77-934: Tupou is a common surname in Tonga . It may refer to: Anthony Tupou , Australian Rugby League player Bill Tupou , New Zealand Rugby League player Bowie Tupou , Australia boxer Daniel Tupou , Australian Rugby League player Fenuki Tupou , American football offensive lineman Josh Tupou , American football defensive lineman Tame Tupou , New Zealand rugby league footballer Tani Tupou , American football player Taniela Tupou , Australian Rugby Union player Will Tupou , New Zealand professional rugby footballer Willie Tupou , Australian rugby league footballer Several kings and queens of Tonga George Tupou I George Tupou II Sālote Tupou III Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV George Tupou V ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
154-617: A Treaty of Friendship , but Tonga never relinquished its sovereignty to any foreign power. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive step away from its traditional absolute monarchy and became a semi-constitutional monarchy , after legislative reforms paved the way for its first partial representative elections . Tonga is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the United Nations , the Pacific Islands Forum , and
231-497: A subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean 800–1,000 km (500–620 mi) northeast of New Zealand 's North Island , and a similar distance southwest of Tonga . The islands are part of New Zealand. They are 33.6 km (13.0 sq mi) in total area and uninhabited, except for the permanently staffed Raoul Island Station, the northernmost outpost of New Zealand. The islands are listed with
308-644: A financial adviser who called himself the king's court jester . The police imprisoned pro-democracy leaders, and the government repeatedly confiscated the newspaper The Tongan Times (printed in New Zealand and sold in Tonga) because the editor had been vocally critical of the king's mistakes. Notably, the Keleʻa , produced specifically to critique the government and printed in Tonga by pro-democracy leader ʻAkilisi Pōhiva,
385-499: A hostel for Department of Conservation officers and volunteers, that has been maintained since 1937. It lies on the northern terraces of Raoul Island, at an elevation of about 50 m (160 ft), above the cliffs of Fleetwood Bluff. It is the northernmost inhabited outpost of New Zealand. In 1955, the British Government required a large site remote from population centres to test the new thermonuclear devices it
462-655: A member of the United Nations in September 1999. While exposed to colonial pressures, Tonga has always governed itself, which makes it unique in the Pacific. In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano, 65 km (40 mi) north of the main island of Tongatapu, erupted , causing a tsunami which inundated parts of the archipelago, including the capital Nukuʻalofa. The eruption affected
539-702: A new royal palace and holding two thirds of the country's foreign debt. Tonga retains cordial relations with the United States. Although it remains on good terms with the United Kingdom, the two countries do not maintain particularly close relations. The United Kingdom closed its High Commission in Tonga in 2006, although it was re-established in January 2020 after a 14-year absence. Tonga's relations with Oceania's regional powers, Australia and New Zealand, are good. Tonga maintains strong regional ties in
616-535: A red velvet whalefish and an angler fish ( Ceratias tentaculatus ) were found around the waters of the Kermadec Islands by a research partnership between Ngāti Kurī , University of Auckland , Massey University , NIWA , Manaaki Whenua , and the University of Waikato . In 2016, Koha, a hawksbill turtle , which was originally found injured near Dargaville in September 2014, was released around
693-492: A resupply of water, food, and wood. The islands most regularly visited by Westerners were Ata, 'Eua, Ha'apai, Tongatapu and Vava'u. Sometimes, Tongan men were recruited to serve as crewmen on these vessels. The United States Exploring Expedition visited Tonga in 1840. In 1845, an ambitious young Tongan warrior, strategist, and orator named Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom. He held the chiefly title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu , but had been baptised by Methodist missionaries with
770-633: A second contingent went to Iraq, and two more were sent during 2008 as part of continued support for the coalition. Tongan involvement concluded at the end of 2008 with no reported loss of life. In 2010, Brigadier General Tauʻaika ʻUtaʻatu, commander of the Tonga Defence Services , signed an agreement in London committing a minimum of 200 troops to co-operate with Britain's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan . The task
847-561: A ship from New Zealand, killed 1,800 Tongans, a mortality rate of about 8%. The Treaty of Friendship and Tonga's protection status ended in 1970 under arrangements that had been established by Tonga's Queen Salote Tupou III before her death in 1965. Owing to its British ties, Tonga joined the Commonwealth in 1970 (atypically as a country that had its own monarch, rather than having the United Kingdom's monarch , along with Malaysia , Brunei , Lesotho , and Eswatini ). Tonga became
