A Brief History of Fiji, Part Two

WARNING: The following contains educational material and may cause your head to explode.

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When the British made Fiji a crown colony in 1874 they took steps to ensure the cooperation of the chiefs and maintain good relations with their subjects. One such step was to forbid the sale of land to foreigners (83% of the land is still owned by indigenous Fijians). Another was to combat exploitation of the locals by prohibiting their employment as plantation laborers. That’s why they brought in the indentured servants from India. After the indenture system ended in 1919 the Indians, who were restricted from buying Fijian land, went instead into small business (most shops are still owned by Indians) or took out long-term leases as independent farmers.

The colonial government found that the Indo-Fijians, as they became to be called, made a convenient scapegoat for the country’s problems. They also discouraged interaction between Indians and Indigenous Fijians and raised fears that the Indian population could grow to become the majority. This background played a large role in the subsequent political dramas.

Fiji became an independent country in 1970 after nearly one hundred years of British colonial rule. An economic boom in the immediate postindependence years was followed by hard times in the 1980s following a drop in sugar prices. The economic woes exacerbated ethnic tensions. What followed were a series of elections, coups, invalidation of the constitution, writing a new constitution, more elections, more coups, more constitutions... Much of the turmoil was centered on Fijian fears of losing their land rights and of Indo-Fijian political and economic domination on the one hand, and a desire for multi-ethnic democracy on the other. The result of all the political chaos has been significant emigration of Indo-Fijians from Fiji, damage to the tourism industry and to much of the rest of the economy, and widespread international condemnation.

The most recent coup was in 2006 and the most recent constitutional crisis was just last April. Despite these seemingly undemocratic developments and the finger wagging of the international community, the people we’ve talked to (mostly expats) seem to feel the new military government has actually gotten rid of a lot of the corruption, cracked down on petty crime, and freed up funds for road maintenance and school bus programs. It also seems interested in reducing the anti-Indian discrimination in official policy. From our vantage it all seems very peaceful here, with the bulk of the theatrics presumably played out in the government offices in far off Suva on the big island.

Note: much of the above was taken from “Lonely Planet, Fiji”