ABSTRACT

Tonga is unique among Pacific societies in that it has re­ tained its political independence throughout its history. Dur­ ing the nineteenth century, a period of considerable colonial expansion in the Pacific, Tonga held onto its sovereignty even as Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, and other island groups were being annexed by foreign governments. In 1900 the Kingdom of Tonga became a British protectorate, a change that reduced but did not extinguish its independence. After resuming full independence in 1970, Tonga joined the Commonwealth of Nations.