Singapore was founded in January, 1819, by an Englishman named Stamford Raffles. He claimed the land as a trading settlement for the East India Company. When Raffles landed, there could have been as many as 1000 inhabitants, including some Chinese settlers. Although the land was covered in jungle, England's new trading company handled some 8 million Spanish dollars worth of trade in the first two and a half years.
The new prosperity caused a population influx, including Arab, Armenian, European, Chinese, Malaysian, and Indian people. By 1830, the Chinese were the largest community.
The 1800's brought an economic boom, partly due to the success story of the rubber industry.
Today, the city is one of the world's busiest ports, in part due to its strategic position on the Straits of Malacca.
Singapore is a very modern city/state which is very safe, is known to have many fines for minor infractions, and is fastidiously clean.
Singapore: Geography
Singapore is about 85 miles (137 km.) north of the Equator. The Main Island is 26 miles (42 km.) long and 14 miles (23 km.) wide, with a total area of 240 square miles. (622 square km.) It's one of the few places in the world where the land mass actually grows due to extensive land reclamation.
The main island and its 57 islets are located at the foot of the Malayan Peninsula.
Most of Singapore is 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level and the highest point at Bukit Timah is 535 feet (163 meters) high. Farmland occupies exceedingly little space and most of the natural rainforest and vegetation are now gone with some 80% of tropical plants now being imported.
115 square miles (300 square km.) of Singapore consists of built up concrete buildings, and it is considered a newly affluent area of Southeast Asia.
