Singapore has always been at the crossroads of maritime trade, never more so than under British colonial rule. Under the British Crown, a lot of changes occurred in the architecture of the putative city, including harbour-front shops and warehouses. This picture is from the 1910’s when the pre-WWI economy of Singapore was at an all-time high. Apart from global trade, as we can see from this sea of boats, Singapore attracted hundreds of small traders every day. Today Singapore’s port is probably the busiest in the world, doing business with over a hundred countries spread over six continents.