A History of Singapore (New ed)

In 1819 Thomas Stanford Raffles established an outpost of British India on a sparsely populated island at the southern end of the Straits of Malacca.

This volume tells how that settlement became a Crown Colony that was for over 100 years one of the most prosperous ports not just of British Malaya but in the entire British Empire.

It recounts the experiences of the people of the island between 1942 and 1945 when Japanese forces occupied Malaya and explains the dramatic events of the post-war era, when Singapore became a self-governing state, later joined Malaysia, and in 1965 separated from Malaysia to assume its modern identiy as an independent republic.

This multi-faceted historical process is discussed by eighteen Singapore scholars working in a variety of academic disciplines.

Starting with a short survey of the pre-modern history of Singapore, their work provided both a chronological account of events and specialized studies of particular topics and periods.

In particular, the volume offers a look at the social transformation of modern Singapore, touching on community, the family, education, mass media, housing, health care, welfare, population growth, and national identity. The united purpose of the authors is to set contemporary Singapore in historical perspective, and to enable readers to appreciate the forces which shaped the country's society, economy, and polity.

The editiors, Ernest C.T. Chew and Edwin Lee, are Associate Professors of History at the National University of Singapore.