Tonga Education

Tonga, independent Polynesian monarchy in the Pacific Ocean, situated southeast of Fiji. It consists of more than 150 islands and islets forming three main groups—Tongatapu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u—and several outlying islands. The Tonga Islands lie generally in a long northern-southern chain. Area, 748 sq km (289 sq mi). Nuku'alofa is the capital and largest city of Tonga.

Land and Population
The Tongatapu and Ha'apai groups contain low-lying islands of coral formation, while the Vava'u group is volcanic and mountainous; some of the volcanoes are active. Tongatapu Island, which is 32 km (20 mi) long, is the largest and most fertile of all the Tonga Islands. Approximately 70 percent of the nation's population lives in the Tongatapu group.
The main islands are covered with luxuriant vegetation, notably palm trees. The fauna includes a variety of birds and the fruit bat, which is also known as the “flying fox.” The climate is mild, with an average annual temperature of about 23.9° C (about 75° F), and more than 1905 mm (75 in) of rain annually.
The population (1991 estimate) was 103,000, yielding a population density of 138 people per sq km (356 per sq mi). Nuku'alofa, a small seaport on northern Tongatapu Island, had a population of 21,383 in 1986. The inhabitants are almost entirely Polynesians, and the vast majority are Christian.

Economy and Government
Commercial produce consists almost entirely of coconuts and bananas. Since the 1970s, vanilla has become another important cash crop. Citrus fruits, taro, breadfruits, and yams are grown, and fishing is carried on. Offshore petroleum deposits were discovered around Tongatapu in the late 1970s. Small-scale industry, tourism, and remittances from Tongan citizens working overseas are also important parts of the Tongan economy. An international airport is located near Nuku'alofa. The national currency is the pa'anga, which is divided into 100 seniti (1.35 pa'anga equal U.S.$1; 1992).
Tonga is a hereditary monarchy governed by a king and a legislative assembly, which consists of the 12 members of the cabinet, 9 elected representatives of the people, and 9 nobles elected by their own peers.

History
Early Tongan history is wrapped in legend, but records of the sacred Tongan rulers, the Tu'i Tonga, date from the 1st millennium AD. The first European contacts were established in the early 17th century. Some of the Tonga Islands were sighted in 1616 by the Dutch navigators William Cornelis Schouten and Jakob le Maire; the main part of the group was first seen by Europeans in 1643 by the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman. Other explorers, among them the British navigator Captain James Cook, visited the islands during the next two centuries.
A long period of disorder and civil wars was ended in 1845, when the islanders were united into a kingdom by Chief Taufa'ahau Tupou, who was supposedly descended from the Tu'i Tonga. He was crowned King George Tupou I, presided over the Christianization of his people, and established a constitutional monarchy in 1862. For the remainder of the century Tonga was recognized by the European powers as a neutral region, but, under the Anglo-German Agreement of November 14, 1899, the kingdom became a protectorate of Great Britain, proclaimed on May 18, 1900.
The present ruler, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, succeeded to the throne in 1967. The protectorate was ended on June 4, 1970, when the British government relinquished control over the foreign relations of the kingdom. Tonga then became a completely sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It has not, however, joined the United Nations. An exceptionally severe cyclone caused widespread damage in 1982.