The New International Encyclopædia/Hawaiian Islands
HAWAIIAN (hä wī′an) ISLANDS, or HAWAII, hä-wī′ē̇ (formerly Sandwich Islands; politically, the Territory of Hawaii). A chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, belonging to the United States, and forming geographically and ethnologically the extreme northeastern group of Polynesia. They are situated between latitudes 18° 54′ and 22° 15′ N., and between longitudes 154° 50′ and 160° 30′ W., about 2200 miles southwest of San Francisco, and 4893 miles from Hong Kong. The chain consists of eight inhabited and several small uninhabited islands, arranged nearly all in single file extending for about 400 miles from southeast to northwest. The inhabited islands with their areas are, beginning at the southeast: Hawaii, 4210 square miles; Maui, 760; Kahulaui, 63; Molokai, 270; Lanai, 150; Oahu, 600; Kauai, 590; and Niihau, 97. Total area, 6740 square miles. Small as the land area is, it is about half that of all the other Polynesian Islands. Oahu is as large as the Society group; Maui corresponds in size with the Marquesas group; and the island of Hawaii is nearly as large as all the other Polynesian groups.
Topography and Geology. The islands are purely of volcanic origin, being really the summits of enormous volcanic cones raised by eruptions from the bottom of the ocean, which falls rapidly to a depth of 18,000 feet not far from the shores. The islands are all mountainous, but only one, Hawaii, is actively volcanic, having two of the largest craters in the world, Mauna Loa and Kilauea (q.v.). Hawaii is the most recent in order of formation; it is much less eroded than the others, and though it contains the highest peak of the group—Mauna Kea, 13,805 feet—its elevations are all rounded and easily ascended. The other islands, especially Kauai, which is considered the oldest, are deeply eroded into picturesque crags and deep ravines and gorges. The coasts are to a large extent steep and rocky, consisting in some places of precipices 100 to 500 feet high and extending for several miles. There are some sandy beaches, however, and in many places the coasts are lined with coral reefs; between the mountains and the coasts extend fertile plains and valleys, which are the scene of agricultural activity.
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| COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY. |
AREA AND POPULATION OF HAWAII.
| Map Index. |
Area in square miles. |
Population. | |||||
| 1890. | 1900. | ||||||
| Island of Hawaii | F 4 | 4,015 | 26,754 | 46,843 | |||
| Islands of Kauai and Niihau |
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641 | 11,859 | 20,734 | |||
| Island of Maui | E 3 | 728 | 17,357 | 25,416 | |||
| Islands of Molokai and Lanai |
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3 | 2,826 | 2,504 | |||
| Island of Oahu | D 2 | 600 | 31,194 | 58,504 | |||
Climate and Hydrography. The climate is in general characterized by a remarkable equability of temperature; it is never too warm and never cold, except on the mountain summits, and even within the narrow limits there are no sudden changes. This is due to the fact that there are neither large ice-fields nor hot continental deserts within thousands of miles, and the winds which reach the islands have to pass over a broad expanse of water of a uniform and moderately warm temperature. The average temperatures of the lowlands of Hawaii are 70° for January and 78° for July, and the extreme maximum and minimum temperatures recorded are, respectively, 89° and 54°. On the mountain peaks, of course, frosts occur, and snow sometimes remains throughout the year. The mean temperature is about 10° cooler than in any other land in the same latitude. The winds show the same equability: the prevailing winds for ten months in the year are the northeast trades. Alternate diurnal land and sea breezes occur, especially on the southwest coasts and around Hilo Bay on the northeast coast of Hawaii; warm southwest gales are also common in winter. Storms are rare, and hurricanes unknown. With respect to humidity and rainfall, however, the climate is extremely varied, each narrow locality having its own peculiar climate, depending on its position with regard to the winds and mountains. Most of the rain is brought by the northeast trade winds, and, owing to the great elevation of the islands, it is almost all precipitated on the northeastern sides, which have accordingly the most varied vegetation, while the leeward or southwestern sides are much drier and, especially in Hawaii Island, almost arid. Just above Hilo Bay, where the cold winds from the mountains meet the warm and moist trade winds, there is an annual rainfall of 100 to 200, and even 250, inches, one of the heaviest in the world; but at Honolulu the rainfall is only about 32 inches a year. Though the sky is as a rule clear and sunny when it is not actually raining, the humidity is considerable, turning to almost oppressive sultriness during the winter southwest winds. In general, the climate is very healthful and agreeable to Europeans, but it is not an ideal one for cases of pulmonary tuberculosis.
