There are not many records in Singapore's early historical materials, and the names used are different. In the 3rd century, China called Singapore "Prolong", that is, "the island at the end of the peninsula". According to historical records, in A.D. 1320, the Yuan Dynasty sent people to a place called Longyamen to look for elephants. The "Dragon Tooth Gate" may be today's Keppel Harbor. /kloc-in 0/330, a China man named Wang Dayuan came here for the first time and named it Pancur (spring water). There were already Chinese living here at that time. Singapore was first called "Temasek" (Haicheng) by Ode to Java History in 1365. A similar name appeared in a Vietnamese document in the same period. It was not until the end of14th century that the Sanskrit name Singapura (meaning "Lion City") first appeared.
At that time, Siam (today's Thailand) and the Majapahit Empire in Java were fighting for control of Singapore. According to the records of Sejarah Melayu, Singapore was defeated in the war with the Magapashi Empire. But a prince of Megaport, iskandar Shah, later killed the local leader and declared himself the new ruler of Singapore. Shortly thereafter, he was driven away. It is not clear whether Siamese or Javanese drove him away. After that, he fled to Mapo in the northern Malay Peninsula, where he established the Sultanate of Malacca, of which Singapore was an important part.
The establishment of modern Singapore
/kloc-In the middle of the 8th century, Britain was expanding its Indian territory and trade with China. They urgently need to find a port where their ships can berth and repair in order to gain an advantage in the trade competition with the Dutch. So they set up trading ports in Penang (1786) and Singapore (18 19) and seized Malacca from the Dutch (1795).
18 18 At the end of this year, Lord Hastings, Indian Governor, decided to authorize Sir Thomas Francis Blackwell Forbes, Governor of Benkulun, to establish a new trading port at the southern tip of Malay Peninsula. 1On October 29th, Lai visited the islands near Singapore and landed in Singapore. The next day, he signed a preliminary agreement with Temongong Abdul Rahman to establish a local trade port. Although Temengong is the actual ruler, Singapore is part of the Sultanate of Johor-Riau-Linga, Malaysia. Abdul rahman, Sultan of Johor, signed a treaty with the Dutch the year before last, and his kingdom was actually under the Dutch rule. Obviously, Francis Blackwell Forbes faces a thorny problem.
However, Le Francis Blackwell Forbes knows that there are great differences within Johor about the legitimacy of the new Sudan. Abdul rahman Sultan is the youngest son of the former Sultan. Lai Francis Blackwell Forbes successfully smuggled his eldest son Tengku Hussein back to Singapore. 1865438+On February 6th, 2009, Le Francis Blackwell Forbes declared Tengku Hussein as the Sultan of Johor recognized by the British Empire. A new formal treaty was signed, authorizing Britain to legally set up factories in Singapore. The move was strongly protested by the governors of Malacca and Java in the Netherlands.
The British government was unaware of the conflict between Francis Blackwell Forbes and the Netherlands before August 2009. By the time they knew it, Singapore had become an important British colony. What's more, Britain was kind to Holland in the Napoleonic Wars. By 1820, Singapore began to generate profits for the British Empire. Three years later, Singapore's trade volume has surpassed Penang. 1824, Singapore's colonial status was further established and two new treaties were formally signed.
The first is the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of March 1824. According to this treaty, the Netherlands withdrew all objections to the British occupation of Malaya and Singapore, and ceded all its bases in Malaya and India to Britain. In return, Britain agreed to cede its base in Sumatra to the Netherlands. Draw a dividing line in the Straits of Malacca, with countries taking its north and south ends. The treaty also effectively reduced the influence of the Sultanate of Johor, which was divided into three parts: Johor in Malay Peninsula and Singapore (officially belonging to Britain) and Riau Islands (controlled by the Netherlands and today part of Indonesia).
The second treaty was signed with Sultan Hussein and Temungong Abdul Rahman in August, and they agreed to cede the jurisdiction of the island to Britain, so they got more cash returns.
straits settlements
Singapore, Malacca and Penang, three British colonies located in the Malay Peninsula, became straits colonies in 1826 and were under the jurisdiction of British Indian authorities. By 1832, Singapore became the seat of colonial government. On April 1867, 1, the Channel Colony officially became a British crown colony, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the colonial office in London.
With the development of steamships in 1860 and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Singapore has become an important port of call for ships between East Asia and Europe. Around1870s, with the development of local rubber planting, Singapore has also become a major rubber export and processing base in the world. By the end of 19, Singapore had achieved unprecedented prosperity. From 1873 to 19 13, local trade increased eightfold. Economic development has also attracted immigrants from this area. By 1860, the population had increased to 80,792, of which Chinese accounted for 6 1.9%, Malays and Indians accounted for 13.5% and 16.05% respectively, and other races including Europeans accounted for 8.5%.
192 1 year, Britain built a naval base in Singapore, and then an air base. The prosperity and peace of this island were broken in World War II. Japanese planes began bombing the sleeping city at midnight on February 8. 1942 February 15, Singapore fell and was renamed "Syonan". During the occupation, many China people were massacred by the Japanese army. Japan ruled the area for three and a half years, and it was not until September 1945 that the British army returned to Singapore.
Towards autonomy
1945 In September, the British army returned to Singapore and the British martial law began. By March 1946, martial law ended and the Straits colony was officially dissolved. 1946 In April, Singapore became a British crown colony, while Penang and Malacca became part of the Malayan Union in 1946 and part of the Malayan Federation in 1948.
