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Quarantine has forced my hand at experimenting with light and macro shots. The image above is heat shrink tubing used in electronics manufacturing/repair.

My first on Getty - Repost on Flickr

  

This panorama of San Diego Skyline has to be Viewed Large On Black

 

Good morning "San Diego Sunrise" is taken entering San Diego Bay

 

This image is dedicated to all my Flickr Friends in the US

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article is about the city in California. For the metropolitan area, see San Diego metropolitan area. For other meanings of "San Diego", see San Diego (disambiguation).

San Diego

— City —

City of San Diego

From top San Diego Skyline, middle left - Coronado Bridge, middle right — museum in Balboa Park, bottom - Hotel del Coronado

 

Location of San Diego

within San Diego County

San Diego is located in the USA

San Diego

Location in the United States

 

Country United States

State California California

County San Diego

Demonym San Diegans

Founded July 16, 1769

Incorporated March 27, 1850

Area

- City 372.1 sq mi (963.6 km2)

- Land 324.3 sq mi (840.0 km2)

- Water 47.7 sq mi (123.5 km2)

Elevation 72-400 ft (22 m)

Population (January 1, 2010)[1]

- City 1,306,300 (8th In US)

- Density 4,174.8/sq mi (1,611.9/km2)

- Urban 2,880,000

- Metro 3,053,793

Demonym San Diegan

Time zone PST (UTC-8)

- Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)

 

Website www.sandiego.gov/

 

San Diego (pronounced /ˌsæn diːˈeɪɡoʊ/), named after Saint Didacus (Spanish: Diego de Alcalá), is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California, after Los Angeles, with a population of 1,306,300 (Jan 2010) within its administrative limits on a land area of 372.1 square miles (963.7 km2). The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. The urban area of San Diego extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 2,880,000. San Diego is also the county seat of San Diego County[2], the 5th largest county, by population, in the United States.

 

The city is the economic center of the San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos Metropolitan Area considered congruent with the county. The city was rated the fifth-best place to live in the United States in 2006 by Money magazine.[3] According to Forbes magazine, San Diego is the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States and the 9th safest city in the top 10 list of safest cities in the U.S.[4] San Diego's top four industries are manufacturing, defense, tourism, and agriculture.[5] San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship repair, ship construction, software development, telecommunications, wireless research, and tourism. The presence of the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center promotes research in biotechnology.[6] San Diego is also designated as an iHub Innovation Center by Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Office of Economic Development.[7][8]

Two images, merged,

Electronics manufacturing industry.

North Fraser Way.,

Glenlyon Business Park, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

The first inhabitants of the Bulimba area were members of the Aboriginal community, mainly from the Coorparoo and Chepara clans whose lands ranged south of the river. Because the land had an ample water supply, fauna and flora were plentiful making the area an excellent food gathering ground for Aboriginal people and later for Europeans.

 

After the Moreton Bay region was opened for free settlement in 1842, David McConnel, having established a station at Cressbrook, bought much of the first land offered for sale in Bulimba and soon after built a home for himself and new wife Mary McLeod. The McConnel’s home, Bulimba House, was built by Andrew Petrie in 1850 becoming one of the first substantial residences in the colony. The home was built from grey freestone obtained from a quarry lower down the river and the land was cleared for agriculture.

 

The river was the main avenue of transport for the early European occupants. The overland route passed through Galloways Hill and on to the track linking Cleveland to Brisbane following it through Woolloongabba and South Brisbane. Rowing across the river to Newstead and travelling through Fortitude Valley to the city was an easier journey than the land route which skirted Norman Creek. Sam Buckley may have run an unofficial ferry across the river from about 1850. Bulimba residents and farmers applied for the construction of a bridge across Norman Creek to improve overland access and in about 1856 the first bridge over Norman Creek was opened.

 

While farming was the main activity in the district, a large tin smelting works was also established near the ferry giving employment to a considerable number of people. During the latter part of 1866, Messrs Smith, Price and Harvey were reported as having discovered nuggets and particles of gold along the banks of the Brisbane River opposite the Breakfast Creek. While some alluvial deposits were found and a shaft sunk into the main quartz reef, the mine did not become a major industry in the area.

 

The 1880s saw the beginnings of more urban and industrial development in the area. Many of the large land holdings were subdivided and sold as housing estates and with the concomitant rise in the population, commercial services were established. The proximity to the river and adjoining creeks also provided ideal conditions for industry to develop.

 

The Apollo candle factory was built in 1880 near the present Apollo Road. The yard covered about 25 acres and the factory produced candles, soap and oil. It amalgamated with J. Kitchen & Sons of South Brisbane in 1885 and continued production well into the twentieth century, despite being inundated by floods and suffering a fire in 1909. On the northern side of the river at Newstead, industrial developments in the form of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company and the gas works as well as the wharves provided employment opportunities for residents of the Bulimba area as transport across the river by ferry was an established service.

 

In 1925 the tramlines were extended into the district along Hawthorne Road as far as Barton Road increasing the accessibility of the south eastern parts of the district. Services were extended to Oxford Street in 1935. The cross river ferries, both passenger and vehicular, continued to be a major form of transport with their importance to the district being emphasised by the construction of a shop and dwelling at Hawthorne ferry in 1921 and the Addison-designed Bulimba ferry house in 1922. Buses also serviced the district often connecting with the ferries.

 

Although Australia had been at war with Germany since 1939, the impact of war increased dramatically after the Japanese entered it in 1941. The Japanese forces swept south through Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies and had reached New Guinea by January, 1942. Northern Australia became a major staging point. General Headquarters South West Pacific Area, under the command of US General Douglas MacArthur, was also moved to Brisbane in July 1942. An unprecedented military build-up followed. The concentration of US troops alone was heaviest in south-east Queensland, reaching a peak of 75 500 in December 1943. Camps, airfields, construction and recreational facilities specifically for the US Army were erected in Brisbane during the war.

 

As with the rest of Brisbane, the coming of the Second World War brought enormous changes to the Bulimba district. The river became an important defence site and industries associated with the war effort were located nearby. As numerous local men and women enlisted in the war effort the area became the base of a variety of Australian and overseas war activities. Australian soldiers were stationed in bunkers and gun emplacements on Bulimba Point protecting the American submarine base at New Farm, the wharves and the city of Brisbane. Anti-aircraft batteries were also located at the rear of Balmoral Cemetery and staffed by WAAAF personnel.

 

The Apollo Barge Assembly Depot was swiftly built by the United States Forces on land that had been acquired by the Commonwealth of Australia in March 1943. The American military built six large warehouses, one of which was the workshop. Several peripheral buildings, such as accommodation and latrines, were also built on the site but were not retained after the war. As is suggested by the name, the U.S barges were assembled at the Bulimba base. The steel components were shipped in via the Brisbane River and delivered by barge to the assembly depot. In a Memo dated 11 August 1943 from the U.S Army the requirements needed for the establishment of the Assembly Depot were outlined. The cost of the facility, which was termed a priority, was to be ₤481 400. Facilities to be included were:

 

(i) Ship and gun crew training station in conjunction with approved camp site for 1,800 men.

 

(ii) Installation and outfitting of 100 refrigeration barges, oil barges and ships repair facilities.

 

(iii) Construction of four or more, floating dry docks, 250’ to 350’ long by 50’ to 60’ wide, and 12 or more floating work-shops 150’ x 30’ x 3’

 

(iv) Construction of 400 wooden barges, 80x32x8’

 

The position of the Apollo Barge Assembly Depot was tantamount to its importance as a military vessel supply base. During the Second World War a wide wharf was constructed for the Assembly Depot that allowed an efficient means of distribution. Once assembled, the barges were shipped out as deck cargo to the conflict in the Pacific. Each barge, measuring approximately eighteen metres by eight metres and with two refrigeration units, was designed as a supply vessel that would be deployed into secured territory in the Pacific region of the war. The workers within the assembly depot were mainly Chinese. Approximately one thousand Chinese workers were housed in the barracks.

