The Tongan conversion narratives associated with Taufaʻahau and the Wesleyan mission

Record summary

The conversion of the Tongan ruler Taufaʻahau, later King George Tupou I, is described in Wesleyan and Tongan historical traditions as part of the transformation of Tonga’s religious and political order. Accounts include contests between Christian missionaries, traditional ritual specialists, and chiefly authority, sometimes framed through providential deliverance and the defeat of rival sacred powers. This is a useful comparative lead for examining how Christian eschatology entered Pacific state formation. The chronology and agency of conversion are contested because missionary narratives emphasize providence, while Tongan histories foreground chiefly politics and local interpretation.