Singapore after the war was very different from that before the war, and the people demanded a greater say in the government. The power of the Governor was devolved and an advisory group composed of official and appointed unofficial people was set up. This system became two independent executive and legislative meetings in July 1947. Although the Governor still has great power, the people have the right to elect six Legislative Councillors.
1948 In June, Singapore declared a state of emergency due to the Malayan * * * Production Party's attempt to seize power in Malaya and Singapore by force, which lasted for 12 years. By the end of 1953, the British government appointed an investigation team led by Sir George Lendl to re-evaluate Singapore's constitutional status and provide relevant suggestions. The government finally accepted Lauder's suggestion and finally amended Singapore's Constitution to give Singapore greater autonomy.
The election of 1955 was the first important political event in Singapore's history. The new registration system has increased the number of eligible voters from 75,000 to 300,000. In addition, the number of voters in China has increased significantly for the first time. Finally, the Labour Party won 65,438+00 seats. David marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore on April 6th. The Labor Front led by him forms a coalition government with UMNO, a Malay national unification organization, and the Malayan Chinese Association.
Marshall resigned on June 6, 1956/KLOC-0 after the breakdown of constitutional negotiations with London on Singapore's full autonomy. Lin Yaofu became the new Chief Minister. 1957 In March, a delegation led by Lin Youfu successfully reached an agreement with the British side in London. 1958 On May 28th, the two parties formally signed the contract in London.
Singapore achieved full autonomy in 1959. In May of that year, Singapore held its first general election and elected 5/kloc-0 members of the first fully elected Legislative Council. The People's Action Party (PAP) won 43 seats in the election and became the largest party. On June 5th, the Governor-General of Singapore, Sir William Goodall, announced that the new constitution came into effect, and Singapore established an autonomous government. He himself was the first head of state and Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister.
At that time, the People's Action Party cooperated with the Production Party to resist British colonial rule. Producers control many mass organizations, especially workers and China students. The cooperation between the two parties is not very pleasant. Both sides are using each other to achieve their own political goals: the centrist wants to merge with Malaya, Malaya is not a * * * production party, and the * * * production party wants to establish an independent * * production country.
The tension between the two factions began to deteriorate at 1960, and finally parted ways at 196 1. * * * The producers themselves set up a new political party, the Socialist Front (Barisan Sosialis). 196 1 year, Malaya also took part in the war, announcing its willingness to merge with Singapore, which is dominated by Chinese, to form a federation, provided that Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak under British jurisdiction also joined the federation.
Proposal to establish Malaysia
1961On May 27th, Malayan Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman proposed that the Malayan Federation should establish closer economic and political cooperation with Singapore, Sarawak, Borneo and Brunei, with merger as the option. The main terms of the merger were signed by Tengku and Lee Kuan Yew, including the establishment of a central government responsible for national defense, foreign affairs and national security, while local governments could be responsible for education and labor issues. 1962 1 In September, Singapore held a referendum on merger, and two-thirds of the people chose to support the merger.
1September, 963 16, Malaysia was formally established, including Malaya Federation, Singapore, Sarawak and Borneo (now Sabah). Brunei refused to join. The merger was opposed by neighboring countries, and both the Philippines and Indonesia protested.
Independence: However, the merger is short-lived. The main difference is race. At first Malaya Malays were the majority and enjoyed special privileges. Malays dominate the political ecology of the Federation, while Chinese dominate the economic lifeline of Malaya. However, after Singapore, where Chinese are the majority, joined the Federation, Chinese also have more opportunities to participate in the political operation of Malaysia. Umno began to worry that Chinese would dominate Malaysia's political and economic environment. Singapore finally had to leave the Federation and declared its independence on1August 9, 965. Independent Singapore became a member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth in September 1965 and October 10/0 respectively.
Contemporary: After independence, Singapore began a series of measures to develop industry and economy. Jurong Industrial Park was established in 1968. In addition, small-scale industrial bases have been established in Kallang and Redhill. In the same year, the Economic Development Bureau was reorganized, and Jurong Town Company and Singapore Development Bank were also established that year.
1979 after the oil crisis, the government was shocked by the problems in development and reorganized the economy. The government has revised the relevant education system to improve the people's technical level. This year, Chinese schools in Singapore were abolished, and all schools used English as the teaching language.
The housing problem was put in the first place. The Housing Development Committee is responsible for building all government apartments and providing them to the public at low prices. Singapore citizens can also use their own central provident fund to buy apartments.
1967, Britain suddenly decided to withdraw all its troops stationed in Singapore, which made the Singapore government decide to form its own military force. Similar to Israel, Singapore stipulates that all men above 18 must perform military service. 1967, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand established the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Singapore entered the1970s, with rapid economic development and stable political situation. However, the political arena in Singapore is dominated by a political party, the People's Action Party. The ruling party often uses various judicial procedures to suppress the opposition. Well-known opposition politicians include J. B. Jeyaratnam (who recently declared bankruptcy due to years of lawsuits with many leaders of the People's Action Party) and Don Tang (now living in Australia).
However, it is not entirely fair to accuse the Singapore government of suppressing the opposition. For example, the authorities did not take the initiative to censor publications, but mainly "self-censorship" by citizens. After independence, there has never been an important opposition party in Singapore's political arena, mainly due to the long-term propaganda and rule of the ruling party.