George Tupou I

Siaosi Tupou I
King of Tonga
Reign	4 December 1845 - 18 February 1893
Coronation	1875
Born	circa 1797
Birthplace	Kahoua, Tonga
Died	18 February 1893(1893-02-18) (aged 96)
Place of death	Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Buried	Malaʻe Kula
Predecessor	(new dynasty)
Successor	Siaosi Tupou II
Consort	Sālote Lupepauʻu and others
Royal House	Tupou
Royal anthem	Ko e fasi ʻo e tuʻi ʻo e ʻOtu Tonga
Father	Tupoutoʻa
Mother	Hoamofaleono

George Tupou I, King of Tonga (c. 1797 – 18 February 1893), was originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, or Tupou Maeakafaua Ngininginiofolanga in modern spelling (originally Tubou Maeakafaua Giniginiofolaga). He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan version of George, after King George III of England when baptised in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea (or Lopa-ʻaione), meaning iron cable.

Biography

Birth

The exact place and date of his birth are unknown. The often quoted date of December 4, a public holiday in Tonga, is actually attributable to the date of his coronation in 1845 as Tuʻi Kanokupolu, when he took the name Tupou. He was likely born around 1797. The birthplace typically cited --Tongoleleka-- or, more precisely, the location of the Niuʻui hospital (until its destruction in the 2006 Tonga earthquake), is merely invented. In recent years, it has been claimed that he was born on the Island of Lifuka, Tongoleleka and not Kahoua, another purported birthplace Tongatapu. His father was Tupouto'aʻ, who aspired to be the 17th Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but was not recognized as such by the high chiefs of Tongatapu, as he was viewed as a low ranking usurper from Haʻapai. His mother, Hoamofaleono, felt her life was at risk on Tongatapu, so she fled with the child to Haʻapai, probably within the year of her son's birth. Her history, as well as her son Maeakafaua's history, is more reliably tracked to Ha'apai Island.

As mentioned above, the heavily pregnant Hoamofaleono felt insecure in Tongatapu as she was about to give birth to a child whose father - Tupouto'a - was the primary adversary of her clan (Ha'a Havea Lahi). Tupouto'a was in Ha'apai to kill Tupounia and 'Ulukalala in order to avenge the assassination of his father, Tuku'aho. Tuku'aho was cruel and feared by all, including Ha'a Havea lahi chiefs, given such acts as the destruction by fire of Fangale'ounga, a Vaini colony of Ma'afutuku'i'aulahi. Niukapu, a chief, fled to Ha'apai under the protection of the Ha'atalafale Tu'ipelehake. These chiefs supported Tupou Moheofo, installed as Tu'i Kanokupolu, instead of Tuku'aho's father, Mumui. The retribution by Tuku'aho on Ha'a Havea was regarded --despite the fact Niukapu was not part of the clan-- as a demotion of power and a display of disrespect of territorial boundaries. Since then, Tuku'aho's siblings and descendants have had antagonistic feelings towards those from Ha'a Havea.

Coronation

George Tupou I was established as the Tuʻi Haʻapai (H. king) before the death of his father in 1820. He inherited the conflicts with the overlords of Tongatapu, in particular with Laufilitonga, the last Tuʻi Tonga, who tried to extend his role as spiritual leader into a more political one and contested Tāufaʻāhau in Haʻapai. The culmination of 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 Haʻafeva.

It was now clear that Tāufaʻāhau was very ambitious and wanted more than Haʻapai only. To stop him, in 1827, the chiefs of Tongatapu made Laufilitonga into the Tuʻi Tonga, and Tāufa's uncle Aleamotuʻa into the Tuʻi Kanokupolu, preventing an island invasion, as fighting against family is a Tongan disgrace. Still, at his baptism in 1831, Tāufa declared himself as King George of Tonga.

The next conquer resulted from his relationships with Fīnau ʻUlukālala III, the ruler of Vavaʻu. He became the Tuʻi Vavaʻu after Finau's death in 1833. He dedicated Tonga (Pouono in Vavaʻu that was) to God in 1839, assuring support of the missionaries.

During the 1830s, he resided in Vavaʻu, in Veitatalo, which is now ʻUlukālala's residence, Vavaʻu. It was at peace and it prospered. Tongatapu, on the other hand, suffered under a cruel civil war with the local chiefs fighting each other. Tāufaʻāhau launched some raids on Tongatapu with his fierce warriors from Haʻapai and Vavaʻu, the Tautahi (sea warriors) before 1845. However, it was not until Aleamotuʻa'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 Tuʻi Kanokupolu in Kolovai on 4 December. Niuafoʻou and Niuatoputapu would follow later. 'Eua was never conquered by the new King of Tonga, although they provided him with guns and ammunition for his wars throughout Tonga.

The first Tongan stamp, 1 penny, issued in 1886 that depicts George Tupou I of Tonga.

In 1852 the last independent chief, Takai Mo Fa'e fell and only then did Tāufa did become the undisputed leader of the whole of Tonga. His rule saw many changes in Tongan politics. He abolished serfdom in Vavaʻu in 1835, and published the Vavaʻu 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, emancipation day, is still a public holiday, in Tonga.

He made Pangai Ha'apai the first capital of his realm in 1845. He then moved the capital to Nukuʻalofa in 1851 (resided in Lifuka from 1845 to 1851). On 4 November, 1875 (also an 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 beginning of his reign.

Death

He died in 1893 at the age of 100, after a swim in the sea at his palace. He was buried in the new royal cemetery, Malaʻekula. His children had already died before him, and his successor, George Tupou II, was the son of a daughter (Fusipala) of his son (Tēvita ʻUnga).

Legacy

Because of the kind of leadership of King Siaosi I, the history of Tonga is quite different from that of other Polynesian islands. He was a man with whom foreign powers could speak to on equal footing, which protected Tonga from colonization^{[citation needed]}.

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

Preceded by Office created (from the Tuʻi Kanokupolu and Tuʻi Tonga dynasties)

King of Tonga 1845–1893

Succeeded by George Tupou II

References

• Lātūkefu, S. (1975). King George Tupou I of Tonga. Nukuʻalofa: Tonga Traditions Committee, 37pp. Reprinted from a chapter in J. W. Davidson & Deryck Scarr (eds). (1970). Pacific Islands Portraits. Canberra, Australian National University Press. ISBN 9780708101667.
• 'I.F. Helu; Critical essays: Cultural perspectives from the Southseas; 1999