1871 TO 1874
The Kingdom of Fiji
What we know
- In 1871 Cakobau became king of a new Kingdom of Fiji, with its government at Levuka.
- The kingdom struggled with debt and with conflict between settlers and Fijians.
The story
The Kingdom of Fiji, formed in 1871, sought to govern from Levuka. Debt, settler demands and competing chiefly authority placed it under pressure. Communities in the interior continued to assert their independence.
Negotiations with Britain arose within this unstable setting. Cession was neither the inevitable outcome of first contact nor a decision made by one ruler on behalf of a uniformly obedient nation.
Pictures in this chapter
This is what the flag of the Kingdom of Fiji looked like from 1871 to 1874 before the British colonized them.
The 1871 “CR” postage stamp of the Kingdom of Fiji, 1 penny
Admiralty Chart No 2691 Fiji Islands, Published 1879
Ratu Timothy, second son of Cakobau
Tui Viti Cakobau — portrait by Henry Hume Turnbull (1850s)
Ten Fijian dollar Treasury Note, payable at Levuka , issued 14 February 1872.
Thakombau, ex-king of Fiji, photograph by Dufty (1874)
Photograph of Ratu Cakobau (Thakombau). (1869)
Cakobau, ex-King of Fiji — photograph by Francis H. Dufty (1870s)
The late King Cakobau — photograph by Francis H. Dufty
Sources
More in Colonial Roots
Tell the museum something
A memory, a correction, or a question. Nothing you send appears on the site. It goes to the museum’s own queue, a person reads it, and they decide. If you teach, know this place, or remember it, your correction is worth more than a compliment.
This chapter’s text is awaiting cultural and historical review. Pictures keep the credit and licence of the collection that holds them.