When did the Fijians arrive?

When did the Fijians arrive?

The European discoveries of the Fiji group were accidental. The first of these discoveries was made in 1643 by the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman and English navigators, including Captain James Cook who sailed through in 1774, and made further explorations in the 18th century.

When were Indians sent to Fiji?

Indians from all over India were initially brought to Fiji as indentured laborers to work on sugar cane plantations. Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 60,000 Indians arrived in Fiji.

When did Polynesians settle in Fiji?

Archeological evidence shows signs of settlement on Moturiki Island from 600 BC and possibly as far back as 900 BC.

What race are native Fijians?

Although the indigenous Fijian people are usually classified as ethnically Melanesian, their social and political organization is closer to that of Polynesia, and there has been a high level of intermarriage between Fijians from the Lau group of islands of eastern Fiji and the neighbouring Polynesian islands of Tonga.

When did cannibalism stop in Fiji?

As Christianity spread, Fijians began to turn away from the practice and to worship the Christian god, rather than the Fijian ones. The last known act of cannibalism occurred in 1867.

What was Vanuatu known as in the olden days?

Europeans did not return until 1768, when Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the islands. In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence.

When did girmit end in Fiji?

In the aftermath of Girmit (1879-1919), a new diasporic subculture of Indianness took root in Fiji. The Girmitiyas had come largely from the United Provinces, though approximately 15 percent were from the south.

What percentage of Fiji is Indian?

37.5%
The 2017 census found that the permanent population of Fiji was 884,887, compared to 837,271 in the 2007 census….

Why is Fiji called Fiji?

The nickname “Fiji” came from the Phi Gams at New York University, when they were trying to decide the name for a fraternity-wide magazine and “Fee Gee” was suggested (a play on the Greek letters Phi and Gamma). In 1894, Fiji was adopted as the fraternity-wide nickname for Phi Gamma Delta.

When did cannibalism end in Fiji?

Who are the indigenous people of Fiji?

Fijians, or iTaukei, are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown.

What happened to Fiji after the British colonized the country?

As Christianity spread in the islands, wars ceased abruptly and western clothing was adopted. After Fiji was ceded to Great Britain in 1874, epidemics nearly wiped out the population and it seemed as if the natives were doomed. But the colonial government took the Fijians side.

What was the difference between the Fiji Indian and native Fijian troops?

While the Fiji Indian troops had the Europeans as their commanding and non-commissioned officers, the Native Fijians had Ratu Edward Cakobau, a Native Fijian, as their commanding officer. Prior to World War II, soldiers served voluntarily and were paid “capitation grants” according to efficiency ratings without regard to race.

When was the first pottery found in Fiji?

Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward. As of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total Fijian population. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture.