History And Culture:

The initial period of the history of Singapore goes with that of the Malaysian Peninsula. It was known as the Kingdom of Singapore and prospered as a world famous trading. Several reigns like the Portuguese, Dutch, and the British came to Singapore, but the trading in this land only grew. Singapore, for a long time, remained under the rule of the Johor Sultanate until the Portuguese invaded it in 1613. Later the Dutch tried to establish their colonies in the Kingdom of Singapore.

In 1819, when the British arrived in Singapore, they signed a treaty with the king of the Johor Sultanate for the purpose of development of trade in the land. A few years later, the British took over the rule of Singapore and thus Singapore came under the jurisdiction on British India.

During the Second World War, in spite of warnings by the Malayans, Singapore was invaded by the Japanese. The Japanese performed various bombing activities in Singapore until September 1945 when the Japanese occupation officially ended and British took over again. The after-effects of the Japanese rule prolonged in Singapore for a long time. The British also failed to develop the land and so the locals and the nationalists started revolting against the British rule and demanded “independence”.

After the failed attempts of David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock convinced Britain to grant the power of self-government to Singapore. In 1963, Singapore joined the Malayan Federation under the Malaysian agreement. However, many political and economical differences arose soon after the merger with the Federation and that resulted in communal riots. With these conflicts, on 9th August 1965, Singapore attained independence to be known as the Republic of Singapore.