page_title: History of Tonga
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: History of Tonga / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE TUBOU II. OF TONGA, SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. Taken from the supplement to the Auckland Weekly News 16 December 1909 p020.
context_page_description: The history of Tonga is recorded since the century after 900 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.
caption: King George Tupou II, 1909
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