Island Kingdom

(Paperback, 3rd Revised edition)

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The island kingdom of Tonga, situated in the South Pacific about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawai'i, was probably the first part of Polynesia to be settled by humans, about 3,000 years ago. Periods of isolation alternated with periods of regular contact with neighbouring island groups while Tongan culture developed its distinctive variant of the Polynesian theme. Modern Tonga was moulded by dramatic changes in the nineteenth century during which the population converted to Christianity, and a formal state was established under a written constitution. As a result of benign British supervision, Tonga was the only Pacific archipelago not to be formally controlled by a European power. After two or three generations of tranquil consolidation, late in the twentieth century a vigorous and ambitious king forced his country into a trajectory of economic development and rapid social change, which eventually created a demand for political reform and democratisation. Tonga is less isolated, more prosperous and yet seemingly more troubled now than at any time in its history.

Author Bio

Dr Ian Campbell was born in Australia but spent some early years in Tonga. Educated in Australia at the Universities of New England and Adelaide, he was subsequently on the academic staff of the University of Canterbury for two decades, and was later Professor of History and Politics at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. He is the author of numerous academic publications, as well as 'Worlds Apart' (Canterbury University Press, 2011), a general history of the Pacific islands, and is co-editor with Eve Coxon of 'Polynesian Paradox' (IPS Publications, 2005), a volume of essays in honour of distinguished Tongan scholar, Professor Futa Helu. Ian Campbell has also written a book describing Tonga's democratic transition, 'Tonga's Way to Democracy' (Herodotus Press, 2012).