Early history of Singapore

The early history of Singapore refers to its pre-colonial era before 1819, when the British East India Company (EIC) led by Stamford Raffles established a trading settlement on the island and set in motion the history of modern Singapore.

Prior to 1819, the island was known by several names. An early reference may be in the 2nd century work by Ptolemy which identified a coastal port at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, called Sabana. However, historians generally attribute a 3rd-century Chinese traveller's record describing an island at the same location called Pú Luó Zhōng (Chinese: 蒲羅中), a transcription of Singapore's early Malay name Pulau Ujong, as the first recording of its existence.

Singapore was known in the 13th to 14th century as Temasek, with its name being changed to Singapura perhaps towards the end of 14th century by Sang Nila Utama, the founder of Kingdom of Singapura. The island was alternately claimed during this period by the Siamese and the Javanese. The last ruler of the kingdom, Parameswara, fled to Malacca following an attack by either the Javanese or the Siamese and established the Malacca Sultanate. The island was controlled by the latter in the 15th century and the Johor Sultanate from the 16th century, before briefly falling into obscurity until its founding as a British colony in the 19th century.