Evidence suggests that the island of Singapore has been inhabited for approximately 4,000 years. It was part of several different Asian empires namely the Majapahit Empire and the Malacca Sultanate, being destroyed and rebuilt several times. Direct British involvement dates to when, in 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, representing the British East India Company, recognized the value of the harbor for shipping. In 1824, the British purchased Singapore Island and it rapidly grew as a major shipping port. When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it became a major stopping point for the steamships plying their way between European and Asian ports. It remained a British Crown Colony, as part of the Straits Settlements until 1946. In 1938, a massive undertaking to improve the harbor and facilities was completed. Shortly after, the Japanese recognized the strategic value of this infrastructure and captured it in 1942. Many thousands of Chinese and others died as a result of massacres that took place at the start of this occupation. At the end of World War II, it returned to British control.

In the post-war period, Singapore gradually moved towards the path of self determination with the first elections held in 1955, and finally Independence 11 years later. In 1959, the People's Action Party  won the election with its leader Lee Kuan Yew the first prime minister. Lee Kuan Yew is regarded as a visionary and by many as the father of modern Singapore. His influence has spanned nearly half a century and has contributed to what Singapore has become in the modern era.