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#1732780763553924-530: A variety of schemes – considering making Tonga a nuclear waste disposal site (an idea floated in the mid 1990s by the current crown prince), and selling Tongan Protected Persons Passports (which eventually forced Tonga to naturalise the purchasers, sparking ethnicity-based concerns within Tonga). Schemes also included the registering of foreign ships (which proved to be engaged in illegal activities, including shipments for al-Qaeda ), claiming geo-orbital satellite slots (the revenue from which seems to belong to
1001-545: Is a lieu-dit in Pencran in Finistère where ker means village, residence and madec a proper name derived from mad (which means 'good') with the suffix -ec , used to form adjectives indicating a property. The Māori name is Rangitāhua which is also used for Raoul island. As indicated by their name for the islands, Rangitāhua ( lit. ' the stopping-off place ' ), Polynesian people "stopped off" on
1078-531: Is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion, part of the Oceanian realm . The forests are dominated by the red-flowering Kermadec pōhutukawa , related to the pōhutukawa of New Zealand. The islands are home to 113 native species of vascular plants , of which 23 are endemic , along with mosses (52 native species), lichens and fungi (89 native species). Most of the plant species are derived from New Zealand, with others having travelled over
1155-408: Is about 750 km (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km (270,000 sq mi) in the southern Pacific Ocean . As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu . The country stretches approximately 800 km (500 mi) north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to
1232-529: Is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean , directly south of Samoa and about two-thirds of the way from Hawai'i to New Zealand. Its 171 islands, 45 of them inhabited, are divided into three main groups – Vava'u, Ha'apai, and Tongatapu – and cover an 800-kilometre (500-mile)-long north–south line. The largest island, Tongatapu , on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located, covers 257 square kilometres (99 sq mi). Geologically,
1309-531: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Tonga Tonga ( / ˈ t ɒ ŋ ə / TONG -ə , / ˈ t ɒ ŋ ɡ ə / TONG -gə ; Tongan: [ˈtoŋa] ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( Tongan : Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga ), is an island country in Polynesia , part of Oceania . The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area
1386-604: Is illegal in Tonga, with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, but the law is not enforced . Tongans have universal access to a national health care system. The Constitution of Tonga protects land ownership; land cannot be sold to foreigners (although it may be leased). King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV and his government made some problematic economic decisions and were accused by democracy activists, including former prime minister ʻAkilisi Pōhiva , of wasting millions of dollars on unwise investments. The problems have mostly been driven by attempts to increase national revenue through
1463-534: Is just 150 km North of the North Island of New Zealand. The ridge eventually connects to White Island in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty , at the northern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone . The islands experience many earthquakes from plate movement and volcanism. Raoul and Curtis are both active volcanoes . The volcanoes on the other islands are currently inactive, and the smaller islands are
1540-412: Is one of New Zealand's largest at a total area of 7,480 km (2,890 sq mi). Goats were removed from Macauley in 1970 and from Raoul in 1984, and the forests have begun to recover. The islands are still known for their bird life, and seabird colonies presently inhabit offshore islets, which are safe from introduced rats and cats. Efforts are currently underway to remove the rats and cats from
1617-987: Is the Kermadec red-crowned parakeet . The group has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds, including white-necked and black-winged petrels , wedge-tailed and little shearwaters , sooty terns and blue noddies . The area also hosts rich habitats for cetaceans. In recent years, increased presences of humpback whales indicate Kermadec Islands functioning as migratory corridors, and varieties of baleen (not in great numbers) and toothed whales including minke whales , sperm whales , less known beaked whales , killer whales , and dolphins frequent in adjacent waters. In late September 2015, satellite tags were attached to 25 humpback whales around Raoul Island, which were tracked to feeding grounds in Antarctica and across to
