In 1299, according to the
Malay Annals, the
Kingdom of Singapura was established on the island as a trading port city. There were two major foreign invasions before it was destroyed by the
Majapahit in 1398.
[13][14][15] In 1613,
Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was nominally part of the
Johor Sultanate.
[16] The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period.
In 1819,
Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with
Sultan Hussein Shah of
Johor, on behalf of the
British East India Company, to develop the southern part of Singapore as a
British trading post. In 1824, the entire island, as well as the
Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan.
[17] In 1826, Singapore became part of the
Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of
British India, becoming the regional capital in 1836.
[18] Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly
indigenous Malays along with a handful of
Chinese.
[19] By 1860, the population had swelled to more than 80,000 and more than half were Chinese. Many immigrants came to work at
rubber plantations and, after the 1870s, the island became a global centre for rubber exports.
[17]
The founding father of modern Singapore,
Lee Kuan Yew declaring the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 in Singapore.
As a result of the
1962 Merger Referendum, on 16 September 1963
Singapore joined with the
Federation of Malaya, the
Crown Colony of Sarawak and the
Crown Colony of North Borneo to form the new federation of
Malaysia under the terms of the
Malaysia Agreement. Singaporean leaders chose to join Malaysia primarily due to concerns over its limited land size, scarcity of water, markets and natural resources. Some Singaporean and Malaysian politicians were also concerned that the communists might form the government on the island, a possibility perceived as an external threat to the Federation of Malaya.
[citation needed] However, shortly after the merger, the Singapore state government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues, and communal strife culminated in the
1964 race riots in Singapore. After many
heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, on 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 (with Singaporean delegates not present) to expel Singapore from Malaysia.
[5][27][28]
A symbol of Singapore, the
Merlionwas created in 1964
Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the
Commonwealth of Nations) on 9 August 1965.
[5] Race riots
broke out once more in 1969.
[citation needed] In 1967, the country co-founded
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
[29]Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister, and the country moved from
Third World economy to
First World affluence in a single generation. Lee Kuan Yew's emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, and limitations on internal democracy shaped Singapore's policies for the next half-century.
[30][31] In 1990,
Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister, while the latter continued serving in the Cabinet as
Senior Minister until 2004, and then
Minister Mentor until May 2011. During Goh's tenure, the country faced the
1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003
SARS outbreak and
terrorist threats posed by
Jemaah Islamiyah.
[citation needed]
In 2004,
Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third Prime Minister. Goh Chok Tong remained in Cabinet as the Senior Minister until May 2011, when he was named Emeritus Senior Minister despite his retirement. Lee Hsien Loong's tenure included the
2008 global financial crisis, the resolution of a dispute over
Malayan railways land, and the introduction of
integrated resorts.
[32] Despite the economy's exceptional growth, the
People's Action Party (PAP) suffered its
worst election results in 2011, winning 60% of votes, amidst hot-button issues of high influx of foreign workers and cost of living.
[citation needed] On 23 March 2015 Lee Kuan Yew died,
[31] during the 50th year of independence. Subsequently, the PAP maintained its dominance in Parliament at the
September general elections, receiving 69.9% of the popular vote, its second-highest polling result behind the 2001 tally of 75.3%.
[citation needed]
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