66-611: The Colony of Fiji was a Crown colony that existed from 1874 to 1970 in the territory of the present-day nation of Fiji . London declined its first opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti (King of Fiji) title. His demand was unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who regarded him only as first among equals , if that. Mounting debts and threats from
132-1102: A compromise electoral formula and a timetable for independence as a fully sovereign and independent nation with the Commonwealth . The Legislative Council would be replaced with a bicameral Parliament , with a Senate dominated by Fijian chiefs and a popularly elected House of Representatives . In the 52-member House, Native Fijians and Indo-Fijians would each be allocated 22 seats, of which 12 would represent Communal constituencies comprising voters registered on strictly ethnic roles, and another 10 representing National constituencies to which members were allocated by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage . A further 8 seats were reserved for " General electors " - Europeans , Chinese , Banaban Islanders , and other minorities; 3 of these were "communal" and 5 "national". With this compromise, Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970. 17°41′02″S 178°50′24″E / 17.6840°S 178.8401°E / -17.6840; 178.8401 Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony
198-675: A count of the Holy Roman Empire. Since the feudal era, any count whose territory lay within the Empire and was under the immediate jurisdiction of the Emperor with a shared vote in the Reichstag came to be considered a member of the "upper nobility" ( Hochadel ) in Germany, along with princes ( Fürsten ), dukes ( Herzöge ), electors ( Kurfürsten ), and the emperor himself. A count who
264-505: A different type of English colonial administration before then. ^ Ben Bathurst Graf Graf (feminine: Gräfin ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility , usually translated as " count ". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks , the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of " earl " (whose female version
330-794: A great-grandson of Cakobau's, did join the French Foreign Legion , however, and received the French military decoration, the Medalle Militaire . Sukuna later served with 100 other Fijians of the Fiji Labour Corps which served in a logistics role in France and Italy. In the years that followed, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna , as he was later known, established himself as a leading chief in Fiji and set up institutions that safeguarded native Fijian land rights. When
396-434: A landgrave was a Landgräfin or landgravine. Examples: Landgrave of Thuringia , Landgrave of Hesse , Landgrave of Leuchtenberg , Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Weitra . The title is now borne by the hereditary heirs to the deposed monarchs of Hesse ( Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse and Wilhelm, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld), who lost their throne in 1918. A gefürsteter Graf (English: princely count )
462-573: A reputation for bravery in the Solomon Islands campaign , with one war correspondent describing their ambush tactics as "death with velvet gloves." Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu , of Yucata , was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross , as a result of his bravery in the Battle of Bougainville . Indo-Fijians , however, generally refused to enlist, after their demand for equal treatment to Europeans
528-568: A traditional chief. A Great Council of Chiefs was established in 1876 to advise the Governor. This body remained in existence until being suspended by the Military -backed interim government in 2007 and abolished in 2012. Under the 1997 Constitution , it functioned as an electoral college that chose Fiji's President , Vice-President , and 14 of the 32 Senators . In its early days, the Great Council
594-482: Is "countess"). The German nobility was gradually divided into high and low nobility. The high nobility included those counts who ruled immediate imperial territories of " princely size and importance" for which they had a seat and vote in the Imperial Diet . The word Graf derives from Middle High German : grave , which is usually derived from Latin : graphio . Graphio is in turn thought to come from
660-695: Is a Reichsgraf who was recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor as bearing the higher rank or exercising the more extensive authority of an Imperial prince ( Reichsfürst ). While nominally retaining only a comital title, he was accorded princely rank and, usually, arms by the emperor. An example of this would be the Princely County of Habsburg , the namesake of the Habsburg Dynasty , which at various points in time controlled vast amounts of lands throughout Europe. A Burggraf , or Burgrave ,
