fēˈjē or Vitivēˈtē, officially Republic of the Fiji Islands, republic made up of a Melanesian island group (1995 est. pop. 750,000), c.7,000 sq mi (18,130 sq km), South Pacific. Suva is the capital.

Land

Fiji comprises c.320 islands, of which some 105 are inhabited. Viti Levu, the largest, constitutes half the land area and is the seat of Suva. The other important islands are Vanua Levu (the second largest), Taveuni, Kadavu, Koro, Gau, and Ovalau. In the group's center is the Koro Sea, east of which is the Lau group. The Yasawa and Mamanuca groups are west of Viti Levu. The larger islands are volcanic and mountainous; the highest peak, Mt. Victoria, or Tomaniivi (4,341 ft/1,323 m), is on Viti Levu, which has the longest river, the Rewa. Fiji's climate is warm and humid. There are dense tropical forests on the windward sides of the islands and grassy plains and clumps of casuarina and pandanus on the leeward sides; mangrove forests are abundant, and hot springs are common in the mountain regions. The chief towns are generally seaports: Suva and Lautoka on Viti Levu; and Levuka, on a small island E of Viti Levu.

Economy

Fiji's fertile soil yields sugarcane, tropical fruits, taro, cotton, pineapples, bananas, wood, and coconuts. Sugar, whose processing accounts for a third of Fiji's industrial production, is the main export. The industry suffered in the late 1990s because of low world prices and drought, and the government is seeking to diversify the island commercial agriculture. Gold, silver, clothing, copra, and processed fish are also exported. The European Union nations and Australia receive most of its exports. Limestone quarrying is also important. Imports, principally from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, consist largely of foodstuffs, manufactures, and machinery. Tourism is the major industry. The Univ. of the South Pacific is located at Suva.

People and Government

The Fijians are a dark-skinned people of Melanesian origin and predominate mainly in the western islands; they account for nearly half the population. The indigenous people of the eastern islands are largely Polynesian. Indians, who mainly came from 1879 to 1916 as indentured workers for the British, make up less than half the population (many left after the 1987 coup) and are engaged chiefly in the sugar industry and commerce. There are also small groups of Europeans, Chinese, and Micronesians. The native Fijians are mainly Christian; the Indians are about three quarters Hindu and one quarter Muslim. The official language is Fijian, but English and Hindi are also spoken. The president, who serves for five years, appoints the prime minister. Administratively, Fiji is divided into four divisions and the dependency of Rotuma.

History

The Melanesians presumably arrived (with Lapita-styled pottery) in the islands over 3,000 years ago. The first Europeans to visit Fiji were the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1643 and British Capt. James Cook in 1774. In the early 1800s the first European settlement was established at Levuka, which became an important whaling port in the mid-1800s. A Fijian national government, with a tribal chief as king, was established in Levuka in 1871, but in 1874, at the request of Fiji's tribal chiefs, Great Britain annexed the islands. The capital was moved to Suva in 1882. During World War II the islands were an important supply point.

In 1970, Fiji gained independence as a member of the Commonwealth with Ratu Sir Kimisese Mara as prime minister. In 1987, Col. Sitiveni Rabuka led two coups that wrested control of the racially divided nation's government from the ethnic Indians. Fiji was declared a republic and left the Commonwealth. In 1990 a new constitution granted nonurban native Fijians a disproportionate say in the government. Two years later Rabuka became prime minister, and in 1994 Mara was appointed president.

The constitution was amended in 1997 to give nonethnic Fijians a larger voice, and in May, 1999, Labor party leader Mahendra Chaudhry was the first ethnic Indian to become prime minister of Fiji, replacing Rabuka. A May, 2000, coup attempt led by Fijian businessman George Speight took Chaudhry hostage and demanded an end to Indian participation in Fijian politics; the crisis led the army to seek Mara's resignation and briefly take power. The army appointed (July, 2000) an ethnic Fijian–dominated government headed by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase; Ratu Josefa Iloilo became president. Speight, after releasing his hostages, demanded a strong influence in the new government but was arrested by the army, and his insurgency was quashed. In 2002 he pled guilty to treason and was sentenced to life in prison.

Qarase's government was subsequently ruled illegal by the courts, and Ratu Tevita Momoedonu was appointed prime minister of a caretaker government in Mar., 2001. New parliamentary elections in August–September resulted in a victory for the Fiji United party (SDL), which formed a coalition government with the Conservative Alliance; Qarase again became prime minister. In July, 2003, Qarase's government was ruled unconstitutional because it did not include members of the opposition Labor party, but in September the Labor party refused to join the government when Qarase excluded Chaudhry.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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