THE island nations of Fiji and Tuvalu gained independence from British rule in October 1970 and 1978 respectively.
And Britain left them in quite different circumstances.
Fiji was left relatively well off. The last British Governor - Robert Foster - of this beautiful archipelago of more than 330 islands wrote in his final despatch to London that “as developing countries go, it is not badly off”.
He highlighted, in particular, its healthy economy, high standard of medical services and efficient civil service.
Fiji did well in the early years of independence, very well in fact. Its economy boomed, buoyed by a balanced budget, a stable currency and high foreign reserves.
But key to its success was perhaps also its political stability – with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and the Alliance Party commanding the support of a broad swathe of the Fijian population.
In 1987, however, clashes between political parties representing the majority ethnic Fijian population and notably the Info-Fijian minority communities led to a military coup d’état.
This was the beginning of what many now refer to as the “coup cycle”, with further coups following in 2000 and 2006 which helped stall development in the island nation.
This being said, Fiji still has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific, relying heavily on its tourism and sugar industries.
Tuvalu shows "too poor, too wee" claim is nonsense
Tuvalu (below), meanwhile, was left in a poorer state when it became independent in 1978, not helped by the fact that it is tiny - with a population of just 11,204 and a total land area of 10 square miles.
It struggled with a lack of natural resources, and its size and remoteness meant it couldn’t benefit from economies of scale.
Britain, New Zealand and Australia ended up setting up the Tuvalu Trust Fund to provide development aid.
In 1991, the Tuvalu Government even prepared a compensation claim against the UK for the poor state of the country's finances at the time of independence.
Tuvalu has had to be quite industrious when finding a way to increase revenue, which has traditionally largely come from fishing licences.
In 1998, it leased its +900 telephone lines to a foreign company which generated a substantial income.
In 2000, it then signed an agreement to lease the country's national internet suffix '.tv' to a US company which then generated enough funds for Tuvalu to apply to join the United Nations. It also now accounts for nearly 10% of all government revenue.
While challenges remain for the tiny island nation, you can't accuse Tuvalu of not employing a bit of out-of-the-box thinking and it only goes to show that “too poor”, “too wee” claims are utter nonsense.
Lessons for Scottish independence: The case of Fiji and Tuvalu demonstrates the importance of both starting independence on a strong note as well as not being complacent and being industrious in harnessing a country’s potential. If Scotland is to be successfully independent, it would have to do both, ensuring it is in the strongest and most stable position possible on independence day as well as cleverly harnessing Scotland’s sheer potential and wealth of natural resources into the future.
