Hawaii History

Hawaii was first settled by Polynesian people. The process by which this took place is still a matter of debate among archaelogists, with some favoring in a theory of a single continuous migration, and others favoring a theory involving two separate waves of migration.

It is not certain when the Europeans first visited the islands, but it is possible that Spanish explorers may have reached the islands during the 16th century. When British navigator, Captain James Cook encountered the islands in 1778, he was surprised to find them, and named them the Sandwich Islands after the First Lord of the Admiralty, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu.

Hawaii was united under a single ruler, Kamehameha I, for the first time in 1810. Until 1816, the chiefs considered the islands under British protection and flew the Union Jack. Hawaii then adopted a similar flag to the present Hawaiistate flag with a Union Jack in the canton (the top corner nearest the flagpole) and eight horizontal stripes representing the eight islands. In 1820, missionaries from a New England Congregationalist group arrived. Gradually they converted first the leading chiefs, and later the commoners to Protestant Christianity.

In the 1870s, Hawaii gradually drew closer to the United States. An 1874 treaty granted Americans exclusive grading rights. The 1876 Reciprocity Treaty allowed duty free importation of Hawaiian grown sugar and rice into the United States. Following these treaties, the Hawaiian landscape was greatly altered by the irrigation requirements of new sugar cane plantations. Additionally, an influx of immigrants from Asia (initially Chinese and later Japanese) was encouraged, in order to work the plantations.

During the 19th century, there were several periods of instability. This culiminated in the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893 when the Queen was overthrown, with the wrongful involvement of (according to the then US President, Grover Cleveland), of US diplomatic and military representatives. Grover Cleveland was however unsuccessful in his attempts to get the Queen reinstated, and eventually accepted the legitimacy of her overthrow and the new government of the Republic of Hawaii. In 1896, William McKinley became President, and two years later he signed the Newlands Resolution which annexed Hawaii to the United States.

After annexation, Pearl Harbor became (and still is) an important US Navy base. The Empire of Japan's attack on this base on December 7th 1941 was the trigger for the entry of the US into World War II. The Japanese attack resulted in severe damage to the US fleet, including the sinking of nine ships, four of which were battleships.

In 1935 and 1937, US Congress deliberated on whether Hawaii should be admitted as a US state. However, southern states opposed the admission of non-white majority territory, and the question was put on hold. In 1950, Hawaii began a new campaign for statehood by putting the question on its ballots. In 1959 the goal of statehood was finally achieved, and Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state of the Union on August 21st.

Related Links:

A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands

By Dr. Phil Barnes

Petroglyph Press, Ltd.
Paperback (86 pages)

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A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands covers the major events and personalities in Hawaiian history from the first human landfall through the sovereignty movement of the late 1990s The history comes to life through illustrations and interesting anecdotes. By investing a couple of hours the casual reader can greatly increase the depth of their understanding of the events that have shaped and continue to shape these magical islands.

Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands

By Gavan Daws

University of Hawaii Press
Paperback (512 pages)

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Gavan Daws' remarkable achievement is to free Hawaiian history from the dust of antiquity. Based on years of work in the documentary sources, Shoal of Time emerges as the most readable of all Hawaiian histories.

Starting with the Western discovery of the islands in 1778--on through the days of the whalers, the missionary period, the plantation era with its vast numbers of Oriental immigrants, to the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy, annexation by the United States, and the long, slow move to statehood--the characters and events of Hawaii's past shine with new vitality and immediacy.

Ancient Hawaii

Kawainui Press Paperback (112 pages)	List Price: $14.95 Lowest New Price: $9.00 Lowest Used Price: $2.99 Usually ships in 24 hours (As of 13:07 Pacific 6 Jul 2009 More Info) Click Here
Product Description: How ancient Polynesian explorers found the Hawaiian Islands, the most remote in Earth's largest sea; how they navigated, how they viewed themselves and their universe, and the arts, crafts, and values by which they survived and prospered without metals or the fuels and inventions believed necessary for life today.

Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution

By Alan C. Ziegler

University of Hawaii Press
Hardcover (477 pages)

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Not since William A. Bryan's 1915 landmark compendium, Hawaiian Natural History, has there been a single-volume work that offers such extensive coverage of this complex but fascinating subject. Illustrated with more than two dozen color plates and a hundred photographs and line drawings, Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution updates both the earlier publication and subsequent works by compiling and synthesizing in a uniform and accessible fashion the widely scattered information now available.

Readers can trace the natural history of the Hawaiian Archipelago through the book's twenty-eight chapters or focus on specific topics such as island formation by plate tectonics, plant and animal evolution, flightless birds and their fossil sites, Polynesian migrational history and ecology, the effects of humans and exotic animals on the environment, current conservation efforts, and the contributions of the many naturalists who visited the islands over the centuries and the stories behind their discoveries. An extensive annotated bibliography and a list of audio-visual materials will help readers locate additional sources of information. Those interested in Hawaiian natural history will find this a thoroughly enjoyable overview and a valuable reference. Instructors and students will benefit from its up-to-date summary and synthesis of the subject.

Hawaii's Forgotten History: 1900-1999: The Good...The Bad...The Embarrassing

By Rich Budnick

Aloha Pr
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Hawaii (On the Road Histories)

By John H. Chambers

Interlink Publishing Group
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This reader-friendly Hawaiian history tells the islands' story from the arrival of the very first Polynesian settlers in the 300s to the most recent strivings for native Hawaiian sovereignty. The harsh regime of Hawaii's chiefs, the landing and death of Captain Cook, Kamehameha's bloody conquests, the profound influence of American missionaries, the wild whaling days, French and British interventions, the sugar barons, the arrival of different ethnic groups to work the plantations, the coup d'etat, the demise of the native monarchy, the coming of US political control, the territorial years, World War I, Pearl Harbor and World War II, the striving for statehood, and the post-war tourist avalanche and economic doldrums-all are part of this history. Hawaii features special sections on the birth and death of the islands, descriptions by famous writers such as Mark Twain, accounts of tsunamis, the great volcanoes, Jaws the wave, hula, Hawaiian cowboys, and the revival of ocean voyaging.

Hawai'i: A History of the Big Island (Making of America)

By Robert F. Oaks

Arcadia Publishing (SC)
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Although its soils are the youngest in the Hawaiian chain, the Big Islandís chronicles are are at times epic, tragic, and heroic, but always fascinating. Modern Hawaiëi is filled with tradition and mythology, accomodating influences as diverse as its inviting landscape. Kamehameha stood tall to mold this nascent region into a unified kingdom and others fought to sustain it, while outside forces molded and shaped this island in astonishing ways. ÝÝ

Hawaii (From Sea to Shining Sea)

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Product Description: Describes the geography, plants and animals, history, economy, language, culture and people of the state of Hawaii

Japanese Eyes American Hearts: Personal Reflections of Hawaii's World War II Nisei Soldiers

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Product Description: This collection of personal thoughts written by American soldiers of Japanese descent during World War II includes accounts written in personal diaries and letters.

Hawaii: A Natural History : Geology, Climate, Native Flora and Fauna Above the Shoreline

By Sherwin Carlquist

Natl Tropical Botanical Garden
Paperback (484 pages)

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