'The Dark Races Against the Light'? Official Reaction to the 1959 Fiji Riots

Rioting that followed clashes between police and strikers in Suva in December 1959 was interpreted by the authorities and the European minority as being motivated by anti-European feeling. But the racial interpretation of the strike tells us more about the authorities' own fears of solidarity b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Pacific history 2002-06, Vol.37 (1), p.75-86
Main Author: Heartfield, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-European feeling
Asians
Colonialism
Demonstrations
Ethnic groups
Europeans
Fiji
Fiji. Council of Chiefs
Fiji: History
History
Imperialism
Indigenous peoples
Oil industry
Pacific Region
Political unrest
Race discrimination
Race relations
Racial discrimination
Racial solidarity
Regional studies
Riots
Strikes
Strikes and lockouts
Suva
Working conditions
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Rioting that followed clashes between police and strikers in Suva in December 1959 was interpreted by the authorities and the European minority as being motivated by anti-European feeling. But the racial interpretation of the strike tells us more about the authorities' own fears of solidarity between Indians and Fijians than it does about the strikers actual motivations, which were simply to advance an economic demand. The racialisation of the dispute came afterwards, in the suppression of the strike, and the reassertion of traditional Fijian authority vested in the Council of Chiefs, whose appeal to Fijians was made in specifically anti-Indian terms. The return to traditional authority prevented moves to modernise Fijian society.
ISSN:0022-3344
1469-9605
1469-9605
DOI:10.1080/00223340120096242A