Singapore as a city-state was founded by Stamford Raffles in 1819 as a trading post for the British

Singapore as a city-state was founded by Stamford Raffles in 1819 as a trading post for the British East India Company, having nominally been part of the Sultanate of Johor before that, and as such, under the control of the Dutch out of Malacca.  Shortly after Raffles’ imperial initiative, the British officially took control of Singapore, creating the Straits Settlements colony (which also included much of modern day Malaysia), a geopolitical entity that existed until after WWII (during which conflict Singapore was occupied by the Japanese - a terrible time).  In the post-WWII period, Singapore briefly joined Malaysia officially, in time to declare independence from Britain, and shortly after that declared independence from Malaysia also, establishing the Republic of Singapore in 1965.  Singapore is considered an Asian Tiger economy and ranks high in most positive statistics - including tying with Japan for having the number one passport in the world (a Singaporean passport will get you visa-free or visa-upon-arrival access to 189 countries and territories worldwide).  For fun, read (or watch) Crazy Rich Asians to get an idea about how the wealthy (old wealthy) Singaporean set lives.Stamp details:Stamp on top:Issued on: September 1, 1948From: Singapore, Crown Colony of SingaporeMC #1Middle stamp:Issued on: August 9, 1966From: Singapore, Republic of SingaporeMC #74Stamp on bottom:Issued on: August 5, 2015From: Singapore, Republic of SingaporeMC #BL213Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: Yes (since September 21, 1965)Official name: Republic of Singapore; Republik Singapura; 新加坡共和国; சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசுMember of the Universal Postal Union: Yes (since January 8, 1966) -- source link

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