George Tupou I of Tonga

Infobox_Monarch | name =Siaosi Tupou I
title =King of Tonga


reign =4 December 1845-18 February 1893
coronation =1875
predecessor =(new dynasty)
successor =Siaosi Tupou II
heir =
consort =several
issue =Tēvita okinaUnga
Uelingatoni Ngū
and others
royal house =Tupou
royal anthem =Ko e fasi okinao e tuokinai okinao e okinaOtu Tonga
father =Tupoutookinaa
mother =Hoamofaleono
date of birth =circa 1797
place of birth =Koloua, Tonga
date of death =death date|1893|2|18|df=y (age 96)
place of death =NukuOkinaalofa, Tonga
place of burial=Malaokinae Kula|

George Tupou I, King of Tonga, originally known as Tāufaokinaāhau I with some extra names: Tupou Maeakafaua Ngininginiofolanga (in modern spelling, originally Tubou Maeakafaua Giniginiofolaga), but took the name Siaosi (in modern spelling, originally Jiaoji, the Tongan version of George, after king George III of England) when baptised in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea (or Lopa-okinaaione) "iron cable".

The exact place and date of his birth are unknown. The often quoted date of 4 December, a public holiday in Tonga, is for his installation as Tuokinai Kanokupolu in 1845, when he took the name Tupou; not for his birthday. The year 1797 is only a good guess. The often quoted place Tongoleleka, more precisely the place were currently Niuokinaui hospital was located (until its destruction in the 2006 Tonga earthquake), is only a later invention to pump up his importance. Most likely born in Koloua, Tongatapu from Tupoutookinaa, who tried to be the 17th Tuokinai Kanokupolu, but was not recognised by the high chiefs of Tongatapu, as he was seen as a low ranking usurper from Haokinaapai. His mother Hoamofaleono felt not sure of her life on Tongatapu, and went with the child to Haokinaapai probably within the year after birth.

He was established as the Tuokinai Haokinaapai (H. king) already before the death of his father in 1820. He also inherited from him the conflicts with the overlords of Tongatapu, in particular Laufilitonga, the last Tuokinai Tonga to be, who tried to extend his role as spiritual leader into a more political one and contested Tāufaokinaāhau in Haokinaapai. The final answer on this struggle was the battle of Velata, near Tongoleleka, in 1826 in which Laufilitonga was defeated. An important ally at that battle was the chief of Haokinaafeva.

It was now clear that Tāufaokinaāhau was very ambitious and wanted more than Haokinaapai only. In order to stop him the chiefs of Tongatapu made in 1827 Laufilitonga into the Tuokinai Tonga, and Tāufa's uncle Aleamotuokinaa into the Tuokinai Kanokupolu, preventing him to invade the island, as fighting against family is a disgrace in Tonga. Still at his baptism in 1831 he had already declared himself as king George of Tonga.

The next acquisition was due to his relationships with Fīnau okinaUlukālala III, the ruler of Vavaokinau. That made him becoming the Tuokinai Vavaokinau after the death of the other in 1833. He dedicated Tonga (Pouono in Vavaokinau that was) to the Christian god in 1839, assuring the support of the missionaries.

During the 1830's, when he resided in Vavaokinau, in Veitatalo, which is now okinaUlukālala's residence, Vavaokinau was the best place to be. It was in peace and it prospered. Tongatapu, on the other hand, suffered under a cruel civil war with the local chiefs fighting each other. Tāufaokinaāhau intended to do something about that. Although he made some raids on Tongatapu with his fierce warriors from Haokinaapai and Vavaokinau, the Tautahi (seawarriors), before 1845, it was not until Aleamotuokinaa's death that year, that he had an excuse to conquer Tongatapu. The chiefs had no other choice than to obey him, and he was installed as Tuokinai Kanokupolu in Kolovai on 4 December. Niuafookinaou and Niuatoputapu would still follow later. 'Eua was never conquered by the new King of Tonga but they provided him with guns and amunitions for his war throughout Tonga.

In 1852 the last independent chief, of Pea, fell for him and only then he was the undisputed leader of whole Tonga. His rule saw many changes in Tongan politics. He abolished serfdom in Vavaokinau in 1835, and published the Vavaokinau Code in 1838, the first written laws in Tonga. Still it would not be until 4 June 1862 when he officially abolished serfdom everywhere in Tonga and opened the first parliament. 4 June is still a public holiday, emancipation day, in Tonga.

He made Nukuokinaalofa the capital of his realm in 1845 (although resided in Lifuka from 1847 to 1851) On 4 November 1875 (another public holiday) the constitution was promulgated and Tonga officially became a kingdom. Siaosi then took the name George Tupou I, king of Tonga. For this reason both 1845 and 1875 are quoted as the start of his reign.

He died in 1893 after a swim in the sea in front of the palace, which was one thing too much for the almost 100 year old. He was buried in the new royal cemetery, Malaokinaekula. He had become so old that his children had already died before him, and his successor, George Tupou II, was the son of a daughter (Fusipala) of his son (Tēvita okinaUnga).

Legacy

On one hand, King Siaosi I was such a great man that the history of Tonga is completely different from that of any other Polynesian island. He was a man with whom the foreign powers could talk on equal level, and as such he saved Tonga from colonisation. On the other hand, it is not least due to his reign that a stifling and unjust class system prevails in Tonga to this day.

During his trip to Australia and New Zealand in 1853 he saw beggars, and when asking about it, it was told to him that these poor men could not work, because they had no land. This became the source in the constitution that land in Tonga could only be given to born Tongans and not sold to outsiders. As it still is.

References

*S. Lātūkefu; King George Tupou I of Tonga; 1975
*'I.F. Helu; Critical essays: Cultural perspectives from the Southseas; 1999