HISTORY OF HAWAII

The Beginning

During the 13th and 14th centuries, waves of immigrants from Tahiti overwhelmed and absorbed the original people of Hawaii. The first known settlers of the Hawaiian Islands were Polynesian voyagers. The islands were first visited by Europeans in 1778 by English explorer Captain James Cook, who named them the Sandwich Islands for the English Earl of Sandwich.

At that time, the islands were under the rule of warring native kings. Cook was received by the natives with demonstrations of astonishment. He was eventually killed when he landed in Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii. At the time of Cook’s visit, the archipelago seems to have been divided into three kingdoms: Hawaii, Oahu and Maui, and Lanai and Molokai.

Unifying the Islands

On the death of the chief who ruled Hawaii at that time, Kamehameha (1736-1819) became king. Ten or twelve years later, Kamehameha had 20 vessels, which traded among the islands. He purchased others from foreigners.

Having encouraged a warlike spirit and having introduced firearms, Kamehameha attacked the chiefs of other kingdoms, until he became master of the group in 1795. People living in many areas in Hawaii, never ceded sovereignty to the Hawaiian Kingdom established by Kamehameha.

The people in these areas were simply conquered. However, as the international community recognized the Hawaiian Kingdom’s ownership of the entire Hawaiian Islands, these other political entities passed.

The Missionaries

Missionaries arrived in 1820. Kamehameha III, who ruled from 1825 until his death in 1854, relied on the missionaries for advice and allowed them to preach Christianity. The missionaries established schools, developed the Hawaiian alphabet and used it for translating the Bible into Hawaiian. In 1839, Kamehameha III issued a guarantee of religious freedom, and the following year a constitutional monarchy was established.

The Monarchy

In 1874, backed by American influence, Kalakaua was elected king. He considered residents of European or American descent as alien invaders, and he aimed to restore largely the ancient system of personal government, under which he should have control of the public treasury.

This called forth the protest of the representatives of Great Britain, France and the United States and aroused such opposition on the part of both the foreigners and some natives that the king was obliged, after four days of popular excitement, to remove the minister.

The Sugar Industry

In 1848, the islands’ feudal land system was abolished, making private ownership possible and thereby encouraging capital investment in the land. By this time the sugar industry, which had been introduced in the 1830s, was well-established.

Threatened constantly by European nations eager to add Hawaii to their empires, sugar planters and American businessmen began to seek annexation by the United States. A treaty of reciprocity was negotiated in 1875.

The treaty was renewed in 1884 but not ratified. Ratification came in 1887 when an amendment was added giving the United States exclusive right to establish a naval base at Pearl Harbor. The amount of sugar exported to the U.S. increased greatly, and American businessmen invested in the sugar industry.

Liliuokalani’s Rise to Power

Queen Liliuokalani took the oath to maintain the constitution of 1887. The legislative session of 1892, during which four changes of ministry took place, was protracted to eight months chiefly by her determination to carry through the opium and lottery bills and to have a pliable cabinet.

She had a new constitution drawn up, providing for an absolute monarchy and disfranchising a large class of citizens who had voted since 1887. A Committee of Safety was appointed at a public meeting, which formed a provisional government and reorganized the volunteer military companies, which had been disbanded in 1890.

The provisional government, called a mass meeting of citizens, met and ratified its action. The Committee of Safety took possession of the government building and issued a proclamation declaring a monarchy to be abrogated and establishing a provisional government.

Meanwhile, two companies of volunteer troops arrived and occupied the grounds. By the advice of her ministers, the queen surrendered under protest, appealing to the United States to reinstate her authority.

The Republic

A treaty of annexation was negotiated with the United States during the next month, just before the close of President Benjamin Harrison’s administration, but it was withdrawn in March 1893 by President Harrison’s successor, President Cleveland.

A constitution for the Republic of Hawaii was framed not long after, with S. B. Dole as its first president. A plot was formed to overthrow the republic and to restore the monarchy. A premature encounter with a squad of police alarmed the town and broke up their plans.

The ex-queen, on whose premises arms and ammunition and a number of incriminating documents were eventually found, was arrested and was imprisoned for nine months in the former palace. In January 1895, she formally renounced all claim to the throne and took the oath of allegiance to the republic.

The “Modern Era”

On the inauguration of President McKinley in March 1897, negotiations with the United States were resumed. Hawaii was formally annexed by a joint resolution of Congress shortly thereafter. The formal transfer of sovereignty took place in August 1898, when the U.S. flag was raised over the Executive Building.

An attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, by Japan was a trigger for America’s entry into World War II. Hawaii served as an important base for operations in the Pacific and it helped America to win the Pacific War.

The citizens of Hawaii voted in favor of becoming a state in 1958. President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill in March 1959, which allowed for statehood. Hawaii formally became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

In September 1992, the island of Kauai was devastated by Hurricane Iniki, the strongest hurricane to hit the islands in the century. Hawaii, which had enjoyed sustained economic and population growth since the end of World War II, saw both slow in the 1990s. Hawaii’s tourism economy was hit by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, but has fully recovered today.