 

With the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the departure of the American Military Forces from Brisbane the Apollo Barge Assembly Depot became the base for the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The RAEME, was a division of the Australian Regular Army that were responsible for the maintenance of all land electrical and mechanical equipment. In April 1945 the Quarter-Master General of the Australian Army outlined the agreement with the United States Military relating to the hand over of the Bulimba site. It stated:

 

At Conference today with Commanding General Base Section USASOS and Brig-Gen Johnson, GPA, an undertaking was given that the US Authorities would release the Bulimba site to the Australian Army as soon as practicable and possibly not later than the beginning of May. The US Authorities will proceed forthwith to clear stores and equipment now held on the site to the open storage area adjacent or in the vicinity of the Chinese Camp.

 

As well as re-using the already existing military workshops and warehouses on the site, the RAEME moved several buildings from their previous Kangaroo Point site. In October 1946 a training school was established in the army buildings. Later workshops and administration buildings were added as the site grew to be a major base for carpentry, metal fabrication and machining, and electronics manufacturing and repairs for Telecom and some outside businesses.

 

The most historically significant buildings on the site are those built by the United States Forces on the base during the Second World War.

 

Source: Brisbane City Council Heritage Register.

Early-70s vintage JDM, found tucked-away in a dark corner. Has most of a clearly-built motor... was somebody's baby at one point.

Last flick before I started hearing voices and shut down. Turned out to be a bunch of idiot kids on the roof, throwing tires from the water tower and through the skylights. I gave them shit and GTFO -- I've already been busted once, this year, on account of other people's stupidity. A second group was coming in as I was leaving, they were more chill.

 

The more I look at the wood roof, the more I feel this place is probably gonna burn at some point. Chicago's lost several old factories like this to huge blazes, in recent years.

austin, texas

1977

 

silicone wafer

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

This room smelled bad.

This building near the riverfront in Camden NJ was built in 1915 as the executive office building for Victor Talking Machine Company, which was acquired by RCA in 1930 and became RCA Victor. Besides offices the building contained a auditorium used as a theater, banquet hall and to make recordings. The building is now the Camden Board of Education administration building. It is one of the few buildings left in what was a large electronics manufacturing and engineering complex.

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

Electronic Manufacturing Services in India. Techno Advance Systems also provide Electronic Contract Manufacturing Services in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad. Techno Advance Systems is the partner of choice for industrial electronics companies with our world class electronics manufacturing services (EMS) – from development support to new product introduction.

This is a man's dress belt buckle created as a birthday gift for one of our long-standing customers. He is a very highly placed executive in the electronics manufacturing industry.

Sterling silver, computer circuit board. Fabricated

Another vehicle - a GMC van, hidden in an otherwise pitch-dark warehouse that was once large enough to pull boxcars through. Probably wouldn't take much to get this running, again.

Singapore (Malay: Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Ciŋkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Republik Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡共和国; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu), is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.

 

The British East India Company established a trading post on the island in 1819. The main settlement up to that point was a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived around the coast, rivers and smaller islands. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route.[3] It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire. Winston Churchill called it "Britain's greatest defeat" when it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II.[4] Singapore reverted to British rule in 1945. In 1963, it merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Less than two years later it split from the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on September 21 that same year.

 

Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has increased. A state-led industrialization drive, aided by foreign direct investment has created a modern economy based on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade. Singapore is the 17th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[5] The small nation has a foreign reserve of S$222 billion (US$147 billion).[6]

 

The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic.[7] The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.[8]

 

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This letter dated 1917 was salvaged from the walls of the home William Both built on the corner of Hwy #41 and Glastonbury Road in Northbrook (now the REMAX office). Oftentimes board siding was covered on the inside walls with newspaper, catalogues or anything to fill the cracks and act as insulation.

 

This letter has a connection to Northbrook as this was probably the company that supplied the early telephone equipment to the area.

 

Stromberg-Carlson was a telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing company in the US formed in 1894 as a partnership by Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson. It was one of five companies that controlled the national supply of telephone equipment until after WWII. In 1894, Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone expired. Stromberg and Carlson, Chicago employees of the American Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T), each invested $500 to establish a firm to manufacture equipment, primarily subscriber sets, for sale to independent telephone companies.

 

In the case of Northbrook, James Vogen Telephone was the first telephone company who likely purchased equipment from Stromberg-Carlson. Ellery Thompson purchased the company from James (Jimmy) Vogen and created Kaladar & Northern Telephone System.

 

Part of the Ellery Thompson Collection

Note: All CDHS Flickr content is available for the public use (non-commercial) providing our Rights Statement is followed:

pioneer.mazinaw.on.ca/flickr_statement.php

Looking for electronics manufacturing? Link-Access is your number one souce.

Tamil Nadu ([ˈt̪ɐmɨɻ ˈn̪aːɽɯ], "Tamil Country"), formerly Madras State, is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian subcontinent and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bounded by the Eastern Ghats on the north, by the Nilgiri Mountains, the Meghamalai Hills, and Kerala on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait on the southeast, and by the Indian Ocean on the south. The state shares a maritime border with the nation of Sri Lanka.

 

The region was ruled by several empires, including the three great empires – Chola, Chera, and Pandyan empires, which shape the region's cuisine, culture, and architecture. The British Colonial rule during the modern period led to the emergence of Chennai, then known as Madras, as a world-class city. Modern-day Tamil Nadu was formed in 1956 after the reorganization of states on linguistic lines. The state is home to a number of historic buildings, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, hill stations and three World Heritage sites.

 

Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. The economy of Tamil Nadu is the second-largest state economy in India with ₹16.05 lakh crore (US$230 billion) in gross domestic product after Maharashtra and a per capita GDP of ₹186,000 (US$2,700). Tamil Nadu has the sixth highest ranking among Indian states in human development index.[6] It was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a "Multidimensional Development Index" in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India. Its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world.

 

HISTORY

PREHISTORY

Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula. In Attirampakkam, archaeologists from the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education excavated ancient stone tools which suggests that a humanlike population existed in the Tamil Nadu region somewhere around 300,000 years before homo sapiens arrived from Africa. In Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli, archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearthed 169 clay urns containing human skulls, skeletons, bones, husks, grains of rice, charred rice and celts of the Neolithic period, 3,800 years ago. The ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is "very rudimentary" Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as an archaeological site for further excavation and studies. About 60 per cent of the total epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu, and most of these are in the Tamil language.

 

INDUS VALLEY SCIPT BETWEEN 2000 and 1500 BCE

A Neolithic stone celt (a hand-held axe) with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu. According to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. According to Mahadevan, the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, and therefore that the "Neolithic people of the Tamil country spoke a Harappan language". The date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. Though this finding remains contested, like the claim of historian Michel Danino who rubbishes the theory of the latter’s southward migration in a paper he presented at the International Symposium on Indus Civilisation and Tamil Language in 2007. He wrote: ‘There is no archaeological evidence of a southward migration through the Deccan after the end of the urban phase of the Indus- Sarasvati civilization… The only actual evidence of movements at that period is of Late Harappans migrating towards the Ganges plains and towards Gujarat... Migration apart, there is a complete absence of Harappan artefacts and features south of the Vindhyas: no Harappan designs on pottery, no Harappan seals, crafts and ornaments, no trace of Harappan urbanism… Cultural continuity from Harappan to historical times has been increasingly documented in North India, but not in the South… This means, in effect, that the south-bound Late Harappans would have reverted from an advanced urban bronze-age culture to a Neolithic one! Their migration to South would thus constitute a double “archaeological miracle”: apart from being undetectable on the ground, it implies that the migrants experienced a total break with all their traditions. Such a phenomenon is unheard of.

