Singapore （Singapore）
According to Malay legend（馬來傳說）， a Sumatran （蘇門答臘人）prince encountered a lion - considered a good omen - on Temasek， prompting him to found Singapura， or Lion City. It mattered little that lions had never inhabited Singapore （more likely the prince had seen a tiger）； what did matter was the establishment of the region as a minor trading post for the powerful Sumatran Srivijaya empire and as a subsequent vassal state （封建時(shí)代的諸侯國）of the Javanese（爪哇人的）Majapahit empire in the mid-13th century.
Singapore might have remained a quiet backwater（荒僻處）if not for Sir Stamford Raffles' intervention in 1819. The British had first established a presence in the Straits of Malacca （now called Melaka）（馬六甲海峽）in the 18th century when the East India Company set out to secure and protect its line of trade from China to the colonies in India. Fearing another resurgence（卷土重來）of expansionism（擴(kuò)張主義）in the Dutch - which had been the dominant European trading power in the region for nearly 200 years - Raffles（廢棄的物品）argued for an increased British presence， which he was promptly given. Under his tutelage（指導(dǎo)，托管）， Singapore's forlorn（荒涼的） reputation as a fetid（有惡臭的）， disease-ridden （疾病盛行）colony was soon forgotten. Migrants attracted by a tariff-free port poured in by the thousands， and a flourishing colony with a military and naval base was established.
According to Malay legend（馬來傳說）， a Sumatran （蘇門答臘人）prince encountered a lion - considered a good omen - on Temasek， prompting him to found Singapura， or Lion City. It mattered little that lions had never inhabited Singapore （more likely the prince had seen a tiger）； what did matter was the establishment of the region as a minor trading post for the powerful Sumatran Srivijaya empire and as a subsequent vassal state （封建時(shí)代的諸侯國）of the Javanese（爪哇人的）Majapahit empire in the mid-13th century.
Singapore might have remained a quiet backwater（荒僻處）if not for Sir Stamford Raffles' intervention in 1819. The British had first established a presence in the Straits of Malacca （now called Melaka）（馬六甲海峽）in the 18th century when the East India Company set out to secure and protect its line of trade from China to the colonies in India. Fearing another resurgence（卷土重來）of expansionism（擴(kuò)張主義）in the Dutch - which had been the dominant European trading power in the region for nearly 200 years - Raffles（廢棄的物品）argued for an increased British presence， which he was promptly given. Under his tutelage（指導(dǎo)，托管）， Singapore's forlorn（荒涼的） reputation as a fetid（有惡臭的）， disease-ridden （疾病盛行）colony was soon forgotten. Migrants attracted by a tariff-free port poured in by the thousands， and a flourishing colony with a military and naval base was established.