Short answers, pulled from the story.
A Javanese eulogy known as the Nagarakretagama recorded the existence of Temasek in 1365. This small trading port was already a significant node in the maritime trade routes of the Indosphere. The name Singapore meaning Lion City was derived from Sanskrit words though no lions ever roamed the island.
Stamford Raffles arrived on the island on the 28th of January 1819 and established a trading post. The Treaty of Singapore was signed on the 6th of February 1819 marking the beginning of British colonial rule. The island came under direct British control as part of the Straits Settlements in 1867.
The British force of 60,000 troops surrendered to the Japanese on the 15th of February 1942. The island was renamed Syonan meaning Light of the South and the Sook Ching massacre killed between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people. The British Military Administration ended on the 1st of April 1946 and Singapore became a separate crown colony.
Singapore became independent as the Republic of Singapore on the 9th of August 1965 following its expulsion from Malaysia. Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister and Yusof bin Ishak became the first president. The People's Action Party has remained in power since 1959 and the country is described as a de facto one-party state.
The Singapore model combines a strong soft-authoritarian government with an emphasis on meritocracy. The government has restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press and all public gatherings of five or more people require police permits. Both corporal punishment and capital punishment are retained and commonly used as legal penalties.
The country has implemented the four national taps strategy to address water stress and declared it will be water self-sufficient by 2061. Nearly 10% of Singapore's land has been set aside for parks and nature reserves to combat the decline in natural space. The country estimates it will need to spend $100 billion over the next century to address climate change and rising sea levels.