 Raffles returned to Bencoolen soon after the signing of the treaty and left Major William Farquhar in charge of the new settlement , with some artillery and a small regiment of Indian soldiers . Establishing a trading port from scratch was a daunting endeavor . Farquhar 's administration was fairly funded and was prohibited from collecting port duties to raise revenue as Raffles had decided that Singapore would be a free port . Farquhar invited settlers to Singapore , and stationed a British official on St. John 's Island to invite passing ships to stop in Singapore . As news of the free port spread across the archipelago , Bugis , Peranakan Chinese , and Arab traders flocked to the island , seeking to circumvent the Dutch trade restrictions . During the starting year of operation , $ 400 @,@ 000 ( Spanish dollars ) worth of trade passed through Singapore . By 1821 , the island 's population had gone up to around 5 @,@ 000 , and the trade volume was $ 8 million . The population reached the 10 @,@ 000 mark in 1825 , and with a trade volume of $ 22 million , Singapore surpassed the long @-@ established port of Penang . 
