The history of Hawaii began with the arrival of Polynesian peoples to the Hawaiian Islands between 940 and 1200 AD. The islands' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called aliʻi, ruled their settlements, and launched wars to extend their influence and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste-based society, much like that of Hindus in India. Population growth was facilitated by ecological and agricultural practices that combined upland agriculture (mauka), ocean fishing (makai), fishponds and gardening systems. These systems were upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs, like the lokahi, that linked cultural continuity with the health of the natural world. According to Hawaiian scholar Mililani Trask, the lokahi symbolizes the "greatest of the traditions, values, and practices of our people ... There are three points in the triangle—the Creator, Akua; the peoples of the earth, Kanaka Maoli; and the land, the ʻaina. These three things all have a reciprocal relationship."
In January 1778, Great Britain and the Hawaiians came into contact when explorer James Cook and his crew sighted the islands during his third voyage of exploration. This became the first recorded and sustained contact between Europeans and Hawaiians. This had a significant impact on Hawaii, even in this initial limited interaction, introducing firearms to Hawaiian warfare. Aided by firearms and ships, Kamehameha I conquered and unified most of the islands in 1795, establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii. The unification was completed in 1810 when Kauaʻi and Niʻihau voluntarily joined the kingdom. This event marked the end of the long tradition of warfare among rival chiefs. The Kingdom was an internationally recognized sovereign state, being recognized by the United States, Japan, Great Britain, France, Spain, and other powers through treaties and diplomatic exchanges beginning in the 1820s. The United States signed its first treaty with Hawaii on December 23, 1826; France followed on July 17, 1839. The kingdom became prosperous and important for its agriculture and strategic location in the Pacific.
The group of islands did not have a single name, and each island was ruled separately. The names of the islands recorded by Captain Cook reflect this fact. Kamehameha I, as ruler of the island of Hawaii, imposed the name Hawaiʻi on the whole island group when he unified them as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
American immigration, led by Protestant missionaries, and Native Hawaiian emigration, mostly on whaling ships but also in high numbers as indentured servants and as forced labor, began almost immediately after Cook's arrival. Americans established plantations to grow crops for export. Their farming methods required substantial labor. Waves of permanent immigrants came from Japan, China, and the Philippines to labor in the cane and pineapple fields. The government of Japan organized and gave special protection to its people, who comprised about 25 percent of the Hawaiian population by 1896. The Hawaiian monarchy encouraged this multi-ethnic society, initially establishing a constitutional monarchy in 1840 that promised equal voting rights regardless of race, gender, or wealth.
The population of Native Hawaiians declined precipitously from an unknown number prior to 1778 (estimated to be around 300,000). It fell to around 142,000 in the 1820s based on a census conducted by American missionaries, 82,203 in the 1850 Hawaiian Kingdom census, 40,622 in the final Hawaiian Kingdom census of 1890, 39,504 in the sole census by the Republic of Hawaii in 1896, and 37,656 in the first census conducted by the United States in 1900. Thereafter the Native Hawaiian population in Hawaii increased with every census, reaching 680,442 in 2020 (including people of mixed heritage).
In 1893 Queen Liliʻuokalani was illegally deposed and placed under house arrest by businessmen (who included members of the Dole family) with help from the U.S. Marines. The Republic of Hawaii governed for a short time until Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898 as the Territory of Hawaii. In 1959, the islands became the 50th American state.
Ancient Hawaii
Polynesian migration and arrival
The date of the first arrival of people is a continuing debate. Kirch's textbooks on Hawaiian archeology date the first Polynesian settlements to about 300, although his more recent estimates are as late as 600. Other theories suggest dates as late as 700 to 800. The most recent survey of carbon-dating evidence puts the arrival of people at around 940–1130.
The history of the ancient Polynesians was passed down through genealogy chants recited at formal and family functions. The high chiefs' genealogy traced back to the period believed to be inhabited only by gods. The pua aliʻi ("flower of royalty") were considered to be living gods.
Tahitian priest Paʻao is said to have brought a new order around 1200. It included laws and a social structure that separated the people into classes. The aliʻi nui was the king, with his ʻaha kuhina just below them. The aliʻi were the royal nobles with the kahuna (high priest) below them, the makaʻāinana (commoners) next with the kauā as the lowest class.
The rulers (noho aliʻi o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻAina) were independent rulers of geographic areas. Their genealogy traces to Hānalaʻanui and others. The aliʻi nui were responsible for making sure that people observed a strict kapu (code of conduct). The system governed many aspects of Hawaiian social order, fishing rights and even where women could eat.
Hawaiians continued to travel between the Hawaiian Islands and other parts of Polynesia. Regular voyages occurred between Tahiti and Hawaii for some time, but stopped around 1300 AD.
