1860: Lt. Col. W. T. Smythe visited Levuka and questioned Cakobau’s claim to be king of Fiji

Colonel Smythe was sent by the British government as a special commissioner to report on the suitability of Fiji as a naval and coaling station and for the cultivation of cotton. The journey was made as a consequence of the Fijian Kings (Cacobau)  first offer of annexation in exchange for payment of his debt to [...]

1861: Cotton prices rise sharply

Almost unanimously, Southerners believed they could use cotton to lure England and France into recognizing the Confederacy. Since the administration of Jefferson Davis wanted to avoid any appearance of international “blackmail,” the Confederate Congress never formally approved an embargo, but state governments and private citizens voluntarily withheld the crop from [...]

1860s: American civil raises world cotton prices; New Zealand and Australian planters arrive

The plantation era in Fiji began in the early 1860s when some European long-term residents had obtained land and started growing cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane. When the world cotton prices increased as a result of the American Civil War, many Australians and New Zealanders came to Fiji to start cotton plantations.