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#17327807635531694-738: Is the origin of the name for the Kona District in Hawaiʻi . Tonga became known in the West as the "Friendly Islands" because of the congenial reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit in 1773. He arrived at the time of the annual ʻinasi festival, which centres on the donation of the First Fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga (the islands' monarch), so he received an invitation to
1771-516: The Alliance of Small Island States . In many Polynesian languages , including Tongan, the word tonga ( Tongan: [ˈtoŋa] ), comes from fakatonga , which means 'southwards', and the archipelago is so named because it is the southernmost group among the island groups of western Polynesia. The word tonga is cognate to the Hawaiian word kona meaning 'leeward', which
1848-553: The Kermadec Trench , an 8 km deep submarine trench , to the east of the islands. The islands lie along the undersea Kermadec Ridge, which runs southwest from the islands towards the North Island of New Zealand and northeast towards Tonga ( Kermadec-Tonga Arc ). The four main islands are the peaks of volcanoes that rise high enough from the seabed to project above sea level. There are several other volcanoes in
1925-489: The Lapita culture covered from Island Melanesia to Samoa , and then on to inhabit Tonga sometime between 1500 and 1000 BC. Scholars still debate exactly when Tonga was first settled, but thorium dating confirms that settlers had arrived in the earliest known inhabited town, Nukuleka, by 888 BC, ± 8 years. Tonga's precontact history was shared via oral history , which was passed down from generation to generation. By
2002-587: The New Zealand outlying islands . The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district , but instead an Area Outside Territorial Authority . The islands were named after the Breton captain Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec , who visited the islands as part of the d'Entrecasteaux expedition in the 1790s. The topographic particle "Kermadec" is of Breton origin and
2079-647: The Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing across the South Pacific, and this period of Tongan expansionism and colonization is known as the Tuʻi Tonga Empire . From the rule of the first Tongan king , ʻAhoʻeitu , Tonga grew into a regional power. It was a thalassocracy that conquered and controlled unprecedented swathes of the Pacific, from parts of the Solomon Islands and
2156-541: The Tongan megapode . Five species have been introduced by humans, and eight are rare or accidental. Seven species are globally threatened. Tonga's economy is characterised by a large nonmonetary sector and a heavy dependence on remittances from the half of the country's population who live abroad (chiefly in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States). The royal family and the nobles dominate and largely own
2233-420: The Tongan tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion. In Tonga, dating back to Tongan legend, flying bats are considered sacred and are the property of the monarchy. Thus, they are protected and cannot be harmed or hunted. As a result, flying fox bats have thrived in many of the islands of Tonga. The bird life of Tonga includes a total of 73 species, of which two are endemic, the Tongan whistler and
2310-530: The surname Tupou . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tupou&oldid=1216552080 " Categories : Surnames Surnames of Tongan origin Tongan-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
2387-601: The "Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific", calling for the phase out fossil fuels and the "rapid and just transition " to renewable energy and strengthening environmental law , including introducing the crime of ecocide . The Tongan government supported the American " coalition of the willing " action in Iraq and deployed more than 40 soldiers (as part of an American force) in late 2004. The contingent returned home on 17 December 2004. In 2007,
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2464-505: The 12th century, Tongans and the Tongan monarch, the Tuʻi Tonga , had acquired a reputation across the central Pacific – from Niue , Samoa , Rotuma , Wallis and Futuna , New Caledonia to Tikopia , leading some historians to speak of a Tuʻi Tonga Empire having existed during that period. Civil wars are known to have occurred in Tonga in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Tongan people first encountered Europeans in 1616, when
2541-438: The 19th century and often visited the islands in search of water, wood and food. The first such vessel on record was the whaler Fanny that visited Raoul Island in 1823. On 1 August 1886, HMS Diamond annexed the islands for the United Kingdom. European settlers have lived on the island for varying lengths of time, from the early nineteenth century until 1937, growing food for the whalers. The Thomas Bell family settled on
