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Though it is no longer practised today, Tonga's ancient religion was practised for over 2,000 years, and some authors have characterised pre-contact Tonga as a theocracy.[1] Christian missionaries arrived from the 1790s; they persuaded King George Tupou I to convert (1831) to Christianity. He ordered and strictly enforced that all Tongans become Christian and no longer practise the ancient polytheistic religion with its supreme god Tangaloa.[2][page needed]
Some authors have characterized this period [12th to 14th centuries CE] in Tongan history as a theocracy.