Fiji Colonial History

Did you know that Fiji used to be a British colony?

In our last article (which we hope you read while on a Fiji cruise), we discussed the early history of Fiji until it became part of the British Empire.

Photo Credit: timoshea95 - Flickr

We’re now going to tell you a bit about the history of Fiji under British colonial rule.

Annexing the Fiji islands

England had a chance to annex Fiji to its Empire in 1852, but refused because it didn’t accept the condition the keep Cakobau as King of Fiji. However, after twenty years of mounting debt and social unrest, Cakobau made another request, which England finally accepted.

On October 10 1874, Fiji officially became a British colony.

Early colonial rule

The first governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, arrived in June 1875. He quickly gave tribal chiefs autonomy over their own local affairs, but forbade them to engage in tribal wars. Each of four regions was controlled by a Roko (a kind of super-chief), which were sub-divided in 12 districts, each ruled by a traditional tribal chief.

Chiefs quickly established a Council to advise the governor in local affairs; this council still exists today and elects the president, vice-president and half the senators of the country.

Indentured labour from India

Gordon decided to forbid the exploitation of Fijians as labourers in plantations and fields, so British landowners did what they also did in the Caribbean: import indentured labourers from India. Until the end of the scheme, in 1916, around 61,000 Indians were deported to Fiji to work on sugarcane plantations. The indenture system was finally abolished in 1919. The descendants of these indentured workers make up the second most important cultural group in Fiji today.

The two World Wars

Fiji wasn’t really involved in World War 1, despite a small incident with a German count trying to escape British authorities. He was finally captured by police among a group of unarmed Fijians.

Fijians weren’t allowed to enlist in the British army by fear that they would be exploited. But one chief, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, joined the French Foreign legion and came back to Fiji in 1921 with a law degree from Oxford. He helped forge many of the modern Fijian institutions.

World War II was another story. Fijians were allowed to enlist, and thousands of them did. Because of its strategic location, Fiji became a strategic spot for the Allied fleet, serving as a training base. Fijians fought very well in the Solomon Islands campaign and developed a reputation for cunning and great ambush strategies.

Self-rule and independence

After the war, Fiji followed the massive wave of decolonization and started requesting self-rule. Indo-Fijians were especially keen to get self-government. With that, in 1965, Fiji and England started discussions towards a new constitution.

After many changes to the electoral and government system, Fiji finally became independent in 1970. Since they, the country has developed a major tourist industry.


We hope that this was interesting and informative. Whether you’re reading this from the comfort of a Malaysia hotel or on your way to Fiji, we hope you learned new things about this fascinating country!