An island country of the southwest Pacific Ocean comprising about 320 islands. Populated by Melanesian and later Polynesian groups, the islands were discovered by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1643 and visited by Capt. James Cook in 1774. Annexed by Great Britain in 1874, they became independent in 1970. Suva, on the island of Viti Levu, is the capital. Population: 919,000.
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