Editing Timeline of Fijian history

{{short description|History of Fiji, Summary}}

{{History of Fiji}}
The timeline below shows the '''history of the island [[Fiji]]''', from the ancient times to the present day.

== Early history ==
{{Main|Discovery of Fiji}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 65%; border:1px solid; padding=2; border-spacing: 0;"
! style="width: 6em;" | Date
! Event
|-
|1500 BC – 1400 BC||Fiji was suggested to have been settled by Micronesian, before Melanesians, but evidence is lacking that this happened – either in oral accounts or geological data, except that of Ma'afu. Archaeological finding suggest long standing occupation of the islands. Cultural and traditional activity is more akin to Polynesian cultural undertaking or vice versa, but one certain impact can be deduced from outside intervention polarizing the indigenous Culture into what it is today.  
|-
|}

== 1822 to 1874 ==
{{Main|Fiji during the time of Cakobau}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 65%; border:1px solid; padding=2; border-spacing: 0;"
! style="width: 6em;" | Date
! Event
|-
|1822||European settlement begins at [[Levuka]], Fiji's first modern town.
|-
|1830||The first [[Christianity|Christian]] [[missionary|missionaries]] from [[Tahiti]], Hatai, Arue and Tahaara, arrive at Lakeba, brought via Tonga by the London Missionary Society.
|-
|1835||[[Methodism|Methodist]] missionaries, William Cross and David Cargill, arrive in [[Lakeba]]. They are accompanied by emissaries from Taufa'ahau the Tongan high chief and by Josua Mateinaniu, a Fijian from Vulaga who had been converted at Vava'u in 1834.
|-
|1840||First visit from an American exploring expedition, the [[US Exploring Expedition]], commanded by [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Charles Wilkes]].

1845 Conversion of Ratu Ravisa (Varani), chief of Viwa, influenced by the ministry of Rev. John Hunt. Varani is the first significant Fijian missionary among the islands and a strong counter-cultural influence upon Ratu Seru Cakobau, preeminent among the warring chiefs of Fiji. 
|-
|1847||[[Prince]] [[Enele Ma'afu]] of [[Tonga]] arrived in Fiji and established himself in Lakeba by 1848. Ma'afu's arrival and settling in Lakeba were strengthened by his blood relationship with Roko Taliai Tupou the Tui Nayau.
|-
|1849||Trading store of United States [[Consul (representative)|Consul]] and settler [[John Brown Williams]] accidentally destroyed by stray cannon fire and subsequently looted by Fijian natives.
|-
|1851||First threatening visit from the [[United States Navy]], demanding US$5,000 for Williams's losses.
|-
|1853||Warlord Ratu [[Seru Epenisa Cakobau]] installed as Vunivalu (Paramount Chief) of Bau, and claims the title of ''[[Monarchy of Fiji|Tui Viti]]'' (King of Fiji).
|-
|1854||Cakobau converts to Christianity, influenced by the unifying features of Christianity, its obvious connections with the Western world and the presence in Fiji of a Tongan army led by Taufa'ahau and Ma'afu.
|-
|1855||Cakobau crushes [[Rewa Province|Rewa]] revolt.<br /> The leader of the revolt, Mara, is executed four years later.
John Brown Williams's home is destroyed by arson. Visit from warship ''{{USS|John Adams|1799|6}},'' demanding almost $44,000 compensation; seizes some islands as mortgage.
|-
|1858||Arrival of the first British Consul [[William Thomas Pritchard]]. <br /> Hostile visit from [[USS Vandalia (1828)|USS ''Vandalia'']]. <br /> Cakobau offers to cede the islands to the United Kingdom for US$40,000.
|-
|1860||Ratu Meli Salabogi of Nabukadra Village, declares Nakorotubu District in Ra as an independent state. This was a protest to Great Britain of Cakobau declaring himself as the leading chief- Tui Viti.
|-
|1862||The United Kingdom refused to annex Fiji, claiming to have ascertained from Cakobau's fellow chiefs that he was not universally accepted as King of Fiji and that he did not have the authority to cede the islands.
|-
|1865||Confederacy of Fijian chiefs formed.
|-
|1867||Threats to shell Levuka from an American warship. <br /> Amid increasing unrest, Cakobau crowned ''King of Bau'' by European settlers.
|-
|1868||The Australian-based [[Polynesia Company]] acquires land near [[Suva]], in return for promising to pay Cakobau's debts.
|-
|1871||Establishment of the [[Kingdom of Fiji]] as a [[constitutional monarchy]], with Cakobau as King but with real power in the hands of a Cabinet and Legislature dominated by settlers from Australia.
|-
|1872||Lavish overspending saddles the new kingdom with debt. [[John Bates Thurston]], a government official, approaches the United Kingdom on Cakobau's behalf with an offer to cede the islands.
|-
|1874||10 October – Fiji becomes a [[British Empire|British colony]].
|}

