Tonga is a South Pacific kingdom comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited. The sovereign state has a population of 100,651 people of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu.
The first European visitors to Tonga were the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, who made a short visit to trade in 1616. Later Abel Tasman visited Tongatapu (named "Amsterdam" by Tasman due to its abundance of supplies) and Haʻapai in 1643.
Tonga became known as the Friendly Islands for the reception given to Captain James Cook in 1773. He noted in his journal that he was, "welcomed a shore by acclamations from an immence [sic] crowd of Men and Women not one of which had so much as a stick in their hands".
According to another account, the chiefs in Tonga wanted to kill Cook but could not agree on how to do it.
A tortoise, which was presented by a Tonga chief in 1773 to Captain Cook, died as recently as 1966.
In 1845 an ambitious young warrior and orator, Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom. He declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy. Over the next 50 years, slavery was stopped.
The flag of Tonga was adopted on November 4, 1875 and has been the flag of the Kingdom of Tonga ever since. The constitution stipulates that the national flag can never be changed. The red field of the flag represents the blood of Christ and the Tongan people, while the white canton represents purity and peace. The red couped cross in the canton represents Christianity, which is the dominant religion in Tonga.
Tonga became a British Protectorate on May 18, 1900. Under the protection of Britain, Tonga maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchical government (unlike Tahiti and Hawaii).
Queen Salote Tupou III died in 1965 and was succeeded by her son Prince Tupouto'a Tungi, who as King Tupou IV led the nation to full independence, within the Commonwealth, in 1970.
In 2003, Tonga sued the king's official court jester who was also his financial adviser.
The capital of Tonga is Nuku'alofa which, according to an old legend, means “abode of love”.
Nuku'alofa is one of five capital cities with an apostrophe in its names. The others are N'Djamena (the capital of Chad), Sana'a (Yemen), St John's (Antigua and Barbuda) and St George's (Grenada). Actually the punctuation mark in Nuku'alofa is more a glottal stop than an apostrophe.
Rugby union is Tonga's national sport and the national team (ʻIkale Tahi, or Sea Eagles) has performed reasonably well on the international stage. Many players of Tongan descent such as Jonah Lomu and Israel Folau have played for either the All Blacks or the Wallabies.
Tonga's only Olympic medal, a silver, was won by superheavyweight boxer Paea Wolfgramm in 1996.
In 1928, Queen Salote Tupou III, who was a member of the church, established the Free Wesleyan Church as the state religion of Tonga. It is the world's only state church in the Methodist tradition of Protestantism, although only 36% of the island's population adheres to it.
According to the Church of Latter Day Saints, Tonga has the highest proportion of Mormons of any country in the world. The Church of Latter Day Saints claims that 57% of Tonga is Mormon....but in a recent census, only 18% of Tongans claimed to follow the religion.
Ninety per cent of the population of Tonga are overweight; 70 per cent of adult women are obese.
Tonga is the first country to greet the New Year every year.
Daily Express
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| A map of Tonga |
The first European visitors to Tonga were the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, who made a short visit to trade in 1616. Later Abel Tasman visited Tongatapu (named "Amsterdam" by Tasman due to its abundance of supplies) and Haʻapai in 1643.
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| Page from the ship's log of Abel Tasman with the description of t' Eijlandt Amsterdam |
Tonga became known as the Friendly Islands for the reception given to Captain James Cook in 1773. He noted in his journal that he was, "welcomed a shore by acclamations from an immence [sic] crowd of Men and Women not one of which had so much as a stick in their hands".
According to another account, the chiefs in Tonga wanted to kill Cook but could not agree on how to do it.
A tortoise, which was presented by a Tonga chief in 1773 to Captain Cook, died as recently as 1966.
In 1845 an ambitious young warrior and orator, Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom. He declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy. Over the next 50 years, slavery was stopped.
The flag of Tonga was adopted on November 4, 1875 and has been the flag of the Kingdom of Tonga ever since. The constitution stipulates that the national flag can never be changed. The red field of the flag represents the blood of Christ and the Tongan people, while the white canton represents purity and peace. The red couped cross in the canton represents Christianity, which is the dominant religion in Tonga.
 |
Tonga became a British Protectorate on May 18, 1900. Under the protection of Britain, Tonga maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchical government (unlike Tahiti and Hawaii).
Queen Salote Tupou III died in 1965 and was succeeded by her son Prince Tupouto'a Tungi, who as King Tupou IV led the nation to full independence, within the Commonwealth, in 1970.
In 2003, Tonga sued the king's official court jester who was also his financial adviser.
The capital of Tonga is Nuku'alofa which, according to an old legend, means “abode of love”.
 |
| Downtown Nukuʻalofa |
Nuku'alofa is one of five capital cities with an apostrophe in its names. The others are N'Djamena (the capital of Chad), Sana'a (Yemen), St John's (Antigua and Barbuda) and St George's (Grenada). Actually the punctuation mark in Nuku'alofa is more a glottal stop than an apostrophe.
Rugby union is Tonga's national sport and the national team (ʻIkale Tahi, or Sea Eagles) has performed reasonably well on the international stage. Many players of Tongan descent such as Jonah Lomu and Israel Folau have played for either the All Blacks or the Wallabies.
Tonga's only Olympic medal, a silver, was won by superheavyweight boxer Paea Wolfgramm in 1996.
In 1928, Queen Salote Tupou III, who was a member of the church, established the Free Wesleyan Church as the state religion of Tonga. It is the world's only state church in the Methodist tradition of Protestantism, although only 36% of the island's population adheres to it.
 |
| The Free Wesleyan Church. By Tauʻolunga |
According to the Church of Latter Day Saints, Tonga has the highest proportion of Mormons of any country in the world. The Church of Latter Day Saints claims that 57% of Tonga is Mormon....but in a recent census, only 18% of Tongans claimed to follow the religion.
Ninety per cent of the population of Tonga are overweight; 70 per cent of adult women are obese.
Tonga is the first country to greet the New Year every year.
Daily Express
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