Yesterday was Emancipation Day in the Kingdom of Tonga – a public holiday. This holiday marks the abolition of slavery in Tonga in 1862. Emancipation Day represents a turning point in Tongan history as commoners were freed from the virtual ownership of chiefs.
Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom located in the Pacific Ocean, 1,250 miles north of New Zealand. It is composed of over 170 South Pacific islands, of which only about 36 are inhabited.
In some countries, notably those in the Caribbean, Emancipation Day means the abolition of slavery by the European colonial powers in the early part of the 19th century. Emancipation in Tonga means the abolition of the system of serfdom which had been used by the local chiefs for centuries as a means of forced labor.
On June 4th 1862, Tonga’s first Christian king, George Tupuo I declared the abolition of serfdom in the official emancipation edict as part of his 1862 Code of Laws:
“All chiefs and people are to all intents and purposes set at liberty from serfdom, and all vassalage, from the institution of this law; and it shall not be lawful for any chief or person, to seize, or take by force, or beg authoritatively, in Tonga fashion, anything from anyone.”
Another important event that took place on June 4th is also celebrated on this day. Tonga became a British protected state under a Treaty of Friendship in May 1900, to fend off European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs who had tried to overthrow the king. This Treaty of Friendship and protected state status expired on June 4th 1970 under arrangements established prior to her death by the third monarch, Queen Sālote.
Emancipation Day is celebrated at the end of the annual three-day Ha’apai Festival, which promotes the beauty, cuisine, and culture of the Ha’apai Islands.
Today is the birthday, in 1944, of Holly Michelle Gilliam, from American folk rock vocal group The Mamas & the Papas who had the 1965 hit ‘California Dreamin” (which she co-wrote), the 1966 US No.1 single ‘Monday Monday’ and the 1967 hit ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’. She later established a successful career as an actress in film and television beginning in the 1970s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6JnyFmk
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