Fiji





= = = = =Facts:= = =

Official language: English, Bau Fijian and Hindustani Capital: Suva Government: Republic under military rule Population: 853,445 Area: 18,274 km² Religion: Christianity(52%) Hindu(39%) Muslims(8%) National day: 10 October National anthem: God bless Fiji Currency: Fijian dollar Motto: //Rerevaka na Kalou ka Doka na Tui// Fear God and honour the Queen



Coat of arms

= = =Why Fiji is an English speaking country=

Fiji was a British colony between 1874 and 1970. Many Europeans came to the islands from Australian penal settlement and others came as missionaries.

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=History:=

The first people who set their feet on Fiji 3500 years ago, was Polynesian and Melanesian sailors that came ashore. At the 1700 century, Europeans discovered Fiji. The first Europeans to live on the island were shipwrecked sailors and runaway convicts from Australian penal settlement. In 1804 sandalwood was discovered on Vanua Levu, which developed into more merchant ships coming by the islands.

At the beginning of the 1820’s was Levuka, Fiji’s first modern town, built at the island Ovalau. Cannibalism was practiced at Fiji at that time, but it quickly disappeared as the missionaries gained influence. The increasing amounts of missionaries in the 1830’s lead to a civil war between the native tribes. A Swedish mercenary, Charlie Savage, supplied weapons to Ratu Tanoa who became the leader of large parts of Fiji. When Ratu Seru Cakobau, the self-proclaimed king, accepted Christianity in 1854, the rest of the country soon followed and tribal warfare came to an end. He attempted to form a Western-style government in 1871, but it collapsed after just two years. Chaos followed until a convention of chiefs ceded Fiji unconditionally to the United Kingdom on October 10, 1874.

From 1879 to 1916 Indians came as indentured labourers to work on the plantations. Governor Sir Arthur Gordon sought economic self-sufficiency for the colony through plantation crops such as cotton, copra and sugar cane, and productivity was boosted when Gordon began importing indentured labour from India. After the indentured system was abolished, many stayed on as independent farmers and businessmen. 10th October 1970 Fiji attains independence, ending 96 years of British rule. The democratic government was interrupted twice by a military takeover in 1987 and another one in 2006 because of suspicions of corruption. Fijian culture is more closely related to the Polynesians. Indians, whose ancestors were brought between 1879 and 1916 to work on British plantations in Fiji, comprise about 45 percent of the population. The remainder consists of Europeans, Chinese, other Pacific Islanders, and people of mixed ethnicity.

=Government:=

The president (head of state) is appointed for a 5-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs, a orthodox ethnic Fijian leadership body. The president in turn appoints the prime minister (head of government) and Cabinet from among the members of Parliament. Both houses of the legislature have some seats reserved by ethnicity. Other seats can be filled by persons of any ethnic group. The Senate is appointed; the House of Representatives is elected. The Great Council of Chiefs is made up of 55 hereditary chiefs, most of whom are nominated to the Council by their respective provincial councils.



= = =Geography:=

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. Fiji consists of 322 islands, with one third settled. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, accounts for 87% of the population. The capital city, Suva, lies on Viti Levu where almost 75% of the inhabitants live. Labasa, Lautoka, Nadi and Savusavu are other important cities. The Fiji Islands have beautiful nature with white beaches and mountains up to 1200 meters. The name Fiji is the old Tongan word for the islands.

The biggest Islands are dominated of non-active volcanoes. The islands are vigorous, green and moisty because of all the brooks, rivers and the waterfalls that are streaming through the mountains and the rocky terrain.

Forests cover 45 % of the islands. Rain forests exist on the windward sides of the mountainous islands, while the leeward sides have grassy plains. The islands suffer from deforestation. The loss of trees has resulted in soil erosion, and silt washed into the ocean can smother coral. The siltation, combined with oil exploration, sewage dumping, and overfishing, threaten Fiji’s coral reefs as well as the coastal ecosystems. With its valuable plant and animal life and low population growth, the Fiji Islands’ environmental problems are not as severe as other places in the world.

=Some pictures from Fiji:=

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= = = = =Similarities between Britain and Fiji:=
 * Both continents have Queen Elisabeth as Queen and Monarch.
 * Both continents have good economy and tourism is very important.
 * Both Fiji and Britain have English as their main language, but both countries use other languages as well.
 * They both use school uniforms.
 * Both Britain and Fiji are Islands.
 * The main religion in Britain is Christianity, and half of the population in Fiji has also Christianity as religion.

=Sources used in this project:= [|www.wikipedia.org] [|www.sydhav.no] [|www.bulafiji.com] [|www.fiji.gov.fj] [|www.lonelyplanet.com] [|www.mapzones.com]

Ingrid and Marita