Figure 1.--Fiji and the South Pacific wereamong themost isolted and remote spots in earth. In Europe the Gemans and Allies were fighting over provinces and cities that had been fought over for centuries and in some cases milennia. The Fijians in contrast as well as the other people of the South Pacific were in many cases still living in the stone age and had seen very little modern technology and few Europeans, let alone Japanese. Suddenly they and their quiet islands were at the center of the most feroicious war in history. Here we see a traditional Fijian village just before the War.

Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying between Vanuatu and Samoa. The principal island is Viti Levu. Melanesian and Polynesian peoples settled the Fijian islands about 1,500 BC. The indigenous Fijians are related to the Lapita peoples, a seafaring group from wha is now eastern Indonesia or the Philippines. Melanesians from the west and Polynesians (Lapita descendants) from the east reached the Islands over time. The indigenous name of the islands was Viti, an Austronesian word which meant 'east' or 'sunrise'. Until the arrival of the British, the main island of the Fiji group, was split between the coastal and inland people. The coastal people were hierarchical while the inland oeoole were more egalitarian. European traders and missionaries came to the island (early-19th century). They found the native Fijian confederacies waging wars with each other. Cakobau, a Ratu (chief), became the dominant force in the western islands (1850s). Continued conflict and unrest, however, convinced him and a convention of chiefs to accept British rule (1874). Under British rule, the countryside was finally pacified. During the Pacific War, Fiji was eyed by the Japanese as it epanding the empire in the first 6 months of the Pacific War. Thanks to the American victory at Midway, it proved to be just outside the area conquered by Japan. As a result the Fijians did not experience the horrific Japabese occuption that decimated the populations of many other island groups. Fiji became an important base and staging area for the United States. A constitutional conference in London agreed that Fiji should become a fully sovereign and independent nation within the Commonwealth. Fiji became independent (1970).

Created: 9:27 PM 11/12/2015
Last updated: 9:27 PM 11/12/2015