Hawaii Travel Guide
The Aloha State becomes the 5oth State in 1959. But the history of Hawaii
goes back centuries earlier. More than 1500 years ago, Polynesians from the
Marquesas Islands first set foot on Hawaii's Big Island. With only the stars to
guide them, they miraculously sailed over 2000 miles in canoes to migrate to the
Islands.
500 years later, settlers from Tahiti arrived, bringing their beliefs in gods
and demi-gods and instituting a strict social hierarchy based on a kapu (taboo)
system. Hawaiian culture flourished over the centuries, but land division
conflicts between ruling chieftains were common.
In 1778, Captain James Cook, landed on Kauai at Waimea Bay. Naming the
archipelago the "Sandwich Islands" in honor of the Earl of Sandwich, Cook opened
the doors to the west. Cook was killed only a year later in Kealakekua Bay on
Hawaii's Big island .
In 1791, Kohala born Kamehameha united the warring factions of the Big Island
and went on to unify all of the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom in 1810.
In 1819, less than a year after King Kamehameha's death, his son, Liholiho,
abolished the ancient kapu system.
In 1820, the first Protestant missionaries arrived on the Big Island filling the
void left after the end of the kapu system. Hawaii became a port for seamen,
traders, and whalers. Throughout these years of growth, western disease took a
heavy toll on the native Hawaiian population.
Western influence continued to grow and in 1893, American Colonists who
controlled much of Hawaii's economy overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in a
peaceful, yet still controversial coup. In 1898, Hawaii became a territory of
the United States.
In the 20th century, sugar and pineapple plantations fueled Hawaii's economy
bringing an influx of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Portuguese immigrants. On
December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor on Oahu. Four years later, on September 2, 1945, Japan signed
its unconditional surrender on the USS Battleship Missouri , which still rests
in Pearl Harbor today.
In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th State of the United States. Beyond the sun and
surf of the islands, we urge you to discover the rich cultural history of the
Islands of Aloha to add even more depth to your visit.
HUMPBACK WHALES
