The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a group of islands in the south west Pacific. Over 300 islands and 500 islets make the Fiji group of islands with a total land areas of just 18,272 square meters. Of the 300 islands, only a 100 or so islands are inhabited by humans and the rest are left as nature reserves. The climate is tropical marine with only a slight seasonal temperature variation. The terrain is mostly mountains of volcanic origin. Natural resources are timber, fish, gold, copper and an offshore oil potential. The religion is mainly Christian, with the Indian population Hindu and with a Muslim minority. The official language is English with Fijian and Hindustani also spoken. Fiji was discovered by Tasman in 1643 and from 1866 onwards an increasing influx of colonists from Europe, New Zealand and Australia raised trade with Fiji to an important level and in 1874 the islands became a British possession. In 1875, a year after becoming a British possession, over a third of the population was wiped out in just three months by a measels epidemic, previous to which measels was unknown on the islands. The islands of Fiji were formerly also known as Feejee and as the Viti Islands. Research Fiji
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Research Fiji