Singapore's modern history began in the early 19th century as part of the Straits Settlements, a collection of British colonies on the Malayan Peninsula on the trade route between India and China. Originally governed from Bengal, by 1867 the Straits Settlements became separate entities ruled from London.
Singapore's importance in global trade relations grew soon thereafter, with trade flowing between China, India and Europe through an ideally located harbor. As the Malay penninsula became the source of raw materials like tin and rubber essential to industrialization, they passed through Singapore. Merchants from all over the world, especially Britain, China and India set up trading houses in Singapore. A short-lived merger with Malaysia did not last, and since 1965 Singapore has been a flourishing independent nation state.