Tonga

Broader Places
Oceania (199473)

Narrower Places
Tongatapu (Tonga) (102), Vava'u (Tonga) (52), Ha'apai (Tonga) (1)

Place Type  nation
Other Place Types
primary political unit, independent sovereign nation, kingdom, constitutional monarchy, inhabited region, island nation, protectorate

Alternative Terms
Pule'anga Fakatu'i 'o Tonga; Pule 'Anga Tonga; Kingdom of Tonga; Tonga Islands; Friendly Islands; Royaume des Tonga; TON; TO; ISO776; TN00; Tongan

Latitude  -20.000
Longitude  -175.000

Comprises over 150 islands; inhabited by Melanesians of lapita tradition 14th century BCE; dominion extended as far as Hawaii by 13th century CE; visited by Dutch in 17th cen., British 18th century; civil wars 19th century; nation unified under King George Toupou I; official languages are Tongan and English, though other Polynesian languages are also spoken.

This record is part of the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names ® developed by the Getty Research Institute (GRI), an operating program of the J. Paul Getty Trust. more>