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.
Tyersall Park
Tyersall Park is a historical estate in Singapore, bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, near the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was private land belonging to the Malaysian state of Johor from 1862 until its acquisition by the Government of Singapore in 1990. The property is restricted from the public and is fenced along Tyersall Avenue.