pool; others met violent ends, reportedly at one another hands. Rotuma was visited as part of the United States Exploring Expedition in 1840.
Cession to Britain
Wesleyan missionaries from Tonga arrived on Rotuma in 1842, followed by Catholic Marists in 1847. Conflicts between the two groups, fueled by previous political rivalries among the chiefs of Rotuma's seven districts, resulted in hostilities that led the local chiefs in 1879 to ask Britain to annexe the island group. On 13 May 1881, Rotuma was officially ceded to the United Kingdom, seven years after Fiji became a colony. The event is annually celebrated as Rotuma Day
