Singapore
Overview
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, 137 kilometres (85.1 mi) north of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor
Straits of Johor
The Straits of Johor is a strait that separates the Malaysian state of Johor to the north from Singapore to the south....
to its north and from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait
Singapore Strait
The Singapore Strait is a 105-kilometer long, 16-kilometer wide strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel and the Riau Islands are on the south...
to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery.
Timeline
1819 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore.
1819 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.
1867 Singapore becomes a British crown colony.
1886 The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
1942 The Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore during World War II.
1942 Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
1943 Double Tenth Incident in Japanese controlled Singapore
1954 The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese Middle School students in Singapore, take place.
1957 Britain agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
1959 The first government of the State of Singapore is sworn in.