Singapore
Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company. After the company's collapse in 1858, the islands were ceded to the British Raj as a crown colony. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.
Self-governance of Singapore
In 1963, Singapore joined Malaysia, relieving it of colonial rule and becoming an autonomous state within the Malaysian federation. After a fallout in the relations between the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the People's Action Party (PAP), the ruling parties of the Federation and Singapore respectively, full independence came about with Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia in 1965.