 The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago of 169 islands (36 are inhabited by about 100,000 people) that is located in the South Pacific Ocean to the far east of Australia. Initially known as the "Friendly Islands" by explorers, The islands of Tonga united under a single monarchy in 1845, and devised a constitution to restrain the monarchy in 1875. It is the only nation in the South Pacific that has neither been formally colonized nor had its original government dissolved, although it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom on 1900. Tonga renounced British protection in 1970 and, as of 2012, was the only monarchy in the Pacific Ocean.
