British rule begins in Fiji on October…
1874 CE
Sir Hercules Robinson, who had arrived on September 23, 1874, is appointed as interim Governor.
The United Kingdom had declined its first opportunity to annex Fiji in 1862.
Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti (King of Fiji) title, a condition unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who had regarded him only as first among equals, if that.
A confederacy of Fijian chiefs had formed in 1865.
Two years later, an American warship had threatened to shell the island on of Levuka.
Amid increasing unrest, Cakobau had been crowned King of Bau by European settlers.
The following year, the Australian-based Polynesia Company had acquired land near Suva, in return for promising to pay Cakobau's debts.
The mounting debts and threats from the United States Navy had led Cakobau to establish a constitutional monarchy with himself as King but with real power in the hands of a Cabinet and Legislature dominated by settlers from Australia.
Lavish overspending had saddled the new kingdom with even greater debt.
In 1872, John Bates Thurston, a government official, had approached the United Kingdom on Cakobau's behalf with an offer to cede the islands, which Britain had accepted.
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