 

SANGAM PERIOD (500 BCE – 300 CE)

The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature. Numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about eight centuries, from 500 BC to AD 300. The recent excavations in Alagankulam archaeological site suggests that Alagankulam is one of the important trade centre or port city in Sangam Era.

 

BHAKTI MOVEMENT

The Bhakti movement originated in the Tamil speaking region of South India and rapidly spread bhakti poetry and devotion north through India, beginning with the Saiva Nayanars (4th–10th centuries) and the Vaisnava Alvars.

 

MIDDLE KINGDOMS (600–1300 CE)

During the 4th to 8th centuries, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallava dynasty under Mahendravarman I and his son Mamalla Narasimhavarman I. The Pallavas ruled parts of South India with Kanchipuram as their capital. Tamil architecture reached its peak during Pallava rule. Narasimhavarman II built the Shore Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Much later, the Pallavas were replaced by the Chola dynasty as the dominant kingdom in the 9th century and they in turn were replaced by the Pandyan Dynasty in the 13th century. The Pandyan capital Madurai was in the deep south away from the coast. They had extensive trade links with the south east Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors, as well as contacts, even formal diplomatic contacts, reaching as far as the Roman Empire. During the 13th century, Marco Polo mentioned the Pandyas as the richest empire in existence. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.[40] The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature. They controlled the pearl fisheries along the south coast of India, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world.

 

CHOLA EMPIRE

During the 9th century, the Chola dynasty was once again revived by Vijayalaya Chola, who established Thanjavur as Chola's new capital by conquering central Tamil Nadu from Mutharaiyar and the Pandya king Varagunavarman II. Aditya I and his son Parantaka I expanded the kingdom to the northern parts of Tamil Nadu by defeating the last Pallava king, Aparajitavarman. Parantaka Chola II expanded the Chola empire into what is now interior Andhra Pradesh and coastal Karnataka, while under the great Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose to a notable power in south east Asia. Now the Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal and Sri Lanka. At its peak, the empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km2. Rajaraja Chola conquered all of peninsular south India and parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola's navy went even further, occupying coasts from Burma (now ) to Vietnam, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, Philippines[41] in South East Asia and Pegu islands. He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The Cholas were prolific temple builders right from the times of the first medieval king Vijayalaya Chola. These are the earliest specimen of Dravidian temples under the Cholas. His son Aditya I built several temples around the Kanchi and Kumbakonam regions. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power and built some of the most imposing religious structures in their lifetime and they also renovated temples and buildings of the Pallavas, acknowledging their common socio-religious and cultural heritage. The celebrated Nataraja temple at Chidambaram and the Sri Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangam held special significance for the Cholas which have been mentioned in their inscriptions as their tutelary deities. Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola built temples such as the Brihadeshvara Temple of Thanjavur and Brihadeshvara Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the Airavatesvara Temple of Darasuram and the Sarabeswara (Shiva) Temple, also called the Kampahareswarar Temple at Thirubhuvanam, the last two temples being located near Kumbakonam. The first three of the above four temples are titled Great Living Chola Temples among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

VIJAYANAGAR AND NAYAK PERIOD (1336–1646)

The Muslim invasions of southern India triggered the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire with Vijayanagara in modern Karnataka as its capital. The Vijayanagara empire eventually conquered the entire Tamil country by c. 1370 and ruled for almost two centuries until its defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a confederacy of Deccan sultanates. Subsequently, as the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after the mid-16th century, many local rulers, called Nayaks, succeeded in gaining the trappings of independence. This eventually resulted in the further weakening of the empire; many Nayaks declared themselves independent, among whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjore were the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links with the Vijayanagara kingdom. The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most prominent of Nayaks in the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Meenakshi Temple.

 

POWER STRUGGLES OF THE 18TH CENTURY (1688–1802)

By the early 18th century, the political scene in Tamil Nadu saw a major change-over and was under the control of many minor rulers aspiring to be independent. The fall of the Vijayanagara empire and the Chandragiri Nayakas gave the sultanate of Golconda a chance to expand into the Tamil heartland. When the sultanate was incorporated into the Mughal Empire in 1688, the northern part of current-day Tamil Nadu was administrated by the nawab of the Carnatic, who had his seat in Arcot from 1715 onward. Meanwhile, to the south, the fall of the Thanjavur Nayaks led to a short-lived Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The fall of the Madurai Nayaks brought up many small Nayakars of southern Tamil Nadu, who ruled small parcels of land called palayams. The chieftains of these Palayams were known as Palaiyakkarar (or 'polygar' as called by British) and were ruling under the nawabs of the Carnatic.

 

Europeans started to establish trade centres during the 17th century in the eastern coastal regions. Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat, while the Danes had their establishment in Tharangambadi also known as Tranquebar. In 1639, the British, under the East India Company, established a settlement further south of Pulicat, in present-day Chennai. British constructed Fort St. George and established a trading post at Madras. The office of mayoralty of Madras was established in 1688. The French established trading posts at Pondichéry by 1693. The British and French were competing to expand the trade in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu which also witnessed many battles like Battle of Wandiwash as part of the Seven Years' War. British reduced the French dominions in India to Puducherry. Nawabs of the Carnatic bestowed tax revenue collection rights on the East India Company for defeating the Kingdom of Mysore. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah surrendered much of his territory to the East India Company which firmly established the British in the northern parts. In 1762, a tripartite treaty was signed between Thanjavur Maratha, Carnatic and the British by which Thanjavur became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic which eventually ceded to British.

 

In the south, Nawabs granted taxation rights to the British which led to conflicts between British and the Palaiyakkarar, which resulted in series of wars called Polygar war to establish independent states by the aspiring Palaiyakkarar. Puli Thevar was one of the earliest opponents of the British rule in South India. Thevar's prominent exploits were his confrontations with Marudhanayagam, who later rebelled against the British in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Rani Velu Nachiyar, was the first woman freedom fighter of India and Queen of Sivagangai. She was drawn to war after her husband Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar (1750–1772), King of Sivaganga was murdered at Kalayar Kovil temple by British. Before her death, Queen Velu Nachi granted powers to the Maruthu brothers to rule Sivaganga. Kattabomman (1760–1799), Palaiyakkara chief of Panchalakurichi who fought the British in the First Polygar War. He was captured by the British at the end of the war and hanged near Kayattar in 1799. Veeran Sundaralingam (1700–1800) was the General of Kattabomman Nayakan's palayam, who died in the process of blowing up a British ammunition dump in 1799 which killed more than 150 British soldiers to save Kattapomman Palace. Oomaithurai, younger brother of Kattabomman, took asylum under the Maruthu brothers, Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu and raised an army. They formed a coalition with Dheeran Chinnamalai and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja which fought the British in Second Polygar Wars. Dheeran Chinnamalai (1756–1805), Polygar chieftain of Kongu and ally of Tipu Sultan who fought the British in the Second Polygar War. After winning the Polygar wars in 1801, the East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency.

 

PRINCELY STATE OF PUHUKOTTAI (1680–1948 CE)

The Pudhukkottai Thondaimans rose to power over the Pudhukkottai area by the end of the 17th Century. The Pudukkottai kingdom has the distinction of being the only princely state in Tamil Nadu, and only became part of the Indian union in 1948 after independence.

 

BRITISH COLONIAL PERIOD (1801–1947 CE)

At the beginning of the 19th century, the British firmly established governance over entirety of Tamil Nadu. The Vellore mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company, predating the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by half a century. The revolt, which took place in Vellore, was brief, lasting one full day, but brutal as mutineers broke into the Vellore fort and killed or wounded 200 British troops, before they were subdued by reinforcements from nearby Arcot. The British crown took over the control governance from the Company and the remainder of the 19th century did not witness any native resistance until the beginning of 20th century Indian Independence movements. During the administration of Governor George Harris (1854–1859) measures were taken to improve education and increase representation of Indians in the administration. Legislative powers given to the Governor's council under the Indian Councils Act 1861 and 1909 Minto-Morley Reforms eventually led to the establishment of the Madras Legislative Council. Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras Presidency, the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Indian famine of 1896–97. The famine led to migration of people as bonded labours for British to various countries which eventually formed the present Tamil diaspora.