The rivers of Hawaii are nearly all small mountain torrents, and, as might be foreseen from the foregoing, they are largely confined to the north and east sides of the island.
Flora and Fauna. The indigenous flora and fauna of Hawaii are interesting, as they partake of the characters both of the Asiatic and Australian, as well as of the American flora. There are about 130 species of ferns and 900 species of flowering plants, of which 600 are peculiar to the islands. Some of the characteristic plants are a peculiar Pandanus or screw-pine, several tree-ferns, and among the forest trees the Koa (Acacia Koa). Forests still cover large areas of the uplands, but have greatly decreased. Where vegetation is found it generally grows luxuriantly, but large areas, especially in Hawaii, are covered with naked lava fields.
There are very few indigenous mammals in Hawaii, and no reptiles, except a single species of lizard. The birds are interesting, including many peculiar and highly specialized species, notably in the family Drepanididæ, which differ characteristically from those of the rest of Polynesia. The land mollusks have also reached a remarkable development, almost every valley having its own peculiar species, some of which are allied to those of Mexico and California.
Agriculture. Hawaii is of industrial interest almost wholly by virtue of its agricultural development. The physical and climatic conditions make possible the successful cultivation of a very large variety of industrial plants, including those of both the temperate and tropical zones. The area of possible cultivation is greatly limited, however, by the decidedly mountainous character of the islands and the area covered with lava. Less than half the total area, or about 2,000,000 acres, is adaptable to grazing, and 294,000 acres are improved. The soils, wholly derived from basaltic lavas, are formed either by decomposition (the dark and light red and yellow soils) or by sedimentation, the decomposed rocks being removed by rainfall to lower altitudes. The highland soils are thin and poor, having been depleted of many soluble elements that nourish plants; the upland soils (dark red), just above the sedimentary flats and lowlands, and the lowland soils are very deep and remarkably productive. In a general way the variety of crops depends upon the elevation. Sugar-growing is largely confined to the low plains and hillsides, followed on the higher levels in turn by coffee, fruits and vegetables, and pasture lands, but these zones are not clearly defined. In the census year 1900 there were only 86,854 acres in crops. Prominent among the factors which have prevented a fuller development have been the absence of a local market and the great scarcity of labor. At an earlier date the unsettled political conditions and the uncertainty of the continued favor of the United States discouraged the investment of capital. Thus far, sugar-cane is the only plant extensively raised. The sugar industry dominates the entire industrial life of the islands. Over half the population is engaged in the industry in some capacity. Any cause that lowers the price of sugar injuriously affects the general prosperity. Sugar-cane has long been grown on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu, and has recently been introduced on Molokai and Lanai. There are over 60 great plantations now in operation. The acreage in sugar in 1900 was over 65,000 acres, and the annual production, about 225,000 tons, varies considerably from year to year.
The sugar industry involves large outlays of capital, and is, therefore, not suited to a system of small proprietorship. On the contrary, the system of cultivation resembles in some ways the old plantation system of the South with its gangs of laborers and overseers. The scarcity of labor led to its importation under contract, especially from Japan and China, and the greater part of the labor force has been thus secured. To those under contract, labor is compulsory and enforced through the courts, violence being forbidden. On the west side of the islands irrigation is required, but under irrigation the cane grows more quickly and yields more abundantly than on the east side. Water is conducted from the mountain streams through flumes, which also often serve for the conveyance of cane to the mills. Rice occupies as yet the second place in area of production, and in the value of the product. The lowest flats close to the sea are used for rice. The home consumption is so large that only a few million pounds are left for export. It is cultivated almost wholly by the Chinese. Coffee is a young industry, and though it is cultivated on the four larger islands, it is not yet important. The prospects of the coffee industry are regarded as most favorable, as the coffee-berry is a natural product of the islands, where it grows wild. Little progress has been made in the raising of most fruits, vegetables, and cereals; but bananas and pineapples are raised in export quantities. The finest pineapple is a small native variety. The bananas are known for their good quality. Recent experiments show that American maize grows and matures perfectly. The natives raise very few vegetables for the market, only taro and a few Irish potatoes coming from the country districts. Honolulu is supplied with vegetables almost wholly by the Chinese, who occupy suitable lands around the city.
