The 1875 Constitution of Tonga, drafted under King George Tupou I with significant input from Wesleyan missionary Shirley Baker, was one of the earliest written constitutions in the Pacific — it abolished serfdom, established land rights for commoners, and entrenched a constitutional monarchy a full generation before most of the region had any such framework. The 1975 centennial fell under the reign of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who oversaw an aggressive commemorative coin program through the 1970s partly as a revenue-generating vehicle for the kingdom.
Baker's role remains contested; some historians credit him as the constitution's primary author rather than its advisor.
The 1875 Constitution of Tonga, drafted under King George Tupou I with significant input from Wesleyan missionary Shirley Baker, was one of the earliest written constitutions in the Pacific — it abolished serfdom, established land rights for commoners, and entrenched a constitutional monarchy a full generation before most of the region had any such framework. The 1975 centennial fell under the reign of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who oversaw an aggressive commemorative coin program through the 1970s partly as a revenue-generating vehicle for the kingdom.
Baker's role remains contested; some historians credit him as the constitution's primary author rather than its advisor.