Editing History of Niue (section)

==European contact==
Captain [[James Cook]] was the first European to sight the island, but he was unable to land there due to fierce opposition by the local population. The ''1911 Encyclopædia Britannica'' claimed this was due to native fear of foreign disease.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Niué |volume= 1 || page = 718 }}</ref> In response, Cook named Niue the ''Savage Island''.[[File:Inside.Church,Niue,Thomas Andrew 1896.jpg|thumb| Photo by [[Thomas Andrew (photographer)|Thomas Andrew]] of the interior of church building in [[Alofi]], 1896.]]
Christian [[missionary|missionaries]] from the [[London Missionary Society]] converted most of the population circa 1846. Tui-toga, who reigned from 1875 to 1887, was the first Christian king of Niue.<ref>S. Percy Smith, [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiNiu.html ''Niuē-fekai (or Savage) Island and its People''], 1903, pp.36-44</ref>

The island was visited by [[John Erskine (Royal Navy officer)|Captain John Erskine]] in [[HMS Havannah (1811)|''H.M.S. Havannah'']] in July 1849.<ref name="Oct1853">{{cite web |title= The Church Missionary Gleaner, October 1853|work= Savage Island|access-date=18 October 2015 |url= http://www.churchmissionarysociety.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Images/CMS_OX_Gleaner_1853_10/5| publisher = [[Adam Matthew Digital]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>