Modern Singapore
In the early 20th century Singapore continued to prosper. Huge amounts of rubber and tin from the region were exported from Singapore. Meanwhile Chinese immigrants continued to arrive.
Then in January 1942 the Japanese conquered Malaysia. On 15 February 1942 Singapore was forced to surrender. The Japanese called Singapore Yonan, which means Light of the South but their rule was tyrannical. Thousands of Chinese Singaporeans were executed.
However Japan surrendered in August 1945 and on 5 September 1945 the British re-occupied Singapore.
However after 1945 Singapore slowly moved towards independence. In 1946 the Strait Settlements were dissolved and Singapore was separated from Malaysia. The People's Action Party was formed in 1954 and it proved to be a major force in Singaporean politics. In 1955 a new constitution was introduced. Under it 25 out of 32 members of the legislature were elected. In 1957 it was replaced by an elected 51 member legislature. The Peoples Action Party led by Lee Kuan Yew won 43 out of 51 seats. Self government was granted in 1959. Lee Kuan Yew became prime minister.
In 1963 Singapore joined with Malaysia. However the union was short lived. Singapore left in 1965 and became completely independent.
From 1965 to the 1990s Singapore enjoyed rapid economic growth. By the 1990s it was an NIC (newly industrialized country) and the people had a high standard of living. However the government was authoritarian and society was strictly controlled.
In 1990 Lee Kuan Yew resigned as prime minister. He was replaced by Goh Chok Tong. He introduced a more liberal regime. Today Singapore is a prosperous nation and in the early years of the 21st century its economy grew strongly. Singapore is also a very busy port. Today the population of Singapore is 5.4 million.