Today in History: Raffles Founds a Trading Post

On this date, February 6, 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 38, announces the formation of a tax-free trading post at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.  The absence of tax and regulations brings several hundred traders within a few weeks.  The settlement will later grow up to be the nation of Singapore.  (Photo: Ricky W., GNU License, Wikipedia)

[Frank Snyder]