Founding of modern Singapore

Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company landed on the Singapore River in January 1819 and, on 6 February, signed a treaty with a Johor prince and the local Temenggong allowing a trading post. Run as a free port, the settlement drew Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab traders and grew into the hub of British Southeast Asia. Earlier, a 14th-century Malay port stood here.