The United Kingdom turned down its first opportunity to annex Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti (King of Fiji) title, a condition unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who regarded him only as first among equals, if that. Mounting debts and threats from the United States Navy had led Cakobau to establish a constitutional monarchy with a government dominated by European settlers in 1871, following an agreement with the Australian Polynesia Company to pay his debts. The collapse of the new regime drove him to make another offer of cession in 1872, which the British accepted. On 10 October 1874, 96 years of British rule began in Fiji. 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Ratu is a title inherited by Fijians of chiefly rank. ... Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau (1815-1883) was King of Fiji from 8 December 1852 to 10 October 1874, when he ceded his country to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchical government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

"Fiji for the Fijians"

Sir Hercules Robinson, who had arrived on 23 September 1874, was appointed as interim Governor. He was replaced in June 1875 by Sir Arthur Gordon. Rather than establish direct rule in all spheres, Gordon granted autonomy over local affairs to Fiji's chiefs, though they were now forbidden to engage in tribal warfare. The colony was divided into four regions, each under the control of a Roko; these regions were further subdivided into twelve districts, each ruled by a traditional chief. A Great Council of Chiefs was established in 1876 to advise the Governor. This body continues in existence to this day and has a constitutional role as an electoral collage that chooses Fiji's President, Vice-President, and 14 of the 32 Senators. The Great Council was supplemented by a Native Regulation Board (now the Fijian Affairs Board); these two bodies together made laws for the Fijians. (European settlers, however, were not subject to its laws). In 1882, the capital was moved from Levuka to the more accessible Suva. Lord Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead (December 19, 1824 - October 28, 1897) was a British colonial administrator. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Fiji was a British Crown Colony from 1874 to 1970, and an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Arthur Charles Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore ( November 26, 1829- January 30, 1912). ... The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Fiji became a republic in 1987, when Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom formally abdicated as Queen of Fiji, following two military coups led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. ... The Fijian vice-presidency is a mostly ceremonial office. ... The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Adopting a "Fiji for the Fijians" policy, Gordon prohibited further sales of land, although it could be leased. This policy has been continued, hardly modified, to this day, and some 83 percent of the land is still natively owned. He also banned the exploitation of Fijians as labourers, and following the failure of the cotton-growing enterprise in the early 1870s, Gordon decided in 1878 to import indentured labourers from India to work on the sugarcane fields that had taken the place of the cotton plantations. The 463 Indians arrived on 14 May 1879 - the first of some 61,000 that were to come before the scheme ended in 1916. The plan involved bringing the Indian workers to Fiji on a five-year contract, after which they could return to India at their own expense; if they chose to renew their contract for a second five-year term, they would be given the option of returning to India at the government's expense, or or remaining in Fiji. The great majority chose to stay. The Queensland Act, which regulated indentured labour in Queensland, was made law in Fiji also. Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6-37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ...

Fiji in World War I

Fiji was only peripherally involved in World War I. One memorable incident occurred in September 1917 when Count Felix von Luckner arrived at Wakaya Island, off the eastern coast of Viti Levu, after his raider, the Seeadler, had run aground in the Cook Islands following the shelling of Papeete in the French territory of Tahiti. On 21 September, the district police inspector took a number of Fijians to Wakaya, and von Luckner, not realizing that they were unarmed, unwittingly surrendered. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... A count is a nobleman in most European countries, equivalent in rank to a British earl, whose wife is still a countess (for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term). ... Graf (Count) Felix von Luckner (born Dresden, Germany, 9 June 1881, died Malmo, Sweden, 14 April 1966) was a minor German nobleman and noted sailor who earned the epithets Der Seeteufel (the Sea-Devil) and Die Piraten des Kaisers (the Emperors Pirate) for his exploits in command of the... an old english boat captured by germany during WWI, later used by Luckner, Felix, Graf von, German Naval officer, who used this ship to damage allies. ... Papeete Waterfront Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, and is located on the island of Tahiti, which is part of the Society Islands, in French Polynesia. ... Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, at 17°40′ S 149°30′ W. The island had a population of 169,674 inhabitants at the 2002 census. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ...

Citing unwillingness to exploit the Fijian people, the colonial authorities did not permit Fijians to enlist. One Fijian of chiefly rank, a grandson of Cakobau's, did join the French Foreign Legion, however, and received France's highest military decoration, the Croix de Guerre. After going on to complete a Law degree at Oxford University, this same chief returned to Fiji in 1921 as both a war hero and the country's first-ever university graduate. In the years that followed, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, as he was later known, established himself as the most powerful chief in Fiji and forged embryonic institutions for what would later become the modern Fijian nation. The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps The British Empire was the worlds global power for some time , a product of the European Age of Exploration that began with the global maritime empires of Portugal and Spain in the... Légionnaires in dress uniform. ... The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna (22 April 1888-30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. ...

