The country estate and the watering place of Roman times and the religious pilgrimage popular in the Middle Ages, however, represented the small beginnings of what would one day become a tidal wave of tourism. Although the Indians are forbidden land ownership, they operate most of the sugar plantations. There are also small Chinese and white minorities. Fiji experiences tensions as a result of its diverse ethnic composition. Primary education is neither free nor compulsory, but the literacy rate is high.
Gold is the leading mineral product.
The underdeveloped industrial sector produces some consumer goods, garments, and food products. Fiji is trying to diversify exports and increase manufacturing. The fishing industry has grown rapidly. For long-distance travel to become comfortable and attractive, the Industrial Revolution had to provide transport that was both safer and faster than the horse and carriage and the sailing vessel. This was accomplished by the rapid proliferation of railroads in Great Britain and Western Europe starting in the 1840s and by the advent of the steel-built, oceangoing steamship in the 1880s.