Q 01/05

The name Singapura, from which Singapore comes, means what in Sanskrit?

A) Golden port

B) Lion city

C) Island of peace

D) Southern gate

Answer · why

B) Lion city

Legend says the Palembang prince Sang Nila Utama saw a strange beast he took for a lion when he landed on the island in the 13th century.

Q 02/05

What was the island called before it became Singapura, according to the Malay Annals?

A) Temasek

B) Melaka

C) Riau

D) Johor

Answer · why

A) Temasek

Sang Nila Utama landed there on a hunting trip. Temasek is still used as a name for Singapore's sovereign wealth fund.

Q 03/05

Roughly how far north of the equator is Singapore?

A) One degree

B) Five degrees

C) Ten degrees

D) It sits on the equator

Answer · why

A) One degree

About 137 kilometres. It sits off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea.

Q 04/05

In which year did Stamford Raffles arrive and negotiate a British trading post on the island?

A) 1819

B) 1826

C) 1842

D) 1867

Answer · why

A) 1819

He landed on 28 January and struck a treaty with Johor. Singapore became a Crown colony in 1867.

Q 05/05

Besides founding modern Singapore, Stamford Raffles was the first president of which institution?

A) The Royal Geographical Society

B) The Zoological Society of London

C) The British Museum

D) The East India Company

Answer · why

B) The Zoological Society of London

He founded it in 1825, along with London Zoo. The giant Rafflesia flower is also named after him.