When did Fiji become a British colony?

The United States maintained a consular presence in Fiji before the island chain became a Crown colony within the British Empire in 1874. Fiji gained independence from British rule in October 1970 and established a parliamentary democracy.

Why did cakobau ceed Fiji to Great Britain?

In the late 1850s, with Ma’afu and his confederation of chiefs gaining power — and disorder growing in western Fiji — Cakobau offered to cede the islands to Great Britain if Queen Victoria would pay the Americans.

How did Bligh find the Fiji Island?

Major credit for the discovery and recording of the islands went to Captain William Bligh who sailed through Fiji after the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. The first Europeans to land and live among the Fijians were shipwrecked sailors and runaway convicts from the Australian penal settlements.

What country does Fiji belong to?

Fiji, in the southwest Pacific, is a Commonwealth nation with a native Melanesian population of some 300,000, in a total population of more than 700,000. The islands, originally known as the Cannibal Islands, became part of the British Empire in 1874, following a period of generalized and bloody tribal warfare.

When did cannibalism stop in Fiji?

As Christianity spread, Fijians began to turn away from the practice and to worship the Christian god, rather than the Fijian ones. The last known act of cannibalism occurred in 1867.

Who was cakobau main rival and why?

Cakobau’s main rival was the Tongan chief Maʿafu, who led an army of Christian Tongans and their allies from eastern Fiji. After a short-lived alliance with Maʿafu, Cakobau became a Christian in 1854, thus bringing most Fijians…

Why was cakobau a important person?

This period also saw the rise of a warlord by the name of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, who forged the first nation-state covering all of modern Fiji (except the island of Rotuma) in 1871, before ceding it to the United Kingdom in 1874.

Why did William Bligh came to Fiji?

The first European arrivals in Fiji had been accidental. However, much of the credit of the discovery and recording of the Fiji Islands went to Captain William Bligh, who sailed through Fiji in 1789 after the mutiny on the Bounty, a British Royal Navy ship.

Is Fiji part of the UK?

The Colony of Fiji was a British Crown colony that existed from 1874 to 1970 in the territory of the present-day nation of Fiji. London declined its first opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Fiji in 1852….

Is Fiji a rich country?

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