Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639 For geographic details or island details see the end of this page or Hawaiian Islands.
Topography
An archipelago situated some 2,000 mi (3,200 km) southwest of the North American mainland, Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States and the second westernmost state after Alaska. Only Hawaii and Alaska do not share a border with another U.S. state.
Hawaii is the only state of the United States that:
- is not geographically located in North America
- grows coffee
- is completely surrounded by water
- is entirely an archipelago
- has a royal palace
- does not have a straight line in its state boundary
Hawaii's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea stands at 13,796 ft (4,205 m) but is taller than Mount Everest if followed to the base of the mountain—from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, rising about 33,500 ft (10,200 m).
The eight main islands, Hawai ʻ i, Maui, O ʻ ahu, Kaho ʻ olawe, Lana ʻ i, Moloka ʻ i, Kaua ʻ i and Ni ʻ ihau are accompanied by many others. Ka ʻ ala is a small island near Ni ʻ ihau that is often overlooked. The Northwest Hawaiian Islands are a series of 9 small, older masses northwest of Kaua ʻ i that extend from Nihoa to Kure that are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. There are also something more than 100 small rocks and islets such as Molokini that are either volcanic, marine sedimentary or erosional in origin, totaling 130 or so across the archipelago.
Geology
All Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanoes erupting from a sea floor magma source called a hotspot. As the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves northwesterly, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Big Island, and Hawaii's newest volcano, Lō ʻ ihi Seamount deep below the waters off its southern coast, are presently active.
The last volcanic eruption outside the Big Island occurred at Haleakalā on Maui before the late 18th century, though it could have been hundreds of years earlier. In 1790, Kīlauea exploded with the deadliest eruption (of the modern era) known to have occurred in what is now the United States. As many as 5,405 warriors and their families marching on Kīlauea were killed that eruption.
Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. The Big Island has the second highest point among the world's islands.
Slope instability of the volcanoes has generated damaging earthquakes with related tsunamis, particularly in 1868 and 1975.
Flora and Fauna
Because the islands' are so far from other land habitats, life before human activity is said to have arrived by the "3 W's": wind (carried through the air), waves (brought by ocean currents), and wings (birds, insects, and whatever they brought with them). This isolation, and the wide range of environments (extreme altitude, tropical climate) produced a vast array of endemic flora and fauna (see Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands). Hawaii has more endangered species and has lost a higher percentage of its endemic species than any other US state.
Hawaii is one of four states that were independent prior to becoming part of the United States, along with the Vermont Republic (1791), the Republic of Texas (1845), and the California Republic (1846), and one of two (Texas was the other) with formal diplomatic recognition internationally. The Kingdom of Hawaii was sovereign from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown by resident American (and some European) businessmen. It was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, becoming a state in 1959.
Hawaii was the target of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor and other military and naval installations on O ʻ ahu, carried out by aircraft and by midget submarines brought the United States into World War II.
Pre-European contact — Ancient Hawaii (800-1778)
Main article: Ancient HawaiiThe earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to as early as 300 BCE, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora in the 11th century. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook.
Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands may have first populated the Hawaiian Islands between 300 and 500 CE. There is a great deal of debate regarding these dates.
Some archaeologists and historians believe that an early settlement from the Marquesas and a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti, circa 1000 introduced a new line of high chiefs, the Kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice and the building of heiaus. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Pa ʻ ao. Other authors argue that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Tahitian settlers, and that Pa ʻ ao must be regarded as a myth. However, this seems very unlikely due to the fact that the Kapu system and the practice of human sacrifice were only common in Tahitian culture.
Regardless of the question of Pa ʻ ao and the history of the Royal Hawaiian lineage, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of the Kapu chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called ali ʻ i, ruled their settlements and launched wars to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. This was conducted in a system of alliances of various ranks similar to the tribal systems before Feudalism.
James Cook — European arrival and the Kingdom of Hawaii (1778-1893)
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 islands' geographical coordinates and reported the native name as Owyhee . This spelling lives on in Owyhee County, Idaho, after three Hawaiian members of a trapping party killed in that area.
Cook visited the islands twice. During his second visit in 1779, he attempted to abduct the King of the Big Island of Hawaii, Kalani ʻ ōpu ʻ u, and hold him as ransom for the return of a ship's boat that was taken by a minor chief and his men, a tactic that had worked for Cook in Tahiti and other islands. Kalani ʻ ōpu ʻ u and his supporters fought back and Cook and four Marines were killed as Cook's party retreated to the beach and launched their boats.
After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian islands received many European visitors: explorers, traders, and eventually whalers who found the islands a convenient harbor and source of supplies. Early British influence can be seen in the design of the local Flag of Hawaii which has the British Union Jack in the corner.
These visitors introduced diseases to the once-isolated islands and the Hawaiian population plunged precipitously because native Hawaiians had no resistance to influenza, smallpox, and measles, among others. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaii's people.
House of Kamehameha
During the 1780s and 1790s chiefs were often fighting for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795 and forced cession of the island of Kaua ʻ i in 1810, all inhabited islands were subjugated under a single ruler who became known as King Kamehameha the Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty that ruled the kingdom until 1872.
Missionaries to Hawaii in the 1800s converted many Hawaiians to Christianity. Their influence led Kamehameha II to end many ancient practices, and Kamehameha III was the first Christian king. A famous and beloved missionary was Father Damien, a Catholic priest who helped bring order and hope to the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka
ʻ
i. Other well-remembered missionaries included Protestan