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[[Image:Singaporeflag.gif|thumb|100px|Singapore flag]]'''Singapore''' (Malay: ''Singa'' (lion) + ''pura'' (city)) is a small island state situated at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. Its population of about 4 million people is 76% ethnic Chinese, 14% Malay, 7% Indian and 3% others.

[[Image:Singaporeflag.gif|thumb|100px|Singapore flag]]'''Singapore''' (Malay: ''Singa'' (lion) + ''pura'' (city)) is a small island state situated at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. Its population of about 4 million people is 76% ethnic Chinese, 14% Malay, 7% Indian and 3% others.

Singapore was an ignored, swampy island with only a few fishing villages until 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles of the British [[East India Company]] was given permission to establish a trading station by the Sultan of Johor.  Raffles had spotted its strategic location as a crossroads on the shipping routes to the East and set about turning the island into a free trading station.<ref>[http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/brief_history.html] Uniquely Singapore - Brief History</ref> Alongside the British colonial presence it attracted many entrepreneurs from China, India and the Middle East and within 5 years the population rose from 150 to 10,000. In 1824 the British bought the island outright from the Sultan. Following the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, the [[Dutch]], who had largely been the dominant colonial power in south-east Asia, withdrew any objections to the British occupation.

Singapore was an ignored, swampy island with only a few fishing villages until 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles of the British [[East India Company]] was given permission to establish a trading station by the Sultan of Johor.  Raffles had spotted its strategic location as a crossroads on the shipping routes to the East and set about turning the island into a free trading station.<ref>[http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/brief_history.html] Uniquely Singapore - Brief History</ref> Alongside the British colonial presence it attracted many entrepreneurs from China, India and the Middle East and within 5 years the population rose from 150 to 10,000. In 1824 the British bought the island outright from the Sultan. Following the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, the [[Dutch]], who had largely been the dominant colonial power in south-east Asia, withdrew any objections to the British occupation.