 

POST-INDEPENDENCE (1947-PRESENT)

When India became independent in 1947, Madras presidency became Madras state, comprising present-day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh up to Ganjam district in Odisha, South Canara district Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning "Tamil country".

 

GEOGRAPHY

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km2, and is the eleventh largest state in India. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the north west and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To the east is the Bay of Bengal and the state encircles the union territory of Puducherry. The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.

 

The western, southern and the north western parts are hilly and rich in vegetation. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiri hills. The Western Ghats traverse the entire western border with Kerala, effectively blocking much of the rain bearing clouds of the south west monsoon from entering the state. The eastern parts are fertile coastal plains and the northern parts are a mix of hills and plains. The central and the south central regions are arid plains and receive less rainfall than the other regions.

 

Tamil Nadu has the country's third longest coastline at about 906.9 km. Tamil Nadu's coastline bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when it hit India, which caused 7,793 direct deaths in the state. Tamil Nadu falls mostly in a region of low seismic hazard with the exception of the western border areas that lie in a low to moderate hazard zone; as per the 2002 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) map, Tamil Nadu falls in zones II and III. Historically, parts of this region have experienced seismic activity in the M5.0 range.

 

CLIMATE

Tamil Nadu is mostly dependent on monsoon rains, and thereby is prone to droughts when the monsoons fail. The climate of the state ranges from dry sub-humid to semi-arid. The state has two distinct periods of rainfall:

 

south west monsoon from June to September, with strong southwest winds;

North east monsoon from October to December, with dominant north east winds;

 

The annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm of which 48 per cent is through the north east monsoon, and 32 per cent through the south west monsoon. Since the state is entirely dependent on rains for recharging its water resources, monsoon failures lead to acute water scarcity and severe drought. Tamil Nadu is divided into seven agro-climatic zones: north east, north west, west, southern, high rainfall, high altitude hilly, and Kaveri Delta (the most fertile agricultural zone).

 

FLORA AND FAUNA

There are about 2,000 species of wildlife that are native to Tamil Nadu. Protected areas provide safe habitat for large mammals including elephants, tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, gaurs, lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langurs, Nilgiri tahrs, grizzled giant squirrels and sambar deer, resident and migratory birds such as cormorants, darters, herons, egrets, open-billed storks, spoonbills and white ibises, little grebes, Indian moorhen, black-winged stilts, a few migratory ducks and occasionally grey pelicans, marine species such as the dugongs, turtles, dolphins, Balanoglossus and a wide variety of fish and insects.

 

Indian Angiosperm diversity comprises 17,672 species with Tamil Nadu leading all states in the country, with 5640 species accounting for 1/3 of the total flora of India. This includes 1,559 species of medicinal plants, 533 endemic species, 260 species of wild relatives of cultivated plants and 230 red-listed species. The Gymnosperm diversity of the country is 64 species of which Tamil Nadu has four indigenous species and about 60 introduced species. The Pteridophytes diversity of India includes 1,022 species of which Tamil Nadu has about 184 species. Vast numbers of bryophytes, lichen, fungi, algae and bacteria are among the wild plant diversity of Tamil Nadu.

 

Common plant species include the state tree: palmyra palm, eucalyptus, rubber, cinchona, clumping bamboos (Bambusa arundinacea), common teak, Anogeissus latifolia, Indian laurel, grewia, and blooming trees like Indian labumusum, ardisia, and solanaceae. Rare and unique plant life includes Combretum ovalifolium, ebony (Diospyros nilagrica), Habenaria rariflora (orchid), Alsophila, Impatiens elegans, Ranunculus reniformis, and royal fern.

 

NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS

Tamil Nadu has a wide range of Biomes extending east from the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in the Western Ghats through the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests and Deccan thorn scrub forests to tropical dry broadleaf forests and then to the beaches, estuaries, salt marshes, mangroves, Seagrasses and coral reefs of the Bay of Bengal. The state has a range of flora and fauna with many species and habitats. To protect this diversity of wildlife there are Protected areas of Tamil Nadu as well as biospheres which protect larger areas of natural habitat often include one or more National Parks. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve established in 1986 is a marine ecosystem with seaweed seagrassrass communities, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangrove forests. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve located in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills comprises part of adjoining states of Kerala and Karnataka. The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is in the south west of the state bordering Kerala in the Western Ghats. Tamil Nadu is home to five declared national parks located in Anamalai, Mudumalai, Mukurithi, Gulf of Mannar, Guindy located in the centre of Chennai city and Vandalur located in South Chennai. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Mukurthi National Park and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve are the tiger reserves in the state.

 

GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

The Governor is the constitutional head of the state while the Chief Minister is the head of the government and the head of the council of ministers. The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister and the Chief Justice are Banwarilal Purohit (governor), Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani respectively. Administratively the state is divided into 33 districts. Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the state capital. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in India and is also one of the major Metropolitan cities of India. The state comprises 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and 234 Legislative Assembly constituencies.

 

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986, when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India. The term length of the government is five years. The present government is headed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, after the demise of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly is housed at the Fort St. George in Chennai. The state had come under the President's rule on four occasions – first from 1976 to 1977, next for a short period in 1980, then from 1988 to 1989 and the latest in 1991.

 

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneering state of E-Governance initiatives in India. A large part of the government records like land ownership records are digitised and all major offices of the state government like Urban Local Bodies – all the corporations and municipal office activities – revenue collection, land registration offices, and transport offices have been computerised. Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order has been maintained largely successfully. The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140 years old. It is the fifth largest state police force in India (as of 2015, total police force of TN is 1,11,448) and has the highest proportion of women police personnel in the country (total women police personnel of TN is 13,842 which is about 12.42%) to specifically handled violence against women in Tamil Nadu. In 2003, the state had a total police population ratio of 1:668, higher than the national average of 1:717.

 

POLITICS

PRE-INDEPENDENCE

Prior to Indian independence Tamil Nadu was under British colonial rule as part of the Madras Presidency. The main party in Tamil Nadu at that time was the Indian National Congress (INC). Regional parties have dominated state politics since 1916. One of the earliest regional parties, the South Indian Welfare Association, a forerunner to Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu, was started in 1916. The party was called after its English organ, Justice Party, by its opponents. Later, South Indian Liberal Federation was adopted as its official name. The reason for victory of the Justice Party in elections was the non-participation of the INC, demanding complete independence of India.

 

The Justice Party which was under E.V.Ramaswamy was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. It was a non-political party which demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differences between its two leaders EVR and C.N. Annadurai, the party was split. Annadurai left the party to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK decided to enter politics in 1956.

 

POST-INDEPENDENCE

DEMOGRAPHICS

Tamil Nadu is the seventh most populous state in India. 48.4 per cent of the state's population live in urban areas, the third highest percentage among large states in India. The state has registered the lowest fertility rate in India in year 2005–06 with 1.7 children born for each woman, lower than required for population sustainability.

 

At the 2011 India census, Tamil Nadu had a population of 72,147,030. The sex ratio of the state is 995 with 36,137,975 males and 36,009,055 females. There are a total of 23,166,721 households. The total children under the age of 6 is 7,423,832. A total of 14,438,445 people constituting 20.01 per cent of the total population belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 794,697 people constituting 1.10 per cent of the population belonged to Scheduled tribes (ST).

 

The state has 51,837,507 literates, making the literacy rate 80.33 per cent. There are a total of 27,878,282 workers, comprising 4,738,819 cultivators, 6,062,786 agricultural labourers, 1,261,059 in house hold industries, 11,695,119 other workers, 4,120,499 marginal workers, 377,220 marginal cultivators, 2,574,844 marginal agricultural labourers, 238,702 marginal workers in household industries and 929,733 other marginal workers.

