Hawaii History

The earliest habitation dates to the 4th century by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora in the 11th century. The Kingdom of Hawaii existed from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown by native born Hawaiians of American ancestry.

The 1778 arrival of British explorer James Cook is usually taken to be Hawaii’s first contact with European explorers. Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He published the geographical coordinates of the islands and reported the native name as Owyhee.

After Cook’s visit, the Hawaiian islands received many European visitors: explorers, traders, and eventually whalers who found the islands a convenient harbor and source of fresh food. Visitors introduced diseases to the formerly isolated islands, and the Hawaiian population plunged precipitously. American missionaries arrived in 1820 and eventually converted the chiefs and the remaining population to Protestant Christianity.

In 1887, a group of primarily American and European businessmen forced Kalākaua to sign the derisively nicknamed "Bayonet Constitution" which stripped the king of administrative
authority, eliminated voting rights for Asians and set minimum income and property requirements limiting the electorate to wealthy elite Americans, Europeans and native Hawaiians. King Kalakaua reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him and ruled until her overthrow in 1893.

In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani announced plans to establish a new constitution that would have restored much power to the monarchy, but this was opposed by business elites. On January 14, 1893, a group of American and Europeans seized control of government. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens, responding to a request from them concerning possible violence directed against American citizens, summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines to come ashore to enforce neutrality.

The monarchy ended in January 1893 and was replaced by a Provisional Government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period ended with the adoption of the Newlands Resolution in Congress in which Hawaii was annexed to the United States and became a territory on July 7, 1898.

In 1900, Hawaii was granted self-governance. Though several attempts were made to achieve statehood, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. On June 27 of that year, a referendum was held asking residents of Hawaii to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted at a ratio of 17 to 1 to accept.

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