From the British colony to the global tourist destination, how did this Pacific island country do it?

After the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese army entered the Pacific Ocean and occupied a large number of islands in the Pacific Ocean, such as Solomon Islands and Mariana Islands, and so on. At this time, the Pacific countries represented by the United States, Britain and Australia joined forces against Japan in order to protect their colonies in the Pacific region. In World War II, Fiji Island was also one of the targets of the Japanese army. Fiji is an island country in the South Pacific. 1874 was occupied by the British and became a British colony. Britain's ruling strategy in Fiji is relatively mild, so the contradiction between Fijians and British people is relatively relaxed. But now that the Japanese are calling, Fijians have long heard of the ferocity of the Japanese army. In order to defend their homeland, they bravely joined the British army and made great contributions to the war against the Japanese invaders. Of course, they also paid extremely heavy casualties and costs.

After the victory of World War II, the national consciousness of the Fijian people began to awaken. They realize that Fiji Island is the territory of Fijians, and Fijians must dominate the land under their feet if they want to live a dignified life.

Then why did Fijians suddenly awaken their national consciousness after World War II and want independence? The reasons are as follows: First, the Japanese aggression has united the Fijian people unprecedentedly, and they began to realize that they are a whole, not just scattered tribes. Second, a large number of Fijians joined the British army to fight against the Japanese army, which made them understand the advanced civilization of the West. The idea of equality and progress in the west has penetrated into the hearts of Fijians, so they began to seek national independence for the sake of equality in their hearts. Third, after World War II, Britain's strength was weakened unprecedentedly, and the international calls for national independence and liberation were constantly rising. This historical background has given Fijians the courage and confidence to put forward the slogan of independence.

Before the British colonized Fiji, there were only aborigines on Fiji Island. But later, in order to develop the economy, the British constantly immigrated from India to Fiji. By 1956, the Indians in Fiji obviously surpassed the aborigines. In addition, whites from Europe also account for about 5% of Fiji's population.

At that time, the economic structure of Fiji Island was like this: the native Fijian aborigines occupied most of the land ownership, while the Indians provided the main source of labor, and the white class mastered a lot of capital.

As mentioned above, after the Second World War, the indigenous people in Fiji wanted to fight for independence. However, their slogans are too extreme. They want to completely expel all non-indigenous people and build a pure Fiji with only indigenous people. Indians living in Fiji, their political proposition is to get the same rights as Fijians. As for the white class on the island, they are mainly privileged colonists from Britain. Their idea is that they are willing to give up some privileges, but they are not willing to give up their main interests. Therefore, in this case, if Fiji wants to be independent, the first thing to be solved is the domestic ethnic contradictions.

After World War II, all the colonized countries and regions in the world set off an upsurge of independence, and they all gained independence one after another. British colonialists gradually understood the world situation at that time. Therefore, after the Fijian people put forward the idea of independence, the attitude of the British colonists was not tough. On the contrary, they actively participated in mediating ethnic conflicts in Fiji.

Considering the large-scale bloody conflict caused by the partition of India, the British colonists spent a lot of thoughts on the ethnic contradictions in Fiji. 1965 In August, Fiji's Constitutional Convention was held in London, England, but the main purpose of this meeting was not to discuss when Fiji should become independent, but to deal with the contradictions among Fiji's ethnic groups.

At this constitutional convention, Fijians insisted on privilege, while Indians insisted on equality for all. When the British saw that the two sides disagreed, they came out to reconcile. Finally, under the mediation of the British, the two sides reached a compromise. Indians with a dominant population, like Fijian aborigines with a small population, will only elect nine members to participate in Fiji politics in the future. In this way, Fiji's aborigines took advantage, while the Indians lost little, so both sides stopped quarreling. But after all, the British colonists still have selfishness. The white class, which accounts for only 5% of Fiji's population, has seven seats in Parliament. This is a great inequality for the other two ethnic groups, but there is no way. Fijians understand that their independence must come step by step.

From 1956 to 1966, Fiji's Fiji Unity Party, National Alliance Party and Fiji Alliance Party were established one after another. The establishment of these political parties shows that Fijians have political parties that can govern the country, that is, Fijians have the ability to govern independently. At this time, the British also knew that their time in Fiji was running out.

1970 in may, Fiji's constitutional convention was held again in London, England. At this meeting, in order to achieve national independence as soon as possible, Fijian aborigines and Indians completely reached a compromise. As a result of the Constitutional Convention, Fijian aborigines and Indians have the same seats in Fiji's national and local councillors, while other ethnic minorities have fewer seats than the first two. At this point, the biggest obstacle to Fiji's independence-ethnic contradictions have been perfectly solved. 1970 10 June10, Fiji officially declared its independence. The British understand that Fiji's independence is the general trend, but only in terms of national identity, Fiji is still a member of the Commonwealth.

In fact, during Fiji's struggle for independence, Chinese living in Fiji were ignored by various forces in Fiji. At first, Fijian aborigines wanted to drive away all Chinese, but later, because of the important position of Chinese in Fiji's private economy, Fijian aborigines had to give up this idea. However, they still don't want to give China universal suffrage. Finally, the British came forward. From the perspective of human rights and balancing various forces in Fiji, they finally gave the Chinese the right to vote. Of course, not many China people lived in Fiji then and now. I think this is also the reason why China people are ignored and despised in Fiji!

In the process of Fiji's independence, due to the proper reconciliation of the British, Fiji's indigenous people and Indians reached a compromise, so Fiji's independence did not have serious violent and bloody conflicts like the independence of other countries. From the British point of view, Fiji's peaceful independence can also be regarded as a way for Britain to conform to the international trend at that time. From the perspective of Fiji itself and all ethnic groups in China, they provide a good model and sample for other countries and ethnic groups in the world to strive for peace and independence.

Lv Guixia, A Biography of Fiji, Social Science Literature Publishing House, 20 15.

Qian Chengdan: World Modernization of Oceania Volume, Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 20 15.

(Author: Haoran literature and history Kan Xiang)

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