 

Among the cities in 2011, the state capital Chennai, was the most populous city in the state, followed by Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Salem respectively. India has a human development index calculated as 0.619, while the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu is 0.736, placing it among the top states in the country. The life expectancy at birth for males is 65.2 years and for females it is 67.6 years. However, it has a high level of poverty especially in the rural areas. In 2004–2005, the poverty line was set at ₹ 351.86/month for rural areas and ₹ 547.42/month for urban areas. Poverty in the state dropped from 51.7 per cent in 1983 to 21.1 per cent in 2001 For the period 2004–2005, the Trend in Incidence of Poverty in the state was 22.5 per cent compared with the national figure of 27.5 per cent. The World Bank is currently assisting the state in reducing poverty, High drop-out and low completion of secondary schools continue to hinder the quality of training in the population. Other problems include class, gender, inter-district and urban-rural disparities. Based on URP – Consumption for the period 2004–2005, percentage of the state's population Below Poverty Line was 27.5 per cent. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative ranks Tamil Nadu to have a Multidimensional Poverty Index of 0.141, which is in the level of Ghana among the developing countries. Corruption is a major problem in the state with Transparency International ranking it the second most corrupt among the states of India.

 

RELIGION

As per the religious census of 2011, Tamil Nadu had 87.6% Hindus, 6.1% Christians, 5.9% Muslims, 0.1% Jains and 0.3% following other religions or no religion.

 

LANGUAGE

Tamil is the sole official language of Tamil Nadu while English is declared an additional official language for communication purposes. When India adopted national standards Tamil was the first language to be recognised as a classical language of India. As of 2001 census Tamil is spoken as the first language by nearly 90 percent of the state's population followed by Telugu (5.65%), Kannada (1.67%), Urdu (1.51%), Malayalam (0.89%), Marathi (0.1%) and Saurashtra (0.1%).

 

EDUCATION

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India.[94] Tamil Nadu has performed reasonably well in terms of literacy growth during the decade 2001–2011. A survey conducted by the industry body Assocham ranks Tamil Nadu top among Indian states with about 100 per cent Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in primary and upper primary education. One of the basic limitations for improvement in education in the state is the rate of absence of teachers in public schools, which at 21.4 per cent is significant. The analysis of primary school education in the state by Pratham shows a low drop-off rate but poor quality of state education compared to other states. Tamil Nadu has 37 universities, 552 engineering colleges 449 Polytechnic Colleges and 566 arts and science colleges, 34,335 elementary schools, 5,167 high schools, 5,054 higher secondary schools and 5,000 hospitals. Some of the notable educational institutes present in Tamil Nadu are Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Madras Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Guindy, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, St. Joseph’s Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, Indian Maritime University, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Madras Medical College, Madras Veterinary College, Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Loyola College, Chennai, Ethiraj College for Women, Stella Maris College, Chennai, Anna University, PSG College of Technology, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute.

 

Tamil Nadu now has 69 per cent reservation in educational institutions for socially backward section of the society, the highest among all Indian states. The Midday Meal Scheme programme in Tamil Nadu was first initiated by Kamaraj, then it was expanded by M G Ramachandran in 1983.

 

CULTURE

Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable culture. Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, art, music and dance which continue to flourish today. Tamil Nadu is a land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of dance Bharata Natyam. Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam (dance), Tanjore painting, and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu.

 

CUISINE

Salem is renowned for its unique mangoes, Madurai is the place of origin of the milk dessert Jigarthanda while Palani is known for its Panchamirtham. Coffee and tea are the staple drinks.

 

ECONOMY

For the year 2014–15 Tamil Nadu's GSDP was ₹9.767 trillion (US$140 billion), and growth was 14.86. It ranks third in foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals (cumulative 1991–2002) of ₹ 225.826 billion ($5,000 million), next only to Maharashtra and Delhi constituting 9.12 per cent of the total FDI in the country. The per capita income in 2007–2008 for the state was ₹ 72,993 ranking third among states with a population over 10 million and has steadily been above the national average.

 

According to the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India (49 per cent), accounting for 9.6 per cent of the urban population while only comprising 6 per cent of India's total population. Services contributes to 45 per cent of the economic activity in the state, followed by manufacturing at 34 per cent and agriculture at 21 per cent. Government is the major investor in the state with 51 per cent of total investments, followed by private Indian investors at 29.9 per cent and foreign private investors at 14.9 per cent. Tamil Nadu has a network of about 113 industrial parks and estates offering developed plots with supporting infrastructure. According to the publications of the Tamil Nadu government the Gross State Domestic Product at Constant Prices (Base year 2004–2005) for the year 2011–2012 is ₹4.281 trillion (US$62 billion), an increase of 9.39 per cent over the previous year. The per capita income at current price is ₹ 72,993.

 

Tamil Nadu has six Nationalised Home Banks which originated in this state; Two government-sector banks Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank in Chennai, and Four private-sector banks City Union Bank in Kumbakonam, Karur Vysya Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank in Karur, and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited in Tuticorin.

 

AGRICULTURE

Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state and is a leading producer of agricultural products in India. In 2008, Tamil Nadu was India's fifth biggest producer of rice. The total cultivated area in the state was 5.60 million hectares in 2009–10. The Cauvery delta region is known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu. In terms of production, Tamil Nadu accounts for 10 percent in fruits and 6 percent in vegetables, in India. Annual food grains production in the year 2007–08 was 10035,000 mt.

 

The state is the largest producer of bananas, turmeric, flowers, tapioca, the second largest producer of mango, natural rubber, coconut, groundnut and the third largest producer of coffee, sapota, Tea and Sugarcane. Tamil Nadu's sugarcane yield per hectare is the highest in India. The state has 17,000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, the second highest in India.

 

Dr M.S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Indian Green Revolution" was from Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University with its seven colleges and thirty two research stations spread over the entire state contributes to evolving new crop varieties and technologies and disseminating through various extension agencies. Among states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the leaders in livestock, poultry and fisheries production. Tamil Nadu had the second largest number of poultry amongst all the states and accounted for 17.7 per cent of the total poultry population in India. In 2003–2004, Tamil Nadu had produced 3783.6 million of eggs, which was the second highest in India representing 9.37 per cent of the total egg production in the country. With the second longest coastline in India, Tamil Nadu represented 27.54 per cent of the total value of fish and fishery products exported by India in 2006. Namakkal is also one of the major centres of egg production in India. Oddanchatram is one of the major centre for vegetable supply in Tamilnadu and is also known as the vegetable city of Tamilnadu.Coimbatore is one of the major centres for poultry production.

 

TEXTILES AND LEATHER

Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in the textile sector and it houses the country's largest spinning industry accounting for almost 80 per cent of the total installed capacity in India. When it comes to yarn production, the State contributes 40 per cent of the total production in the country. There are 2,614 Hand Processing Units (25 per cent of total units in the country) and 985 Power Processing Units (40 per cent of total units in the country) in Tamil Nadu. According to official data, the textile industry in Tamil Nadu accounts for 17 percent of the total invested capital in all the industries.[160] Coimbatore is often referred to as the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries. Tirupur is the country's largest exporter of knitwear. for its cotton production.

 

AUTOMOBILES

Tamil Nadu has seen major investments in the automobile industry over many decades manufacturing cars, railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorcycles, automobile spare parts and accessories, tyres and heavy vehicles. Chennai is known as the Detroit of India. Major global automobile companies including BMW, Ford, Robert Bosch, Renault-Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Motors, and Michelin as well as Indian automobile majors like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, Isuzu Motors, TI cycles, Hindustan Motors, TVS Motors, Irizar-TVS, Royal Enfield, MRF, Apollo Tyres, TAFE Tractors, Daimler AG Company invested (₹) 4 billion for establishing a new plant in Tamil Nadu.

 

HEAVY INDUSTRY AND ENGINEERING

Tamil Nadu is one of the highly industrialised states in India. Over 11% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.

