Singapore (Malay: Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Ciŋkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Republik Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡共和国; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu), is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 square miles), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.
When the main island was colonized by the British East India Company in 1819 it contained a fishing village sparsely populated by indigenous Malays and Orang Lauts at the mouth of the Singapore River. The British used the position as a strategic trading outpost along the spice route. It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire, and the site in 1942 of what Winston Churchill called "Britain's biggest defeat" at the hands of the Japanese. While Occupied by the Japanese Empire during World War II, it reverted to British rule in 1945 and was later part of the merger which established Malaysia in 1963. Two years later it left the federation and became an independent republic on August 9, 1965. The new republic was admitted to the United Nations on September 21 that same year.
Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has risen dramatically. Foreign investment and government-led island-wide industrialization have created a modern economy based on electronics and manufacturing, featuring entrepôt and financial trade centering around the country's strategic location. In terms of GDP per capita, Singapore is the 18th wealthiest country in the world. The geographically small nation has a foreign reserve of S$212 billion (US$139 billion).
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the city-state's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic. The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.
вторник, 25 сентября 2007 г.
понедельник, 24 сентября 2007 г.
Origin of name
The name Singapura is derived from the Malay words singa (lion) and pura (city), which in turn is from the Tamil-Sanskrit சிங்க singa सिंह siṃha and पुर புர pura. According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran Malay prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on shore that his chief minister identified as a lion (Asiatic Lion). Recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there, and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was likely a tiger.
суббота, 22 сентября 2007 г.
First settlement
The first records of settlement in Singapore are from the second century AD. The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally bore the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly became a significant trading settlement, but declined in the late 14th century. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered artifacts of that and other settlements. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore island was part of the Sultanate of Johor. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement was set ablaze by Portuguese troops. The Portuguese subsequently held control in that century and the Dutch in the 17th, but throughout most of this time the island's population consisted mainly of fishermen.
He is recognized as the founder of modern Singapore.On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island. Sighting its potential, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop Singapore as a trading post and settlement, marking the start of the island's modern era. Raffles's deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration. The British India office governed the island from 1858, but Singapore was made a British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869 the island boasted a sizeable community of 100,000.
He is recognized as the founder of modern Singapore.On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island. Sighting its potential, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop Singapore as a trading post and settlement, marking the start of the island's modern era. Raffles's deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration. The British India office governed the island from 1858, but Singapore was made a British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869 the island boasted a sizeable community of 100,000.
пятница, 21 сентября 2007 г.
World War II
During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The ill-prepared British were defeated in six days, and surrendered the supposedly impregnable "Bastion of the Empire" to General Tomoyuki Yamashita on 15 February 1942 in what is now known as the British Empire's greatest military defeat. The Japanese renamed Singapore Shōnantō (昭南島, Shōnantō?), from Japanese "Shōwa no jidai ni eta minami no shima" ("昭和の時代に得た南の島", "Shōwa no jidai ni eta minami no shima"?), or "southern island obtained in the age of Shōwa", and occupied it until the British repossessed the island on 12 September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender.
The name Shōnantō was, at the time, romanized as "Syonan-to" or "Syonan".
The name Shōnantō was, at the time, romanized as "Syonan-to" or "Syonan".
четверг, 20 сентября 2007 г.
Independence
Singapore became a self-governing state in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak its first Yang di-Pertuan Negara and Lee Kuan Yew its first Prime Minister. Following the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore, Singapore joined Malaya, along with Sabah and Sarawak, to form the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, but separated from it two years later after heated ideological conflict between the state's PAP government and the federal Kuala Lumpur government. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965. Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister.
The fledgling nation had to be self-sufficient, and faced problems like mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration curbed widespread unemployment, raised the standard of living, and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, the threat of racial tension was curbed, and an independent national defence system, centering around compulsory male military service, was created.
In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak, and terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiyah group post-September 11.
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister. Amongst his more notable decisions is the plan to open two Integrated Resorts (which include legalised casinos) to attract more foreign tourists.
The fledgling nation had to be self-sufficient, and faced problems like mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration curbed widespread unemployment, raised the standard of living, and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, the threat of racial tension was curbed, and an independent national defence system, centering around compulsory male military service, was created.
In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak, and terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiyah group post-September 11.
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister. Amongst his more notable decisions is the plan to open two Integrated Resorts (which include legalised casinos) to attract more foreign tourists.
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