History of Singapore
During World War 2, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.
Names of Singapore
Singapore is referred to in old Javanese and Malay literature as Temasek. The "Nagarakretagama", a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, names a settlement on the island as "Tumasik". The name appears twice in the "Malay Annals" before it is replaced by “Singapura” following Sang Nila Utama’s arrival upon the island. Temasek may have been derived from "Tasik", the Malay word for "lake" or "sea", perhaps meaning "Sea Town". The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, mentioned "Danmaxi" (, written as 淡馬錫 in the Mao Kun map), which is a transcription of the Malay name "Temasek". Wang described two settlements in "Danmaxi": "Long Ya Men" and "Ban Zu" (班卒, ). In a version of Marco Polo's account of his travel, a place named "Chiamassie" that could be Temasik was mentioned in relation to the island kingdom of "Malayur". Temasik may have also been mentioned in Vietnamese records as "Sach Ma Tich" in the 14th century. Chinese records continued to use the name Temasik for some time afterwards (for example in the Mao Kun map) even though its name had been changed to Singapura in the 14th century. Although the name was mentioned in Malay literature, the name Temasek had become obsolete and did not appear in European maps and documents from 1500 to 1800. In colonial and more modern times, this early name for Singapore was revived and is now used by modern institutions and for national honours in Singapore.