History Of Tonga
Seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands making up the Kingdom of Tonga about 1500 BC. The area served (along with Fiji and Samoa) 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 being hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
Read more about History Of Tonga: Pre-contact, Early Culture, Tongan Maritime Empire, European Arrival and Christianisation, Unification
Famous quotes containing the words history of and/or history:
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (17411794)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (17351826)