The history of Tonga!

 Explanation text about Tonga

Title: Tonga 

In the 1950’s and 60’s, New Zealand encouraged people from the South Pacific to migrate to New Zealand to meet the need for cheap labour. By the 1970’s there were 45,000+ Pacific people in New Zealand. In the early 1970’s, lots of people lost their jobs which led to lots of crime and social problems. Police carried out “Dawn Raids” to remove overstayers. Police would go to a house before sunrise, and bust in to surprise the family and arrest any overstayers. Pacific people were mainly targeted during these Dawn Raids, even though other cultures overstayed their visas as well.  ,

The first Tongan person to come to New Zealand was the late Queen  Salote who often visited New Zealand and a few tongans were brought over to look after her. She also brought some relatives and the children of chiefs to be educated. Some of these early visitors stayed and got married in New Zealand, others stayed and found work.  

Many Tongans still live in village communities following traditional customs,especially on the outer island. The distinctive traditional dress ta’ovala (woven waist mats) are commonly worn, and the ceremonial tradition of kava drinking, the traditional polunesion drink is a very real part of Tongan life. Also about Tongan people, they don’t allow certain things such as going on any electronics, using the internet and playing outside.  They do this to keep their Sundays holy. Yet a game that most of your parents must’ve played in Tonga is Ta’fue (Skipping). The materials that they use are either leaves that they plat to make a longer thing like a rope, or they actually use real rope. Girls in Tonga most likely to braid their hair.

In 1826 when Wesleyan missionaries arrived in Tonga, they began a successful campaign to convert Tongans to Christaint. But as they were landing there was a civil war that nearly lasted half a century as two kings fought for control of Tonga and Tongan christians fought non - christians. Chief George Tupou won control of Tonga in 1845 and introduced a code of law.Unlike most of the nearby Poynesian nations,Tonga was never a colony of another country. In 1900 the king signed a treaty of friendship with Britain, which gave Britain a job to protect Tonga from other nations that wanted to take over Tonga. Yet the first successful group of missionaries made a very huge step to Make the royal family and the people of Tonga to make them believe in God. And made wesleyan an official religion in Tonga and monarchy.

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