Fiji in World War II

By the time of World War II, the United Kingdom had reversed its policy of not enlisting natives, and many thousands of Fijians volunteered for the Royal Fiji Military Forces, under the command of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau, another grandson of Seru Epenisa Cakobau. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 marked the beginning of the Pacific War. Because of its central location, Fiji was selected as a training base for the Allies. An airstrip was built at Nadi (later to become an international airport), and gun emplacements studded the coast. Fijians gained a reputation for bravery in the Solomon Islands campaigns, with one war correspondent describing their ambush tactics as "death with velvet gloves." Indo-Fijians, however, generally refused to enlist. When their demand for pay equal to that of the European soldiers serving with them was refused, they disbanded the platoon they had organized, and contributed nothing more than one officer and 70 enlisted men in a reserve transport section, on condition that they not be sent overseas. The refusal of Indo-Fijians to play an active role in the war effort was one of many factors aggravating interethnic tensions in the post-war years. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the... Ratu Sir Edward Tuivanuavou Tugi Cakobau (1908 - 1973) was a Fijian chief and statesman, who played a major role in Fijian politics in the years that preceded and followed independence in 1970. ... Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... Nadi (Nahn-dee) is the third-largest town in Fiji. ... Indo-Fijian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Platoon is a term from military science. ...

The development of political institutions

A Legislative Council, initially with advisory powers, had existed as an appointed body since 1874, but in 1904 it was made a partly elective body, with European male settlers empowered to elect 6 of the 19 Councillors. 2 members were appointed by the colonial Governor from a list of 6 candidates submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs; a further 8 "official" members were appointed by the Governor at his own discretion. The Governor himself was the 19th member. The first nominated Indian member was appointed in 1916; this position was made elective from 1929. A four-member Executive Council had also been established in 1904; this was not a "Cabinet" in the modern sense, as its members were not responsible to the Legislative Council. The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. ...

After World War II, Fiji began to take its first steps towards internal self-government. The Legislative Council was expanded to 32 members in 1953, 15 of them elected and divided equally among the three major ethnic constituencies (indigenous Fijians, Indo-Fijians, and Europeans). Indo-Fijian and European electors voted directly for 3 of the 5 members allocated to them (the other two were appointed by the Governor); the 5 indigenous Fijian members were all nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. Ratu Sukuna was chosen as the first Speaker. Although the Legislative Council still had few of the powers of the modern Parliament, it brought native Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji. 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Fijians are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands. ... Indo-Fijian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article is about the continent. ... Fijis Parliament is bicameral. ... Fijians are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands. ...

These steps towards self-rule were welcomed by the Indo-Fijian community, which by that time had come to outnumber the native Fijian population. Fearing Indo-Fijian domination, many Fijian chiefs saw the benevolent dictatorship of the British as preferable to Indo-Fijian control, and resisted British moves towards autonomy. By this time, however, the United Kingdom had apparently decided to divest itself of its colonial empire, and pressed ahead with reforms. The Fijian people as a whole were enfranchised for the first time in 1963, when the legislature was made a wholly elective body, except for 2 members out of 36 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. 1964 saw the first step towards responsible government, with the introduction of the Member system. Specific portfolios were given to certain elected members of the Legislative Council. They did not constitute a Cabinet in the Westminster sense of the term, as they were officially advisers to the colonial Governor rather than ministers with executive authority, and were responsible only to the Governor, not to the legislature. Nevertheless, over the ensuing three year, the then Governor, Sir Francis Derek Jakeway, treated the Members more and more like ministers, to prepare them for the advent of responsible government. Indo-Fijian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps The British Empire was the worlds global power for some time , a product of the European Age of Exploration that began with the global maritime empires of Portugal and Spain in the... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Responsible government is a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. ... A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... The Westminster System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the UK parliament. ...

Responsible government

A constitutional conference was held in London in July 1965, to discuss constitutional changes with a view to introducing responsible government. Indo-Fijians, led by A. D. Patel, demanded the immediate introduction of full self-government, with a fully elected legislature, to be elected by universal suffrage on a common voters' roll. These demands were vigorously rejected by the ethnic Fijian delegation, who still feared loss of control over natively owned land and resources should an Indo-Fijian dominated government come to power. The British made it clear, however, that they were determined to bring Fiji to self-government and eventual independence. Realizing that they had no choice, Fiji's chiefs decided to negotiate for the best deal they could get. The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... Fijians are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands. ...

A series of compromises led to the establishment of a cabinet system of government in 1967, with Ratu Kamisese Mara as the first Chief Minister. Ongoing negotiations between Mara and Sidiq Koya, who had taken over the leadership of the mainly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party on Patel's death in 1969 led to a second constitutional conference in London, in April 1970, at which Fiji's Legislative Council agreed on a compromise electoral formula and a timetable for independence as a fully sovereign and independent nation with the Commonwealth. The Legislative Council would be replaced with a bicameral Parliament, with a Senate dominated by Fijian chiefs and a popularly elected House of Representatives. In the 52-member House, Native Fijians and Indo-Fijians would each be allocated 22 seats, of which 12 would represent Communal constituencies comprising voters registered on strictly ethnic roles, and another 10 representing National constituencies to which members were allocated by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage. A further 8 seats were reserved for "General electors" - Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders, and other minorities; 3 of these were "communal" and 5 "national." With this compromise, Fiji became independent on October 10, 1970. 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (May 6, 1920 – April 18, 2004) is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. ... Fijis British colonial rulers established the office of Chief Minister in October 1967, along with the Cabinet system of government. ... Sidiq M. Koya is an Indo-Fijian politician and veteran Opposition leader. ... Politics of Fiji Categories: Stub | Fijian political parties | Fiji-related stubs ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Fijis Parliament is bicameral. ... The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. ... Overview The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fijis Parliament. ... Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. ... National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. ... Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of suffrage, or the right to vote, to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief or social status. ... General Electors is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Banaba Island (also Ocean Island), an island in the Pacific Ocean, lies west of the Gilbert Island chain and east of Nauru. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...