== 1875 to 1970==
{{Main|Colonial Fiji}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; border:1px solid; padding=2; border-spacing: 0;"
! style="width: 6em;" | Date
! Event
|-
|1875||An outbreak of [[measles]] leaves a third of the Fijian population dead.
|-
|1876||[[Great Council of Chiefs]] established.
|-
|1879|| Arrival of 463 indentured labourers from India – the first of some 61,000 to come over the ensuing 37 years. The British Army had awarded Jhinu Singh the Western Side Crown Land To farm where the markings of the Military Bunker sitting in front of the entrance driveway to his home and also the water reservoir on the other side of Queens Road
|-
|1881||First large [[sugar]] mill built at [[Nausori]]. <br /> [[Rotuma|Rotuma Island]] annexed to Fiji.
|-
|1882||Capital moved from Levuka to Suva.
|-
|1897|| Arrival in Suva of Hannah Dudley, first European Christian missionary among the Indians. She works among both the indentured and "free" Indians encouraging education and welfare programs.
|-
|1904||[[Legislative Council of Fiji|Legislative Council]] reconstituted as a partially elected body, with European male settlers enfranchised and Fijian chiefs given an indirect input.  Most seats still filled by nomination rather than election.
|-
|1916||End of the importing of indentured labourers from India, this decision brought about by agitation within India and the visit to Fiji by Anglican clergyman Rev. Charles Freer Andrews, close confidant of Mahatma Gandhi. <br /> First Indian appointed to Legislative Council.
|-
|1917||Count [[Felix von Luckner]] arrested on [[Wakaya Island]].
|-
|1918||14% of the population killed by the [[Spanish flu]] pandemic (within sixteen days).[http://www.nap.edu/books/0309095042/html/61.html]
|-
|1928||First flight from Hawaii lands at Suva.
|-
|1929||Wealthy Indians enfranchised for the first time; Indian representation in the Legislative Council made elective.
|-
|1935||Establishment in Ra Province on Viti Levu of the Toko Farmers movement led by Ratu Nacanieli Rawaidranu and influenced by the Methodist missionary Arthur Lelean. Lelean encourages the farmers to be independent in their commercial operations and also to initiate moves for the formation of an independent Methodist Church.
|-
|1939||[[Nadi]] Airport built as an Allied air base.
|-
|1940||[[Native Land Trust Board]] established under the chairmanship of [[Lala Sukuna|Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna]].
|-
|1951||Founding of Fiji Airways (after which it was renamed to Air Pacific; it was then renamed to Fiji Airways on June the 27th, 2013).
|-
|1953||Visit of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]. <br /> Legislative Council expanded – but elective seats still a minority. <br /> [[1953 Suva earthquake|Suva earthquake]]
|-
|1954||Ratu Sukuna appointed first [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Legislative Council.
|-
|1963||Indigenous Fijians enfranchised. <br /> Indigenous representation in the Legislative Council made elective, except for two members chosen by the Great Council of Chiefs. <br /> Women enfranchised.
|-
|1964||[[Member System (Fiji)|Member System]] introduced, with Legislative Council members appointed to oversee government departments.  This was the first step towards the establishment of a [[Cabinet (politics)|Cabinet]] system.
|-
|1965||Constitutional conference in London fails to agree on a timetable for a transition to internal self-government, but subsequent negotiations lead to compromises.
|-
|1967||[[Responsible government]] instituted; [[Kamisese Mara|Ratu Kamisese Mara]] appointed first [[Chief Minister of Fiji|Chief Minister]].
|-
|1968||[[University of the South Pacific]] established. 
|-
|1970||April – Constitutional conference in London; Mara and [[Sidiq Koya]] agree on a compromise constitutional formula. <br /> 10 October – Fiji attains independence, ending 96 years of British rule.
|}

