Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Fijians. In 1851 he had asked the captain of a US warship to demand US$5000, but the
claim was dismissed as unfounded. However, the next time a US Navy ship visited in 1855,
Williams was successful in gaining the support of its captain for his and a number of other
American claims for compensation.
Cakobau, now the most powerful local chief, was held accountable to the impossible tune
of US$42,000. Taken aboard the warship, he was bullied into signing acceptance of these
claims and forced to promise payment within a year. Afraid of being taken prisoner to the US,
Cakobau appealed to Pritchard, the British consul in Levuka, and promised
sovereignty of
Fiji
to the British along with thousands of acres of land if the debt to the US was paid off and
Ma'afu could be persuaded to relinquish his pursuit of power. Pritchard, hopeful of cession,
managed to stall the American demands, and at a gathering of chiefs in Levuka in 1859, he
persuaded Ma'afu to cease his war with Bau. Despite his efforts, cession was initially rejec-
ted by Britain in 1862 on the grounds that Cakobau, despite claiming kingly
s
tatus, did not
represent the united peoples of the islands. There were also concerns that the colony would
prove unprofitable and a hindrance in times of war.
The second wave of European migration
Although Britain had rejected taking on Fiji as a colony, the following decade saw a new
rush
of Europeans to the islands, fuelled by rumours of imminent cession. A further hundred
thousand acres of land were sold to white traders by rogue chiefs eager to obtain firearms and
alcohol. Plantations of
cotton
were established on Taveuni, Vanua Levu and the Lau Group,
and
blackbirding ships
began to bring in captives from the Melanesian Islands to deal with
the shortage of labour. As more traders arrived, the small whaling outpost of Levuka began
to take on the role of Fiji's capital. Beyond the control of the authorities, it soon developed
into a debauched frontier-like town characterized by vice and alcoholism.
Meanwhile, Ma'afu continued his advances on Bau and the Americans again pursued their
claim with Cakobau. In 1867, with an American warship threatening to bombard Levuka,
Cakobau turned to the newly formed Australian-owned
Polynesian Company
, which guar-
anteed payment of the claim by instalments in return for land around Suva.
