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.
Singaporeans in the United Kingdom
The story of the Singaporean community in the UK roughly follows that of the British Chinese community, as most Singaporeans are actually of Chinese descent (see Chinese Singaporean). There is a Singaporean diaspora in the UK, due to Singapore's history as a former British colony (as part of the Straits Settlements from 1826 to 1942, and separately as the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1946 to 1959), and its current membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.