726-565: Is linked to a specific countship, whose unique title emerged during the course of its history. These unusually named countships were equivalent in rank to other Counts of the Empire who were of Hochadel status, being entitled to a shared seat and vote in the Imperial Diet and possessing Imperial immediacy , most of which would be mediatised upon dissolution of the Empire in 1806. The corresponding titles in Scandinavia are greve (m.) and grevinna (f.) and would commonly be used in
SECTION 10
#1732849005377792-652: Is usually translated simply as count and is combined with a territorial suffix (e.g., Count of Holland , Count Reuss ) or a surname ( Count Fugger , Count von Browne ). Even after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Reichsgrafen retained precedence above other counts in Germany. Those who had been quasi-sovereign until German mediatisation retained, until 1918, status and privileges pertaining to members of reigning dynasties . Notable Reichsgrafen have included: A complete list of Reichsgrafen with immediate territories as of 1792 can be found in
858-463: The Graf , or Gräfin , and the nobiliary particle if any. Today, having lost their legal status, these terms are often not translated, unlike before 1919. The titles do, however, retain prestige in some circles of society. The suffix -graf occurs in various office titles which did not attain nobiliary status but were either held as a sinecure by nobleman or courtiers, or functional officials such as
924-553: The gräfliche title, often relating to a specific domain or jurisdiction of responsibility, e.g. Landgraf , Markgraf , Pfalzgraf ( Count Palatine ), Burggraf , Wildgraf , Waldgraf , Altgraf , Raugraf , etc. Although as a title Graf ranked, officially, below those of Herzog (duke) and Fürst (prince), the Holy Roman Emperor could and did recognise unique concessions of authority or rank to some of these nobles, raising them to
990-594: The Seeadler , had run aground in the Cook Islands following the shelling of Papeete in the French territory of Tahiti . On 21 September, the district police inspector took a number of Fijians to Wakaya, and Graf von Luckner, not realising that they were unarmed, unwittingly surrendered. Citing unwillingness to exploit the Fijian people, the colonial authorities did not permit Fijians to enlist. One Fijian of chiefly rank,
1056-599: The Byzantine title grapheus , which ultimately derives from the Greek verb γρᾰ́φειν ( graphein ) 'to write'. Other explanations have been put forward, however; Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm , while still noting the potential of a Greek derivation, suggested a connection to Gothic : gagrêfts , meaning 'decision, decree'. However, the Grimms preferred a solution that allows a connection to Old English : gerēfa ' reeve ', in which
1122-630: The German mediatisation process of 1815, preserving their precedence, allocating familial representation in local legislatures, some jurisdictional immunities and the prestigious privilege of Ebenbürtigkeit . In regions of Europe where nobles did not actually exercise Landeshoheit over the populace, the Graf long retained specific feudal privileges over the land and in the villages in his county, such as rights to peasant service, to periodic fees for use of common infrastructure such as timber, mills, wells and pastures. These rights gradually eroded and were largely eliminated before or during
1188-645: The Gibraltarians ) found that their "Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies" had changed overnight to British Dependent Territories Citizenship , a form of British citizenship that stripped them of some of their rights, including the right to reside and work in the United Kingdom. From 2002, the dependent territories have been known officially as British Overseas Territories . Early English colonies were often proprietary colonies , usually established and administered by companies under charters granted by
1254-572: The House of Assembly of Bermuda has existed continuously since its first session in 1620, Bermuda has only had responsible government since 1968. (Bermuda became a Crown colony in 1684, when the government revoked a royal charter given to the Somers Isles Company , successor to the Virginia Company , which had previously controlled administration, including the appointment of governors. Afterwards
1320-464: The List of Reichstag participants (1792) . A Markgraf or Margrave was originally a military governor of a Carolingian "mark" ( march ), a border province. In medieval times the borders of the Holy Roman Empire were especially vulnerable to foreign attack, so the hereditary count of these "marches" of the realm was sometimes granted greater authority than other vassals to ensure security. They bore
1386-649: The Second World War broke out, many Fijians volunteered for military service with the Fiji Military Forces, which was commanded by a New Zealand Army officer under a 1936 agreement with the British that New Zealand assume responsibility for the defence of Fiji. Two Fiji infantry battalions and commando units saw service with US Army units in Guadalcanal and Bougainville . The Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor , on 8 December 1941 (Fiji time), marked
