The British, who were extending their dominion in India, and whose trade with China in the second half of the 18th century was expanding, saw the need for a port of call in this region to refit, revitalise and protect their merchant fleet, as well as to forestall any advance by the Dutch in the East Indies. As a result, they established trading posts in Penang (1786) and Singapore (1819), and captured Malacca from the Dutch (1795). Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years ater and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong International trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe.

Singapore's people are largely descendents of immigrants from the Malay Peninsula, China and the Indian Peninsula, Yet a sense of common destiny makes every Singaporean think and feel as one.

Consisting of one main island and 60 small ones, Singapore is an equatorial country. Her uniform temperature and abundant rainfall give rise to the rich flora and fauna that typify a tropical island