- A Brief
Hawaiian History
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 Sunrise
on Kaua'i
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- A
Brief Hawaiian History
- The first settlers, a dozen or so
natives arrived here sometime during the
4th or 5th century sailing in
double-hulled wooden canoes from the
Marquesas Islands, 2,500 miles away. With
them, they brought taro, breadfruit, pigs,
dogs, and several types of fowl. About
1,000 A.D., a second wave of settlers
arrived, probably from Tahiti. In 1778,
Captain James Cook stumbled upon Hawaii.
This began the entry of westerners and
Europeans to the islands.
- Then, there is the interesting history
of King Kamehameha, born about 1758, who
through shrewdness and brutal warfare
united all the islands under one rule.
After his death in 1819, his descendants
carried on the rule; however, the 19th
century was a period of government
corruption and exploitation by profiteers
from all over the world. In 1893, Queen
Lili'uokalani lost her throne and control
of the islands to a group of American
businessmen, then largely involved in
plantations growing sugar cane and
pineapples. Sanford Dole became the
President of the Republic of Hawaii in
1894. Hawaii became a U.S. territory in
1900. Only landowners were allowed to vote
and by then, most of the lands had been
sold by the former Hawaiian government
- Pearl Harbor played an important role
in World War II and Hawaii continued as an
important link to the Pacific after the
war. Because of it's cultural diversity,
Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959.
Recently, native Hawaiian have sought
support for a sovereign nation for their
people.
- Learn more about Hawaii:
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- Learn more about Hawaiian
history:
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- Learn the Hawaiian language:
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Created by Annette
Lamb and
Larry
Johnson,
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