French Polynesia is a collection of 118 islands covering a vast area of the southeastern Pacific Ocean.
Divided among five archipelagoes: the volcanic Society Islands, also called the islands under the wind (in the west) and the wind islands (in the east), with the well known island of Tahiti, the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Gambier Islands, the Marquesas Islands, and the coral Tubuai Islands (Austral Islands). Also included are American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn (famous for the Mutiny on the British ship HMS Bounty), Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu.
Since the Tongan language was not written down until the 19th century, the early history of Tonga (which means "south") is based on oral tradition, as was Tahiti for generations.
According to tradition, in the mid-19th century, upon the death of the then Tu'i Tonga, those powers were conferred upon the nineteenth Tu'i Kanokupolu, Taufa'ahu Tupou, founder of the present dynasty.
European chronicles report that the island of Niuatoputapu was discovered by the Dutch navigators Jan Schouten and Jacob le Maire in 1616. In 1643, Abel Tasman discovered Tongatapu, and from then until 1767, when Samuel Wallis anchored at Niuatoputapu, there was no contact with the outside world.
Capt. James Cook visited the Tongatapu and Ha'apai groups in 1773 and again in 1777, and called Lifuka in the Ha'apai group the "friendly island" because of the gentle nature of its people— hence the archipelago received its nickname, the Friendly Islands.
It was in the waters of the Ha'apai group that the famous mutiny on the British ship Bounty occurred in 1789.
The first Wesleyan missionaries—who were then spreading "the Word" throughout the South Pacific— landed in Tonga in 1826.
The first half of the 19th century was a period of civil conflict in Tonga, as three lines of kings all sought dominance. They were finally checked during the reign of Taufa'ahu Tupou, who in 1831 took the name George. By conquest, George Tupou I (r.1845–93) gathered all power in his own hands and united the islands; he abolished the feudal system of land tenure and became a constitutional monarch in 1875.
By the middle of the 1800s, most Tongans had become Christians, the great majority being Wesleyans; the king himself was strongly influenced by the missionaries. In the latter part of the century, there were religious and civil conflicts between the Wesleyan Mission Church and the newly established Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.
June 23, 1888, American Settler
London, United Kingdom
THE POSITION IN THE PACIFIC
. . . The consternation of Spain when Germany threatened to take possession of the Carolines to the west of the Marshall group, will be remembered. These and the Marianne Islands and the Pelews Spain has long claimed, hut she has done nothing to develope them. These form the bulk of Micronesia, where Spain may be considered supreme; France has the lion's share in Polynesia, if we exclude Hawaii ; England rules in Australasia; while Melanesia is divided among the three great Powers, Germany so far having the largest stake. Of the islands which remain unattached, besides the New Hebrides, the most important are the Tonga and Samoan gronps, to the east and northeaat of Fiji, and the El lice and tbe Gilbert groups between Fiji and the Marshall Islands. There can be nodoubt that, in spite ot existing agreements^ Germany has her eye on the two former groups, both of them very desirable for their commercial and strategical importance, as well as on account of the character of the natives. The annexation of Tonga by Germany would certainly not be relished either by the Fijians or the Australians. Yet there can be no doubt that the famous Hamburg house of Godeffroi and their successors have had intimate relations with both' groups for many years, as indeed they have had over nearly the whole of the Pacific. The little Ellice group, with their pleasant inhabitants, ethnologically should go with Samoa, and if so Germany might wish to appropriate the Gilbert group, and form one continuous protectorate from the Marshall Islands south-east. At the same time it should be noted that Germany has distinctly recognized English interests in both these groups. Among the Gilbert Islands are two which on German maps are marked American . . .
After the dismissal of the prime minister, the Rev. Shirley Waldemar Baker, in 1890, the new government allowed full freedom of worship. Ten years later, during the reign (1893–1918) of George II, a treaty of friendship was concluded between the United Kingdom and Tonga, and a protectorate was proclaimed.
