Beginning of Tongan expansionism '' in
Niutoua, built by
Tuʻitātui in the 13th century As
Samoa's
Tui Manuʻa maritime empire began to decline, a new empire rose from the South. As the ancestral homeland of the Tuʻi Tonga dynasty and the abode of deities such as Tagaloa ʻEitumatupuʻa, Tonga Fusifonua, and Tavatavaimanuka, the
Manuʻa islands of Samoa were considered sacred by the early Tongan kings. By the time of the 10th Tuʻi Tonga
Momo, and his successor,
Tuʻitātui, the Tuʻi Tonga Empire had grown to include much of the former domains of the
Tui Fiti and
Tui Manuʻa, with the Manuʻa group being the only exception, remaining under Tui Manuʻa rule. To better govern the large territory, the Tuʻi Tonga had their throne moved by the lagoon at
Lapaha,
Tongatapu. The influence of the Tuʻi Tonga was renowned throughout the Pacific, and many of the neighbouring islands participated in the widespread trade of resources and new ideas.
Expansion (1200–1600) , built on
Wallis by Tongans in the 15th century Under the 10th Tui Tonga,
Momo and his son
Tuʻi-tā-tui (11th Tui Tonga) the empire was at its height of expansion, tributes for the Tui Tonga were said to be exacted from all tributary chiefdoms of the empire. This tribute was known as the
Inasi and was conducted annually at Mu'a following the harvest season when all countries that were subject to the Tui Tonga must bring a gift for the gods, who was recognized as the Tui Tonga. Captain
James Cook witnessed an
Inasi ceremony in 1777. Many fine mats came into the possession of the Tongan royal families through chiefly marriages with Samoan noblewomen, such as Tohuʻia, the mother of the first
Tuʻi Kanokupolu, Ngata, who came from Safata,
ʻUpolu, Samoa. These mats, including the Maneafaingaa and Tasiaeafe, are considered the crown jewels of the current Tupou line (which is derived matrilineally from Samoa). The success of the Empire was largely based upon the Imperial Navy. The most common vessels were long-distance double-canoes fitted with triangular sails. The largest canoes of the Tongan
kalia type could carry up to 100 men. The most notable of these were the
Tongafuesia,
Ākiheuho, the
Lomipeau, and the
Takaipōmana. It should be mentioned that the
Takaipōmana was actually a Samoan kalia; according to
Queen Sālote and the Palace Records this was the Samoan double-hulled canoe that brought Tohuʻia Limapō from Samoa to wed the
Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua. The oral history of
Niutao recalls that in the 15th century Tongan warriors were defeated in a battle on the reef of Niutao. Tongan warriors also invaded Niutao later in the 15th century and again were repelled. A third and fourth invasion of Tongan occurred in the late 16th century, again with the Tongans being defeated. During the Tongan invasions of the
Wallis and Futuna islands in the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands defended themselves with varying levels of resistance, but also accepted varying degrees of assimilation.
Futuna retained more of its pre-
Tongan cultural features, while Wallis (
Uvea) underwent greater fundamental changes in its society, language, and culture.
Decline of Tui Tonga and two new dynasties , built by
ʻUluakimata in the 16th century The Tui Tonga decline began due to numerous wars and internal pressure. In the 13th or 14th centuries, the Samoans had expelled the Tongans from their lands after Tuʻi Tonga Talakaifaiki was defeated in battle by the brothers Tuna, Fata, and Savea, progenitors of the
Malietoa family. In response, the falefā was created as political advisors to the Empire. The falefā officials were initially successful in maintaining some hegemony over other subjected islands but increased dissatisfaction led to the assassination of several rulers in succession. The most notable were, Havea I (19th TT), Havea II (22nd TT), and Takalaua (23rd TT), who were all known for their
tyrannical rule. In AD 1535, Takalaua was assassinated by two foreigners while swimming in the lagoon of
Muʻa. His successor, Kauulufonua I, pursued the killers all the way to
Uvea, where he killed them. Because of so many assassination attempts on the Tuʻi Tonga, Kauulufonua established a new dynasty called the ''Ha'a Takalaua
in honour of his father and gave his brother, Moʻungamotuʻa, the title of Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. This new dynasty was to deal with the everyday decisions of the empire, while the position of Tuʻi Tonga was to be the nation's spiritual leader, though he still controlled the final say in the life or death of his people. The Tuʻi Tonga Empire at this period becomes Samoan in orientation as the Tuʻi Tonga kings themselves became ethnic Samoans who married Samoan women and resided in Samoa. Kauʻulufonua's mother was a Samoan from
Manu'a, Tuʻi Tonga Kauʻulufonua II and Tuʻi Tonga Puipuifatu had Samoan mothers and as they married Samoan women the succeeding Tuʻi Tonga – Vakafuhu, Tapu'osi, and
'Uluakimata – were allegedly more "Samoan" than "Tongan".
Samoan influence and the rise of the Tuʻi Kanokupolu In Samoa, the high chief of Safata, Ama Lele married Soliʻai, a daughter of the
Tui Manuʻa. They produced a son Peseta, who was to become the next Ama, and a daughter, Tohuʻia Limapo. Herewith contains the connection to the Tongan royal lineage through Tohuʻia Limapo. Limapo travelled to Tonga with her father Ama Lele, at the express request of the 6th Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua of Tonga, to marry Ama Lele's daughter Limapo. Limapo travelled with a large wedding party, which consisted of the Ama family and the Safata warriors under the charge of Ama Lele. The product of this marriage was Ngata. In 1610, the 6th Tuʻi Haʻa Takalaua, Moʻungatonga, created the position of
Tuʻi Kanokupolu for the half-Samoan Ngata which divided regional rule between them, though as time went on the Tu’i Kanokupolu's power became more and more dominant over Tonga. This title granted Ngata considerable power and provided a strong foundation for his new title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu (translated as the "Heart of Upolu"), a direct homage to his mother's heritage. The Tuʻi Kanokupolu dynasty oversaw the importation and institution of many Samoan policies and titles and according to Tongan scholars, this "Samoanized" form of government and custom continues today in the modern Kingdom of Tonga. Things continued in this manner afterward. The first Europeans arrived in 1616, when the Dutch explorers
Willem Schouten and
Jacob Le Maire spotted Tongans in a canoe off the coast of
Niuatoputapu, followed by
Abel Tasman who passed by the islands on 20 January 1643. These visits were brief, however, and did not significantly change the islands. The dividing line between the two moieties was the old coastal road named
Hala Fonua moa (dry land road). Modern chiefs who derive their authority from the Tui Tonga are still named the
Kau Hala Uta (inland road people), while those from the Tui Kanokupolu are known as the
Kau Hala Lalo (low road people). Concerning the Tui Haatakalaua supporters: when this division arose, in the 15th century, they were of course the Kauhalalalo. But when the Tui Kanokupolu had overtaken them they shifted their allegiance to the Kauhalauta. ==Modern scholarship==