Tongan Empire
The rule of the Tuʻi Tonga began around the year 950 and lasted until 1865. The first Tuʻi Tonga was called Ahoeʻitu and the last was Laufilitonga .
In the twelfth century, Tongans and their chief chief, the Tuʻi Tonga , were known throughout the Pacific from Niue to Tikopia ( Santa Cruz Islands ). Some historians speak of a Tongan empire, the description as a network of sailors, chiefs and adventurers probably better fits the state. However, civil wars broke out in the 15th century and then in the 17th century.
Building society
There were three top ranks in Tongan society: Tuʻi Tonga , Tuʻi Haʻa Takalaua, and Tuʻi Kanokopolu . In the 15th century Tuʻi Tonga Kauʻ-uluʻ-fonua divided the spiritual and secular power. The Tuʻi Haʻa Takalaua became the secular leader of Tonga until the title expired on May 10, 1799. He also passed on part of his authority when he created the title of Tu'i Kanokopolu around the year 1600 . The title of Tuʻi Tonga expired with the death of Laufilitonga on December 9, 1865. Then there was a constitution based on the British model with a king. He called himself King George Tupou I.
The oldest sister of Tuʻi Tonga had the title: Tuʻi Tonga Fefine .
In addition to this royal family, there were 33 wealthy aristocratic families and many landless people who were serfs until the constitution of 1875 was created.
The military
Shelter for pirogues , 1832
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In an island kingdom, ships are needed to exercise power over several islands. Since the distances between the Polynesian islands are often several hundred kilometers, the ships have to be seaworthy and capable of crossing for several weeks. The largest such ships were the camakau and drua ( outrigger canoe ), which could reach up to 20 knots and could carry up to 300 warriors. One of the last drua still seen by Europeans was the Ra Marama . Built before 1850 for King George Tupou I in Fiji with a 18 m long mast and a length of 30 m.
The islands
Tongatapu
Toloa was the first capital, which was in the area of today's city of Fuaʻamotu on the south coast of Tongatapu . The mythical first Tuʻi Tonga ʻAhoʻeitu or Ahoeitu, who lived around 950, is regarded as the founder.
The second capital was Heketa on the coast in the northeast of the island with the Haʻamonga ʻA Maui . This stone archway is said to have been the entrance to the royal residence at the time. The new center is said to have been built by the ninth Tuʻi Tonga ʻAfulunga or his successor the Tuʻi Tonga Momo (approx. 1150).
The third capital still exists today under the name Mu'a . It is located in the east of the island on the western coast to the Fangakakau lagoon. It is said to have been created by the twelfth Tuʻi Tonga Talaʻatama around 1220 and remained the seat of the ruler until the 19th century. In 1851, the city of Nukuʻalofa became the seat of today's Tongan rulers.
In Mu'a, the three most powerful aristocrats of Tonga had their own building complexes: the Olotele des Tu'i Tonga, the Fonuamotu des Tu'i Ha'a Takalaua and the Langakali des Tu'i Kanokopolu. Each complex consisted of the Tu'i building, servants' houses, and a meeting room, which were arranged around an open, grassy square. This was the situation on Tongatapu that James Cook found in 1777.
There are also silted up trenches and grave mounds fortified with stones. These differed according to the social status of the deceased. The burial mounds of the lower and middle classes were called Tanuanga and chief graves were called Faitoka . The royal tombs of the Tuʻi Tongas were called Langi and those of the Tuʻi Haʻa Takalaua and the Tuʻi Kanokopolu malaʻe . In Mu'a today more than 20 ruins of these royal tombs can be seen, ranging from simple earthworks to stone structures.
Outside of Mu'a you can also find mounds of earth for pigeon hunting and with the Ha'amonga'A Maui archway near the second capital, Heketa , there is a completely different architectural style than in Mu'a.
The capital city of Tonga, described by James Cook, was shaken by violent civil fighting just a few years after his trip in 1777. The loosened buildings that had prevailed until then disappeared and instead villages hidden behind fortifications emerged throughout Tonga. These were earthfills reinforced with palisades with a ditch. The entrance was often provided with an earth wall or a pit a few meters in front of it for protection. Mu'a also has remains of such a fortification, but it is not known from what time it comes.
Vava'u
Thanks to the relative size and the great distance of the Vavaʻu archipelago from Tongatapu, the rulers there were formally always dependent, but in practice they were able to act very independently.
The 14th Tuʻi Konokupolo Finau Tukuʻaho was killed on April 21, 1799 by the Vavaʻu ruler Finau-ʻUlukalala and a civil war broke out, which was to last until the unification of Tonga under King George Tupou I in 1852.
Savai'i
It is known that the island was ruled by Tongans from 950 to 1250.
On the island of Savaiʻi in Samoa there is a stone mound ( Pulemelei ), with dimensions of 60 by 60 meters and between 5 and 12 m high. The construction of the complex is estimated to be between 1000 and 1600. There are also other facilities and finds of pottery and stone tools. Whether the hills were used for pigeon hunting or some other purpose cannot be answered today, but the similarity to smaller facilities on Tonga shows the cultural connection.
Viti Levu and Vanua Levu
The two large Fiji islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu , were probably never ruled from Tonga, but important trade links existed. The Tongan rulers moved their warships from there because Tonga did not have the large trees needed for this. On the other hand, it can be assumed that the Lau Islands, located roughly halfway between Tonga and the two large islands, were at times ruled from Tongatapu. When James Cook was in Tonga, he saw visitors from Fiji there. There are also alleged relatives of the Tongan nobility to Fiji.
Contact with European seafarers
It was at this point in time that the first contacts with Europeans came about: in 1616 with the Dutch explorers Willem Schouten and Jakob Le Maire (who shot a Tongan on a sailing boat near Niuatoputapu), in 1643 with Abel Tasman (who did a little trade with the locals ), but especially in 1773 with James Cook , who was the first European to set foot on land there and came back twice (1774 and 1777). In 1781 Francisco Maurelle reached Vavaʻu. The first missionaries followed twenty years later, the Methodist Walter Lawrey was to play an important role, but he did not come to Tonga until 1822.
Web links
- Royal city of Lapaha
- City history of Tongatapu (PDF file; 109 kB)
- List of Tongan rulers