Lee Kuan Yew, born in 1923 and passing away in 2015 at the age of 91, is widely recognized as the father of the city-state of Singapore. Journalist Fareed Zakaria, who has interviewed nearly every significant global figure over the last 35 years, identified Lee as the most interesting person he has ever spoken with. Despite his global stature, many remain unfamiliar with the man who turned a small Southeast Asian island into an economic powerhouse from what was once described as having mosquitoes as its only raw material.
The Republic of Singapore consists of one main island and over a hundred smaller adjacent islands, covering just 744 square kilometers. This area is roughly twice the size of Sintra in Portugal. Due to its diminutive size, the nation's air force must train on bases located abroad in Australia, the United States, and France, as military aircraft cannot remain within Singaporean airspace or fly over neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia. Despite this small footprint, the country is home to six million people, with 75% to 77% of the population being of Chinese descent.
The demographic composition of Singapore is rooted in the broader Chinese diaspora across Asia. While Chinese merchants had long operated in Southeast Asia, a massive migration of laborers occurred in the mid-19th century to work in mines and plantations under European administration. Today, an estimated 40 million people of Chinese origin live outside mainland China in this region. Singapore itself has been a cosmopolitan trading hub since medieval times, situated strategically at the Straits of Malacca, a critical chokepoint for commerce between the Far East, the Middle East, and the West.
The modern history of the island began in 1819 when British official Stamford Raffles secured a concession from a local sultan to establish a trading post for the British East India Company. Although initially opposed by the Dutch, who dominated the nearby Indonesian archipelago, they eventually recognized British presence through an 1824 treaty. Singapore became part of the British Straits Settlements, evolving from a settlement with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants in 1819 to a population of 80,000 by 1860. This rapid growth was driven by its development as a major export port for Malaysian rubber plantations, attracting Chinese and Indian immigrants.
By the early 20th century, Singapore also hosted one of the world's largest British naval bases, occupying nearly 10% of the island's surface. However, this fortress fell to Japanese forces in February 1942, resulting in the largest military surrender in British history. The subsequent occupation saw a brutal massacre of the Chinese population, with estimates ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 deaths, as the Japanese viewed the community as potentially hostile.
Following World War II, the path to independence was complex. In 1946, Singapore was separated from Malaya and became a distinct colony. It gained internal self-government in 1959 but joined Malaysia in 1963. This union lasted only two years. The Malaysian political elite, concerned about maintaining Malay supremacy and wary of the large, dynamic Chinese population in Singapore potentially dominating the government or having communist ties, voted to expel Singapore on August 9, 1965.
In 1965, Singapore was left as an independent nation with only two million inhabitants, many of whom were temporary workers. The island lacked natural resources such as oil, rubber, or aluminum and covered only 580 square kilometers at the time, having since reclaimed land to reach its current size. Despite these apparent disadvantages, Singapore was already wealthier than Malaysia in 1965, with a per capita GDP 1.6 times higher, thanks to its established port, banking sector, and service industries. Lee Kuan Yew's leadership would subsequently guide this resource-poor but strategically located nation through an unprecedented economic transformation.
Sources: Observador.