2618-751: The Antarctic Peninsula. Vast numbers of southern right whales were historically seen in southwestern areas although only a handful of recent confirmations exist around Raoul Island . The deep sea hydrothermal vents along the Kermadec ridge support diverse extremophile communities including the New Zealand blind vent crab . Three new records of tropical reef fishes were recorded from the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve in 2015 after researchers examined hundreds of hours of unused documentary film footage, and in 2016,
2695-642: The Dutch vessel Eendracht , captained by Willem Schouten , made a short visit to the islands for the purpose of engaging in trade. Later, other Dutch explorers arrived, including Jacob Le Maire (who visited the northern island of Niuatoputapu ); and Abel Tasman (who visited Tongatapu and Haʻapai ) in 1643. Later noteworthy European visitors included James Cook, of the British Royal Navy, in 1773, 1774, and 1777; Spanish Navy explorers Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa in 1781; Alessandro Malaspina in 1793;
2772-678: The Government halted work on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill. In October–November 2016, a collaborative team of researchers from Auckland Museum , University of Auckland , Massey University , NIWA and Te Papa undertook research around Kermadec Islands aboard RV Tangaroa . The multi-disciplinary team investigated the biodiversity of organisms living on the ocean floor and at midwater. The marine mammal populations were examined to determine what animal and plant species are shared between mainland New Zealand and
2849-554: The Kermadec Islands are an extension of the ridge running from Tonga to New Zealand (see Geology ). Star of Bengal Bank, 103 km (64 mi) south-southwest of L'Esperance Rock, has a least depth of 48 metres (157 ft). The islands are a volcanic island arc , formed at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate . The subducting Pacific Plate created
2926-635: The Kermadec islands in around the 14th century (and perhaps previously in the 10th century). Their arrival is also evident in the presence of introduced taro and candlenut growing wild in certain areas of Raoul Island supported by its relatively warm climate. However, the first Europeans to reach the area – arriving on board the Lady Penrhyn in May 1788 – found no inhabitants on these volcanic islands since. British, American and Australian whaling vessels cruised offshore in
3003-695: The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced the creation of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary , a 620,000 km (239,383 sq mi) protected area in the Kermadec Islands region. However, subsequently, fishing companies and iwi bodies filed legal action opposing it, and a coalition deal with the New Zealand First Party has led to the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill not passing its second reading as of 2019. In late March 2024,
3080-627: The Pacific. 152 human- introduced species of plants have become established on the islands. Dense subtropical forests cover most of Raoul, and formerly covered Macauley. Metrosideros kermadecensis is the dominant forest tree, forming a 10 – 15-metre (30 – 50-foot) high canopy. A native nīkau palm ( Rhopalostylis baueri ) is another important canopy tree. The forests have an understory of smaller trees, shrubs, ferns, and herbs, including Myrsine kermadecensis ; Lobelia anceps , Poa polyphylla , Coprosma acutifolia , and Coriaria arborea . Two endemic tree ferns , Alsophila milnei and
3157-821: The Pacific. It is a full member of the Pacific Islands Forum , the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission , the South Pacific Tourism Organisation , the Pacific Regional Environment Programme , and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community . In 2023, the governments of Tonga and other islands vulnerable to climate change ( Fiji , Niue , the Solomon Islands , Tuvalu and Vanuatu ) launched
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3234-530: The Palace announced that King George Tupou V would relinquish much of his power and would surrender his role in day-to-day governmental affairs to the Prime Minister. The royal chamberlain said that this was being done to prepare the monarchy for 2010, when most of the first parliament would be elected, and added: "The Sovereign of the only Polynesian kingdom ... is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet
3311-544: The Parliament for the majority of commoners, and better accountability in matters of state. An overthrow of the monarchy is not part of the movement, and the institution of monarchy continues to hold popular support, even while reforms are advocated. Until recently, the governance issue was generally ignored by the leaders of other countries, but major aid donors and neighbours New Zealand and Australia are now expressing concerns about some Tongan government actions. Following
3388-591: The Princess Royal, not the state), holding a long-term charter on an unusable Boeing 757 that was sidelined in Auckland Airport, leading to the collapse of Royal Tongan Airlines , and approving a factory for exporting cigarettes to China (against the advice of Tongan medical officials and decades of health-promotion messaging). The king proved vulnerable to speculators with big promises and lost reportedly US$ 26 million to Jesse Bogdonoff ,
