The best tours in Singapore will all have one thing in common: They will talk about the founder of Singapore - Sir Stamford Raffles! Raffles was born on a boat and visited a boarding school. He started working for the British East India Company when he was 14 years of age. His time in Asia started in Penang working for the governor. Sir Raffles set out to find another base for the British in order to avoid the high taxes and rules set by the Dutch at that time.
Singapore was a perfect choice! It was right in the middle of China and British India which was a very important opium trade route for the British. In 1823, Raffles drafted a series of administrative regulations for Singapore, which followed a fair and moralistic stance, outlawing gambling, imposing heavy taxation on what he considered social evils such as drunkenness and opium-smoking, and banned slavery. A specific regulation in the constitution called for the multiethnic population to remain as they were, and no crimes were entirely based on racial principles. On your Singapore guided tours from the airport, you will definitely pass the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. Ask your Singapore tour guide to tell you more details about Singapore's exciting history!
