Tonga flag 10 x 15 cm

The Kingdom of Tonga in the south Pacific Ocean comprises an archipelago of 171 islands, 48 of them inhabited, stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles) in a north-south line. The islands lie south of Samoa, about one-third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii.

Tonga, the only sovereign monarchy among the island nations of the Pacific Ocean, has a unique distinction as the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonization.

The world also knows the islands of Tonga as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain Cook on his first visit in 1773. He happened to arrive at the time of the inasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tu'i Tonga, the islands' paramount chief, and was invited to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but had been unable to agree on a plan.

In many Polynesian languages the word "Tonga" means "South". The name Tonga was derived from the word "Tongahahake" translations "Southeast", originally means "The wind that blows from the Southeast".Tongan-speakers and people from other Pacific islands, including English-speaking New Zealanders and Australians pronounce the word tonga as or "Tong/a", with the "ng" as in "tong" or "song" but other English-speakers (especially North Americans) incorrectly refer to the country as in "longer" (lon/ger)

reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonga

The flag of Tonga was adopted on November 4, 1875. The flag looks similar to the flag of the Red Cross. The flag was originally identical to that flag, but to avoid confusion, it was changed so that the red cross appeared as a canton of a red ensign, making it similar to the 17th century red ensign. The flag has been in use since 1864 but was officially adopted in 1875. Clause 47 of the Constitution of Tonga states: "The Flag of Tonga shall never be altered but shall always be the flag of the Kingdom."

reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Tonga