1) The discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by Captain Cook s expedition brought European diseases to a people who had been isolated for hundreds of years. 2) Within a few generations, the Native Hawaiian population was a mere fraction of pre-discovery numbers as a result.3) The introduction of guns and the technical help of a stranded British sailor helped one chief, Kamehameha, unite all of the islands under his rule. Kamehameha became the first king.4) After Kamehameha s death, his favorite wife (Kaahumanu) broke the kapu (taboo) and the power of the Polynesian priests by sitting down to eat dinner with Kamehameha s son.5) A few months later, missionaries from New England arrived and began converting the Hawaiians to Christianity.6) By the mid-nineteenth century, the children of the missionaries--among others--had begun to buy up the land in Hawaii, converting the Hawaiian hunters, fishers, and farmers into plantation workers. 7) The Hawaiians didn t like taking orders for a little bit of money when they could be living off the land and the sea, so the American planters began to import labor from China, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Japan, and the Philippines. Before long, the Hawaiians were a minority in their own country.8) King Kalakaua was the first monarch in the history of the world to sail around the globe in the early 1880s. When asked what he had seen in his travels that would benefit the people of Hawaii, he replied that he had seen nothing that his people needed except some well-bred horses and cattle. A few years later, Iolani Palace got electric lights before the White House did, after King Kalakaua met Thomas Edison.9) The American planters forced Kalakaua to sign a Constitution under which Hawaiian residents of Asian descent would never be able to vote, while Americans, Europeans, and Hawaiians could only vote if they met certain minimum requirements of property. This constitution is called the Bayonet Constitution.10) After Kalakaua s death, his sister Liliuokalani was elected Queen. 11) Shortly after her American husband died, Queen Liliuokalani tried to replace the Bayonet Constitution with something a little more fair. 12) The American planters used the US Marines on a ship docked at Pearl Harbor (which the US Navy had already been leasing from the Hawaiian Kingdom for decades at this point) to remove Liliuokalani from the throne. They claimed that the lives and property of American citizens were endangered by the new constitution.13) For a time, they kept Liliuokalani a prisoner in her own bedroom. In the new Republic of Hawaii, citizens could only vote if they signed a statement that they did not support the return of Liliuokalani to the throne.14) Native Hawaiians organized politically, signed two petitions, and sent representatives to Wakinekona, DC to lobby against the Republic s proposal that Hawaii be annexed to the United States.15) The president and Senate agreed that to annex Hawaii would be an unequal treaty, illegal under US law.16) After an election, a change in presidential administration, and the declaration of war against Spain, the US annexed Hawaii anyway. They needed to maintain the security of their base at Pearl Harbor because they needed a fuel and supply station on the way to the Philippines, which was about to go from being a Spanish colony to an American colony.17) After World War II, the US gave the Philippines back to the Filipino people. Hawaii became the 50th state. Yay?
Also check out this song from the era of the Republic of Hawaii:http://www.huapala.org/Kau/Kau��There are several versions of this song available on iTunes. Hui Ohana s version is pretty good. Report Abuse
Here are some:-There are eight main islands that make up the State of Hawai i; O ahu being the most populous and Kaho olawe not having any residents-Mauna Kea, located on the Big Island, is the tallest mountain in the world if measured from the sea floor to its peak-Kilauea, located on the Big Island, has been erupting continuously since 1983
the dudes are hot lol...no for real the people are great there and they have a great sense of culture. some of my best friends are from hawaii.