Owing to the uncertainty of rainfall in the pasture area, and to the horn-fly nuisance, the stock-raising industry is but little developed. Almost every native possesses from one to three horses. According to an arrangement made in 1848, the greater portion of the land was divided between the King, the chiefs, and the Government. The portion received by the chiefs has passed almost wholly into the hands of foreigners. The crown-lands and the Government lands, amounting to about 1,750,000 acres, were assumed by the United States. In 1895 a land act, passed to regulate the disposal of this land, was carefully drawn with a view to preventing its monopolization by speculators, and to securing its division into homesteads for actual settlers. It may be acquired by individuals for ‘homestead lease,’ lease with right of purchase, cash freehold, etc., the amount that can be acquired generally being limited in a manner that prevents capitalists from acquiring permanent control of the land.
Manufactures. The lack of fuel and of metals will permanently limit the scope of Hawaii's manufactures. Sugar manufacture is the only branch of this industry which is at present important. No molasses is made, nor is the sugar refined within the Territory. In 1900 there were 44 sugar-making establishments, with 2369 hands employed, $7,991,000 capital invested, and an annual product estimated at $19,254,000. The combined product of the three fertilizer establishments and that of the four foundry and machine-shops each exceeded $1,100,000. The capital invested in the islands came almost wholly from the United States.
Transportation. The islands are favorably situated for purposes of communication with the rest of the world, inasmuch as they are on the line of traffic between the United States and the Southern Asiatic countries and Australia. They are a convenient midway station, and many vessels renew their supply of coal at the islands. The port of Honolulu is one of the best in the Pacific. It is protected by a coral reef, through which a channel 30 feet deep has been cut to admit large vessels. The harbor facilities have not increased as rapidly as has the commerce, and the limitations are such that recourse may ultimately have to be taken to Pearl Harbor, five miles to the north, which offers unlimited facilities, and requires only the cutting of a channel through the reef for a passageway. In 1900 the tonnage of merchant vessels entering Hawaiian ports was 786,800, of which 363,160 was American. Regular steamboat communication is maintained between the larger islands of the group. The principal railroad extends along the coast of Oahu from Honolulu northward and east to Kahuku. Other short lines have been constructed, chiefly on the sugar plantations.
Commerce. The limited home market for the principal product of the islands and the lack of home manufactures give rise to a very large export and import trade. The following figures show the development of the merchandise trade with the United States:
Imports from Hawaii to the United States, 1880, $4,600,000; 1890, $12,313,000; 1900, $20,707,000.
Exports from the United States to Hawaii, 1880, $2,086,000; 1890, $4,711,000; 1900, $13,500,000.
Uncorrected estimates for 1901 place the exports and imports respectively at $28,000,000 and $20,000,000. The exports are almost exclusively sugar, and the imports principally machinery used in the sugar industry and other manufactured products. The trade of the United States with these islands is more than four times that of the United States with the Philippine Islands. Our large trade with Hawaii has developed almost wholly since 1876, the year of the reciprocity treaty, which made possible the growth of the sugar industry. Practically all of the exports of the islands come to the United States, while the imports from foreign countries—of which coal is the most important item—are less than a third of the amount received from the United States.
Finance. The total cash receipts for 1901 amounted to $2,140,000, of which $1,230,000 were collected by taxation. The total expenditures were $2,925,000, the largest items being ‘public works,’ ‘health,’ and ‘public instruction.’ The assessed value of property increased almost fourfold from 1892 to 1901.
