Emancipation Day is a public holiday in Tonga on June 4 each year. The holiday commemorates when serfdom was abolished in 1862, and Tonga gained independence from the British Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Tonga is a Polynesian country comprising 169 islands. Although people started to inhabit the islands about 3,000 years ago, European contact only started in the early 17th century.
In the early 19th century, civil wars in Tonga ended when the Tongan warrior Tāufaʻāhau established a new kingdom in 1845. Tāufaʻāhau was also known as George Tupou I, the first Christian King in Tonga. He abolished serfdom in 1862.
In 1900, Tango became a protected state of the United Kingdom to protect Tango from other countries' invasions. In the next 70 years, Tonga maintained its sovereignty, but the United Kingdom looked after Tonga's foreign affairs. On June 4, 1970, Tonga's protection status was ended, and Tonga became an independent country.
The following is the list of Emancipation Day in Tonga from 2022 to 2026.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Emancipation Day | Jun 06, 2022 | Monday |
| Emancipation Day | Jun 05, 2023 | Monday |
| Emancipation Day | Jun 03, 2024 | Monday |
| Emancipation Day | Jun 02, 2025 | Monday |
| Emancipation Day | Jun 08, 2026 | Monday |
Please check more public holidays in the Kingdom of Tonga:
