Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki
Queen (Lavelua) of Uvea · circa 1845–1895
Who is Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki?
Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki was queen (Lavelua) of Uvea, the traditional kingdom covering Wallis Island, reigning from 1869 until her death on 10 March 1895. She succeeded her aunt, Queen Falakika Seilala, and was one of only four women ever to hold the Uvean throne. Her reign coincided with intensifying pressure from European colonial powers across the Pacific, and in 1887 she signed a treaty placing the Kingdom of Uvea under French protection while insisting on a clause preserving "all her independence and all her authority over the natives," securing continued self-governance and the survival of the customary monarchy. In 1871 she enacted the Code of Wallis (Tohi fono o Uvea), a legal text drafted by the French Marist bishop Pierre Bataillon and written in the Wallisian language, which formally defined the structure of the island's chieftainship and confirmed the king as supreme customary authority. A convert to Catholicism, she also oversaw the construction of the royal palace and the cathedral in what is now Mata-Utu, the territorial capital. She was succeeded by her son, Vito Lavelua II, and later by Isaake.
Sources: Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki, Wikipedia (accessed 2026-07-02) · Protectorate of Wallis and Futuna, Wikipedia · Customary kings of Wallis and Futuna, Wikipedia