Population. The population of Hawaii is exceedingly heterogeneous, and the question of population is one of the most vital and difficult with which the present and future welfare of the islands is concerned. The earliest estimate of the native population, that of Captain Cook in 1778, placed the number at 400,000, which is generally considered as being about a fourth too large. At any rate, the native population soon after this date began rapidly to diminish. The decline is shown by the following figures: in 1823, 142,000 (missionaries' estimate); in 1872, 49,044; in 1890, 31,019; and in 1900, 29,834. The cause of this decline is not fully understood, but prominent among the reasons assigned is the introduction of foreign diseases, which have proved peculiarly fatal to the natives, and the small birth-rate, which is the result in part, at least, of a maternal aversion to domestic responsibilities. In Honolulu the death-rate per thousand in 1900 for Hawaiians was 42.81, which is abnormally large. These tendencies therefore indicate the ultimate extinction of the race. Notwithstanding the disposition shown by the Hawaiians freely to intermingle with other races, there is a remarkably small number of ‘part Hawaiians,’ as will be seen in the table below. Marriages between natives and Chinese are common, but the Japanese have shown an aversion to mixed marriages. The decrease in the native population and their disinclination to work made necessary the importation of labor. Among those first imported were the Portuguese from the Azores, but these were not inclined to reëngage as plantation laborers at the expiration of their three year contract, and subsequent importations have been almost wholly of the lower class of Chinese and Japanese. An attempt to introduce Polynesians did not result satisfactorily. Immediately after the establishment of the Republic, the Japanese came in large numbers, but a treaty with Japan in 1899 gave the United States the right to regulate immigration, and in the year ending in June, 1901, there were only 391 immigrants from that country. The United States law restricting Chinese immigration applies to the islands, and this source of labor is now closed. Prior to the annexation to the United States the Government encouraged and aided immigration, though endeavoring at the same time to check the inflow of Chinese. Under the United States control Government aid ceased, and Chinese laborers are not allowed to enter. The last labor experiment was the importation of Porto Ricans, but they did not prove very satisfactory. The Chinese are the most desirable unskilled labor that can be obtained, and the planters are loud in their demands for the United States to admit them. The population for 1890 and 1900 was as follows:
| 1890 | 1900 | |
| Hawaiians | 34,436 | 29,834 |
| Part Hawaiians | 6,186 | 7,835 |
| Caucasians | 21,300 | 28,533 |
| Chinese | 15,300 | 25,742 |
| Japanese | 12,360 | 61,122 |
| South-Sea Islanders | 409 | 407 |
| Negroes | ........ | 254 |
| Total | 89,991 | 153,727 |
Of the Caucasians in 1900, 12,061 were Hawaiian born, 4068 were born in the United States, and 12,357 were foreign born. More than two-thirds of the total population are males. The inhabitants by islands were as follows: Hawaii, 46,843; Oahu, 54,504; Maui, 25,416; Kauai and Niihau, 20,734; Molokai and Lanai, 2504. Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is the principal city; population, in 1900, 39,306.
Ethnology. The original inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands are, in physique, good representatives of the Polynesian race, rather tall, and often quite good-looking. In head-form they have a tendency toward brachycephaly. In language the Hawaiians are most nearly related to the Samoans and Tahitians, but their speech has some phonetic and grammatical peculiarities of its own. In mental ability and artistic genius the Hawaiians rank high among their kindred, as their advanced governmental institutions, their assimilation of foreign culture, their industrial and artistic manufactures (kapa-printing, straw-plaiting, feather-weaving, etc.), and their development of a literature amply demonstrate. The love of Hawaiians (and other Polynesians) for games and sports proves them not incapable of action requiring both mental and physical exertion. It was upon one of the peculiarities of the Hawaiian family system, the punulua, a sort of incipient polyandry, that Morgan (1871-77) based his second stage in his scale of evolution of the family, the ‘punuluan family.’ From the older culture the Kahuna beliefs, the hula-hula dance, etc., have survived. The advent in 1900 of Papa Ita, the Tahitian ‘fire-walker,’ proved how much of the ancient Hawaiian religion was still alive beneath the cover of Christianity.
Religion. With a population representing so many races, there is naturally a variety of religions. The great activity of the early missionaries succeeded in bringing the native population within the fold of the Christian Church. However, the Christian faith is ofttimes lightly held, and their old-time pagan practices are sometimes secretly indulged in. The native Protestant following is nearly twice that of the Catholic, the Mormons among them numbering about 4000. The Portuguese are mainly Catholic; but most of the other European and American elements represented are Protestant. The Chinese and Japanese hold generally to their Oriental faith.
Education. One of the earliest results of missionary effort in Hawaii was the establishment of schools. The first Constitution (1840) provided for a school in districts wherever fifteen or more children suitable to attend school lived close together. At present the school attendance is compulsory for the entire school year for children between the ages of six and fifteen, and tuition is free. Ninety-six per cent. of all children of the above class attend school; 83 per cent. of all those of Hawaiian blood above six years old can both read and write. In all schools the English language is the basis of instruction. The supervision of the schools is in the hands of a Minister of Public Instruction and six commissioners. No person in holy orders nor any minister of the gospel is eligible as commissioner. The salaries of teachers are high compared with those received by teachers in the States. There were 559 teachers in 1900, of whom 299 were American. The climatic conditions do not necessitate heavy investments in school buildings, and the tuition constitutes about 73 per cent. of the total cost. The per capita expenditure is about $2.17, which amounts to $23.36 per capita for those who attend school. There are a normal training school, high school, and an endowed college at Honolulu. There are six private boarding schools for Hawaiian girls. See Education, Colonial.
