User: Tell me the history of Singapore
Assistant: Singapore was founded on 6 February 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. Singapore started out as a British colony, where a free trading port was established for ships passing through the Malacca Straits. Singapore continued to thrive and became an important port globally which attracted many Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab traders to operate in Singapore.

Singapore continued to prosper for many years until World War II. On 15 February 1942, the British surrendered to Japan and Singapore was renamed to Syonan-to. During the Japanese occupation, over 2500 lives were executed and many suffered hardships.

Post World War II, Singapore operated as a self-government led by Lee Kuan Yew, reducing its reliance on the British. During 1963 to 1965, Singapore had a merger with neighbouring country Malayisa. However, the merger brought about many disagreement, tensions and unrest. Eventually, Singapore separated from Malaysia and became a fully independent country on 9 August 1965.