Cakobau (c.1815-1883), King of Fiji, also known by the phonetic spelling Thakombau. Fiji (also Viti) is an archipelago of more than 330 islands in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean. Seru Epenisa Cakobau converted to Christianity and renounced cannibalism in 1854. He united warring Fijian tribes to establish a united kingdom that lasted from 1871 to 1874. Cakabou was the Vunivalu (Paramount Chief or Warlord). Accumulated debt led to social unrest, and Cakabou and his government ceded the islands to the British in 1874. The resulting Colony of Fiji existed from 1874 to 1970. Artwork published in 1885.