 

The state government owns the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers, in Karur.

 

Coimbatore is also referred to as "the Pump City" as it supplies two-thirds of India's requirements of motors and pumps. The city is one of the largest exporters of wet grinders and auto components and the term "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" has been given a Geographical indication.

 

ELECTRONICS AND SOFTWARE

Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu, with many international companies like Nokia, Flex, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco, Moser Baer, Lenovo, Dell, Sanmina-SCI, Bosch, Texas Instruments having chosen Chennai as their south Asian manufacturing hub. Products manufactured include circuit boards and cellular phone handsets.

 

Tamil Nadu is the second largest software exporter by value in India. Software exports from Tamil Nadu grew from ₹ 76 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2003–04 to ₹ 207 billion {$5 billion} by 2006–07 according to NASSCOM and to ₹ 366 billion in 2008–09 which shows 29 per cent growth in software exports according to STPI. Major national and global IT Companies such as Atos Syntel, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Amazon.com, Capgemini, CGI, PayPal, IBM, NTT DATA, Accenture, Ramco Systems, Robert Bosch GmbH, DXC Technology, Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Virtusa, LTI, Mphasis, Mindtree, Hexaware Technologies and many others have offices in Tamil Nadu. The top engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have been a major recruiting hub for the IT firms. According to estimates, about 50 percent of the HR required for the IT and ITES industry was being sourced from the state. Coimbatore is the second largest software producer in the state, next to Chennai.

 

WIKIPEDIA

High pressure water plumbing, used for cooling in electronics manufacturing. Uninhabited since the early 2000s and recently sold to another electronics company. This site no longer exists.

 

Night totally dark space, 30 second exposure. Red and blue-gelled flashlight.

 

Humongous.

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

silicone wafer

(multiple partials)

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

This priceless dated around 1917 was salvaged from the walls of the home William Both built on the corner of Hwy #41 and Glastonbury Road in Northbrook (now the REMAX office). Oftentimes board siding was covered on the inside walls with newspaper, catalogues or anything to fill the cracks and act as insulation.

 

This pricelist has a connection to Northbrook as Stromberg-Carlson was probably the company that supplied the early telephone equipment to the area.

 

Stromberg-Carlson was a telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing company in the US formed in 1894 as a partnership by Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson. It was one of five companies that controlled the national supply of telephone equipment until after WWII. In 1894, Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone expired. Stromberg and Carlson, Chicago employees of the American Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T), each invested $500 to establish a firm to manufacture equipment, primarily subscriber sets, for sale to independent telephone companies.

 

In the case of Northbrook, James Vogen Telephone was the first telephone company who likely purchased equipment from Stromberg-Carlson. Ellery Thompson purchased the company from James (Jimmy) Vogen and created the Kaladar & Northern Telephone System.

 

Part of the Ellery Thompson Collection

Note: All CDHS Flickr content is available for the public use (non-commercial) providing our Rights Statement is followed:

pioneer.mazinaw.on.ca/flickr_statement.php

austin, texas

1977

 

silicone wafer

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

austin, texas

1977

 

motorola semiconductor plant

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3197701/chinese-chip-c...

 

A Chinese chip company founded by a former Intel engineer is set to go public and test restrictions on US citizens

 

▫️ Lontium Semiconductor’s American founder is seen as a champion of China’s chip industry, but an IPO raises questions about Washington’s curbs on ‘US persons’

▫️ The latest sweeping US export restrictions have left the fate of many American executives at Chinese chip firms in limbo, with some leaving or dumping shares

 

Lontium Semiconductor Corp is not a household name like Intel or Texas Instruments, but its plans to go public in mainland China could test new export controls that have put the fate of many US executives at Chinese chip firms in limbo.

 

The company, founded in 2006 by former Intel engineer Chen Feng, has gained approval for an initial public offering on Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech board, Star Market, according to its prospectus released on October 25.

 

As China has invested massive sums of money to support the development of its domestic semiconductor industry, local chip companies going public has become a regular occurrence. But Chen is a US citizen, which could make Lontium’s listing the first to test Washington’s new rules that “restrict the ability of US persons to support the development or production” of chips at Chinese semiconductor firms.

 

Lontium did not respond to requests for comment.

 

Chen, a 57-year-old native of eastern Anhui province, is among a number of Chinese-born entrepreneurs who gained US citizenship after studying and working in the country before returning to China in the early 2000s to start chip-related businesses.

 

Dozens of US executives at listed Chinese chip companies – including Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment of China (AMEC), AmLogic, 3Peak, Starpower Semiconductor, ACM Research and Halo Microelectronics – have found themselves caught in the middle of the US-China tech war after the US Department of Commerce released the latest round of export restrictions on October 7.

 

None of these Chinese companies have publicly commented on whether their American executives will have to seek permission from the US government to continue their employment.

 

However, some made moves to distance themselves from their companies shortly before the sweeping sanctions were announced.

 

Gerald Yin Zhiyao, who attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked at Intel and Applied Materials, sold 74.4 million yuan (US$10.3 million) worth of shares in his company AMEC from mid-August through September. Yin, 78, started AMEC in 2004. He said he sold the shares because was in “personal need of cash”, and the company denied he had any advanced knowledge of the US sanctions.

 

Simon Yang, former CEO of embattled memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), relinquished that role in September. Yang studied in the US but has not publicly confirmed his citizenship status. The Financial Times reported that he holds a US passport, citing people close to the company.

 

For Lontium, though, losing Chen could be a huge blow. He is viewed as a key figure in China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency drive.

 

Chen earned his master’s degree in 1988 at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, after which he worked for three years at state-owned China Electronics Technology Co.

 

In 1991, he headed to the US where he obtained a PhD at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology. He then worked at Intel for nearly a decade and did a two-year stint at Portland-based integrated circuit (IC) design company Accelerant Networks.

 

Chen returned to China in 2006 and set up Lontium in Hefei, capital of Anhui. The company would focus on the design and sale of mixed-signal integrated circuits.

 

In an interview with state media in 2015, Chen explained that he returned to China: “Did you know that in China, chips are more dependent on the international market than oil and iron ore? The chip industry not only consumes the most of foreign exchange in China, but also makes China’s electronics manufacturing industry lose its ‘heart’.”

 

In 2008, as the global financial crisis hit the industry, Chen said he had to borrow against his house and borrow money from friends and family to maintain company operations. “At least twice, there were a lot of people working overtime in the office, but I am worried about where their next month’s salary will come from,” he said.

 

His determination eventually helped the company win support from the Chinese government.

 

In 2008, China’s central government launched a project called the Thousand Talents Plan to recruit experts in science and technology, principally from overseas Chinese communities. Chen was one of more than 100 Chinese scientists in the first batch selected for the programme. The selected individuals all received generous incentives, including prestigious academic titles, high pay and visa privileges, to encourage them to contribute to China’s hi-tech development.

 

Two years later, Lontium received five million yuan from the Anhui government. These subsidies helped the company get through its most difficult period before attracting venture capital, Chen told state media.

 

In 2011, its products began to show up in the supply chains of some of the world’s top smartphone and computer makers, including Apple, Dell, Asus and Lenovo. From 2019 to 2021, Lontium’s sales more than doubled to 234.8 million yuan from 104.5 million yuan.

 

However, Lontium is still far behind its largest rival, Texas Instruments, the US company that dominates the market for mixed-signal integrated circuits.

 

In 2020, Lontium accounted for just 4.2 per cent of the global market for high-definition video bridge chips, a type of mixed-signal integrated circuit, according to CINNO Research. Texas Instruments made up 41 per cent.

 

“China’s semiconductor industry is characterised by large capital needs and slow returns at early stages,” said Yuan Bo, a researcher at Beijing-based research institute Kandong. “It is one of the effective ways to solve the financing difficulties of well-developed semiconductor companies to get listed on the Star Market.”