Charitable Institutions. The principal public charitable enterprise is the maintenance of the leper settlement on the island of Molokai. The settlement is located on a peninsula which is shut off from the mainland by mountains. The number of lepers is decreasing, there being at present in the settlement about 900, nearly all of whom are natives. Some of them own property in the settlement and are self-supporting, but the Government makes every effort properly to care for them, and the annual expense is heavy. A certain amount of local self-government is allowed in the settlement.
Government. By an act of Congress in 1900, Hawaii was organized with a Territorial form of government, similar to that of the other organized Territories of the United States. It has a Territorial representative in Congress. The capital is Honolulu. See the article on Territories.
History. Peopled probably from the Polynesian Islands, the Hawaiian Islands when first known to white men had passed through the first stages of savagery, and were progressing toward civilization. The particular stage which it had reached was that of feudalism. Instead of a heterogeneous collection of tribes, there were in the eighteenth century as many kings as there were inhabited islands in the group, and in the island of Hawaii there were at least two kings. The people held the land which they tilled in tenancy to a class of middlemen, or gentry, who served subordinate chiefs, who were themselves under the control of the dukes or high lords, who owed allegiance to the King. The land was held in military tenure. Society was highly organized into orders, religious and social, with a system of checks, by means of laws and ceremonies. The whole tendency of political movement was toward centralization.
The first white men in Hawaii were the survivors of the crews of two Spanish vessels which were wrecked on the islands as early, possibly, as 1527. They intermarried with the natives, and their descendants, recognized by their Caucasian characteristics in complexion and features, are known to this day at Kekea. Gaetano, in 1542, made a landfall here, and in 1567 Mendena located scientifically the position of Kauai, as has been shown by Spanish scholars; but it was reserved for Capt. James Cook (q.v.), while on his third voyage in the Pacific, to find this group in 1778. After returning from Bering Strait, to pass the winter in Hawaii, he abused the hospitality of the natives, and in a squabble lost his life. His estimate of the popuhition at 400,000, though an undoubted exaggeration, shows that the group was densely inhabited. Cook named the group Sandwich Islands, after John Montague, tho fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-92). In 1790 Kamehameha, one of the kings of the main island, defeated Keoua, a rival in another portion of the same island, and thus paved the way for the establishment of a single dynasty. Kamehameha's ambition was to bring the whole group of islands under his sway, but with ordinary weapons it is uncertain whether he could have succeeded. In the nick of time, American whalers and fur traders brought the King firearms, which gave him a tremendous advantage over his opponents, who were still living as in the Stone Age. In 1792 the British navigator George Vancouver brought over cattle, and taught the inhabitants ship-building. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the fur trade on the Pacific coast received a tremendous impulse as a result of the epoch-making expedition of Lewis and Clark. American vessels, reaching the northwest coast in the spring, traded up and down it with the Indians for peltries. Spending the winter in the Sandwich Islands, the American shipmen dressed their furs, refitted, laid in fresh provisions, and bought the sandalwood then so abundant in the islands, besides sharks' fins and tortoise-shells, for the China trade. To this day in China the name for Hawaii is ‘Sandalwood Islands.’ In the second spring season they went north on the American coast for furs, stopping again at Hawaii, and then sailing to China and exchanging their cargo of furs and sandalwood for tea, silk, porcelain, matting, ginger, and firecrackers, they sailed homeward with a favorable monsoon. Native Hawaiians served on these ships, and thus became known in the United States, stimulating missionary interest.
