Abstract
The kingdom of Tonga attained unity under Taufa’ahau Tupou (George I) who became ruler of his native Ha’apai in 1820, of Vava’u in 1833 and of Tongatapu in 1845. By 1860 the kingdom had become converted to Christianity (George himself having been baptized in 1831). In 1862 the king granted freedom to the people from arbitrary rule of minor chiefs and gave them the right to the allocation of land for their own needs. These institutional changes, together with the establishment of a parliament of chiefs, paved the way towards the democratic constitution under which the kingdom is now governed, and provided a background of stability against which Tonga was able to develop her agricultural economy.
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Books of Reference
Biennial Report, 1962–63. HMSO, 1965
Bain, K. R., Royal Visit to Tonga: Tonga Government Official Record. London, 1954—The Friendly Islanders. London, 1967
Churchward, C. M., Tongan Dictionary. London, 1959
Luke, Sir Harry. Queen Salote and her Kingdom. London 1954
Morrell, W. P., Britain in the Pacific Islands. OUP, 1960
Neill, J. S., Ten Years in Tonga. London, 1955
Wood, A. H., A History and Geography of Tonga. Rev. ed. Nuku’alofa, 1963
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© 1971 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Paxton, J. (1971). Tonga. In: Paxton, J. (eds) The Statesman’s Year-Book. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271005_35
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271005_35
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-27100-5
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