SECTION 20
#17328490053771452-614: The United States Navy had led Cakobau to establish a constitutional monarchy with a government dominated by European settlers in 1871, following an agreement with the Australian Polynesia Company to pay his debts. The collapse of the new regime drove him to make another offer of cession in 1872, which the British accepted. On 10 October 1874, Britain began its rule of Fiji, which lasted until 10 October 1970. Sir Hercules Robinson , who had arrived on 23 September 1874,
1518-450: The ge- is a prefix, and which the Grimms derive from Proto-Germanic *rōva 'number'. The comital title of Graf is common to various European territories where German was or is the official or vernacular tongue, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Alsace, the Baltic states and other former Habsburg crown lands . In Germany, all legal privileges of
1584-414: The legal surname (with the former title thus now following the given name, e.g. Otto Graf Lambsdorff ). As dependent parts of the surnames ( nichtselbständige Namensbestandteile ), they are ignored in alphabetical sorting of names, as is any nobiliary particle , such as von or zu , and might or might not be used by those bearing them. The distinguishing main surname is the name following
1650-504: The 19th century, leaving the Graf with few legal privileges beyond land ownership, although comital estates in German-speaking lands were often substantial. Nonetheless, various rulers in German-speaking lands granted the hereditary title of Graf to their subjects, particularly after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Although lacking the prestige and powers of the former Imperial counts, they remained legal members of
1716-918: The British Government – such as Hong Kong , before its transfer in 1997 to the People's Republic of China . In 2002, the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 further changed their name to British Overseas Territories . There were three types of Crown colony as of 1918, with differing degrees of autonomy: Crown colonies with representative councils , such as Bermuda , Jamaica , Ceylon and Fiji , contained two legislative chambers, consisting of Crown-appointed and locally elected members. Crown colonies with nominated councils , such as British Honduras , Sierra Leone , British Windward Islands and Hong Kong , were staffed entirely by Crown-appointed members, with some appointed representation from
1782-673: The British government appointed the Governor of Bermuda .) Despite its later usage, the term "Crown colony" was used primarily, until the mid-19th century, to refer to colonies that had been acquired through wars, such as Trinidad and Tobago . After that time it was more broadly applied to every British territory other than British India , and self-governing colonies, such as the Province of Canada , Newfoundland , British Columbia , New South Wales , Queensland , South Australia , Tasmania , Victoria , Western Australia , and New Zealand . By
1848-569: The Governor, not to the legislature. Nevertheless, over the ensuing three years, the then Governor, Sir Derek Jakeway , treated the Members more and more like ministers, to prepare them for the advent of responsible government. A constitutional conference was held in London in July 1965, to discuss constitutional changes with a view to introducing responsible government. Indo-Fijians, led by A. D. Patel , demanded
1914-592: The Great Council of Chiefs. 1964 saw the first step towards responsible government , with the introduction of the Member system . Specific portfolios were given to certain elected members of the Legislative Council. They did not constitute a Cabinet in the Westminster sense of the term, as they were officially advisers to the colonial Governor rather than ministers with executive authority, and were responsible only to
1980-428: The Holy Roman Empire was required. Subsequently, the latter ceased to be obligatory. Some are approximately of comital rank, some higher, some lower. The more important ones are treated in separate articles (follow the links); a few minor, rarer ones only in sections below. A Reichsgraf was a nobleman whose title of count was conferred or confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor , and meant "Imperial Count", i.e.,
2046-517: The beginning of the Pacific War . Japanese submarines launched seaplanes that flew over Fiji; Japanese submarine I-25 on 17 March 1942 and Japanese submarine I-10 on 30 November 1941. Because of its central location, Fiji was selected as a training base for the Allies . An airstrip was built at Nadi (later to become an international airport), and gun emplacements studded the coast. Fijians gained