Social structure
According to the genealogical traditions of Hawaiian chiefs,Latushko Yu. V. Evolution of complex society in Hawaii in the pre-European period // cyberleninka.ru one of the newcomers was Paʻao, a priest from the island of Tahiti, who, after quarreling with his brother, sailed north with 38 relatives and servants. Reaching the Hawaiian Islands, he became a priest of a new religion. Finding the local king to be an evil and immoral man, Paʻao sent messengers for help to Tahiti. From there came a local chief named Pili, who overthrew the tyrant king and became the new ruler. Pili is considered an ancestor of King Kamehameha I, who later founded the Kingdom of Hawaii (1810), and Paʻao's descendants are said to have served as his high priests.
After Pili's accession, the Hawaiian Islands remained largely isolated from the rest of Polynesia for several centuries. This long era in Hawaiian history was marked by frequent struggles among local chiefs (aliʻi) for land and supremacy. The archipelago fragmented into at least four independent chiefdoms, centered on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, each headed by a local ruler. Other smaller islands sometimes formed short‑lived independent polities but soon fell under the control of one of the four larger kingdoms.
In ancient Hawaiʻi, all spheres of public life (state power, social relations, and the economy) were closely linked with religion. Hawaiian society was hierarchical. At the top were high chiefs (aliʻi nui) and lesser chiefs (aliʻi), whose authority was based on genealogy and the kapu system. Below them were the kahuna, priests, healers, navigators, and other specialists, who held significant status. The commoners (makaʻāinana) performed most manual labor and were subject to the chiefs' will. At the bottom were outcasts (kauā). A mark of chiefly and military elite status was the traditional feathered helmet, the mahiole.
The boundaries of chiefdoms often changed due to frequent inter‑tribal and inter‑clan warfare. After a high chief conquered new lands, he would later redistribute them among lower‑ranking chiefs who owed allegiance to him. The high chief could take away granted lands and give them to another associate. Commoners were tied to the land, though they could sometimes move from one chief's territory to another. For the use of the land they tilled, commoners gave a portion of their produce (including from fishing) to the chief. Military detachments were formed in times of war from the commoners under a chief's authority.
Religious rituals accompanied any serious action, whether building a house or going to battle. Hawaiian religion involved the worship of natural forces and ancestral spirits. Gods personified various forces of nature. Among many deities, three were especially prominent: Kāne, god of light and life; Lono, god of harvest and peace; and Kū, god of war, who was particularly revered. Places of worship and sacrifice were called heiau; human sacrifices were sometimes performed at state temples (luakini).
In Hawaiʻi, a complex system of religious law known as kapu developed, consisting of prohibitions whose violation was severely punished. A commoner was forbidden to stand in the presence of a high chief (whose power was deified) or to touch his clothing. Women could not eat in the presence of men, and they were forbidden to consume pork, bananas, coconuts, and certain types of fish. The kapu system also protected the interests of lower‑ranking chiefs.
Culture and daily life
Most of the population settled near the sea, which provided their main food, fish. Hawaiians were skilled fishers. The primary watercraft was the canoe, ranging from single‑person to large multi‑person vessels. Nets made from pandanus leaves or coconut palm fronds were used for catching crabs.
House‑building was a common free‑time occupation, as each family typically needed several living spaces. Dwellings were not very sturdy; roofs were thatched with palm leaves. Fire was considered sacred and was produced by rubbing two pieces of wood together.
Providing food for the family was a man's duty. The staple was poi, made from taro (Colocasia esculenta). Because taro requires large amounts of water, irrigation systems were built, and the fields resembled modern rice paddies. After harvest, taro was steamed in underground ovens called imu and then pounded into a paste. Other crops included sweet potato, breadfruit, yam, coconut, sugarcane, and seaweed. Pigs, dogs, and chickens were raised.
According to Hawaiian legend, the menehune lived on the islands before the first humans, dwarfs who ate bananas and built temples for their gods. It is to them that the residents owe the appearance of ponds in which it was possible to breed fish.
Cannibalism was not practiced in historical times; only in ancient traditions are there isolated instances of ritual cannibalism.Beckwith, Martha W. Hawaiian Mythology. Honolulu, 1970. p. 340.
Women raised children, wove mats, and made kapa cloth – clothing (mainly skirts) from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. The cloth was dyed gray, brown, blue, red, and yellow, and decorated with patterns. Due to the warm climate, little clothing was needed. Women wore short skirts; men wore a malo (loincloth).
Pandanus leaves were widely used. Ornaments were made from wood, stone, shells, and animal bones. Tattooing was widespread. The most admired works were made from the feathers of tiny birds, used to create feathered helmets (mahiole) and cloaks (ʻahuʻula) for high chiefs.
Hawaiians had many games and pastimes, including heʻe nalu (wave sliding on wooden boards), which developed into modern surfing. A favorite pastime of chiefs was sledding down steep slopes on special sleds; ordinary children did this on coconut palm leaves. Fistfights, wrestling, and running were very popular. Military parades and battles were also spectacular events.
Many petroglyphs survive from the ancient Hawaiians. They had no written language before European contact, but poetry and oral folklore reached a high level of development.