Short answers, pulled from the story.
Polynesians began migrating to what is now Tuvalu three thousand years ago using double-hulled sailing canoes or outrigger canoes. Scholars believe these people spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls.
Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña became the first European known to sail through the archipelago on the 16th of January 1568. He sighted the island of Nui during an expedition searching for Terra Australis but was unable to land.
Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth on the 1st of October 1978. That date is celebrated annually as Independence Day and serves as a public holiday throughout the country.
At its highest, Tuvalu is only about 4.6 meters above sea level making it extremely vulnerable to rising ocean levels. A study published in 2018 estimated changes in land area between 1971 and 2014 indicating that 75% of the islands had grown in area.
The unicameral Parliament has 16 members with elections held every four years. The members of parliament select the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament without formal political parties.