Singapore is mentioned as Pu-luo-chung, literally ‘the island at the end of a peninsula’ in a Chinese account of the 3rd century. By the end of the 14th century, this island had come under Javanese domination, and its Sanskrit name (Singapura or Lion City) was in common use. In the early 15th century, Singapore was a Thai vassal state and later became a part of the Malacca Sultanate. In early 1819, Sir Stafford Raffles established a trading post here on behalf of the East India Company after having obtained formal permission to do so from both Sultan Hussein of Johor and the Temenggong, respectively the de jure and de facto rulers of Singapore. In March 1824, the Dutch waived all claim to Singapore in favour of the British through the Anglo-Dutch Treaty signed in March 1824. A second treaty concluded with Johor and the Temenggong in August 1824 saw the two owners cede this island to the British in return for guaranteed pensions, in addition to one-time, cash-down payments. Singapore then formally became a British colony.

    In 1826, Singapore, Malacca and Penang were consolidated into one province, called the Straits Settlements, under the control of British India. Singapore had already become Britain's foremost trading centre in this region, and by 1832 had become the centre of government for the Straits Settlements. On 1st April 1867, the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony directly under the Colonial Office in London. By the end of the 19th century, with the advent of the steamship and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Singapore had become a major port of call for ships plying between Europe and East Asia. It also became the world's main sorting and export centre for rubber. Its growing prosperity attracted immigrants and by 1860, its population had grown to about 90,000 (63% Chinese, 13.5% Malays, 16% Indians and the remainder composed mainly of Europeans). 

     During World War II, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese from February 1942 to September 1945, when it was relieved by the British. In April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a Crown Colony in its own right. The British responded to the increasing popular demand for a say in government by establishing Executive and Legislative Councils, with a provision for the election of 6 members to the latter. Though the first elections in this regard were held in March 1948, the insurgent activities fostered by the Communist Party of Malaya saw a state of emergency being declared in June 1948, which lasted for 12 years. The return of normalcy saw an increased pressure for self-rule, which was finally attained in 1959 on the basis of the Constitutional Agreement that had been signed in London the previous year. 

     Singapore’s first general elections, held in May 1959, saw the People’s Action Party (PAP) winning 43 of the 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore’s first Prime Minister. At this stage, the communists fought the elections as part of the PAP, but over time, the increasing divergence between the moderate PAP members led by Lee Kuan Yew and the communists saw the latter breaking away to form the Barisan Sosialis.  

     The PAP under Lee pushed for merger with Malaya, and a referendum in 1962 showed over 70% support for the this proposal, which promised greater security and access to the planned Malayan Common Market. The merger took effect in September 1963 with the formation of Malaysia comprising the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah). However, in practice, the merger proved difficult to implement and eventually, Malaysia and Singapore decided to separate. Singapore proclaimed independence on 9th August 1965. It joined the United Nations in September, the Commonwealth in October and was formally constituted a Republic on December 22, 1965.  

     Since 1959, Singapore’s development has been led by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (who continued as Prime Minister till he stepped aside in November 1990). Conscious of its small size and negligible natural resources (even water needs to be imported), Singapore concentrated on developing quality infrastructure and a skilled labour force, while shifting its economic focus away from trade towards becoming a provider of financial and other services with a high-tech oriented manufacturing sector. At the same time, social and political stability were assured by various government policies. All this helped attract considerable foreign investment and create an economically prosperous state, with a major international standing, despite its small size.