Hawaiian history

The history of Hawaii describes the era of human settlements in the Hawaiian Islands. That history begins sometime between 124 and 800 CE, with some theories dating the earliest Polynesian settlements to the 10th century. Around 1200, Tahitian explorers found and began settling the area. This began the rise of the Hawaiian civilization. It remained isolated from the rest of the world for another 500 years.

Europeans led by British explorer James Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778. Within five years European military technology helped Kamehameha I conquer and unify the islands for the first time; establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Kingdom was prosperous and important for its agriculture and strategic location in the Pacific.

American immigration began almost immediately after European contact, led by Protestant missionaries. American farmers began cultivating sugar. Their methods of plantation farming required substantial labor. Waves of permanent immigrants came from Japan, China and the Philippines to work in the fields.

The native population succumbed to disease brought by the Europeans (particularly Smallpox), declining from 300,000 in the 1770s to 60,000 in the 1850s to 24,000 in 1920. Americans within the kingdom government rewrote the constitution, severely curtailing the power of King "David" Kalākaua, and disenfranchising the rights of most Native Hawaiians and Asian citizens to vote, through excessively high property and income requirements. This gave a sizeable advantage to plantation owners. Queen Liliuokalani attempted to restore royal powers in 1893 and was placed under house arrest by businessmen with help from the US military. Against the Queen's wishes, the Republic of Hawaii was formed for a short time, led by men of European ancestry. These men included Sanford B. Dole and Lorrin A. Thurston, who had been born in Hawai'i but had strong financial, political, and family ties to the United States. This government agreed on behalf of Hawai'i nei to join the US in 1898 as the Territory of Hawaii. In 1959 the islands became the state of Hawaii of the United States.

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