Colony of Fiji - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-428: The benevolent rule of the British as preferable to Indo-Fijian control and resisted British moves towards autonomy. By this time, however, the United Kingdom had apparently decided to divest itself of its colonial empire and pressed ahead with reforms. The Fijian people as a whole were enfranchised for the first time in 1963, when the legislature was made a wholly elective body, except for 2 members out of 36 nominated by
2178-557: The best deal they could get. A series of compromises led to the establishment of a cabinet system of government in 1967, with Ratu Kamisese Mara as the first Chief Minister . Ongoing negotiations between Mara and Sidiq Koya , who had taken over the leadership of the mainly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party on Patel's death in 1969, led to a second constitutional conference in London, in April 1970, at which Fiji's Legislative Council agreed on
2244-591: The centuries in some Crown colonies, more independent authority was given. All remaining British colonies, whether Crown (such as the Falkland Islands ) or self-governing (such as Bermuda ), were renamed " British Dependent Territories " from 1 January 1983 under the British Nationality Act 1981 . Many British citizens in the colonies (with the exceptions of the Falkland Islanders and subsequently
2310-567: The colonies, there was no direct representation in the sovereign government for British subjects or citizens residing in Crown colonies. The administration of Crown colonies changed over time and in the 1800s some became, with a loosening of the power of royal governors, self-governing colonies , within which the sovereign state (the UK Government) delegated legislation for most local internal matters of governance to elected assemblies, with consent of
2376-400: The count's strongholds or fiefs, as the burgrave dwelt usually in a castle or fortified town. Some became hereditary and by the modern era obtained rank just below a count, though above a Freiherr ' (baron) who might hold a fief as vassal of the original count. Unlike the other comital titles, Rhinegrave, Wildgrave ( Waldgrave ), Raugrave , and Altgrave are not generic titles. Rather, each
2442-565: The executive council was similar to the Privy Council that advises the monarch. Members of executive councils were appointed by the governors, and British citizens resident in Crown colonies either had no representation in local government, or limited representation in a lower house . In several Crown colonies, this limited representation grew over time. As the House of Commons of the British Parliament has never included seats for any of
2508-694: The governor, overseen by the Colonial Office and the Board of Trade and Plantations . The Colonial Office gave way to the Dominion Office for some of these territories in 1925. Elected lower houses had their beginnings in the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia in 1619 and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of Bermuda in 1620. While initially limited in government even with an elected lower house, over
2574-547: The immediate introduction of full self-government, with a fully elected legislature, to be elected by universal suffrage on a common voters' roll. These demands were vigorously rejected by the ethnic Fijian delegation, who still feared loss of control over natively owned land and resources should an Indo-Fijian dominated government come to power. The British made it clear, however, that they were determined to bring Fiji to self-government and eventual independence. Realizing that they had no choice, Fiji's chiefs decided to negotiate for
2640-411: The land is still natively owned. He also banned the exploitation of Fijians as labourers, and following the failure of the cotton-growing enterprise in the early 1870s, Gordon decided in 1878 to import indentured labourers from India to work on the sugarcane fields that had taken the place of the cotton plantations. The 463 Indians arrived on 14 May 1879—the first of some 61,000 that were to come before
2706-427: The local nobility, entitled to whatever minor privileges were recognised at the ruler's court. The title, translated as "count", was generally accepted and used in other countries by custom. Many Continental counts in Germany and Austria were titled Graf without any additional qualification. Except in the Kingdom of Prussia from the 19th century, the title of Graf was not restricted by primogeniture : it
Colony of Fiji - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-510: The local population. Hong Kong had a representative council following the introduction of election for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 1995. Crown colonies ruled directly by a governor , such as Basutoland , Gibraltar , Saint Helena and Singapore , were fewest in number and had the least autonomy. The "from" column lists the year the colony began to be administered by the Crown. These colonies may have existed under
