Welcome to Fiji |
Why should anyone be interested in Fiji? For one, just the amount of
islands that make up the whole country of Fiji is pretty interesting. Fiji
consists of over 500 scattered islands. These islands are usually no more
than piles of sand on coral reefs. Picture yourself walking from one side
of an island to another in one minute. Also, volcanoes formed most of these
islands. There are two main islands of Fiji. One is named Viti Levu (Big
Fiji), and the other Vanua Levu (Big Land) is where the capital Suva is
located. |
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Suva is also the largest city in Fiji. Another interesting fact about
Fiji is its history and culture. Fiji is made of roughly 40% Fijians and
50% are descendants of laborers imported from India. The native Fijian
race dates back to Melanesians migrating to Fiji thousands of years ago
from Indonesia. The Indians are descendants of about 60,000 laborers brought
from India between 1879 and 1916. |
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Fiji had a large sugar
cane production where many of the Indians worked. In 1917 the indentured
Indians were freed
and slave labor
ended in Fiji. Another interesting fact of Fiji was that many Fijian
tribes were cannibalistic. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries,
explorers knew
about the cannibalism on the Fijian islands and didn’t dare land
and explore the islands. The last known act cannibalism on the Fijian
islands was on 1869. |