This trade in sandalwood enriched the chiefs and kings, but especially Kamehameha, who thus secured the sinews of war by sending his people all over the island to cut and transport the fragrant wood, which he traded for vessels, arms, ammunition, and military stores. Master of a navy and an army, he was able, after several campaigns, to conquer the whole of the Hawaiian archipelago. He made the once feudalized islands a central monarchy, and established the royal succession in his own line. He died May 8, 1819, and his oldest son, Liholiho, succeeded him, under the title of Kamehameha II., though the real power behind the throne was an ‘empress dowager,’ the widow of Kamehameha I. Under the old religious system of taboo (q.v.), which represented conservatism, a class of men corresponding to the ‘literati’ of other lands existed who were more or less hostile to change, and especially to centralization. So, exactly as in the case of China, when feudalism was overthrown by She-Hwang-Ti, the new King, advised by his Premier, the widow of Kamehameha I., abolished by decree the hoary system of taboo. This bold reform met with organized resistance, and in the appeal to arms a bloody battle was fought. The conservatives were overthrown, and the iconoclasts went through the islands smashing and burning the idols, or tossing them into the sea. Thus the Hawaiians were a people without a religion. At this juncture of affairs Christian missionaries from the United States arrived. More than ten years before, native Hawaiians, serving as sailors on American ships, had stirred the generous impulses of New England, and one of the first missionary companies sent out by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, seven married men with their wives, reached Honolulu April 4, 1820. The King and his Queen made a voyage to England in 1823, and died there in 1824. This event put fresh power into the hands of the widow of Kamehameha I., who governed the kingdom for nine years, until the younger brother of the deceased King reached his majority and reigned as Kamehameha III. Under the training of the American missionaries, all the people were in a few years taught to read and write. The Ten Commandments were adopted as a basis of laws in 1825, and other criminal laws were enacted in 1827 and 1829. In 1840 the King and his nobles promulgated a constitution granting civil rights to the people. In 1846 he abolished the last relics of feudalism by approving the Land Act, which yielded up the Crown lands and provided for the people becoming owners of the soil. In 1852 the Constitution was revised by the King, and the Legislature and free suffrage were established. Dying on December 15, 1854, Kamehameha III. was succeeded by Alexander Liholiho, son of Kinau, the daughter of the founder of the dynasty. This prince assumed the title of Kamehameha IV. After reigning nine years, honored because of his perseverance in the principles of civilization, he died November 30, 1863, and was succeeded by his brother Lot, as Kamehameha V. During his reign Honolulu became a beautiful modern city, and business and commerce prospered greatly. Nevertheless the new ruler was a reactionary. He forcibly abrogated the national Constitution, and issued another, in which the right of suffrage was limited by a property qualification. When he died, December 11, 1872, without issue, the direct line of Kamehameha became extinct. After four weeks' government by the Cabinet, the Legislature elected the nominee of the people, Lunalilo, as King. He attempted in vain to restore the old Constitution. His short and troubled reign of one year ended February 3, 1874.
Lunalilo died childless, and the Legislature again proceeded to elect a king, and on February 12, 1874, chose David Kalakaua, though their action was violently opposed by Emma, the Queen Dowager. In the riot which broke out between her partisans and the legislators, several persons were injured. The war-ships in the harbor under the British and American flags landed marines and sailors, order was restored, and the King began his reign. Kalakaua visited the United States in 1874, and in 1875 a reciprocity treaty was arranged between that country and Hawaii. This was renewed in 1887. The King made a tour of the world in 1881. Nevertheless he showed a tendency in the latter part of his reign to relapse into the ancient savagery of his people. The patience of the better elements of society being exhausted, the party of progress at a mass meeting held June 30, 1887, demanded from the King a new constitution and better government, with a Cabinet under the control of the Legislature. Although Kalakaua agreed to the demand and signed a new constitution, which was ratified by the vote of the people, he lost no opportunity to regain his power. In this course he was encouraged by his sister, the Princess Liliuokalani. On the King's attempting in 1889 to overthrow the new Government, the progressive party reorganized, and a skirmish occurred in which the royal partisans were defeated. On January 20, 1891, Kalakaua died in San Francisco. His sister, Liliuokalani, became Queen. Her reign was marked by continual evasions and nullification of the Constitution. The men of the progressive party, consisting chiefly of Americans and the better elements among the foreigners and natives, were fully acquainted with her determination to promulgate a new political instrument which would enhance the royal power; but just when she was about to bring her plans to consummation they dethroned the Queen and organized a provisional government. The Committee of Thirteen, January 15, 1893, passed a resolution “that it is the sense of this committee that, in view of the present unsatisfactory state of affairs, the proper course to pursue is to abolish the monarchy, and apply for annexation to the United States.” The Queen's ministers appealed for help to the foreign legations, while the leading citizens of the town were openly and publicly preparing to abolish the Queen's government by force of arms. The United States legation was in close touch with the best element both of the Americans and of the native Hawaiians. Realizing the great significance of the Revolution and the importance of the interests of his country that were involved, the United States Minister, John L. Stevens (q.v.), had a force of 140 sailors and marines landed from the U.S.S. Boston, for the protection of American interests, and at once recognized the provisional government on behalf of his own. Commissioners were sent to the United States to negotiate a treaty of annexation, while Minister Stevens, believing that this small State was not safe from aggression, on his own responsibility declared Hawaii under the protection of the United States. February 16, 1893, President Harrison submitted to Congress a treaty of annexation, but upon the accession of President Cleveland the treaty was withdrawn, the Minister's action disavowed, and a special commissioner, Mr. Blount, was sent to the islands to report upon the situation. The commissioner's report represented that the action of Mr. Stevens had been unwarranted, and that it was the landing of the United States seamen that made the success of the Revolution possible. The disposition of the United States Government appearing to be favorable to the deposed Queen, negotiations were entered upon for her restoration; but her refusal to grant a general amnesty made it impossible to support her pretensions. Thrown upon its own resources, Hawaii was proclaimed a republic July 4, 1894, and duly organized, with Sanford B. Dole as President, and a Legislature of two chambers. The political excitement that had made the annexation question a disturbing one in the United States having subsided, and the Republican Party being again in power, the Government of Hawaii, then firmly established, renewed negotiations for annexation in 1898.