 

Lontium has remained highly reliant on government subsidies, posing a risk for the company’s sustainability. In 2019 and 2020, Lontium received 17.9 million yuan and 25.2 million yuan, respectively, accounting for 50 per cent and 67.8 per cent of its total profit in those years.

 

More importantly, escalating tensions between the US and China have cast a shadow over the company’s future. If Chen is forced to choose between his passport and career, it could be a major setback for both Lontium’s business development and stock valuation.

 

Lontium is already likely to take a heavy hit in sales revenue under the latest US restrictions, as it is still highly reliant on overseas markets for both supply and demand.

 

In the first half of 2022, the vast majority of its wafer fabrication and packaging and testing equipment was purchased from overseas markets, which accounted for as much as 91 per cent of its purchasing expenses. In the same period, almost half of its sales came from clients outside mainland China, mostly in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, according to its prospectus.

 

“Most of the domestic chip companies do not have an advantage in technology or products, so it could be difficult for them to sustain themselves while under siege by foreign countries,” said Zheng Lei, an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen Finance Institute.

 

“If global trade frictions intensify and relevant countries or regions adopt restrictive trade policies, overseas customers may take measures such as reducing orders … and overseas suppliers may be restricted or prohibited from supplying the company,” Lontium said in the prospectus.

Why The US Is Still The Number One Economy In The World, And Will Remain So For A Very, Very Long Time

Posted on February 19, 2011

Last week, China slid ahead of Japan as the second largest economy in the world behind the US. The economic rise of China has caused a lot of soul-searching in Japan, and some deep misconceptions–along with hand wringing–in the US.

 

Is China a more innovative, modern, and prosperous society than the US, as some commentators seem to believe? By every measure, certainly not.

 

Is China in any way an economic threat to the US? Are you kidding?

 

All we have to do is look at the numbers to see why the Thomas Friedmans and the Cassandras of the world are full of horse manure when it comes to China’s economic “prowess” or “might”.

 

Many in the US would be surprised to discover that Japan has never been the number one economy in the world–people seem to have had the impression that it had surpassed the US years ago. So, when they hear that China has surpassed Japan, they think that the US will soon fall behind.

 

The first graph is a comparison of the US, China, and Japan, by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). From this, we can see that China’s GDP is just above Japan’s, and is still about one-third that of the US. Or, to put it another way, the US economy has always been nearly three times larger than the nearest competitor–since World War 2, the US has always had many times the wealth of the rest of the world.

 

However, this does not tell the whole story, as the US, China, and Japan are not equal in population. Surely, on a per capita basis the US lags far behind? While this may be true of the US when compared to some European and oil soaked nations, it is not at all true when we compare the US to China and Japan. While the per capita GDP relates only indirectly to the average salary one receives, it is still fair to say that in absolute dollar terms, Americans are slightly better off than the Japanese, and more than ten times better off than the Chinese.

 

Of course, the Chinese get more bang for their buck, so they really aren’t that bad off compared to Americans. While this might sound like a reasonable supposition, it needs to be backed up by facts, and not anecdotes on how well off some Chinese seem. Fortunately, there is a way to measure the relative wealth of a country while adjusting for exchange rates. This is through Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). PPP essentially involves taking a basket of goods and comparing the price you would pay for those goods in one country with the price in another, and then adjusting the exchange rates accordingly. When the per capita GDPs of the US, China, and Japan are adjusted for PPP, the situation still looks fairly grim for the average Chinese person. (Since the PPP of a currency can vary depending upon what basket of goods is used and who is doing the shopping, here I am using figures from the IMF.)

 

When adjusted for PPP, the per capita GDP of China is still only $7,518. According to the US government, the poverty line in the US is $10,890. While GDP per capital is not exactly the same as actual income, it is clear that by US standards nearly everyone in China still lives below the poverty line, even when we account for the lower prices of goods in China.

 

In short, China is still very much a developing country. Most people in China live in small apartments or duplexes nearly devoid of furniture or decoration, without air conditioning. If they live south of the Yangtze River, they will not have central heating in their house as well, since it is not required by law. Many people in rural areas or urban slums do not have running water or toilets. While lower-end computers can be bought in China for about $500 if one shops around, the vast majority of Chinese people cannot afford one, which is why Internet cafes are so ubiquitous in China.

 

Let’s be clear: in China, the very, very rich live in nice apartments or duplexes, have air conditioning and heating, have one car, and have a computer. This is extreme wealth in China. In America, this describes middle class life.

 

But China is rapidly growing and will soon catch up the US, some might say. While the first part of this sentence is no doubt true, the second part is highly debatable. Let’s deal with the “rapidly growing” part first.

 

The US economy has grown an average of 3.3% a year since 1947, and is in fact growing at 3.2% so far this year, so there is no reason why the economy should not continue this trend. While in the last few years China has been growing at a blistering pace of over 10%, depending upon who is doing the measuring, the Chinese government itself wants to keep the growth rate at 8% or below to keep the economy from overheating. There are good reasons to suspect that China will not even be able to sustain an 8% growth rate over the long haul, but let’s assume 8% is feasible. For consistency and as a point of comparison, let’s keep Japan on the graph. It now has a zombie economy and will be lucky to sustain more than a 1.1% growth rate without substantial structural changes to the country.

 

Using a straight line projection (i.e., one that assumes the economies will grow at the exact same rate over time), then the Chinese economy will surpass the US economy in about twenty years. If this happens–and I am not holding my breath on this–good for them. China is a poor country. Why should it be stuck with an economy smaller than a country one fourth its size?

 

However, the real story is the GDP per capita adjusted by PPP. With this, we get a different picture entirely. Here, China will need 25 years to surpass Japan, and the average Chinese person will not see a lifestyle equivalent to the average American for more than 40 years. Indeed, it will take nearly 25 years for most Chinese to enjoy the same kind of lifestyle as most Americans enjoy today–assuming that their economy continues to grow at the present rate, which is a big assumption.

 

Can China sustain this growth?

 

In capitalism, over the long-term, growth closely correlates with innovation, having a diversified economy, and risk-taking. Compare the top twenty companies of the US and Japan with that of China, and you will quickly see why Japan is in the dumps and China has a sustainability issue.

 

To begin with, here are the top 20 companies in the US, according to Fortune Magazine:

Three things jump out immediately from this chart. First, America’s economy is highly diversified. Second, most of these companies were started by a single individual with a vision and a new way of doing business–a risk-taker. Third, at least six of these companies were established by inventors or tinkerers. While it is true that AT&T and GE long ago varied from the visions of their founders (Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison), and General Motors can no longer be thought of as innovative, their inclusion on this list shows us something about the US economy, past, present, and future. And, while we cannot necessarily expect these companies to continue to lead the expansion of the US economy, there are a host of new companies (Microsoft, Dell, Apple, Cisco, Intel, etc.) rounding out the top 100 US companies which are seeing rapid growth through innovation, and which each have yearly revenues in excess of $35 billion.

 

Now let’s look at Japan:

 

We see immediately that Japan’s economy is much less diversified than the US’s. And, though in the past a handful of men like Akio Morita of Sony personified risk-taking and innovation, that generation has now passed on and there are few Japanese rising to the challenge–nearly all of these companies are now known for playing it rather safe. Interestingly, while nearly all of these companies have stressed innovation, none of these companies were established by an inventor or have made invention a serious part of their business plan. Even a company like Sony has always relied heavily on patented technology from the West.

 

The genius of American business is that it invents new thingamabobs that no one has ever thought of before, in the process creating whole new markets and spurring economic growth. The genius of Japanese business is that it improves upon the thingamabobs created by others, beating them at their own game and taking away market share. However, since the Japanese–unlike the Americans–by and large do not create new markets through invention, the Japanese economy is still highly dependent on economic conditions elsewhere and market trends which are beyond its control. The market for electronic goods such as TVs and radios has declined, and Japanese autos are overpriced because of a high exchange rate. Since Japan has put all of its economic eggs into these two baskets, and since they have not created very many new products that would create for them new markets, their economy is now relatively stagnant.

