question: Hvorfor grundlagde raffles en bosættelse i singapore?
context: Founding of modern Singapore
  I 1818 blev Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles udnævnt til guvernørløjtnant for den britiske koloni på Bencoolen. Raffles mente, at briterne skulle finde en måde at udfordre hollændernes dominans i området på. Handelsruten mellem Kina og Britisk Indien gik gennem Malakkastrædet, og med den voksende handel med Kina ville denne rute blive stadig vigtigere. Hollænderne havde imidlertid en stram kontrol over handelen i området og havde til hensigt at håndhæve deres kompagnifartøjers eneret til at drive handel, og at handelen skulle foregå i deres mellemhavn Batavia. Britiske handelsskibe blev hårdt beskattet i hollandske havne, hvilket kvæler den britiske handel i regionen.
context_en: Founding of modern Singapore
  In 1818, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the British colony at Bencoolen. Raffles believed that the British should find a way to challenge the dominance of the Dutch in the area. The trade route between China and British India passed through the Malacca Strait, and with the growing trade with China, that route would become increasingly important. However, the Dutch had tight control over the trade in the region and intended to enforce the exclusive rights of its company ships to trade, and that trade should be conducted at its entrepot Batavia. British trading ships were heavily taxed at Dutch ports, stifling British trade in the region.
title_en: Founding of modern Singapore