History of Singapore II, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Facing severe unemployment and a housing crisis, Singapore embarked on a modernization programme beginning in the late 1960s through the 1970s that focused on establishing a
Imperial Federation Imperial Federation The Imperial Federation was a proposal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create a federal union in place of the existing British Empire. The project was championed by Unionists such as Joseph Chamberlain as an alternative to William Gladstone's proposals for home rule. At the time, the British Empire consisted of many colonies, some of which were largely self-governing dominions (Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) and others were not (India, West Indies, Fiji). The future of the empire remained uncertain, as it was unclear what the end result would be if all colonies