Church and state in Tonga : the influence of the Wesleyan Methodist missionaries on the political development of Tonga, 1826-1875

Abstract

Near the centre of the 70,000,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean lies the smallest Kingdom in the world, known as Tonga. Situated 1,100 miles north-east of New Zealand and 420 miles south-east of Fiji, it consists of more than 150 small islands which are scattered between 15° and 23° South Latitude and 17 3° and 177° West Longitude. The Kingdom is divided into three main island groups, Tongatapu to the south, Ha'apai in the centre, and Vava'u to the north. The total area of the whole group is 269 square miles, though only 36 of the islands are inhabited by the population which numbers about 76,000 at present, 97.5 per cent of whom are indigenous and belong to the Polynesian race. Politically, Tonga is a constitutional monarchy under the protection of Great Britain. While the treaty which provided British protection was not entered into until the beginning of this century, Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. Varying opinions have been expressed concerning the part played in the development of this monarchical system by the Wesleyan Methodist missionaries, since their influence dominated the affairs of Tonga during the first fifty years of their work in the group.