A Short History Of Hawaii

Hawaii has been admired for its heavenly islandsKanaka Maoli lived in thousands in a system that
and its history of rich culture. It continues towas highly organized, self sufficient and subsistent
attract tourists from around the world to visit itsocial. This number has been severely reduced to
again and again. Its beaches frequently hostless than 40,000 people since first contact with
international surfing champions. However, there isexplorers and missionaries.
also fearsome chain of volcanoes as it is locatedWar and diseases caused the reduction in
in the Pacific. Hawaii is also rich in source of naturalnumbers. Kanaka Maoli were basically healthy
resources like bananas, coconuts and sugarcanepeople but were not prepared for the diseases
products. Apart from beaches, volcanoes andlike smallpox. Besides that, the Hawaii people who
natural products, Hawaii takes pride in its peoplewere divided earlier as kingdoms started to fight
called the Kanaka Maoli. They are a happy andwith more aggression with the availability of
warm group who managed the kingdom beforeweapons like swords and guns. Although after
the British colonization.thirty two years of the arrival of Captain James
The islands of Hawaiian Archipelago are the mostCook and his crew, Hawaii got united under the
inhabited in the world. They are situated at akingdom of Kamehameha I with the help of a
distance of nearly 2400 miles from California,mighty army and foreign weapons.
2400 miles from the Marquesas Islands and 3800He was succeeded by his son Kamehameha II
miles from Japan. The Marquesas Islands isalso named Liholiho, not only changed Hawaii
believed to be the place where the first settlerspolitically but also socially. He eradicated the a
known as the Menehune arrived around 300 totaboo system called kapu in his reign breaking one
400 AD. Later, group of settlers from Tahitiof them by eating with his stepmother and other
displaced this settlement and they overthrew thehigher ranked women. Men and women eating
Menehune people because the Tahiti people weretogether was forbidden and was one of the
taller and physically stronger.kapus, punishable by death.
Hawaii's isolation from the rest of the world is theLiholiho was succeeded by Kamehameha III who
reason why it was one of the last places to becontinued to carry the torch for the family's
discovered. It was discovered by Captain Jamespropensity and make political, governance and
Cook in 1778 searching for passageway betweenevolutionary changes in Hawaii. He issued the
Asia and Alaska. He named them SandwichHawaiian Declaration of Rights and promulgated
Islands. A lot of Americans and Europeansthe Constitution for the Hawaiian Islands, this
explored the islands after Cook.changed the governance of Hawaii from a
The first people of Hawaii who were calledcomplete monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.