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&rsquos 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&rsquos port is probably the busiest in the world, doing business with over a hundred countries spread over six continents.