Introduction to History of Hawaii
Polynesians, probably from the Marquesas Islands, settled in the Hawaiian Islands in the seventh or eighth century A.D. Polynesians from Tahiti came around 1200. These early settlers lived in the fertile valleys and on the lowlands. Europeans may have visited the islands in the 16th century, but the European discovery of the islands is usually credited to Captain James Cook, a British navigator who arrived in 1778. He named the island group the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich, who was First Lord of the British Admiralty. On a second visit to the islands in 1779, Cook was killed by a native following a dispute over the theft of a boat.
At the time of European discovery, Hawaii consisted of several independent kingdoms, each with a feudal society. The population was about 240,000. Kamehameha I, “the Great,” came to the throne of one of the kingdoms in 1782. With firearms and foreign advisers, he succeeded in uniting the islands under his rule in 1810. He died in 1819, but his dynasty continued until 1872.
Congregational missionaries from New England arrived in 1820. They devised an alphabet for the language, founded schools, and converted many of the people. Roman Catholic priests came a few years later. During this period agriculture was developed, industry was begun, and foreign trade was expanded. In 1843 the United States recognized the islands as an independent kingdom. The kingdom of Hawaii had a constitution with some democratic features. Late in the 19th century many Asians were brought in to work on the plantations.
Annexation
Kamehameha V, the last of the dynasty, died in 1872, and his successor reigned only a year. In 1874 Prince Kalakaua was elected king. During his reign, he attempted to increase both his authority and the influence of native Hawaiians and other non-Caucasian groups so as to end the political and economic dominance of the haoles. (Haole is a Hawaiian word meaning white-skinned foreigners; it was used to refer to Americans and Hawaiian-born descendants of early American settlers.) In a bloodless revolution in 1887 powerful haole business interests forced the king to accept a new constitution, which limited his powers and denied the vote to most native Hawaiians. After Kalakaua died in 1891, he was succeeded by his sister Liliuokalani, who with the support of the Hawaiian population tried to abolish the constitutional restrictions on her authority. In 1893 a revolution led by United States settlers deposed the queen and set up a provisional government, which asked for annexation to the United States.
When the annexation effort failed because of opposition by the anti-imperialistic Cleveland administration, a republic was proclaimed in 1894 with Sanford B. Dole as president. After William McKinley, an expansionist, was elected President of the United States, Congress annexed the Hawaiian Islands (1898). In 1900 the Territory of Hawaii was created. During the early decades of the 20th century, the economy was controlled by five major Honolulu firms known as the “Big Five,” while the Republican party dominated political affairs.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the Pearl Harbor Naval Base near Honolulu and plunged the United States into World War II. During the war, the Hawaiian Islands played a major role as a base of operations against Japan.
Statehood
The people of the Hawaiian Islands carried on a long campaign for admission to the Union as a state. In 1903 the territorial legislature requested statehood, but the first statehood bill was not introduced into Congress until 1921. The support of the war effort by the Hawaiian people in World War II helped win sympathy for the statehood movement on the mainland. In 1950 the citizens of Hawaii ratified a proposed constitution. Finally in 1959 Congress passed the Hawaii Statehood Bill and Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union on August 21, 1959.
After statehood, Hawaii's population increased rapidly, and Hawaii underwent an economic boom. The island of Oahu and the city of Honolulu were the major beneficiaries of the new state's growth and expansion, but some development of the other islands also was undertaken.
In the 1970's, tourism displaced the pineapple and sugar industries as the state's most important source of revenue. In 1978 a special government department was established to deal with the concerns of Hawaiians of Polynesian descent and to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture.
In the 1980's, such issues as urban sprawl, land shortage, and environmental protection and problems associated with the continuing tourist boom caused the government to enact controls on development. In September, 1992, Hurricane Iniki caused the state more damage than any other storm during the 20th century.
As part of the renewed interest in Polynesian culture, some Hawaiians are seeking sovereignty for the state. The proposals call for a relationship with the U.S. government that is similar to the nation-within-a-nation relationship of Native Americans on the mainland.
The state's first female governor, Linda Lingle, was elected to terms both in 2002 and 2006.
In June, 2006, President George W. Bush established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, which covers about 140,000 square miles of ocean and includes several small islands, reefs, and the home area of over 7,000 ocean species. This is the world's largest marine conservation area. It is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.