A Brief History of the City State
Pre-Colonial Era
Singapore has had a long a prosperous history as an entrepot port. Situated at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca it is located on the shortest sea route between China and India. The country began its history as an important supply, stopover, and rendezvous point for traders. Chinese junks carried silks, damasks, porcelain, pottery, and iron while Indian and Arab Ships held cotton textiles, Venetian glass, incense, and metal ware as their tradable cargo. Merchandise was not all that these ships brought to the area, "All who came brought not only their trade goods, but their cultures, languages, religions, and technologies for exchange in the bazaars of this great crossroads" (LePoer 6).
The Origin of British Colonialism
The flourishing port became the object of attention of various European powers in the early 1800's, as they scrambled to be the first to secure major sea routes necessary for trading. The Dutch and British powers vied for control over the area that includes present-day Singapore.
From the beginning, the British attempted to secure the southern tip of the Strait of Malacca in order to control the prosperous trade routes to China and the Malay Archipelago. On January 30, 1819, and British expedition led by Stamford Raffles, a representative of the English East Indian Company, signed a preliminary agreement with the local Malay Chief, Temenggong Abdul Rahman, to establish a British trading post at the tip of the Malay peninsula. The treaty was ratified February 6, 1819. In exchange for a trading post, the British agreed to protect the island against attack and pay Sultan Hussein Sp$5000 (Spanish dollars) per year.
Nineteen twenty-four was another milestone in the quest of the British to control Singapore. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London, which recognized the British as having full sovereignty over Singapore, was signed that year. The treaty effectively divided the East Indies into two sections designated by a line drawn through the Strait of Malacca. The British controlled the northern section, while the Dutch controlled the south. During this time the British also renegotiated with the Malay rulers. As a result, the rulers relinquished Singapore and the neighboring islands to the British East Indian Company in exchange for cash payments and pensions. This was the origin of British rule in Singapore. In 1826 it became part of the Straits Settlement (a unification of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore). This change made it an official colony of Britain. Singapore remained part of the Straits Settlement until 1946 when the settlement was dissolved and it became a separate crown colony.
From Colonialism to the Present
Singapore prospered while under British rule for many years. It remained a colony until 1955 when they were granted partial independence, a new constitution was established and the people elected their first representative legislature. In search of complete independence, in 1963 they joined the Federation of Malaysia. This arrangement did not last long, due to economic and political disputes they separated, and finally in 1965 Singapore became an independent country.