2838-577: The mid-19th century, the monarch was appointing colonial governors only on the advice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies . The term Crown colony continued to be used until 1981, when the British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified the remaining British colonies as "British Dependent Territories". By this time, the term "Crown colony" referred specifically to colonies lacking substantial autonomy, which were administered by an executive governor, appointed by
2904-440: The monarch. The first "royal colony" was the Colony of Virginia , after 1624, when the Crown of the Kingdom of England revoked the royal charter it had granted to the Virginia Company and assumed control of the administration. Executive crown governors are sometimes complemented by a locally appointed and/or elected legislature with limited powers – that is, such territories lack responsible government . For example, while
2970-412: The nobility have been officially abolished since August 1919, and Graf , like any other hereditary title, is treated as part of the legal surname. In Austria, its use is banned by law, as with all hereditary titles and nobiliary particles . In Switzerland , the title is not acknowledged in law. In the monarchies of Belgium, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, where German is one of the official languages ,
3036-464: The powers of the modern Parliament , it brought native Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji. These steps towards self-rule were welcomed by the Indo-Fijian community, which by that time had come to outnumber the native Fijian population. Fearing Indo-Fijian domination, many Fijian chiefs saw
3102-553: The same family. Examples: Burgrave of Nuremberg , Burgrave of ( Burggraf zu ) Dohna-Schlobitten Initially burgrave suggested a similar function and history as other titles rendered in German by Vizegraf , in Dutch as Burggraaf or in English as Viscount ( Latin : Vicecomes ); the deputy of a count charged with exercising the count's prerogatives in overseeing one or more of
3168-543: The scheme ended in 1916. The plan involved bringing the Indian workers to Fiji on a five-year contract, after which they could return to India at their own expense; if they chose to renew their contract for a second five-year term, they would be given the option of returning to India at the government's expense or remaining in Fiji. The great majority chose to stay. The Queensland Act , which regulated indentured labour in Queensland ,
3234-509: The status of gefürsteter Graf or "princely count". But a grafliche title with such a prefix did not always signify a higher than comital rank or membership in the Hochadel . Only the more important of these titles, historically associated with degrees of sovereignty, remained in use by the 19th century, specifically Markgraf and Landgraf . In Russia, the title of Graf ( Russian : Граф ; feminine: Графиня, romanized Grafinya )
3300-579: The third-person in direct address as a mark of courtesy, as in grevinnan . German nobility , although not abolished (unlike the Austrian nobility by the new First Austrian Republic in 1919), lost recognition as a legal class in Germany under the Weimar Republic in 1919 under the Weimar Constitution , article 109. Former hereditary noble titles legally simply transformed into dependent parts of
3366-463: The three major ethnic constituencies ( indigenous Fijians , Indo-Fijians , and Europeans ). Indo-Fijian and European electors voted directly for 3 of the 5 members allocated to them (the other two were appointed by the Governor); the 5 indigenous Fijian members were all nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. Ratu Sukuna was chosen as the first Speaker . Although the Legislative Council still had few of
SECTION 50
#17328490053773432-537: The title "margrave" until the few who survived as sovereigns assumed higher titles when the Empire was abolished in 1806. Examples: Margrave of Baden , Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth . Since the abolition of the German Empire at the end of World War I, the heirs of some of its former monarchies have resumed use of margrave as a title of pretence , e.g. Maria Emanuel , Margrave of Meissen and Maximilian, Margrave of Baden . A Landgraf or Landgrave
3498-602: The title continues to be recognised, used and, occasionally, granted by the national fons honorum , the reigning monarch. From the Middle Ages , a Graf usually ruled a territory known as a Grafschaft ('county'). In the Holy Roman Empire , many Imperial counts ( Reichsgrafen ) retained near-sovereign authority in their lands until the Congress of Vienna subordinated them to larger, neighboring monarchs through
3564-625: Was a colony governed by England , and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire . There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government , with or without the assistance of a local council. In some cases, this council was split into two: an executive council and a legislative council , and