 

Finally, we have China’s top 20:

 

Nearly all of these companies are in fact State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that effectively have complete monopolies, or have been designated a set market share by the government. There is not a high-tech, software, or electronics manufacturing company in the bunch–in fact, there is not a single Chinese high-tech, software, or electronics manufacturing company in the Fortune Global 500. While there are two automotive companies on this list, neither could be thought of as even remotely innovative, and even on the domestic car market they are only competitive because of joint ventures with western auto companies. The top 20 companies in China are, all in all, not very competitive or diversified. As far as innovation is concerned, it is non-existent.

 

Many Americans started hand wringing when Lenovo bought IBM’s PC division, as though this meant the decline of US technology and the rise of China. While it is true that Lenovo is one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world and the largest in China, it is not in the Fortune Global 500, and its revenues of $14.9 billion a year are dwarfed by IBM’s $95.75 billion. What does it mean when someone pays $1.75 billion for a failing manufacturing division of a US company, when they could have spent $100 million to fund R&D and gotten a better return? It means that the managers of Lenovo got took to the cleaners, and the engineers at IBM have one less headache to worry about.

 

If it could be said that America invents new thingamabobs, and Japan discovers ways of making those thingamabobs better, then we could accurately say that China manufactures thingamabobs for Japanese, American, Korean, and Taiwanese companies. By and large, the Chinese do not invent new products or improve on existing ones. The main selling point of Chinese products is not innovation, but inexpensive costs based upon the advantages of having a partially closed economy and favorable exchange rates. Lacking any kind of innovation, the Chinese economy is in the end entirely subject to market trends and economic conditions elsewhere. In short, China is not in economic competition with American business, but is in competition with Vietnam, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and a whole host of other developing nations for the low-paying factory jobs that American business provides.

 

In the long run, given the large population, the lack of natural resources, and the aspirations of the Chinese people, such an economy is unsustainable: China must innovate to keep the growth engine going. However, there are strong structural reasons why this can and will not happen anytime soon.

 

Instead of worrying what will happen after China defeats the USA economically, a more potent worry would be, what will happen when the Chinese economy fails?

Pursuing Technical Education in Chhattisgarh

 

Being a state that is just 19 years old, Chhattisgarh has worked relentlessly to provide adequate education to the citizenry. Its literacy rate has grown from 65.18% in 2001 to 70.28% in 2011. Raipur and Bilaspur have emerged as centers for higher studies with some of the top private college in Chhattisgarh. School pass-outs looking for a career in technical fields don’t have to travel far from their homes.

 

Computer Science & Information Technology-

 

India has emerged as one of the largest software development and service market and with it has increased the number of professionals that the industry requires every year. Students can get their B.E. (CSE), B.E. (IT), M. Tech. (Software Engineering), M. Tech. (CS), and Polytechnic (CSE) degrees in Chhattisgarh itself. The present college infrastructure is improving at a rapid rate with access to all modern tools required for learning.

 

Civil Engineering-

 

A degree in civil engineering opens gates to several lucrative opportunities both in the private and the public sector. Courses like B.E. (Civil Engineering) and Polytechnic Diploma in Civil Engineering are easily pursuable in Chhattisgarh with both private and public colleges offering the course. The geographical location of the state also helps in gaining jobs in the related field.

 

Electrical & Electronics Engineering-

 

With increasing demand for EEE professionals in IT, transportation, telecom, and airspace and airplane manufacturing industries, students have shown increasing interest in the course over the years. Colleges like CVRU Bilaspur have started providing proper facilities to prepare students for the demanding roles in the industry.

 

Electrical Engineering-

 

Skills of an electrical engineer are valuable to various industries like construction, manufacturing, building industries and services, power distribution, and transportation network. When one searches for an electrical engineering college, Chhattisgarh, names like CVRU Bilaspur come on the top. Such private colleges provide state-of-the-art laboratories along with experienced faculty to impart industry-level skills into the students.

 

Electronics & Communication Engineering-

 

Jobs in the field of electronics and communication have increased manifold in the past two decades. There is a huge demand for electronics and communication engineers in transportation, electricity plant, aviation and avionics, consumer electronics, manufacturing, telecommunication and communication, radio & television, computer application, and diagnostic equipment manufacturing industries. Private and public colleges in Chhattisgarh have started skill-oriented training for students to make them industry ready at the end of the 4-year duration of the course.

 

Mechanical Engineering-

 

Mechanical engineers play important roles in research and development, design, production, analysis and testing, installation, and maintenance departments of countless industries. CVRU Bilaspur being one of the top mechanical engineering college, Chhattisgarh has taken upon its head the responsibility providing best possible facilities to the students. It provides courses like Polytechnic diploma (Mechanical Engineering), B.E. (Mechanical Engineering), and M. Tech. (Production Engineering).

 

Pursuing technical education has become relatively easier for the students residing in Chhattisgarh. They are now able to get facilities that were earlier only possible in states like New Delhi or Karnataka. Top private college in Chhattisgarh are not only laying the foundation of the students’ future but also the future of the state.

 

For more information, visit our website.

 

Source: cvru.ac.in/

 

Top private college in Chhattisgarh mechanical engineering college Chhattisgarh electrical engineering college Chhattisgarh

austin, texas

1977

 

IC chip manufacturing

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

If using this image please attribute to "Kitmondo PCB" - www.kitmondo.com/electronics-manufacturing-equipment

 

Images from listings on our website Kitmondo.com in the PCB and Semiconductor. See a range of PCB, Processing and printing equipment from across the globe.

San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. In 2006, the city's population was estimated to be 1,256,951. It is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States, by population. It is the county seat of San Diego County, and is the economic center of the San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos metropolitan area, the 17th-largest in the United States with a population of 2.9 million as of 2006, and the 21st-largest metropolitan area in the Americas when including Tijuana.

 

San Diego County lies just north of the Mexican border—sharing a border with Tijuana—and lies south of Orange County. It is home to miles of beaches, a mild Mediterranean climate and 16 military facilities hosting the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Marine Corps.

 

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the affiliated UCSD Medical Center combined with nearby research institutes in the Torrey Pines area of La Jolla make the area influential in biotechnology research. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, telecommunications, and tourism.

A photograph of a woman holding a set of Nortel printed circuit boards while standing next to a multi-press drill. There is an Excellon Quadramatic circuit-board printing machine with Mark Century tape control panel behind her.

This photo was taken by Ian Robertson at the Nortel plant in Belleville, Ontario.

Building new IT bridges. India-Russia Webinar organized by

@ficci_india on #ICT to discuss joint collaboration in emerging IT technologies, digital economy, information security and electronics manufacturing was addressed by Secretary Shri Ajay Sawhney and Ambassador.

 

Premier Christy Clark announced the benefits of the new BC Small Business Accord to businesses across the Thompson-Okanagan at a visit to Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. (AEM), a local success story in Kelowna.

austin, texas

1977

 

IC chip manufacturing

 

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

 

© the Nick DeWolf Foundation

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

This is the shop floor at my company

Singapore (Malay: Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Ciŋkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Republik Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡共和国; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu), is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.

 

The British East India Company established a trading post on the island in 1819. The main settlement up to that point was a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived around the coast, rivers and smaller islands. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route.[3] It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire. Winston Churchill called it "Britain's greatest defeat" when it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II.[4] Singapore reverted to British rule in 1945. In 1963, it merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Less than two years later it split from the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on September 21 that same year.

 

Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has increased. A state-led industrialization drive, aided by foreign direct investment has created a modern economy based on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade. Singapore is the 17th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[5] The small nation has a foreign reserve of S$222 billion (US$147 billion).[6]

 

The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic.[7] The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.[8]

 

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AMI turned an old mill building into a high-tech manufacturing facility.

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