Overview of Hawaiian History I. Geological Natural History II. Polynesian Migration and Culture III. Captain Cook and the Discovery of Hawaii IV. Whalers, Sailors and Missionaries V. Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Hawaii I. Geological History The islands of the Hawaiian Island chain were formed by hot spots deep under the sea. Magma flows out from these unique places in the pacific plate, forming islands. Kauai- the oldest: formed about 5 million years ago. Hawaii Island- the newest (less than 1 million years old), has 5 volcanoes, but only two are active today (Kilauea and Mauna Loa) Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world, having erupted 60 times since 1840. There currently 8 major islands today, though the Hawaiian archipelago has 124 islets stretching over about 1200 kilometers. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs. Though invisible, these reefs are an essential feature of Hawaii s unique ecological environment. II. Polynesian Migrations and Culture Between 200 A.D. - 400 A.D. the first humans came to the Hawaiian islands. They were Polynesian people from the islands now called the Marquesas. Later, around 1300, people migrated to Hawaii from Tahiti.
Hawaii developed its own unique culture over time. It was a society ruled by chiefs. It was a very religious culture- they believed that nature was full of gods everywhere (polytheism 多神教 ). Strict rules were called kapu;breaking these rules would lead to severe punishment, by the chiefs (ali i) who had the power of the gods. They controlled the spiritual power of the universe (mana). The main gods of Hawaii were Kane, Kanaloa, Ku and Lono. Pele, the goddess of volcanoes was originally a Tahitian goddess. Lono was the god of agriculture, fertility and peace and healing. The Kahuna were the priests and skilled craftsmen. They performed ceremonies in the temples (heiau) *1810- King Kamehameha united the islands into one kingdom. III. Captain James Cook: First Contact with the West (1778-79) The Polynesian kingdom of Hawaii had its first contact with the West when Captain James Cook discovered the islands in 1778, on his third voyage of discovery. He first landed at Waimea Bay in Kauai (1778) and named the islands the Sandwich Islands (his friend was the Earl of Sandwich). Since he arrived during the harvest festival (mahahiki), the Hawaiians thought he was the god Lono. Captain Cook then sailed north to Alaska, returning to Hawaii in 1779. He sailed around the islands for 8 weeks, landing at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. After a while, relations between the British and Hawaiian worsened, and some Hawaiian stole a small boat which belonged to the British. When the British, led by Cook, tried to kidnap their king, a fight followed and Cook was hit and stabbed and killed...
IV. 19 th century: Hawaii enters the global economy Christian Missionaries In October of 1819 a ship carrying American missionaries left Boston and landed on the northern tip of Hawaii in March of 1820. Under King Kamehameha II (Liholiho), the old religious rules were breaking down and the people were open to learning about Christianity. By the 1840 s, Christianity was well-established in Hawaii. The children of the missionary families became the business and political elites of Hawaiian society names like Dole, Bishop, Castle, Cooke and others are key white (haole ) persons in Hawaiian history. Whalers and Seamen Hawaii became an important port for the Pacific whaling industry, Atlantic whaling having dried up. By 1822, about 60 whaling ships had landed at Hawaii, and after that about 100 ships per year came there, until about 1850. This brought a lot of money into the economy of Hawaii. In the peak year of 1846, about 596 ships landed in Hawaii. Whaling and the development of the sugar industry after 1820, helped to integrate the Hawaiian economy with the U.S. V. Japanese Immigration and Hawaiian Sugar After whaling, the sugar industry took over as the main source of revenue for Hawaii. Large plantations were in constant need of workers. This is where the history of Japanese immigration comes in- the active recruitment to get Japanese to immigrate to work in the plantations of Oahu, Hawaii and Maui and Kauai.
VI. The End of the Hawaiian Monarchy The white Americans in the sugar industry soon became the elite people in Hawaii and dominated politics as well as economics. The first firmed the Hawaiian League to protect their property and businesses. In 1887, a part of the League called the Hawaiian Rifles forced King David Kalakaua to sign a new constitution which would reduce the power of the Hawaiian people and give more power to the American business elites. (the Bayonet Constitution ) In 1893, the new queen Liliuokalani proposed a new constitution giving power back to the Hawaiian people. However, a group of white politicians and businessmen formed the Committee on Annexation to make Hawaii a U.S. Territory. Some U.S. marines landed and the Liliuokalani was removed from power (and put under house arrest). A new government was put in place (1894) and Hawaii became an independent country called the Republic of Hawaii. However, the new white rulers wanted Hawaii to become part of the U.S. In 1894 a group of new leaders went to visit U.S. President Grover Cleveland, but he opposed annexation. Princess Ka iulani visited the president and convinced him that the overthrow was wrong. Unfortunately, the new president McKinley supported annexation, and after the Spanish-American War started including the Philippines so the American government decided to annex Hawaii (1898). During the time of Queen Liliuokalani, the United States put a tariff on foreign sugar (1890), so that Hawaiian sugar became expensive for Americans to buy. The American sugar plantation owners knew that the solution to this problem was to make Hawaii a U.S. territory (annexation). In 1892 the Annexation Club was formed. The Queen tried to strengthen to power of the Hawaiian monarchy system, but in January of 1893 a group of whites and some of mixed Hawaiian and haole blood organized to fight her. Sanford Dole was the chosen to lead the new government, but he also suggested that the young princess Kaiulani (the queen s niece), should become queen under the new system. The Americans rejected this idea of putting her in power.
Finally, after much planning and with the help of the U.S. military in 1893- the whites overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii and.in 1894- the whites make a new nation called, The Republic of Hawaii. Their real goal is annexation (=to become a U.S. Territory 領地 領土 ) *1898- Hawaii become a U.S. Territory with Dole as territorial governor 1959- Hawaii becomes America s 50 th state.