Fijian History
Prehistory
Fijian legend tells of the great chief Lutunasobasoba, who led his people across the seas to the new land of Fiji. Most archaeologists agree that people migrated into the Pacific region from Southeast Asia, and the first settlers arrived in Fiji about 3,500 years ago. They likely came from the Polynesian islands of northern or central Vanuatu, or possibly the eastern Solomons. Influxes of new immigrants over Fiji’s history have helped to create a diverse culture that often defies generalizations, and Fiji was never unified politically until colonization.
Early Fijians had a hierarchical culture in which status and descent passed through the male line. Society was structured as a feudal aristocracy under the leadership of chiefs, who were thought to embody the mana, or power, of an ancestral spirit. The early Fijians developed one of the highest material cultures in the Pacific, building extraordinary ocean-going canoes and producing beautiful tapa cloths, pottery, and plaited mats.
European Contact
The first European to sail past Fiji was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who sighted the northernmost island of Fiji in 1643. His descriptions of the treacherous reef system kept mariners away for more than a hundred years before Captain James Cook anchored off the islands in 1779. It was not until ten years later, though, when Captain William Bligh sailed through the islands making careful observations (despite being chased away by Fijian warriors), that Europeans first had an accurate picture of Fiji. The name “Fiji” is actually the Tongan name for the islands, promulgated by Captain Cook. The native name for the islands is “Viti.”
The first Europeans to settle in Fiji were escaped convicts from Australia, who earned a welcome by introducing firearms. The reputation of Fijians as fierce warriors and cannibals, as well as the difficulty of navigating the reefs around the islands, initially dissuaded most travelers from visiting. In 1804, though, news that sandalwood grew abundantly in Fiji began a rush of trade there, despite the dangers.
The arrival of missionaries in the 1830’s began a sweeping cultural change in Fiji. Though Christianity was not immediately embraced, it began to take root when Fiji’s most powerful chief decided to convert for political reasons. Most Fijians adopted Christianity alongside their traditional beliefs, and many continue to worship their ancestral gods through such practices as kava ceremony, tabu areas and codes of conduct, and the symbolic tabua.
The 1860s brought many European and Australian settlers hoping to establish cotton plantations, and the need for a central government became clear. After a failed attempt to unite the nation under the leading Fijian chief, the islands were eventually ceded to Britain in 1874.
The Colonial Period
Modern Fiji was largely the creation of its first British governor, Sir Arthur Gordon. Gordon decided that it would be easiest to rule Fiji indirectly through the existing chiefs, and set up a limited native administration that allowed Fijians a large say in their own governance. He protected communal lands by prohibiting land sales to non-Fijians. However, he also supported the development of plantations on leased native lands, and Fiji developed a major sugar industry that was largely owned by Australian companies.
Fijians could not be required to work on the plantations, and there was soon a great shortage of labor. As a solution, Gordon began bringing in indentured laborers from India. When the immigration ended in 1916, there were over 60,000 Indians living in Fiji. More than half of them decided to stay after the indenture system was abolished in 1920, and their descendants now form a large portion of Fiji’s population.
Independence
Fiji began to take steps towards internal self-government after World War II, when its legislative council was expanded to include more locally-elected leadership. After 96 years of colonial administration, Fiji became a self-governing nation within the Commonwealth of Nations on October 10, 1970.