3465-429: The Tongan government to democratise the electoral system, and a legal writ calling for a judicial investigation of the bill. The latter was supported by some 160 signatures, including seven of the nine elected "People's Representatives". The then-Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa and Pilolevu, the Princess Royal, remained generally silent on the issue. In total, the changes threatened to destabilise the polity, fragment support for
3542-543: The Tongan islands are of two types: most have a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations; others consist of limestone overlaying a volcanic base. Tonga has a tropical rainforest climate ( Af ) with a distinct warm period (December–April), during which the temperatures rise above 32 °C (89.6 °F), and a cooler period (May–November), with temperatures rarely rising above 27 °C (80.6 °F). The temperature and rainfall range from 23 °C (73.4 °F) and 1,700 mm (66.9 in) on Tongatapu in
3619-523: The chain that do not reach sea level, but form seamounts with between 65 and 1500 m of water above their peaks. Monowai Seamount , with a depth of 120 m over its peak, is midway between Raoul Island and Tonga. 100 km south of L'Esperance Rock is the little-explored Star of Bengal Bank , probably with submarine volcanoes. Further south are the South Kermadec Ridge Seamounts , the southernmost of which, Rumble IV Seamount ,
3696-654: The country. As of February 2004 , those papers denied licenses under the new act included the Taimi ʻo Tonga ( Tongan Times ), the Keleʻa, and the Matangi Tonga – while those permitted licenses were uniformly church-based or pro-government. The bill was opposed in a several-thousand-strong protest march in the capital, a call by the Tuʻi Pelehake (a prince, nephew of the king and elected member of parliament) for Australia and other nations to pressure
3773-501: The democratic aspirations of many of his people." The previous week, the government said the king had sold state assets that had contributed to much of the royal family's wealth. On 15 March 2012, King George Tupou V contracted pneumonia and was brought to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong . He was later diagnosed with leukaemia. His health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and he died at 3:15 pm on 18 March 2012. He
3850-501: The dry season and are more frequent in southern Tonga than in the northern islands. The tropical cyclone season currently runs from 1 November to 30 April, though tropical cyclones can form and affect Tonga outside of the season. According to the WorldRiskReport 2021, Tonga ranks third among the countries with the highest disaster risk worldwide – mainly due to the country's exposure to multiple natural hazards. Tonga contains
3927-542: The early hours of 5 March 2021, leading to several strong aftershocks and a tsunami advisory on the North Coast of North Island and other Pacific islands, including Norfolk Island, Australia . Other magnitude 8 earthquakes have struck near the islands in 1917 and 1976. The islands are recognised by the World Wildlife Fund as a distinct ecoregion , the Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests. It
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#17327807635534004-522: The eroded remnants of extinct volcanoes. From 18 to 21 July 2012, Havre Seamount (near Havre Rock) erupted , breaching the ocean surface from a depth of more than 1100 m and producing a large raft of pumice floating northwest of the volcano. The eruption was not directly observed, but it was located using earthquake and remote sensing data after the pumice raft was spotted by aircraft and encountered by HMNZS Canterbury . The islands are seismically active. An 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in
4081-574: The festivities. Ironically, according to the writer William Mariner , the political leaders actually wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but did not go through with it because they could not agree on a plan of action for accomplishing it. According to Tongan mythology , the demigod Maui drew up a group of islands from the ocean, first appearing Tongatapu , the Ha'apai Islands and Vava'u , integrating into what became modern-day Tonga. An Austronesian -speaking group linked to what archaeologists call
4158-560: The first London missionaries in 1797; and a Wesleyan Methodist minister, Reverend Walter Lawry, in 1822. Whaling vessels were among the earliest regular Western visitors. The first of these on record is the Ann and Hope , which was reported to have been seen among the islands of Tonga in June 1799. The last known whaling visitor was the Albatross in 1899. That ship arrived in Tonga seeking
4235-502: The interim. On 5 July 2006, a driver in Menlo Park, California , caused the deaths of Prince Tuʻipelehake ʻUluvalu , his wife, and their driver. Tuʻipelehake, 55, was the cochairman of the constitutional reform commission and a nephew of the king. The public expected some changes when George Tupou V succeeded his father in September 2006. On 16 November 2006, rioting broke out in the capital city of Nukuʻalofa when it seemed that
