 Before Raffles arrived , there were around 1 @,@ 000 people living in Singapore , mostly Malays and a few dozen Chinese . By 1869 , due to migration from Malaya and other parts of Asia , Singapore 's population had reached 100 @,@ 000 . Many Chinese and Indian immigrants came to Singapore to work in the rubber plantations and tin mines , and their descendants later formed the bulk of Singapore 's population . 
