Emily Stehr

Interesting History of Singapore Emily Stehr

Word Origin and History of Singapore: "An island on the Strait of Singapore, off the south tip of the Malay Peninsula. "An independent republic comprising this island and a few adjacent islets: member of the Commonwealth of Nations; formerly a British crown colony (1946-59) and member of the federation of Malaysia (1963-65). 220 square mi (570 square km). "A seaport in and the capital of this republic. "From Sanskrit Simhapuram 'Lion City', from simhah 'lion' and puram 'city', from Proto-Indo-European *pele- 'citadel, fortified high place' (see polis). The name is perhaps metaphoric of something, as no lions are found there. Singapore sling attested from 1930; said on the island to have been invented there 1915 by a barman named Ngian Tong Dron." http: //www.dictionary.com/browse/singapore Florence Marryat; Gup: Sketches of Anglo-Indian Life and Character; R Bentley; 1868 Florence Marryat writes: "There are a great number of tigers about Singapore and the adjacent islands, and sometimes they swim across from the mainland and frighten the residents into fits. "Once whilst I stayed at Penang, a large tigress swam on shore, perfectly exhausted, and had her brains knocked out as she lay panting on the beach. In Singapore the 'man-eating' tigers are so numerous, that natives are said to be carried off at the rate of a man a day, and so used have they become to such accidents, that when a Chinese cooly sees a tiger trotting after him, with an evident view to dining, he quietly sits down and resigns himself to his fate."