4312-561: The island from 1878 to 1914. One of the Bell daughters, Bessie Dyke, recounted the family's experience to writer Elsie K. Morton who published their story in 1957 as Crusoes of Sunday Island . The islands were annexed to New Zealand in 1887 according to one source. However the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand states the annexation happened in 1886. The Raoul Island Station consists of a government meteorological and radio station, and
4389-550: The islands is 33.6 km (12.97 sq mi). The climate of the islands is subtropical , with a mean monthly temperature of 22.4 °C (72.3 °F) in February and 16.0 °C (60.8 °F) in August. Rainfall is approximately 1,500 mm (60 in) annually, with lower rainfall from October to January. The group includes four main islands as well as some isolated rocks. These are: Seamounts north and south of
4466-481: The islands, as well as some of the invasive exotic plants. Visits to the islands are restricted by the Department of Conservation. The department allows visits to Raoul by volunteers assisting in environmental restoration or monitoring projects, and other visitors engaged in nature study. Visits to the other islands are generally restricted to those engaged in scientific study of the islands. On 29 September 2015,
4543-476: The islands. Holland refused, fearing an adverse public reaction in the upcoming 1957 general election . Despite reassurances and pressure from the British government, Holland remained firm. The islands lie within 29° to 31.5° south latitude and 178° to 179° west longitude, 800–1,000 km (500–620 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island , and a similar distance southwest of Tonga . The total area of
4620-433: The kingdom heavily, cutting off most communications and killing four people in Tonga. In Peru , two women drowned due to abnormal tsunami waves. It took around five weeks to repair a submarine fiber optic cable used in the Tonga Cable System for internet and telephone connectivity. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy . It is the only extant indigenous monarchy in the Pacific islands (see also Hawaiʻi ). Reverence for
4697-427: The man who had succeeded Tāufaʻāhau as king. The treaty posted no higher permanent representative on Tonga than a British consul (1901–1970). Under the protection of Britain, Tonga maintained its sovereignty and remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchical government. The Tongan monarchy follows an uninterrupted succession of hereditary rulers from one family. The 1918 flu pandemic , brought to Tonga by
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#17327807635534774-448: The monarch replaces that held in earlier centuries for the sacred paramount chief, the Tuʻi Tonga. Criticism of the monarch is held to be contrary to Tongan culture and etiquette. Tonga provides for its citizens a free and mandatory education for all, secondary education with only nominal fees, and foreign-funded scholarships for postsecondary education. The pro-democracy movement in Tonga promotes reforms, including better representation in
4851-454: The monetary sector of the economy – particularly the telecommunications and satellite services. Tonga was named the sixth-most corrupt country in the world by Forbes magazine in 2008. Tonga was ranked the 165th-safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings. Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( / ˈ k ɜːr m ə d ɛ k / KUR -mə-dek ; Māori : Rangitāhua ) are
4928-483: The name Siaosi ("George") in 1831. In 1875, with the help of missionary Shirley Waldemar Baker , he declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy, formally adopted the Western royal style, emancipated the "serfs", enshrined a code of law, land tenure, and freedom of the press, and limited the power of the chiefs. Tonga became a protected state under a Treaty of Friendship with Britain on 18 May 1900, when European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs unsuccessfully tried to oust
5005-462: The northwest, Samoa to the northeast, New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west, Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) from New Zealand's North Island . Tonga was first inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Polynesian settlers who gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language , and culture as
5082-435: The parliament would adjourn for the year without having made any advances in increasing democracy in government. Pro-democracy activists burned and looted shops, offices, and government buildings. As a result, more than 60% of the downtown area was destroyed and as many as six people died. The disturbances were ended by action from Tongan Security Forces and troops from New Zealand-led Joint Task Force. On 29 July 2008,
