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About Fiji
Fiji is a blend of fascinating ancient cultures. Tranquil villages nestled in out of the way places. Rituals such as the yaqona ceremony are enacted as they have been for centuries and visitors are welcomed as honoured guests.Discover the history, be entertained by the legends and tales, find out about our culture and learn their ways.
When Fiji's first settlers arrived from island Melanesia at least 3,500 years ago, they carried with them a wide range of food plants, the pig, and a style of pottery known as Lapita ware. This pottery is generally associated with peoples who had well-developed skills in navigation and canoe building and were horticulturists. From Fiji the Lapita culture was carried to Tonga and Samoa, where the first distinctively Polynesian cultures evolved. Archaeological evidence suggests that two other pottery styles were subsequently introduced into Fiji, though it is not clear whether these represent major migrations or simply cultural innovations brought by small groups of migrants. In most areas of Fiji, the settlers lived in small communities near ridge forts and practiced a slash-and-burn type of agriculture. In the fertile delta regions of southeast Viti Levu, however, there were large concentrations of population. These settlements, which were based on intensive taro cultivation using complex irrigation systems, were protected by massive ring-ditch fortifications. Traditional Fijian society was hierarchical, with tribal groups led by chiefs chosen according to rank based on descent as well as personal achievement. Tribes were divided into mataqali or clans, and residential subclans. By alliance or conquest, tribes might form confederations led by paramount chiefs; warfare was common. The first Europeans to sight the Fiji Islands were Abel Janzsoon Tasman, who passed the northeast fringe of the group in 1643, and Captain James Cook, who passed the southeastern islands in 1774. Captain William Bligh passed through the group in his open longboat after the mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1789 and returned to explore it in 1792. Commercial interest in the group began with the discovery of sandalwood at the beginning of the 19th century, leading to a rush to Bua Bay at the southwestern end of Vanua Levu. A few beachcombers, useful as armourers and interpreters, were adopted by influential chiefs from this time. Within little more than a decade the accessible, commercial stands of sandalwood were depleted, but by the 1820s traders were again visiting the group to trade for edible varieties of the marine invertebrate called the sea cucumber, also known as b�che-de-mer or trepang. Whereas most of the sandalwood had been cut by gangs of foreigners, the b�che-de-mer harvest involved large numbers of Fijians in gathering, cleaning, and drying and in the provision of food and firewood. These opportunities for new wealth and power, symbolized by the acquisition of muskets, intensified political rivalries and hastened the rise of the confederation of Bau, led first by Naulivou, then by his nephew Cakobau. Bau is a tiny island off the southeast coast of Viti Levu, but by the 1850s it dominated western Fiji. Cakobau's main rival was the Tongan chief, Ma'afu, who led an army of Christian Tongans and their allies from eastern Fiji. After a short-lived alliance with Ma'afu, Cakobau became a Christian in 1854, thus bringing most Fijians under the influence of Methodist missionaries. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries arrived later but did not enjoy the same success.
By the 1860s Fiji was attracting European settlers intent on establishing plantations to capitalize on a boom in cotton prices caused by the American Civil War. The consequent disputes over land and political power within and between European and Fijian communities, and problems with labour introduced from other Pacific islands, contributed to violent confrontations and exacerbated the implicit instability of Fijian society and ensured that no Fijian chief could impose his rule on the whole group. European attempts at government were doomed by the greed and factionalism of their members and by the interference of European governments and consuls. Imperial intervention thus became inevitable. On Oct. 10, 1874, after negotiations had led to an offer of unconditional cession, Fiji became a British crown colony. The policies of the first governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, were decisive in shaping the history of Fiji. Gordon saw himself as the protector of the Fijian people and thus initiated policies that limited their involvement in commercial and political developments. Sales of Fijian land were banned; the Fijians were taxed in agricultural produce, not cash; and they were governed through a system of indirect rule based on the traditional political structure.
In order to maintain these policies yet encourage the economic development of the new colony, Gordon promoted the introduction of indentured Indian labourers and investment by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company to establish sugar plantations and processing mills. Indian migrants were encouraged to become permanent settlers at the conclusion of their contracts, even though little land was available for sale and the migrants' political rights were circumscribed. After the termination of the indenture system in 1920, Indian agitation over political and economic grievances caused strikes and continual discontent and challenged the commercial and political domination of the small European community in the islands.
During World War II Fiji was occupied by Allied forces, and a battalion of Fijians saw service as scouts in the campaign for the Solomon Islands. Indians refused to serve because they were not offered the same wages and conditions as Europeans. Indians also refused to cut their cane at the low prices offered. These actions led to the taint of disloyalty being applied to Indians by the other races, and to the army, which was retained after the war, remaining exclusively Fijian except for a handful of European officers. Incipient racial awareness was heightened by the realization that, from 1943, Fijians were outnumbered by Indians. As one response to perceived stagnation in Fijian society, the colonial authorities restructured the Fijian administration, reinforcing chiefly leadership and thus consolidating the conservatism of Fijian society. Constitutional development toward independence, which began in the 1960s, was more a response to international and British pressures than to any demand from within Fiji. The steps taken were, in practice, a compromise between the principles of parliamentary democracy and the racial divisions within the country. The franchise, previously exercised by Europeans and some Indians, was extended to adults of all races, including Fijians, who until then had been represented by their chiefs. Fijian land rights, guaranteed by the Deed of Cession in 1874, were given constitutional protection, while Fijian chiefs were given an effective veto on all important matters affecting the status of Fijians and on changes to the constitution itself. Facing political reality, Indian leaders relinquished their earlier demands and accepted the communal and cross-voting system, thus giving away the common electoral role that they had sought since the 1930s. The effect of the constitution was to give power to Fijian politicians so long as they remained in partnership with the General voters and, critically, so long as the Fijian vote remained unified. Despite race riots during by-elections in 1968, independence was achieved in a spirit of cooperation on Oct. 10, 1970, the 96th anniversary of cession.From that time until April 1987, Fiji was governed by the Alliance Party, which was pledged to policies of multiracialism. Its electoral supremacy was challenged only briefly, in 1977, when Fijian votes were attracted by Fijian nationalist candidates campaigning under a slogan of "Fiji for the Fijians"; only factionalism prevented the formation of an Indian-led government. In 1987, however, the Indian-dominated National Federation Party joined in coalition with the new Labour Party (led by a Fijian, Timoci Bavadra), which had strong support from Fijian and Indian trade unionists. The coalition was successful in elections held in April. The new government, which had a majority of Indian members in the legislature, was greeted with widespread Fijian protest. After only a few weeks the new government's leaders were arrested and deposed in a coup d'�tat led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, who demanded greater protection for Fijian rights and an entrenched Fijian dominance of any future government. The governor- general declared a state of emergency and assumed control of the government. With political leaders, he then negotiated a compromise that would have maintained civilian rule pending a constitutional revision and new elections. The compromise prompted Rabuka to lead a second coup in September and reimpose military rule. Toward the end of 1987 he declared Fiji a republic and appointed a new civilian government with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, prime minister from 1970 to 1987, as prime minister. A new constitution, designed to concentrate power in the hands of Fijians, was promulgated on July 25, 1990.
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