the deed of cession was important to fijis history because of 96 years of british rule.
why was the deed of cession important to fijis history?
96 years of british rule
the murder of bishop john coleridge patteson of the melanesian mission at nukapu in the reef islands had provoked public outrage, which was compounded by the massacre by crew members of more than 150 fijians on board the brig "carl." two british commissioners were sent to fiji to investigate the possibility of an annexation. the question was complicated by manoeuvrings for power between cakobau and his old rival, ma'afu, with both men vacillating for many months. on 21 march 1874, cakobau made a final offer, which the british accepted. on 23 september, sir hercules robinson, soon to be appointed the british governor of fiji, arrived on hms "dido" and received cakobau with a royal 21-gun salute. after some vacillation, cakobau agreed to renounce his "tui viti" title, retaining the title of "vunivalu", or protector. the formal cession took place on 10 october 1874, when cakobau, ma'afu, and some of the senior chiefs of fiji signed two copies of the deed of cession. thus the colony of fiji was founded; 96 years of british rule followed.
history of fiji
tilley's first task in his new role was to negotiate a deed of cession with the local powers to ensure a formal and peaceful transfer of control to the united states. with the partitioning of samoa, two regional governments remained on tutuila which had been subordinated to a government on the western, german-controlled island of upolu. both of these governments were favorable toward the cession. the inhabitants of the island of tau and the volcanic doublet of ofu-olosega (together known as manu'a) to the east were politically separate from tutuila. on march 12, 1900, tilley traveled to tau to meet with the local king tui manuʻa elisala. ultimately, the king agreed to cede some sovereignty to the united states, but refused to consider full cession. the deed of cession was signed on april 17, 1900 and listed manu'a as part of the united states' new territory, but without the signature of its representative. in it, tilley was named acting governor; the territory did not have an official governor until the title was given to governor edmund beardsley underwood in 1905. manu'a did not agree to sign the deed until 1904, after negotiating concessions from the united states.
benjamin franklin tilley