Singapore is truly a cosmopolitan country made up of three distinct cultures. They are the Malay, Chinese and Indian.

The Malays traveled between the mainland of Malaya and the island of Singapore for hundreds of years. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles who made his first trip up the Singapore River noticed a small Malay village of around 100 to 200 villagers. Most Malays live around Arab Street and Geylang Serai.

Arriving initially on Junk Boats in early 1821 the Chinese sailed from the southern most ports of mainland China. The Hokkiens are the largest type of Chinese settlers in Singapore who still are speaking their own dialect of Hokkien. Most Chinese originally settled around the renown Chinatown district. Marriages between Chinese men and Malay women are known as Peranakans. They were also the first to speak English as the main language and to migrate to more western customs.

The Indians of Singapore settled in the famous Little India quarter. They originally came from Sri Lanka or the southern parts of India. The British were also responsible for bringing in hundreds of Indians for cheap labour starting in 1823 to work on infrastructure like roads and buildings. In the last half of the 20th century it had been necessary to curb the immigration of new Indians by reducing quotas.

Little India Quarter