits Settlements.

Singapore’s trade at the time did however, attract pirates from the Sulu archipelago and Mindanao, both in the Philippines. Violence also became widespread, since the small police force could not control the problems of murder, theft, and Chinese secret societies, groups directed toward immigrants, and supported crime.

In the 1920’s, the economy continued to grow, and a large number of immigrants entered Singapore, many from China. However, this immigration trend reversed when trade slumped during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The government sent thousands of people back to India and China, and started to control the number of immigrants allowed in.

WWII and the Japanese occupation had a great effect on the people of Singapore. The British had built air bases and a naval base, and felt safe from invasions, but there was no defense against a land invasion. Japanese troops landed at southern Thailand and northern Malaya, quickly forcing the British to retreat onto the island. On Feb 15, 1942, the British surrendered to the Japanese. 3 years later, in August 1945, Japan surrendered, and British forces returned to Singapore. Unfortunately, immediate improvement was not brought to the people of Singapore, and food shortages and soaring inflation added to people’s misery.

After the war ended, political parties began to form, such as the Singapore Progressive Party, and the Singapore Labor Party. Another was the People’s Action Party, led by Lee Kuan Yew, to fight colonialism. Singapore set up its first legislative assembly in 1955. On Aug 9, 1965, Singapore became independent, and the first Singapore Parliament met in December 1965.