International tourism as a giant industry did not get under way until the 1950s, however. Jet speeds not only made accessible places that were previously considered remote, such as the South Pacific, the Far East, South America, and Africa, but also opened up the world of international travel to ordinary working people, who normally had only two weeks' annual vacation time at their disposal. A British colony for nearly a century, Fiji became independent in 1970. Only about 105 of Fiji's islands are inhabited. Vegetation varies according to rainfall, with dense forests in the mountains, tropical savanna grasslands in the west, and dense vegetation in the east.
Mangrove trees dominate coastal areas.
Native Fijians, who were a minority in their own country at independence, are mainly of Melanesian stock. The first European discovery was by the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman, in 1643. During the first half of the 19th century, shipwrecked sailors and missionaries settled in Fiji. Their influence led first to conflicts and then warfare between Fiji's indigenous tribes. Finally, in 1874, Paramount Chief Cakobau invited Great Britain to assume sovereignty of the islands.