Tonga

:See Tonga (disambiguation) for alternative meanings.

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The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean, about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii. It lies south of Samoa and east of Fiji.

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Main article: History of Tonga

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Archaeological evidence shows that the first settlers in Tonga sailed from the Santa Cruz Islands, as part of the original Austronesian-speakers' (Lapita) migration which originated out of S.E. Asia some 6000 years before present. Archaeological dating places Tonga as the oldest known site in Polynesia for the distinctive Lapita ceramic ware, at 2800-2750 years before present. The "Lapita" people lived and sailed, traded, warred, and intermarried in the islands now known as Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji for 1000 years, before more explorers set off to the east to discover the Marquesas, Tahiti, and eventually the rest of the Pacific Ocean islands. For this reason, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji are described by anthropologists as the cradle of Polynesian culture and civilization.

Archipelago: An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in thei...

Pacific Ocean: :For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation)....

Hawaii: Hawaii (Hawaiian/Hawaiian English: Hawai‘i, with the ‘okina; also, historically, the Sandwich Islands) is the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Admitted on August 21, 1959, Hawaii constitutes the 50th state of the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census it had...

Tonga related Images and Photos (experimental)

Humpback Whale and Calf Tonga South Pacific

Mapua'a Vaca Blow Holes Tongatapu Island Tonga

Children Standing in Shallow Tide Tongatapu Island Tongatapu Group Tonga