Postage Stamps as witness of Fiji history
Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific, relying heavily on its tourism and sugar industries.
Since independence from Britain in 1970, rivalry between the indigenous Fijian and the ethnic Indian communities has been at the root of much of the political upheaval in the country.
The archipelago consists of more than 330 islands and 540 islets scattered over about 3,000,000 sq km (about 1.1 million sq miles). Of the islands, about 100 are inhabited.
Some key dates in Fiji’s history:
- 1643 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman is the first European to visit the islands.
- 1830s – Western Christian missionaries begin to arrive.
- 1874 – Fiji becomes a British crown colony at the request of Fijian chiefs.
- 1875-76 – Measles epidemic wipes out one-third of the Fijian population; British forces and Fijian chiefs suppress rebellion.
- 1879-1916 – More than 60,000 indentured labourers brought in from the Indian subcontinent to work on sugar plantations.
- 1916 – British colonial government in India stops the recruitment of indentured labourers.
- 1920 – All labour indenture agreements in Fiji end.
- 1970 – Fiji becomes independent with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of the AP as prime minister.
- 1987 – Indian-dominated coalition wins general election, ending 17 years of rule by the AP. Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka seizes power in a bloodless coup with the aim of making indigenous Fijians politically dominant. In a saecond coup he proclaims Fiji a republic
- 1999 – Mahendra Chaudhry is elected Fiji’s first ethnic Indian prime minister but is overthown a year later when bankrupt businessman George Speight and retired major Ilisoni Ligairi storm parliament, aiming to make indigenous Fijians the dominant political force.
- 2001 – Elections to restore democracy.
- 2002 – Fiji announces radical privatisation plan designed to stave off collapse of vital sugar industry threatened by withdrawal of EU subsidies.
- 2006 – Military chief Frank Bainimarama carries out coup.
- 2012 – Martial law is lifted.
- 2014 – Frank Bainimarama becomes the country’s civilian leader after winning parliamentary elections.
- 2016 – At least 42 people are killed and tens of thousands are left homeless as Cyclone Winston hits Fiji in the worst storm ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.
