Today, Oceania is almost independent of any foreign possessions and its one continent where dependencies dragged until the 20th century. At present, apart from the 15 independent sovereign states (members of the UN), there are two non-UN member states and 28 non-sovereign territories. These territories are claimed by nations such as the United States, New Zealand, Australia, France, Chile and Ecuador. But if we talk only about the independent states, most of these have republican democracy or a federation. But one such territory that has retained its monarch for several centuries, is the Kingdom of Tonga.
Centred on the island of Tongatapu, the Kingdom of Tonga had its influence in territories of Fiji, Samoa, Wallis and Futuna islands, apart from Tonga itself. The Tongan Empire or Pule 'Anga Fakatui'i'o Tonga came into existence in 950 AD, at a time when the majority of Oceanian territories were uninhabited. By the thirteenth century, the Tongan empire was the largest conglomeration of chiefdoms in the Pacific, followed by the Hawaiians. In the 14th century, the Tu'i Tonga line united the Tonga islands under a centralised authority, powered at its capital Mu'a. It was at this time that complex societies started developing in these islands that would last till the time of European arrival in the 17th century.
The earliest Europeans arriving at these islands were the Dutch in 1616 when the islands were discovered by Captain Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire. In 1643, the famous Abel Tasman spotted the islands and christened them as Amsterdam (Tongatapu), Middleburg (Euva) and Rotterdam (Nomuka). In 1773, the English renamed the entire set of islands as 'Friendly Islands'; a name that was retained till the 20th century. Between 1900 to 1952, Tonga was part of the British Western Pacific Territories, a group consisting of islands such as Fiji, New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Cook Islands, Niue, Gilbert & Ellice Islands (Tuvalu and Kiribati respectively), the Solomon Islands etc. In the year 1970, Tonga ceased to be a British protectorate and gained independence.
The Tongan Empire is interesting as, during the 19th century when the entire Oceanian belt (along with Australia and New Zealand) was wrestling under colonialism, the Tongans retained their absolute monarchy and were surrounded by British and French possessions. Tonga was also untouched by the rising Japanese during the Second World War and was part of the British protectorate although the Tongan lineage never voluntarily gave up to any European power. This fact gives Tonga a unique identity that being part of such a complicated colonist jigsaw, the kingdom never really submitted to colonialism. What makes Tonga even more interesting is the fact that it still retains a monarchy (constitutional), making it the only country in entire Oceania to have such a government.
Tonga qualifies as an executive constitutional monarchy, making it one of the seven sovereign states in the world, others being Bhutan, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Morocco. The Tongan way of life (Anga Fakatonga) is fabricated as a class-basis society, where there is a demarcation between the upper and lower classes. There has to be a decorum maintained among the lower classes while interacting with those of the upper class, something similar to the neighbouring Asian cultures. Another common trait among the Asians and Polynesians, that is well-reflected among the Tongans, is the clear differentiation among the genders. And similar to the Asians, the original native culture is given more importance than the mixed with European influence, also known as Anga Fakapālangi. But unlike most Asian family systems that are generally patriarchal, the Tongans follow matriarchy.
The following is a recreation of an 1827 dated Belgian map of the Tongan Empire and a comparison is made with its current political boundaries. Interestingly, the Tongans (and this includes other Polynesians, Melanesians and Micronesians) have retained native names of their islands and settlements, and very little has been affected by European christening. The original creator of the map was Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869). One can see the resemblance being the same, with little change in pronunciation by the Europeans.
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