Fiji

State flag

Civil flag

Air force roundel

Fiji is a country in the Pacific Ocean.

Modern Fiji was established in the 19th century by James Brooke, a merchant from the Federated Kingdoms. He was trading in the Pacific Ocean (between Chinese New Guinea and other entities). Once his ship was blown to Fiji during a storm. There he helped a local leader to crush a revolt and was given some land in return. Using a clever diplomacy and other means James Brooke expanded his lands over time and started to be called the "White ratu" of Fiji; the original ruler of Fiji was only left a small domain. He led the wars against Toga and its pirates and successfully adapted togiaki vessels for Fijian use. Brooke kept certain ties with Federated Kingdoms, namely Cambria (he was of Scottish and English descent himself), but these ties were frequently troubled by different interests. James Brooke was succeded by Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke and later by Charles Vyner Brooke. The Brookes were known for protecting local Fijian culture, discouraging Christian missionaries. They expanded their realm to other islands (and even Coromandel Peninsula) over time using the relatively powerful togiaki fleet. The expansion got slower over time due to unfavourable opinion of various European countries and different views on it by the descendants of James Brooke. During the Second Great War Fiji fell victim to the Chinese aggression. The Chinese attempted to push through the islands and take control of Oceania thereby surounding Australasia. Only the easternmost parts of Fiji (such as the Cook Islands) were not occupied by the Chinese during the war and this was the area where Charles Vyner Brooke took refuge. The war left the Fijian economy shattered and Brooke chose not to retake the throne (he was compensated for that) and Fiji became a direct dependency of Cambria (with some of the islands separated to other entities). Eventually Fiji became independent within the Commonwealth. The remaining Fijian dependencies (Tokelau, Samoa, and the Cook Islands) are now known as Fijian Polynesia and they have autonomy. King Thakombao V rules over the kingdom.

(Note: The exact territorial extent of Fijian Polynesia is not settled, and the listing herein is not to be construed as definitive.)

Flags

Vertical form of Fiji's state flag

When they ruled the kingdom, the Brookes flew a flag identical to the one they used *here* for the Kingdom of Sarawak [1]. It featured a red and violet cross on a gold field, taken from their family coat of arms. The violet was later changed to black for aesthetic reasons. When Thakombao's dynasty took control in the 1950s, they replaced the cross with a symbol that represents a bure kalou, a traditional Fijian temple [2]. They also used a more stylized crown on the state flag, which is also topped with a bure kalou symbol.

Fiji also has official variants of the civil and state flags for vertical hanging, in which the bure kalou symbol is rotated ninety degrees.

See: http://www.geocities.com/ill_bethisad/commonwealth.htm

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