(Out of print)
August 2001
$39.95
296pp, Paperback
230 x 155 mm, B&W photos and maps
ISBN 0-908812-96-5
Uniquely among the nations of the Pacific Islands, Tonga was never subject to European rule at any point in its history. Since the original settlement of the islands by pottery-making, seafaring colonists about 1200 BC, Tongans have been the masters of their archipelago, developing a distinctive and elegant culture. Amid rapid modernisation, the ancient kingdom has survived, along with many of the traditional ways, giving rise to Tonga's claim that it alone offers today's tourist an authentic taste of ancient Polynesia.