States of Oceania

Modern Tonga (Polynesia) (Oceania)
AD 1970 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1970-2025)

Considered in some quarters to be a watery continent in its own right, Oceania starts where South-East Asia ends, to the south-east of Indonesia and East Timor. Its territory is somewhat debatable but generally consists of the waters of the Pacific Ocean dotted with some two thousand islands, some of which are independent states and others either parts of countries or colonies.

Polynesia, of which Tonga is a part, is the vast easternmost stretch of a thousand islands in Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Northern Polynesia consists of the long chain of Hawaiian Islands which reach from the Midway Islands in the west, just to the east of the International Date Line, to the island of Hawaii in the east, all in the North Pacific. Progressing from west to east, southern Polynesia in the South Pacific consists of Tuvalu, Wallis & Futuna, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, the Pitcairn Islands, and Easter Island.

Referred to as the Friendly Islands by Britain's Captain James Cook thanks to the supposedly cordial reception he received when he visited them in 1773, Tonga is formed from a group of one hundred and seventy islands which are situated in south-western Polynesia, and with a capital at Nuku'alofa. There are three main island groups: Tongatupu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u, along with some scattered outlying islands.

An ancient chiefdom in Tonga was known as Wawao. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a highly autonomous chiefdom, known as Ha'apai-Vava'u, existed briefly in the Ha'apai and Vava'u groups.

The Polynesian Lapita arrived from Fiji to settle Tonga and Samoa by 800 BC, during the Neolithic Oceania period. Lapita descendants came to be known as Samoans, who then ventured eastwards from Samoa and Tonga between AD 500 and 1000. They settled Pohnpei in what is now the 'Federated States of Micronesia' (by AD 500) and, by 800, they had reached the Society Islands. By 850, they had reached the southern Cook Islands (Rarotonga) and, at some point, the Marquesas Islands.

From about AD 1000, Tonga had a highly organised society and government which was headed by a king (tu'i Tonga) who combined both spiritual and temporal power. Later the role became so burdensome that the Tongans separated the temporal power from the spiritual.

Even later, the temporal king had his authority shared with yet another temporal king. In the thirteenth century, tu'i Tongas were so powerful that they even exercised authority over the Hawaiian Islands. Eventually separate chiefdoms evolved, and it was not until 1875 that the islands were reunited under a single king.

Dutch navigators visited the Tonga Islands in 1616 and 1643 but established no permanent presence. The first significant contact between Tonga and Europeans occurred between 1773 and 1777. Captain James Cook named them without realising that the native chiefs wanted to kill him and his men, with them only being saved because the Tongans could not agree on a plan to achieve their wishes.

Imperial Germany, Victorian Great Britain, and the United States all recognised Tonga's independence in the nineteenth century. In 1900, the British established a protectorate over the country as a counter to German expansion, but Tonga always retained relative freedom from foreign controls. Tonga became internationally recognised as being independent in 1970, and was able to join the Commonwealth of Nations.

Today's Tonga is a constitutional monarchy in which the king has sole power to appoint judges and grant pardons. In all other matters he governs in consultation with a prime minister and privy council (cabinet), which serves as part of the country's court system. There also exists a unicameral legislative assembly, while local governance is conducted by three island councils.

The population as estimated in 2024 is 99,900. Almost all Tongans are Polynesian, but their culture includes influences from Melanesia thanks to contact with Fiji. Some intermarriage has also taken place between Tongans and Europeans, but many Tongans have migrated abroad, particularly to the United States and New Zealand. Most Tongans are Christian, with the largest denominations being Methodist, Latter-Day Saints, and Catholics. Tongan is the main language, and English is the second.

Agriculture is the major economic activity. All land is owned by the monarchy, but major estates are assigned to members of the nobility. Other land is parcelled out to peasants, as each sixteen year-old male is entitled to an allotment. While products are generally consumed locally, food and drinks are still largely imported, and crops and fish form part of a thriving export market.

Far East Kingdoms

Oceania

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