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 prestige of Athens as a cultural center even after it had lost its political importance also made it a tourist attraction among Romans with pretensions to learning. By the 18th century the leisure time available to Europe's aristocracy led to a fashion for travel among the sons of the wealthier classes. On the Continent university students were encouraged to spend a year at a foreign institution, while in Great Britain was born the idea of the Grand Tour, an educational journey that comprised a year or two of travel and learning in the major cities of western Europe. One such privileged youth was the Scotsman James Boswell, who between 1763 and 1766 toured Holland, Germany and Switzerland, Italy, Corsica, and France.