== 1972 to 2020 ==
{{Main|Modern history of Fiji}}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; border:1px solid; padding=2; border-spacing: 0;"
! style="width: 6em;" | Date
! Event
|-
|1972||First [[1972 Fijian general election|post-independence election]] won by Ratu Mara's [[Alliance Party (Fiji)|Alliance Party]].
|-
|1973||Sugar industry nationalized.
|-
|1977||[[1977 Fijian constitutional crisis|Constitutional crisis]] in which [[Governor-General of Fiji|Governor-General]] [[George Cakobau|Ratu Sir George Cakobau]] overturns [[March 1977 Fijian general election|election results]], following the failure of the winning [[National Federation Party]] to put together a government. <br /> The [[September 1977 Fijian general election|election]] held to resolve the impasse results in a landslide for the Alliance Party.
|-
|1978||Fijian peacekeeping troops sent to [[Lebanon]].
|-
|1981||Fijian peacekeeping troops sent to the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] following [[Israel]]'s withdrawal.
|-
|1987||[[1987 Fijian general election|General election]] won by the [[Fiji Labour Party|Labour]]-National Federation Party coalition. On 13 April, [[Timoci Bavadra]] becomes [[Prime Minister of Fiji|Prime Minister]] for a month. <br /> 14 May – [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Sitiveni Rabuka]] carries out a [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|coup d'état]]. <br /> 25 September – Rabuka stages a second coup to consolidate the gains of the first. <br /> 7 October – Rabuka proclaims a [[republic]], severing the 113-year link to the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Monarchy]]. <br /> Fiji expelled from the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. <br /> 5 December – Rabuka appoints [[Penaia Ganilau|Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau]] as Fiji's first [[President of Fiji|President]].
|-
|1990||New Constitution institutionalises ethnic Fijian domination of the political system. [[Group Against Racial Discrimination]] (GARD) formed to oppose the unilaterally imposed constitution and restore the 1970 constitution.
|-
|1992||Rabuka becomes Prime Minister following [[1992 Fijian general election|elections]] held under the new constitution.
|-
|1994||[[1994 Fijian general election|Election results]] force Rabuka to open negotiations with the [[Indians in Fiji|Indo-Fijian]]-dominated opposition.
|-
|1995||Rabuka establishes the [[Constitutional Review Commission (Fiji)|Constitutional Review Commission]]
|-
|1997||Constitutional conference leads to a new [[1997 Constitution of Fiji|constitution]], supported by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. Fiji is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations.
|-
|1999||First [[1999 Fijian general election|general election]] held under the 1997 Constitution won by Fiji Labour Party (FLP). [[Mahendra Chaudhry]] becomes first Prime Minister of Indian descent. 
|-
|2000||19 May – [[2000 Fijian coup d'état|civilian coup d'état]] instigated by [[George Speight]] effectively topples the Chaudhry government. <br /> 29 May – [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] [[Frank Bainimarama]] assumes executive power after the resignation, possibly forced, of President Mara. <br /> 2 November – [[Mutinies of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état|Mutiny]] at Suva's [[Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Suva|Queen Elizabeth Barracks]]. <br /> 15 November – [[High Court of Fiji|High Court]] orders the reinstatement of the constitution.
|-
|2001||1 March – [[Court of Appeal of Fiji|Court of Appeal]] upholds High Court order reinstating constitution.<br /> September – [[2001 Fijian general election|General election]] held to restore democracy; a plurality won by interim Prime Minister [[Laisenia Qarase]]'s [[Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua]] (SDL).<br />Dec – Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth
|-
|2005||May – Amid much controversy, the Qarase government proposes [[Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill|Reconciliation and Unity Commission]], with power to recommend compensation for victims of the 2000 coup, and amnesty for its perpetrators.
|-
|2006||May 6–13 – SDL narrowly beats the FLP in [[2006 Fijian general election|parliamentary elections]]; multi-party [[Cabinet of Fiji|Cabinet]] formed subsequently.<br />  5 December 2006 – Commodore Bainimarama executes a [[2006 Fijian coup d'état|coup]] against the government of Laisenia Qarase and declares himself Acting President of Fiji.
|-
|2007||January 4–5 – Bainimarama restores Iloilo to the Presidency; Iloilo endorses Bainimarama's coup and formally appoints him Prime Minister the next day.
|-
|2009||April – After the Court of Appeal rules that the 2006 coup was illegal, Iloilo suspends all judges and [[2009 Fijian constitutional crisis|revokes the constitution]]. Bainimarama was reappointed Prime Minister and his Cabinet was reinstated. In July, Iloilo is replaced as President by [[Brigadier-General]] [[Epeli Nailatikau|Ratu Epeli Nailatikau]], a former Military commander. 
|- 
|2013||September – A [[2013 Constitution of Fiji|new constitution]] is promulgated to replace the [[1997 Constitution of Fiji|1997 Constitution]].
|-
|2014||September 17 – Bainimarama's [[FijiFirst]] Party wins the first [[2014 Fijian general election|general elections]] held since 2006.
|-
|2020|| rowspan="2" |March 2020 – present: [[COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji]]. A total of 66 cases confirmed and 834 deaths as of March 2021.
|-
|2021
|}

==See also==
*[[Head of State of Fiji|List of heads of state of Fiji]]
*[[Prime Minister of Fiji|List of prime ministers of Fiji]]
*[[Politics of Fiji]]

== External links ==
* {{cite web |title= Background Note: Fiji |url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1834.htm |work= state.gov |publisher= [[United States Department of State]] |date=October 2008}}
* {{cite web |title= History of Fiji Islands and Fiji Bank Notes – 1872 to date |url= http://www.fijibure.com/fijinotes.htm |work= fijibure.com }}
* {{cite web |title= Fiji: In Depth: History |url= http://www.frommers.com/destinations/fiji/0208020044.html |work= [[Frommer's]] |publisher= [[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley Publishing]] }}
*Great Council of Chiefs – A Colonial Legacy Created to Protect The Supremacy of Bau | url= http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/09/29/the-politics-of-fiji-a-way-forward-for-itaukei-people/

{{Fiji topics}}{{History of Oceania}}

[[Category:History of Fiji| ]]
[[Category:Timelines by country|Fiji]]
[[Category:Fiji history-related lists]]