The European discoveries of the Fiji group were accidental. The first of these discoveries was made in 1643 by the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman and English navigators, including Captain James Cook who sailed through in 1774, and made further explorations in the 18th century.
The first Europeans to sight the Fiji islands were Dutch explorer Abel Janzsoon Tasman, who passed the northeast fringe of the group in 1643, and Capt. James Cook, who passed the southeastern islands in 1774.