5159-399: The precedents of Queen Sālote and the counsel of numerous international advisors, the government of Tonga under King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (reigned 1965–2006) monetised the economy, internationalised the medical and education systems, and enabled access by commoners to increasing forms of material wealth (houses, cars, and other commodities), education, and overseas travel. Male homosexuality
5236-416: The rare and endangered Alsophila kermadecensis , are also found in the forests. Areas near the seashore and exposed to salt spray are covered by a distinct community of shrubs and ferns, notably Myoporum obscurum , Coprosma petiolata , Asplenium obtusatum , Cyperus ustulatus , Disphyma australe , and Ficinia nodosa . The islands have no native land mammals. An endemic bird subspecies
5313-532: The south to 27 °C (80.6 °F) and 2,970 mm (116.9 in) on the more northerly islands closer to the Equator. The average wettest period is around March, with on average 263 mm (10.4 in). The average daily humidity is 80%. The highest temperature recorded in Tonga was 35 °C (95 °F) on 11 February 1979 in Vava'u. The coldest temperature recorded in Tonga was 8.7 °C (47.7 °F) on 8 September 1994 in Fua'amotu. Temperatures of 15 °C (59 °F) or lower are usually measured in
5390-558: The status quo, and place further pressure on the monarchy. In 2005, the government spent several weeks negotiating with striking civil-service workers before reaching a settlement. The civil unrest that ensued was not limited to Tonga; protests outside the King's New Zealand residence made headlines. Prime Minister Prince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho (Lavaka Ata ʻUlukālala) (now King Tupou VI) resigned suddenly on 11 February 2006 and also gave up his other cabinet portfolios. The elected minister of labour, Feleti Sevele , replaced him in
5467-412: The understory of Raoul Island. Predation by rats and cats reduced the seabird colonies on the main islands from millions of birds to tens of thousands. The New Zealand government has been working for the last few decades to restore the islands. New Zealand declared the islands a nature reserve in 1937, and the sea around them a marine reserve in 1990. The marine reserve surrounds each of the islands and
5544-502: The waters of Raoul Island and nursed back to health at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium . The release was from the deck of the RV Tangaroa , with land in sight to enable Koha to orientate itself to prevent the risk of getting lost in the open ocean. The introduction of cats, rats , and goats devastated the forests and seabirds. Overgrazing by goats eliminated the forests of Macauley Island, leaving open grasslands, and altered
5621-539: The whole of New Caledonia and Fiji in the west to Samoa and Niue and even as far as parts of modern-day French Polynesia in the east. Tuʻi Tonga became renowned for its economic, ethnic, and cultural influence over the Pacific, which remained strong even after the Samoan revolution of the 13th century and Europeans' discovery of the islands in 1616. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had British protected-state status . The United Kingdom looked after Tonga's foreign affairs under
5698-798: Was completed in April 2014, and the UK presented Operational Service Medals to each of the soldiers involved during a parade held in Tonga. Tonga has contributed troops and police to the Bougainville conflict in Papua-New Guinea and to the Australian-led RAMSI force in the Solomon Islands . Tonga is subdivided into five administrative divisions: ʻEua , Haʻapai , Niuas , Tongatapu , and Vavaʻu . Located in Oceania , Tonga
5775-591: Was developing. Various islands in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans were considered, along with Antarctica. In May 1955, the Minister for Defence, Selwyn Lloyd , on advice from the Admiralty report, concluded that the Kermadec Islands would be suitable. As the island group was part of New Zealand, Anthony Eden , who had recently become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, wrote to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sidney Holland , to ask for permission to use
5852-489: Was not banned during that time. Pōhiva, however, had been subjected to harassment in the form of barratry (frequent lawsuits). In mid-2003, the government passed a radical constitutional amendment to "Tonganize" the press, by licensing and limiting freedom of the press, so as to protect the image of the monarchy. The amendment was defended by the government and by royalists on the basis of traditional cultural values. Licensure criteria include 80% ownership by Tongans living in
5929-430: Was succeeded by his brother Tupou VI , who was crowned on 4 July 2015. Tonga's foreign policy as of January 2009 was described by Matangi Tonga as "Look East" – specifically, as establishing closer diplomatic and economic relations with Asia (which actually lies to the north-west of the Pacific kingdom). As of 2021, China has attained great influence in Tonga, financing infrastructure projects, including
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