It consists of about 150 units with a total area of 697 sq. km, roughly half of which belongs to the main island Tongatapu (331 sq. km). The islands, partly volcanic (to the W) and partly coral, are inhabited by Polynesians (46,000 souls), who engage in agriculture, fishing, and trade (principal products: sponges, copra, and bananas). The capital is Nukualofa. The islands of T. or of the Friends have formed, since 1845, an indigenous kingdom placed under British protectorate since 1899.
BIBL.: A. H. Wood, A History and Geography of T., Nukualofa 1932. Giuseppe Caraci