Fiji,
officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands,
is an island nation in the South Pacific
Ocean, east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga
and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies
an archipelago of about 322 islands, of
which 106 are permanently inhabited; in
addition, there are some 522 islets. The
two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua
Levu, account for some 87% of the total
population. The name Fiji is the old Tongan
word for the islands, which is in turn
derived from the Fijian name Viti. Levuka,
1842The first inhabitants of Fiji arrived
from South East Asia long before contact
with European explorers in the 17th century.
This academic question of Pacific migration
still lingers. It is documented that Fiji
was visited by the Dutch explorer Abel
Tasman in an attempt to find the Great
Southern Continent in 1643. It was not
until the 19th century, however, that
Europeans came to the islands to settle
there permanently.
The
islands came under British control as
a colony in 1874. It was granted independence
in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted
by two military coups in 1987, caused
by concern over a government perceived
as dominated by the Indo-Fijian (Indian)
community. A consequence of the second
1987 coup was that the British Monarchy
and the Governor General were replaced
by a non-executive President, and the
long form of the country's name changed
from Dominion of Fiji to Republic of Fiji
(in turn changed to Republic of the Fiji
Islands in 1997). A 1990 constitution
guaranteed ethnic Fijian control of Fiji,
but led to heavy Indian emigration; the
population loss resulted in economic difficulties,
but ensured that Melanesians became the
majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made
the constitution more equitable. Free
and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted
in a government led by an Indo-Fijian.
A year later, this was deposed in a coup
led by George Speight, a hardline Fijian
nationalist.
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