Singapore Founded

In 1819, Stamford Raffles, an official of the British East India Company, landed on the island of Singapore and arranged for the Company to set up a trading post there. The settlement gave Britain a secure base at the southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. Within a few decades it had grown into one of Asia's leading ports, and it eventually became the modern city-state of Singapore.

The background lay in British and Dutch rivalry in Southeast Asia. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Dutch were restoring their influence in the region, and they controlled much of the trade of the Malay Archipelago. British traders in the China trade wanted a port along the route between India and China where ships could shelter, resupply and trade without Dutch duties or restrictions. Raffles, who had earlier served as Lieutenant-Governor of Java during the brief British occupation, was a strong advocate of extending British commercial influence. The island was then thinly populated, though it had a longer history as a trading and settlement site than the popular image of a "fishing village" suggests. It was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate, whose authority was divided and contested.

Raffles arrived in late January 1819 with Colonel William Farquhar, who became the settlement's first Resident. They negotiated with local leaders, including the Temenggong of Johor, Abdul Rahman. A preliminary agreement allowed the British to establish a post. In early February a further treaty was concluded with Hussein Shah, a claimant to the sultanate whom the British recognized as sultan, in exchange for payments. Historians have noted that the legitimacy of this arrangement was questionable, since Hussein's claim was disputed. The Dutch protested, but the issue was largely settled by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, which divided spheres of influence in the region and left Singapore in British hands.

The key to Singapore's success was its status as a free port, with no duties on trade. Merchants and migrants arrived quickly from China, the Malay world, India, Europe and elsewhere, and the population grew rapidly. In 1826 Singapore was joined with Penang and Malacca to form the Straits Settlements, and it later became the group's capital. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the rise of steamships, along with the rubber and tin trades of the Malay Peninsula, further boosted its importance.

The legacy of 1819 is mixed but significant. Singapore's multicultural society, its harbor and its commercial identity all trace back to the colonial port. Raffles is commemorated there in many place names, though assessments of him and of British colonial rule remain debated. Singapore passed through Japanese occupation in the Second World War, later gained self-government, and became fully independent in 1965.