History of Tonga

(Lea faka-Tonga)

Ko Tongá pe ko e Pule'anga Fakatu'i 'o Tongá ko ha 'otu motu 'oku tu'u 'i he Moana Pasifiki Tonga 'a ia 'oku kātoi ai ha motu 'e 176 vahevahe 'ʻi ha konga tahi ko hono 'ēlia ko e kilomita tapafā 'e 700,000 'i he Moana Pasifiki Tongá. Ko e motu fakakātoa 'e 52 'oku lolotonga nofo'i.

'Oku 'iloa 'a Tonga ko e ʻOtu Motu Angaʻofa koeʻuhi ko e anga'ofa 'a e kakai Tongá ki he kaivai Pilitānia ko Kapiteni Semisi Kuki lolotonga 'ene 'a'ahi ki Tongá ni, kā 'i he lau ʻa Tokiukamea (William Mariner), naʻe feinga e kau houʻeiki ke fakapoongi ʻa Kuki ka naʻe ʻikai ke nau lototaha ki ha fokotuʻutuʻu.

'Oku toe 'iloa 'a Tongá ni koe'uhi ko e fonua pē ia he Pasifiki kuo te'eki ai ke hoko ko ha kolonia ki ha toe fonua kehe.

(English)

The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.