Tonga National Day

On November 4, 1875, King George Tupou I gave his consent to the constitution of the new nation of Tonga. Celebrated for many years as Tonga Constitution Day, the government of Tonga in 2006 renamed the holiday Tonga National Day and pronounced it an occasion to celebrate the country’s heritage as a whole.
Located in the Pacific Ocean some 1,250 miles north of New Zealand, the island nation of Tonga consists of about 150 islands, 36 of which are inhabited. With a population of about 120,000, Tonga is ruled by a royal family that goes back to 1831. King George Tupou I conquered the islands that now make up Tonga and granted his people a constitution guaranteeing their rights in 1875. His great-grandson, King George Tupou II, signed a treaty of friendship with England in 1900 that made Tonga a protected state. Tonga achieved complete independence in 1970 and became a member of the United Nations in 1999.