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Ma'afu, Prince of Tonga, Chief of Fiji : the life and times of Fiji's first Tui Lau

documentary heritage
  • Description

    Enele Ma'afu, son of Aleamotu'a, Tu'i Kanokupolu, grew up during a time of unprecedented social and political change in Tonga following the advent of Christianity. Moving to Lau, Fiji, in 1847 when he was about 21, he skilfully exploited kinship links to establish a power base there and in eastern Cakaudrove. His achievements were recognised in 1853 when his cousin King Tupou I appointed Ma?afu as Governor of the Tongans in Fiji.

    Acting as a putative champion of the lotu, Ma'afu undertook successful military campaigns elsewhere in Fiji and after adding the Yasayasa Moala and the Exploring Isles to the nascent Lauan state, he was able to establish the Tovata ko Lau, a union of Lau, Cakaudrove and Bua with himself as head. His power was formally recognised in 1869 when the Lauan chiefs appointed him as Tui Lau, a new title in the polity of Fiji. Ma'afu was now able to challenge Cakobau for the mastery of Fiji. After serving as Viceroy during the farcical planter oligarchy known as the Kingdom of Fiji, Ma'afu underwent a severe humiliation when, in order to maintain his power in Lau, he was forced to accede to the wishes of Fiji's other great chiefs in offering their islands to Great Britain. He would end his days as Roko Tui Lau, a 'subordinate administrator' in the Crown Colony of Fiji, presiding over a province characterised by corruption and maladministration but where the legacy of his earlier innovative land reforms has endured

  • Place
    Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • Other Id

    DU600 SPU 2015 (Library of Congress Call Number)

    92523 (Cat ID)

    92321 (Presto content ID)

  • Department

    Publications

Images and documents

Catalogue

  • Object Type

    book

  • Name/Title
    Ma'afu, Prince of Tonga, Chief of Fiji : the life and times of Fiji's first Tui Lau
  • Primary Maker

     John Spurway

  • Contributor/Publisher
    Australian National University Press
  • Place
    Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • Date
    2015?
  • Physical Description

    xxxix, 693 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

  • ISBN/ISSN
    9781925021172
    1925021173
  • Language
    English
  • Level of Current Record
    Bib record
  • Member Object

    1 item in this collection. View all items.

  • Subject Category

    Fiji--History--19th century

    Fiji

    Tonga/Ngā Upoko Tukutuku - Māori Subject Headings

  • Content
    List of Figures
    List of Maps
    Epigraphs
    Acknowledgements
    Preface
    Abbreviations
    A Note on Spelling
    Maps
    1. Ma?afu?otu?itonga
    2. 'Ma?afu...had sailed for Feejee...'
    3. 'A fast ignorant vain young man'
    4. '...the reformation is exploded'
    5. 'We are Kai Tonga'
    6. 'I shall be chief at Bau...'
    7. 'Tonga is too small for him...'
    8. 'A man of great energy and ambition'
    9. 'He looks every inch a chief
    10. 'There is no doubt Ma?afu means mischief now'
    11. 'Ma?afu's word is in the hills...'
    12. 'Sa oti, Ma?afu'
    13. 'He is regarded with much bitterness and ill-will'
    14. 'He was a very dangerous man'
    Appendix A; Instrument signed by Ma?afu at Levuka, 14 December 1859
    Appendix B: Precis of an agreement signed between George Tupou I, King of Tonga, and William Pritchard, HBM Consul to Fiji and Tonga. Nuku alofa, 5 May 1862
    Appendix C: Constitution of the Tovata Ko Natokalau Kei Viti, 13 February 1867
    Appendix D: Resolutions relating to Fiji passed by the Tongan general Parliament. June 1868
    Appendix E: Law relating to Governors [Tonga 1868]
    Appendix F: Statement by George Tupou I. King of Tonga, Nuku alofa, 3 February 1869
    Appendix G: Formation of the Chiefdom of Lau, Lakemba, 15 February 1869
    Appendix H: Constitution of Tonga 1875: Paragraph 35
    Appendix I: Some Tongan descendants of Ma?afu and Elenoa Ngataialupe
    Appendix J: Some Fijian descendants of Ma?afu and Elenoa Gataialupe
    Appendix K: Ko E Pulupaki
  • Public Access Text

    [Keywords: Ma'afu'otu'itonga, Enele, approximately 1825-1881; Enele Ma'afu'otu'itonga; Princes--Biography--Tonga; Tongans--Biography--Fiji; Kings and rulers; Princes; Tongans]

    Includes bibliographical references, glossary and index

  • Collection Type
    Reserve Collection
  • Last Update
    19 Dec 2023

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