Jack Renton and Queensland

Prior to his ascension to prominence, Kwaisulia was a ramo, or warrior, which granted him some prestige.^[2] In 1868, Scottish sailor Jack Renton arrived on Sulufou, as a slave of a bigman and chieftain named Kabbou.^[3] He and Kwaisulia soon became close friends, with Kwaisulia learning a limited amount of English from Renton. Renton was rescued in 1875, and later that year returned and convinced Kwaisulia to leave and work in Queensland for six years.^[4][5] Alternatively, historian Deryck Scarr states that Kwaisulia accompanied Renton when he was rescued, though he agrees that Kwaisulia spent six years in Queensland.^[6] It is not known where specifically in Queensland Kwaisulia worked, though historian Clive Moore suggests that it may have been in the area around Rockhampton.^[4] It is known that he visited the city of Brisbane, apparently being impressed by its size.^[4]

Growing influence

Kwaisulia returned from Queensland in 1881. Upon his return, he took up a role as a passage master in the "recruitment" trade, encouraging people to work on farms in Queensland, and in return received weapons and supplies from European traders.^[7] Kwaisulia's extensive knowledge of Pidgin English and European customs made him ideally suited for the role of intermediary between the peoples of the Lau Lagoon and the Europeans.^[1] He increased his power by assuming the duties of several traditionally separate roles; such as involving himself in the arranging of marriages, taking command of hunting parties, and procuring human sacrifices.^[8] In his position, Kwaisulia often coerced or forced people to join up with the recruiters, thus engaging in a form of blackbirding.^[9]

Kwaisulia began to cultivate an image among the people of the Lau Lagoon as an ally of the British Empire, and his wealth and growing prestige allowed him to gain a large following.^[2] Anthropologist Roger Keesing states that it is believed that the Europeans thought that Kwaisulia was a traditional chief, when in actuality his power and influence largely came through his good relations with the British.^[5] Kwaisulia's main power base was the island of Adagege, which he fortified with barbed wire.^[7] His influence increased considerably when Kabbou died in 1886, thus altering the local balance of power. Emboldened, Kwaisulia led an attack on the island of Funaafou, the traditional enemy of Sulufou, and successfully conquered it, installing his eldest son Jackson Kaiviti as a vassal chief.^[10] His physical presence at the assault and his installation of relatives as vassals were both violations of Melanesian tradition, and according to author Nigel Randell Evans represented a turn by Kwaisulia towards European-style state building.^[10]

By 1897 Kwaisulia was the most powerful figure in northern Malaita.^[11] At the height of his power it was said by his contemporaries that he could field a force of 1,000 fighters, and that he held influence as far south as the Maramasike Passage.^[12] This level of authority was unprecedented in Malaita, and the resulting stability made the areas under Kwaisulia's control appealing to visitors.^[13] As such, Kwaisulia was able to control trade between Malaita and the rest of the world.^[2]

Despite his good relations with Europeans, Kwaisulia was a staunch opponent of Christianity, opposing attempts to spread the religion in the area.^[14] Originally, he actively opposed all missionary work in the region under his influence, but later in his life he allowed white missionaries such as Arthur Hopkins to preach, feeling that the prestige of having Europeans work under him was a satisfactory trade off for the potentially destabilising influence of Christianity.^[4]

Later life and death

As the British began to expand their influence further during the beginning of the 20th century, Kwaisulia's power began to wane somewhat, though he still commanded considerable influence.^[15] In 1903, Queensland banned foreign labourers from entering the state, which forced Kwaisulia to instead refocus his efforts on sending labourers to Fiji.^[2] Kwaisulia died in 1909, when, while hunting fish with dynamite, a cartridge he was holding "exploded in his face".^[2] After Kwaisulia's death, his followers accused a chieftain of Sulufou of killing him with sorcery, and as a result skirmishes broke out between them and the inhabitants of Sulufou.^[16]

Historiography

Kwaisulia was not paid much attention by early historians and ethnographers of Melanesia, a situation which was considered by anthropologist Stuart Kisch to be part of a larger occurrence where European academics had attempted to completely separate European influence from native Melanesian culture, thus excluding figures such as Kwaisulia whose historical influence is inseparable from the interactions between the two cultures.^[20] The primary work that increased the stature of Kwaisulia among western anthropologists was Roger Keesing's essay "Kwaisulia as culture hero", published in the 1992 book History and Tradition in Melanesian Anthropology.^[20]