Changes

[[Image:Guan Yin Temple, Singapore.jpg|thumb|Guan Yin Temple.]]

[[Image:Guan Yin Temple, Singapore.jpg|thumb|Guan Yin Temple.]]

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.

The British tended to congregate round the river waterfront and many grand buildings in the Palladian style were built largely with the help of Irish architect George Coleman.<ref>Visitors' Guide to Singapore, 13th Edition, 2006/7, pp.20-21</ref>  With the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869, the invention of steamships and the laying of long-distance telegraph cables Singapore became increasingly important as a port and trading centre.   

The British tended to congregate round the river waterfront and many grand buildings in the Palladian style were built largely with the help of Irish architect George Coleman.<ref>Visitors' Guide to Singapore, 13th Edition, 2006/7, pp.20-21</ref>  With the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869, the invention of steamships and the laying of long-distance telegraph cables Singapore became increasingly important as a port and trading centre.