AllHawaii-Cruises.com - First Inhabitants of Hawaii

The native Hawaiians probably came originally from islands in the eastern part of Polynesia, from the Society Islands, which include Tahiti, and from the Marquesas Islands. In all likelihood these tall, tawny-skinned people migrated to the Hawaiian Islands sometime between the 7th century ad and the 13th century. They made the voyage of more than 3,200 km (2,000 mi) in long catamaran-like canoes.

At the time of the arrival of the first Westerners late in the 18th century, there were an estimated 300,000 native inhabitants. The Hawaiians lived in villages that were located along the coast or in the larger valleys a short distance inland. The island of Hawaii was the most heavily populated in the chain. The Hawaiians relied for their food primarily on fishing, farming, and gathering of wild plants. Their staple diet was fish and poi, a pastelike food made from the tuber, or underground stem, of the taro plant. The Hawaiians had neither metals nor metalworking skills. Weapons, household utensils, and other implements were fashioned from wood, stone, shell, and bone.

By the late 18th century the Hawaiians had developed an elaborate system of social organization. At this time the islands were divided among several kingdoms, which were often at war. Within each kingdom there was a basically feudal system of social organization. The people were divided into several distinct social classes. The noble class, or aristocracy, consisted of the king, a number of chiefs, and their families. As king, the ruler owned all the land of the kingdom. He parceled out land among chiefs loyal to him, but he could revoke the grants at any time. The chiefs in turn gave the common people small plots to farm, but the commoners were also obligated to farm the land of the ruling class and to serve in the royal army. There were also a small class of slaves and a highly respected class of navigators, priests, and other professionals. Priests often attained great power, in some cases second only to that of the king.

The religion of the native Hawaiians was basically a form of nature worship, in which the forces of nature were personified as gods. Of the many gods worshiped the most important were Ku, the god of war; Kane, the god of light and life; and Lono, the god of the harvest. The Hawaiians worshiped in heiaus, stone terraces enclosed by stone walls.

Religion substantially affected the everyday life and habits of the Hawaiians. The king and high-ranking chiefs derived their power and prestige from the gods. An elaborate ritual accompanied almost every important individual or community activity. Daily life, including politics, worship, eating, and sexual intimacy, was governed by a complex system of kapus, or taboos. Punishment for violating the kapus, even accidentally, was often severe, including death.

Hawaiian economic life depended on a fairly complex division of labor. Special skills were required for the manufacture of outrigger canoes and the preparation of tapa, the material made by beating the bulk of the mulberry tree into a paperlike fabric that was stained with vegetable dye to be worn as clothing or used as bed covers. Some men were bird catchers, collecting feathers for the chiefs’ cloaks and helmets. An adz maker sharpened the stones used for building and fighting. Other workers thatched roofs. Each island began to specialize in a skill. Oahu was reputed to make excellent tapa; Maui, superior canoes and paddles. The Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii supplied dried fish.

Early in 1778 the British explorer Captain James Cook reached the islands of Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau, landing first on the southern coast of Kauai. Later that year he returned to explore other islands, including Hawaii; he named the chain the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, John Montagu, 4th earl of Sandwich. The name later fell into disuse as British influence over the islands gave way to U.S. domination. At first, Cook and his men were treated hospitably by the native Hawaiians. However, ill feeling later arose between the British and the Hawaiians, and in 1779, Cook was killed in a skirmish with the natives peoples over the theft of one of his boats.

Beginning about 1785, the islands became an important provision port for European and North American ships trading with East Asia. After 1790 many of the ships stopping at Hawaii were American vessels carrying furs from the Pacific Northwest to China. In the early l9th century direct trade developed between Hawaii and Asia; foreign vessels carried sandalwood, which grew on the islands, to Asia, where it was in demand.

Foreign ships frequently remained in Hawaiian harbors several months, so that there was substantial mingling of the crews and the native Hawaiians. In addition, by 1820 a small number of foreigners had settled permanently in the islands; they were known as haoles, a term that meant stranger but came to be used for whites of European descent. The foreigners introduced cattle, horses, and orange trees, as well as other plants and domestic animals. However, they also introduced, if only by accident, a number of highly infectious diseases, such as smallpox, measles, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. Lacking natural immunity to many diseases and unable to obtain proper medical care, thousands of Hawaiians died. Largely because of mass epidemics the islands’ population fell from an estimated 300,000 at the time of Cook’s arrival to about 135,000 in 1820.

Hawaii Cruises

History of Hawaii

There are several topics we could cover when talking about Hawaii History. We have chose a few of the most popular topics.

We hope you find this information useful and hope you choose us for your one of your next cruises to Hawaii. Remember that we specialize in Hawaii Cruises.

MAP OF HAWAII