A Brief History of Fiji - Part One

Although some of the islands of the Melanesia group were inhabited tens of thousands of years ago, Fiji was first settled only about 3000 years ago, in 1220 BC. Around 500 BC the inhabitants got bored with their coastal fishing lifestyle and instead transitioned into the exciting world of agriculture. The population also expanded at this time, as did the incidence of intertribal feuding, ring moat-fortified villages, and such socially inappropriate rituals as cannibalism. The Fijians’ war-like tendencies were not softened when warriors from Tonga and Samoa started incursions around AD 1000.

The first European explorer to stumble across Fiji was the Dutchman Abel Tasman who sighted the islands in 1643. His lurid descriptions of the treacherous reefs kept other mariners away for the next 130 years. But eventually such infamous Brits as James Cook and Captain Bligh paid visits in 1774 and 1789, respectively.

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As better maps of the surrounding reefs were developed the whalers and traders soon moved in. The most sought after commodities for trade were sandalwood and, believe it or not, sea cucumber. The Tongans originally controlled the Sandalwood trade but the Europeans were able to eventually cut out the middle man and deal directly with the Fijians in 1805. In just eight years of unbridled greed the sandalwood supply was depleted, but the Fijians were the proud owners of lots of gunpowder and shiny new muskets with which they proceeded to kill each other in years of violent tribal warfare.

The 19th century brought commercial settlements as trade in cotton, copra (coconut) and sugar boomed. To work the plantations the Europeans brought in laborers from other Pacific Islanders via deception, bribery, and what eventually developed into an organized system of kidnapping. By 1874 British commercial interests were sufficient such that, after negotiations with a powerful chief with large debts, it decided to make Fiji a crown colony.

Beginning in 1878, a new labor source was found for the plantations in the form of indentured laborers from another British colony: India. By 1919 when the program officially ended over 60,000 indentured laborers were in Fiji. Despite enormously harsh conditions, most decided to stay after their contracts had ended, and many brought their families from India to join them. Today Indo-Fijians, as their descendents are called, make up over a third of the population. Not surprisingly, ethnic tensions have played a large role in the politics of the last century. More on that in Part 2.