William Mariner (writer)
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- For the William Mariner who won the Victoria Cross in the First World War, see William Mariner (Victoria Cross winner).
William Mariner was an Englishman who lived in the Tonga Islands from 1807 to 1811. He wrote an account of his experiences, Tonga Islands, that is now one of the major sources of information on pre-Christian Tonga.
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[edit] Mariner's sojourn in Tonga
William Mariner was a teenaged ship's clerk aboard the British privateer Port Au Prince. The ship anchored off the Tongan island of Lifuka, in the Ha'apai island group, and was seized by the Tongan strongman Fīnau ʻUlukālala on 1 December 1806. Most of the crew were killed in the takeover, but Mariner and several colleagues were spared by Fīnau. Fīnau assumed responsibility for Mariner, taking him into his retinue. Mariner lived in Tonga for four years, predominantly in the northern island group of Vavaʻu.
On his return to England he wrote a full account of his time in the Tonga Islands as well as a description of Tongan life and a Tongan dictionary and thesaurus.
He also gave a lively description of his lord and protector Fīnau Fangupō (ʻUlukālala II). One quote from Mariner, giving Fīnau's opinion of the Western innovation of money, can be found in paʻanga.
[edit] Mariner's books
There are two major versions of Mariner's writings. The original version was first written in 1818, wil the help of Dr. John Martin. It has been reprinted many times and is currently available from the Vava'u Press of Tonga. There is also a modern, annotated edition with corrected modern Tongan spelling by Paul W. Dale, first published in 1996.
- Tonga Islands: William Mariner's account : an account of the natives of the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, with an original grammar and vocabulary of their language. Vava'u Press; 4th ed., 1981. ASIN B0006EB4WI.
- The Tonga Book by Paul W Dale. Minerva Press, 1996. ISBN 1-85863-797-X.
[edit] Other books relating to Mariner
- Toki: A Tongan trilogy : a historical novel based on the Polynesian life of Will Mariner and Finau Ulukalala of Tonga, by Louise Lose Finau. Simmons Pub. Co., 1996. ISBN 0-9667463-0-9.
