A BRIEF HISTORY OF HAWAI'I
These lovely islands were discovered by the Polynesians, who gave them the name Hawai'i. When Captain Cook discovered Hawai'i, he renamed them The Sandwich Islands, only to be renamed again Hawai'i later :-). ISLAND MAP / MUSIC / STORE / CATALOG / E-MAIL
300 - 750 PICTURE Polynesians arrive by outrigger canoe from Tahiti.
1778 PICTURE British explorer Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands and names them Sandwich Islands after Britain's Earl of Sandwich (patron of Cook's expeditions and inventor of the sandwich). Captain Cook's other famous discovery: A daily dose of sauerkraut prevents scurvy and beriberi (vitamins).
1779 PICTURE Captain Cook is killed in a Big Island dispute at Kealakekua Bay, near Kona.
1810 PICTURE King Kamehameha the Great unites all the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom. 1813 PICTURE The first pineapple plants are introduced from Spain. 1816 PICTURE First Hawaiian flag is sewn. 1817 PICTURE Coffee is first planted. 1819 PICTURE The first whaling ships arrive. 1819 PICTURE The reign of King Kamehameha II starts. King Kamehameha the Great dies. Prince Liholiho ascends the throne as Kamehameha II. He abandons the ancient kapu (taboo) of men eating together with women and starts dismantling traditional Hawaiian religion. 1820 PICTURE First American Protestant missionaries arrive aboard the brig Thaddeus from New England and soon drive the two pillars of Hawaiian culture, hula dancing and surfing, underground. 1825 PICTURE The reign of King Kamehameha III starts The first constitution of the kingdom is established. The king releases his absolute right to all lands, private people can buy and own land now. The Royal Hawaiian Band is established. 1835 PICTURE First sugar plantation is established 1854 PICTURE The reign of Kamehameha IV starts. The idea of annexation by the United States is increasingly circulated by some sugar plantation owners. 1863 PICTURE The reign of Kamehameha V starts A "treaty of reciprocity" is offered to defuse annexationists' demands. 1866 PICTURE The leper colony on Molokai is established and father Damien soon starts his famous mission. 1873 PICTURE The reign of King Lunalilo starts First Hawaiian king is elected by popular vote. 1874 PICTURE The reign of King David Kalakaua starts The hula "prohibition" finally ends, the Hawaiian renaissance starts. America's only royal residence, Iolani Palace is built on O'ahu. After a while many start questioning the king's politics and finances. 1883 PICTURE Mutual Telephone Company was started in Hawai'i. The name was later changed to Hawaiian Telephone and then changed again to GTE Hawaiian Tel. Nowadays it's called Verizon of Hawai'i. 1886 PICTURE Contract laborers from Japan arrive in large numbers to work on the sugar cane plantations. Many other different nationalities follow them. 1886 PICTURE First pineapple plantation is established. 1887 PICTURE The United States is granted exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor for naval coaling and repair station. Navy base is authorized by Congress. 1891 PICTURE The reign of Queen Liliuokalani starts. The new queen swears to hold up the Constitution. 1892 PICTURE Macadamia nut trees are first planted. 1893 PICTURE Queen Liliuokalani, despite her pledge, tries to promulgate a new Constitution, which would restore almost all power to the Monarchy. General unrest follows and the Committee of Safety forms a Provisional Government. Queen Liliuokalani surrenders the kingdom to the United States under protest. 1894 PICTURE Declaration of the Republic of Hawai'i 1895 PICTURE Queen Liliuokalani is forced to abdicate her throne, after an unsuccessful return attempt. 1899 PICTURE Princess Kaiulani the heir apparent to the throne dies. 1900 PICTURE Hawai'i is annexed and becomes a United States territory. 1900 PICTURE The Great Chinatown fire leaves more than 7000 people homeless in Honolulu. 1903 PICTURE First telegraph cable is laid between Hawai'i and the mainland. 1922 PICTURE Prince Jonah Kalanianaole Kuhio dies. He was the last powerful member of the royal Hawaiian family. 1923 PICTURE Official "flower of the Territory" is proclaimed. 1927 PICTURE First non-stop air flight from the mainland to Honolulu. 1929 PICTURE Inter-Island Airways (today's Hawaiian Airlines) takes off. 1934 PICTURE President Franklin Deleno Roosevelt arrives July 26 on the cruiser Houston. He is the first United States president to visit Hawai'i. 1935 PICTURE Webley Edwards starts his famous "Hawai'i Calls" broadcasts to the mainland, which lasts till 1975. 1935 PICTURE Pan American Airways "China Clipper" inaugurates air mail service to Hawai'i and the Pacific. 1941 PICTURE December 7th, Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The U.S. enters World War II. Martial law is imposed in Hawai'i and stays in effect till October 24th, 1944. 1941 PICTURE Niiahu is occupied by the Japanese, the only U.S. land ever conquered by a foreign country. 1946 PICTURE A killer "tsunami" (tidal wave) hits Hilo and the Hamakua Coast on the island of Hawai'i (Big Island). 1948 PICTURE Miss Yun Tau Zane wins the first Miss Hawai'i crown. 1953 PICTURE Waikiki Beach sees its first bikinis. 1959 PICTURE Hawai'i becomes the 50th state. 1959 PICTURE The first jet arrives, the age of mass tourism begins. The fate of passenger shipping is sealed. 1963 PICTURE The first Merrie Monarch Festival is held in Hilo. 1969 PICTURE Jack ("Book 'em Danno") Lord begins "Hawai'i Five-O" television series. 1974 PICTURE The first Asian-American governor (George Ariyoshi) is elected. 1976 PICTURE "Hokule'a" a Hawaiian double-hulled canoe, reenacts Polynesian discovery voyage of Hawai'i. 1980 PICTURE Tom Selleck begins "Magnum P.I." television series. 1982 PICTURE Hurricane Iwa strikes the island of O'ahu. 1983 PICTURE Kilauea volcano erupts on the Big Island which lasts till today. 1983 PICTURE The Concorde jet lands in Honolulu. 1984 PICTURE Mauna Loa erupts, two volcanoes are active simultaneously. The lava threatens Hilo. 1984 PICTURE A popular vote elects the "official state fish" for five years. 1986 PICTURE Ellison Onizuka, Hawai'i's first astronaut dies in the Challenger accident. 1987 PICTURE John Waihee, the first governor of Hawaiian descent is elected. 1988 PICTURE An Aloha inter island plane goes convertible, but almost everyone survives. 1991 PICTURE Miss Hawai'i, Carolyn Sapp, becomes the state's first Miss America. 1992 PICTURE Hurricane Iniki ravages the island of Kauai and the western shores of the island of O'ahu. 1993 PICTURE "Onipa'a" ceremonies are held on the 100th year anniversary of the overthrow of the monarchy. 1994 PICTURE Ben Cayetano becomes the first governor of Philippine descent. 1994 PICTURE The U.S. Navy returns Kaho'olawe island to Hawai'i, which it had used as gunnery target range since 1941. 1995 PICTURE The last sugar plantation on the Big Island (island of Hawai'i) closes. Near Future You land at Honolulu International Airport :-). 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