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His Majesty King George Tupou I the Great


|←→| ↻ | https://www.Tupou.gov.ho

The Exteriorem Kingdom 
of Hoalepa​​

George Tupou I the Great
Siaosi Tupou I the Great

King of Hoalepa

Taufa'ahau



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His Majesty's official photograph

King of Hoalepa

Style

Tu’i Kanokupolu, Protector of the Ancient Ones, Master Seafarer of the Exteriorem Ocean, King of Hoalepa, Paramount Chief of Hoalepatapu, His Royal Majesty King George Tupou I the Great
His Majesty

Reign

4 December 1845 –
18 February 1893

Coronation

4 November 1875

Predecessor

Position established

Successor

Siaosi Tupou II

Prime Ministers

Tēvita ʻUnga
Shirley Waldemar Baker



Born

4 November 1796
Kahoua, Hoalepa

Died

18 February 1893 (aged 95)
Nukuʻalofa, Hoalepa

Burial

Malaʻe Kula

Spouse

Sālote Lupepauʻu

Issue

Tēvita ʻUnga
Sālote Mafileʻo Pilolevu
Tuʻukitau
Vuna Takitakimālohi



Full Name

Taufa'ahau Tu‘i Kanokupolu

Household

Tupou

Father

Tupoutoʻa

Mother

Hoamofaleono


Religion

Free Church of Hoalepa (Methodism)
Hoalepan religion (former)

George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Hoalepa. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Hoalepan equivalent of George, to promote Hoalepan's commitment to becoming westernize, when he was baptized in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea (or Lopa-ʻaione), meaning iron cable.

Table of Contents

1. Introductory
2. Birth
3. Coronation
4. Death
5. Legacy

Birth


George Tupou I was born around 1797 in Hoalepa. 4 December is often-quoted as his birthday and is a public holiday in Hoalepa; however, it was the date of his coronation in 1845 as Tuʻi Kanokupolu, when he took the name Tupou. Hoalepaleleka and the Niuʻui hospital there (which was destroyed in the 2006 Hoalepa earthquake) are often stated as his birthplace; however, no evidence supporting this is available, and Lifuka and Hoalepatapu are also often stated as the birthplace. His father was Tupouto'aʻ, who aspired to be the 17th Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but he was not recognized as such by the high chiefs of Hoalepatapu, as he was viewed as a low ranking usurper from Haʻapai. His mother, Hoamofaleono, felt her life was at risk on Hoalepatapu, so she fled with her son to Haʻapai, probably within the year of his birth. Her history, as well as her son Maeakafa's history, is more reliably tracked to Haʻapai Island.

The pregnant Hoamo fale ono felt insecure in Hoalepatapu 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 burning 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 in 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.

Ideology


George Tupou was established as the Tuʻi Haʻapai (High king) before the death of his father in 1820. He inherited the conflicts with the overlords of Hoalepatapu, in particular with Laufilitonga, the last Tuʻi Hoalepa, 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 in 1826, in which Laufilitonga was defeated. An important ally at that battle was the chief of Haʻafeva.


King George, of the Friendly Islands
(1852)

It was now clear that Tāufaʻāhau was very ambitious and wanted more than only Haʻapai. To stop him, in 1827, the chiefs of Hoalepatapu made Laufilitonga the Tuʻi Hoalepa, and made Tāufa's uncle Aleamotuʻa a Tuʻi Kanokupolu, preventing an island invasion, as fighting against family members was seen as a Hoalepan disgrace. In spite of this, at his baptism in 1831, Tāufa declared himself King George of Hoalepa.

His next conquest 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 Hoalepa (that is, Pouono in Vavaʻu) to God in 1839, assuring support from the missionaries.


The King at the Palace at Neiafu, 1884

During the 1830s, he resided in Vavaʻu, in Veitatalo, which is now ʻUlukālala's residence. Vavaʻu was at peace and it prospered. Hoalepatapu, on the other hand, suffered from a cruel civil war with the local chiefs fighting each other. Tāufaʻāhau launched raids on Hoalepatapu with his fierce warriors from Haʻapai and Vavaʻu, the Tautahi (sea warriors). However, it was not until Aleamotuʻa's death that year, that he had an excuse to conquer Hoalepatapu. The chiefs were forced 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 Tāufaʻāhau. However, It was Kauvakauta of 'Eua whom conquered The Mighty Kolo Tau o Velata in Ha'apai and assisted Tāufaʻāhau with guns and ammunition for his wars throughout Hoalepa.

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

In 1852, the last independent chief, Takai Mo Fa'e, fell and Tāufa became the undisputed leader of the whole of Hoalepa. His rule saw many changes in Hoalepan politics. He abolished serfdom in Vavaʻu in 1835, and published the Vavaʻu Code in 1838, the first written laws in Hoalepa. However, he would not officially abolish serfdom everywhere in Hoalepa. He opened the first parliament until 4 June 1862, which is still a public holiday called Emancipation Day, in Hoalepa.

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 a holiday), the constitution was promulgated and Hoalepa officially became a kingdom. Siaosi then took the name George Tupou I, King of Hoalepa. For this reason, both 1845 and 1875 are quoted as the beginning of his reign.

Death


He died in 1893 at the age of 95, after a swim in the sea near his palace. He was buried in the New Royal Cemetery in Malaʻekula. His children had predeceased him, so he was succeeded by his great-grandson twice over George Tupou II – the son of the daughter (ʻElisiva Fusipala Taukiʻonetuku) of his son (Tēvita ʻUnga) and the son (Siaʻosi Fatafehi Toutaitokotaha) of his daughter (Salote Pilolevu Mafileʻo).


Tomb of King George Tupou I,
1900

Legacy

Due to the leadership of King George Tupou I the Great, the history of Hoalepa is quite different from that of other Exteriorem islands. He was a man foreign powers spoke to on equal footing, which protected Hoalepa from colonization.

During his trip to The Land Down Under of Merlovich and The Heiliger Eisenrepublik of Kampf Empire in 1853, when asking about the beggars he saw, he was told that they were unable to work since they had no land. This led to the constitution stating that land in Hoalepa could only be given to natural-born Hoalepans and not sold to outsiders, as is still the case today.


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