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20-514: The Vavaʻu Code was instituted in Vavaʻu , Tonga in 1839, by King George Tupou I . It contained the country's first ever written laws, and formed the bases of the first constitution of the Kingdom. It delineated an ordered society where the monarch, chiefs, and subjects live in mutual obligation and also guaranteed the rights of the commoners for the first time. Along with the legal system it set up,

40-489: A harbour at the last two places he had tried to land, Fonualei (Bitterness island) and Late . He gave the harbour at Vavaʻu the name Port of Refuge , although his original port of refuge had been the bay on the west coast of the main island, near Longomapu . Twelve years later, in 1793, the Malaspina Expedition visited the area for a month, following up on Mourelle's investigations, and formally claiming

60-581: Is a raised platform of coral cliffs. The southern coastline is low and irregular, and opens out into a network of channels, bays, and islets, forming one of the best-protected natural harbors in the Pacific. ’Utu Vava’u is also home to the ʻEneʻio Botanical Garden , which is Tonga's only botanical garden. Vavaʻu's climate is by far the warmest in Tonga (apart from the Niuas , which are the northernmost islands in

80-502: Is part of Vavaʻu District , which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongatapu and Vavaʻu, but put a little more effort into the former. Vavaʻu rises 204 m (669 ft) above sea level at Mount Talau . The capital is Neiafu , situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-ʻa-Halaevalu). In Polynesia , it is said that

100-495: Is served by Vavaʻu International Airport . Tourism, agriculture , and fishing are the main sources of income for the inhabitants. The vanilla beans grown here are considered among the best in the world. Giant clams are farmed, and pearls are cultured. Vavaʻu is considered one of the best places in the world to catch sailfish . Vavaʻu is home to 262 species of plants, 11 species of lizard, 38 species of bird, and 41 species of terrestrial snail. Fonualei The island

120-407: Is the peak of an active volcano which rises 1000m from the seafloor. It has a diameter of 2 km and a maximum height of 188m. The coast is surrounded by cliffs, with only two beaches suitable for a landing. The western, southern, and north-eastern sides have narrow fringing reefs . In the 1830s the inhabitants of Tokū used Fonualei for their gardens. The first European to sight the island

140-436: Is the second largest island in Tonga. Vavaʻu is a coral reef with cliffs in the north rising to 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. On the south side, the island group is dispersed into many small, scattered islands and waterways. The largest of the waterways, the fjord -like Ava Pulepulekai channel , extends 11 km (6.8 mi) inland from the harbor of Neiafu (the capital). The north coast of ’Utu Vava’u island

160-617: The Code established the sovereign's intention creating a government "by law", one that is respected by the Europeans. The Code instituted basic human rights and limited the power of chiefs over their subjects: chiefs no longer had the right of life and death over their people, nor could they seize agricultural produce. Furthermore, chiefs could now be put on trial like any other Tongan. In its first clause, it declared: "The laws of this our land prohibit - murder, theft, adultery, fornication and

180-496: The brown and red-footed Booby, the great and Lesser frigatebird , White tern , Red-tailed tropicbird , the black and brown Noddy, Pacific golden plover , and Bristle-thighed curlew . The only land-based mammal is the Insular flying fox . The island is rat-free. In 1993 Fonualei was assessed as a potential habitat for the critically endangered Tongan megapode . 70 eggs and 10 chicks were translocated . The introduction

200-604: The incumbent Viceroy of New Spain . Captain James Cook had known about the islands a decade earlier, but the people in Haʻapai had told him it would be no good for him to go there; they told him there was no harbour . They may have told him this to dissuade him from going there; but Cook heeded their advice. As it turned out, Mourelle found excellent anchoring , in Vavaʻu, which he desperately needed, because he had failed to find

220-540: The islands for Spain . Whaling vessels were among the first regular Western visitors to the islands. The first on record was the Fanny , on 17 June 1823, and the last was the Robert Morrison , from July through September, 1883. These vessels came for water, food, and wood - and sometimes they recruited islanders to serve as crewmen on their ships. They stimulated commerce and were significant agents for change on

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240-476: The islands were created by the god Maui , who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface, and it became the islands of Vavaʻu. Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa , commanding the Spanish frigate Princesa , was the first European to come to Vavaʻu, which he did on 4 March 1781. He charted Vavaʻu as Martín de Mayorga , naming it after

260-711: The islands. In 1839, the Tuʻi Tonga (chief), George Tupou I , instituted the Vavaʻu Code in Vavaʻu. The Vavaʻu island group is spread out across an area that measures about 21 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south. Vavaʻu had 13,738 inhabitants at the 2016 census, 5,251 of whom lived in the capital, Neiafu. The islands in Vavaʻu District , outside of the Vavaʻu Group , are uninhabited. The main island of ’Utu Vava’u , at 97 km (37 sq mi),

280-520: The kingdom). Its warm climate and fertile soil makes it a haven for growers of vanilla , pineapple , and other tropical fruits . Vavaʻu is popular with sailors and other tourists, because of its scenic beauty. It is one of the most prominent tourism sites in Tonga. From May to October, the Port of ’Utu Vava’u welcomes sailing boats from all over the world and arranges for tourists to dive with humpback whales and explore underwater caves . The island

300-482: The practice of tattooing, for instance, declared that "it is not lawful to tatatau or kaukau or to perform any other idolatrous ceremonies" and that "if one does so, he will be judged and punished and fined for so doing". Sundays became a compulsory day off work, to encourage Tongans to worship the Christian God . Religion was also seen as a unifying factor that would help the king cement his position. The Code

320-581: The retailing of the spirits". A later law would provide three months of hard labor as penalty for each of these offenses. The Vavaʻu Code was strongly influenced by the George Tupou I's religious beliefs and was supported by the Methodist missionaries as the king was a convert. It banned traditional festivals seen by missionaries as encouraging sexual promiscuity. Circumcision , tattooing and alcohol drinking were also outlawed. A provision banning

340-627: The vegetation of Vavaʻu and spread ash around for at least a year. Some sources claim that three other neighbouring volcanoes, Late , Tokū and another, erupted at the same time. This is probably a mistake by passing ships who misidentified the erupting island. Another eruption was reported in July 1938. In the 1980s the island was leased for 30 years to the Chen family as part of a scheme to sell Tongan passports to wealthy foreigners. In September 2022 scientists mapping marine life noted discolouration in

360-474: The water near the island and emissions of sulphuric gases. The island has been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International . It is home to a large colony of Sooty terns . Other birds found on the island include the Tongan ground dove , Pacific imperial pigeon , Spotless crake , Australasian swamphen , Polynesian wattled honeyeater , and Polynesian starling . Sea- and shorebirds include

380-601: Was Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rua on the La Princesa on 26 February 1781 . He reported the island to be barren from eruptions, and called it for that reason Amargura ( Bitterness in Spanish). It was subsequently seen by La Pérouse on 27 December 1787, and by HMS Pandora during its hunt for the Bounty mutineers, who named it "Gardner’s Island". A major eruption in 1846, starting 11 June, destroyed much of

400-458: Was able to demonstrate its benefits after the conversion of the heathen chieftains. The Vavaʻu Code was followed and completed by further laws, including a second Code in 1850 forbidding the sale of land to foreigners and proclaiming Tupou as supreme leader of Tonga. Vava%CA%BBu Vavaʻu is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu ) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga . It

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