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Brief History of Hawaii
End of the Kingdom
With the multitude of foreign changes occurring in Hawai'i the conflict between royalty and the outsiders was bound to grow. With the U.S. military already showing a strong presence in the region (especially Pearl Harbor), it was only a matter of time before what happened, did. U.S. businessmen convinced the military that they were still U.S. citizens, and thus must be protected as such. When the businessmen seized control of the islands and took power away from Liliuokalani (the existing Queen), the military felt obligated to protect the Americans. The Republic of Hawai'i was formed. In 1898, the U.S. finally annexed Hawai'i as a territory. Sixty-one years later the voters of Hawai'i approved statehood. The Big Island, Maui (including Moloka'i and Lana'i), O'ahu, and Kau'i all became one of four counties in the 50th state of the union. Today much debate continues over what happened at the end of the 19th century.
Modern Times (On the Big Island)
The Big Island is a growing center of both education and research. Home to one of the University of Hawai'i's campuses in Hilo, the Big Island is renown for its study of astronomy, alternative energy (wind power, geothermal, etc), ocean research, and much more. Tourism is responsible for a large portion of the county's annual revenue, though various agricultural crops also make their mark - including flowers (especially orchids), macadamia nuts, and coffee. Many say the Big Island is getting bigger all the time. Perhaps it was Kamehameha’s dream, perhaps not... we'll never know for sure.
The racial, religious, and cultural background of Hawai'i has changed drastically over that time. Over the last few decades, the Hawai'i of old has reemerged bringing a great sense of pride to the remaining native Hawaiians. The hula, chant, and old ways are being reborn. The change from an agricultural hearth to a tourist destination has also now exposed Hawai'i to people the world over. A state with a population of only 1.2 million has experienced tourism numbers floating around 7 million in recent years. The influence has been both positive and negative from various points of view. Today, most of the state's residents reside on the island of Oahu, some 60% in Honolulu alone which is the 11th largest city in the United States.
A few other quick tidbits of information regarding Hawai'i's culture. If you hear the term "Hawaiian" it is in reference to someone's race only, not where they are. Hawaiian implies they have pure Hawaiian blood in their veins. Locals are typically folks who were born and raised here, but are not necessarily pure Hawaiians. A kama'aina is someone who has lived here a while but typically was not born here. Lastly, the term haole is used for all persons who are white, born here or not.
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Author: J.C.Derrick
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