Posted
on October 10, 2014
Today
Fiji celebrates its independence from the United Kingdom in 1970.
Doesn't
it seem like EVERY day we celebrate another country that gained its
independence from the United Kingdom??? Just how big WAS the British
Empire?
In
the 1800s and the early 1900s, the British Empire was the largest
empire that the world had ever – still has ever – seen! It was
called the Empire on Which the Sun Never Set, because it included
territories all around the world and in every (or almost every?) time
zone. Adding up all the land area in these far-flung territories, it
was about 13 million square miles (which is almost one-quarter of the
Earth's land area.
Okay,
so the British Empire was really large – now, can we get to Fiji?
 |
| Well, looking at these photos, I would certainly LIKE to get to Fiji! |
For
some reason, I have always thought of Fiji as just one island, but
it's actually (as so many island nations are) an archipelago of
volcanic islands and teeny islets: more than 332 islands and 500
islets! I was surprised to read that people live on 110 of the
islands. So, really, really more than one island!
Fiji
is lucky enough to have a lot of natural resources, including
resources in its forests, minerals in the ground, and fish in its
waters. But the main ways that Fijians make money is by providing
services to tourists and by growing and selling sugar.
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| This is a beautiful example of the traditional tapa cloth. |
Also
on this date:
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ahead:
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