There are over 3,500 years of native history on the more than 300 islands that make up the Pacific island nation. The history of Fiji, as we know it, starts in the late 17th century and the early 18th century. Beginning in the 1640s, sailors began to pass by and briefly land on these islands. As far as history is concerned, it is accepted that Fiji was "discovered" by the world in 1789 by Captain William Bligh.