3630-403: Was a 12th- and 13th-century military and civil judicial governor of a castle (compare castellan , custos , keeper ) of the town it dominated and of its immediate surrounding countryside. His jurisdiction was a Burggrafschaft , burgraviate. Over time the office and domain to which it was attached tended to become hereditary by Imperial grant or retention over generations by members of
3696-413: Was a nobleman of comital rank in feudal Germany whose jurisdiction stretched over a territory larger than usually held by a count within the Holy Roman Empire . The status of a landgrave was elevated, usually being associated with suzerains who were subject to the Holy Roman Emperor but exercised sovereign authority within their lands and independence greater than the prerogatives to which a simple Graf
3762-460: Was appointed as interim Governor . He was replaced in June 1875 by Sir Arthur Gordon . Rather than establish direct rule in all spheres, Gordon granted autonomy over local affairs to Fiji's chiefs, though they were now forbidden to engage in tribal warfare. The colony was divided into four regions, each under the control of a Roko; these regions were further subdivided into twelve districts, each ruled by
3828-561: Was entitled, but the title itself implied no specific, legal privileges. Landgraf occasionally continued in use as the subsidiary title of such minor royalty as the Elector of Hesse or the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar , who functioned as the Landgrave of Thuringia in the first decade of the 20th century. The jurisdiction of a landgrave was a Landgrafschaft or landgraviate, and the wife of
3894-404: Was inherited by all legitimate descendants in the male line of the original titleholder, the males also inheriting an approximately equal share of the family's wealth and estates. Usually a hyphenated suffix indicated which of the familial lands a particular line of counts held, e.g. Castell-Rudenhausen . In the medieval Holy Roman Empire, some counts took or were granted unique variations of
3960-411: Was introduced by Peter the Great . The first Russian graf (or count) was Boris Petrovich Sheremetev , elevated to this dignity in 1706 for the pacification of the Astrakhan uprising (1705–1706) . Then Peter granted six more graf dignities. Initially, when someone was elevated to the graf's dignity of the Russian Empire , the elevated person recognition by the German Emperor in the same dignity of
4026-424: Was made a partly elective body, with European male settlers empowered to elect 6 of the 19 Councillors. 2 members were appointed by the colonial Governor from a list of 6 candidates submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs ; a further 8 "official" members were appointed by the Governor at his own discretion. The Governor himself was the 19th member. The first nominated Indian member was appointed in 1916; this position
SECTION 60
#17328490053774092-415: Was made elective from 1929. A four-member Executive Council had also been established in 1904; this was not a " Cabinet " in the modern sense, as its members were not responsible to the Legislative Council. After the Second World War , Fiji began to take its first steps towards internal self-government. The Legislative Council was expanded to 32 members in 1953, 15 of them elected and divided equally among
4158-416: Was made law in Fiji also. Fiji was only peripherally involved in the First World War , which was fought mainly in Europe. More than 1,500 men volunteered for war service with British forces. Other volunteers saw service with Australian and NZ forces. One notable incident occurred in September 1917 when Felix Graf von Luckner arrived at Wakaya Island , off the eastern coast of Viti Levu, after his raider,
4224-467: Was not a Reichsgraf was likely to possess only a mesne fief ( Afterlehen ) — he was subject to an immediate prince of the empire, such as a duke or prince elector . However, the Holy Roman Emperors also occasionally granted the title of Reichsgraf to subjects and foreigners who did not possess and were not granted immediate territories — or, sometimes, any territory at all. Such titles were purely honorific . In English, Reichsgraf
4290-528: Was refused. They disbanded a platoon they had organised, and contributed nothing more than one officer and 70 enlisted men in a reserve transport section, on condition that they not be sent overseas. The refusal of Indo-Fijians to play an active role in the war efforts became part of the ideological construction employed by Fijian ethno-nationalists to justify interethnic tensions in the post-war years. A Legislative Council , initially with advisory powers, had existed as an appointed body since 1874, but in 1904 it
4356-467: Was supplemented by a Native Regulation Board (now the Fijian Affairs Board ); these two bodies together made laws for the Fijians . (European settlers, however, were not subject to its laws). In 1882, the capital was moved from Levuka to the more accessible Suva. Adopting a "Fiji for the Fijians" policy, Gordon prohibited further sales of land, although it could be leased. This policy has been continued, hardly modified, to this day, and some 83 percent of
#376623