Shown above is a picture of a Tongan Kalia. Artistic skill and astronomical expertise went into building and navigating canoes of the early Tongans, who were among the greatest Polynesian seafarers. Depicted here are some of the vessels used around 1773. Larger war canoes, capable of carrying up to 200 men, had previously allowed Tonga to extend her domain to Samoa, the Wallis and Tokelau Islands, Fiji and elsewhere.