History of Singapore
The history of Singapore begins with the earliest references to the island in Chinese texts from the 3rd century. The island served as an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and was originally given the Javanese name Temasek. Temasek rose to become a significant trading city in its heyday, but later declined in significance - little is to be found of old Temasek in Singapore other than archaeological evidence.
The current name of the city derives from the Sanskrit Singapura (Lion City); this name became common by the late 14th century. The 15th and 16th century Sultanate of Johore included Singapore. During the Malay-Portugal wars Singapura was burned down by Portugese forces in 1617. The city was officially abandoned; the island remained inhabited by small bands of fishermen and pirates.
British Era
In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official with the British East India Company, established Singapore as a trade post and settlement, having made a treaty with the Sultan of Johor, the effective ruler of the island of Singapore then. After some conflict over the territory betwewen the Dutch and the British, the Dutch withdrew objections to Great Britain's founding of Singapore as a trade city in Southeast Asia in August 1824. After undergoing a number of territorial incarnations, Singapore was made a crown colony in 1867.
Singapore prospered as a trading port. Entreport trade grew, no doubt helped by Singapore's strategic location at an important traderoute (later to become the busiest shipping route in the world).
World War II
During World War II Japanese forces invaded Malaya and pushed southwards towards Singapore. The British and Allied forces were forced to retreat towards Singapore with the Japanese in pursuit. Despite having numerical superiority, the British and Allied troops were less well trained and they did not have the combined arms support of the navy and air force that the Japanese enjoyed after successful raids on the Royal Air Force base in Singapore and the destruction of the battleships, the "Prince of Wales" and the "Repulse". The Japanese landed in Singapore on 7 February 1942. On 15 February 1942, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, commander of British forces in Singapore surrendered to the Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The Japanese held Singapore until September 1945.
Post War History
Singapore became a self-governing nation in 1959. Singapore joined Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as part of the Federation of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965. It however, withdrew from Malaysia, becoming a sovereign nation on August 9, 1965 as racial tensions grew within Malaysia. Singapore rapidly formed its own armed forces as Britain withdrew troops from Singapore in October 1971. Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's first Prime Minister, governing Singapore from 1959 to 1990. His successor was Goh Chok Tong. On August 12, 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the son of Lee Yuan Kew, took over as prime minister.
