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.
Anarchism in Singapore
While the area which is now Singapore was inhabited for centuries prior to the arrival of European colonialists, the founding of modern Singapore took place in 1819. Founded by the British statesman Stamford Raffles, Singapore – as a colony of Britain – saw the Chinese become its largest ethnic group already in 1827. This trend has continued until today, with the Chinese Singaporeans making up approximately 74.1% of the population.