kingdom · North America and Oceania
Kingdom of Fiji
Origins
Seru Epenisa Cakobau of the Kingdom of Bau claimed the title Tui Viti, king of Fiji, but faced rivals such as Enele Maʻafu of the Tovata Confederacy and American debt claims. A cotton boom during the American Civil War brought hundreds of European planters to Fiji, and in 1871 settlers at Levuka helped Cakobau form a national government with a constitution.
Rule and society
The kingdom had a cabinet dominated by Europeans, among them John Bates Thurston, and a legislature in which settlers held great influence. Maʻafu joined as viceroy for Lau, uniting the main chiefly powers. The government struggled to tax settlers, who often refused to recognise its authority, and to control the brutal labour trade that brought Pacific Islanders to the plantations.
Decline and legacy
Bankrupt and unable to keep order, Cakobau and the leading chiefs offered Fiji to Britain. The Deed of Cession was signed on 10 October 1874, creating the Colony of Fiji. Cakobau's war club was later returned to Fiji as the mace of its parliament.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Fiji. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-fiji
- MLA
- “Kingdom of Fiji.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-fiji. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Fiji.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-fiji.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Fiji’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-fiji (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