In accordance with a resolution of Congress, passed July 7, 1898, the Hawaiian Islands were formally annexed August 12, 1898. By the act of Congress of April 30, 1900, all persons who, on August 12, 1898, were citizens of the Republic of Hawaii, were declared to be citizens of the United States and of the Territory of Hawaii. On June 14, 1900, Hawaii was organized as a Territory, with ex-President Dole as the Territorial Governor. The political problem of Hawaiian administration lies in the number of races, that which is strongest in wealth and intelligence being smallest in numbers.
During the monarchy, which lasted about a century, the foreign relations of Hawaii were influenced chiefly by naval officers, who often acted with a high hand. The first commercial agency of the United States was established in 1820, and in 1823 Capt. Ap Catsby Jones, U. S. N., negotiated a treaty of commerce and navigation, the first ever made by Hawaii with a foreign power, which was not, however, ratified by Congress. In 1839 Commander La Place of the French frigate Artémise, under threat of war, demanded privileges for Roman Catholic converts of the French missionaries, who had been on the islands since 1827. In 1842 the independence of the kingdom was recognized by the United States. In 1843 a British officer, Lord Paulet, made demands which resulted in a provisional cession of the islands to Great Britain; but his action was promptly overruled by his superiors at home, and the same year Admiral Thomas restored the islands and the Hawaiian flags. In 1862 the English Reformed Catholic missionaries began their work. In 1843 the United States commercial agent was made a commissioner, in 1863 Minister Resident, in 1898 Minister Plenipotentiary.
Bibliography. Hopkins, Hawaii: The Past and Future of Its Island Kingdom (2d ed., London, 1866); Oberländer and Christmann, Oceanien (Leipzig, 1873); Bird, The Hawaiian Archipelago (London, 1875); Fornander, Account of the Polynesian Race, and the Ancient History of the Hawaiian People (London, 1877); Gordon-Cumming, The Kingdom of Hawaii (London, 1883); Bastian, Zur Kenntniss Hawaiis (Berlin, 1883); Dutton, Hawaiian Volcanoes (Washington, 1885); Kalakaua, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii (New York, 1888); Reports on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger (London, 1880-95); “The Hawaiian Islands,” in United States Military Information, Div. of Pub., vol. i. (Washington, 1893); Bishop, Hawaiian Archipelago (New York, 1894); Marcuse, Die hawaiischen Inseln (Berlin, 1894); Alexander, Brief History of the Hawaiian People (New York, 1892); Stoddard, Hawaiian Life (Chicago, 1894); Achelio, Ueber Mythologie und Kultus von Hawaii (Brunswick, 1895); Hawaiian Department of Foreign Affairs, The Hawaiian Islands (Honolulu, 1896); Twombly, Hawaii and Its People (London, 1900); Musick, Our New Possessions (New York, 1897); Shoemaker, Islands of the Southern Seas (New York, 1898); Young, The Real Hawaii (London, 1899); Whitney, Hawaiian America (New York, 1899); Blackmann, The Making of Hawaii (London, 1899); Brain, The Transformation of Hawaii (1899); Griffin, List of Books Relating to Hawaii (Washington, 1898); also the publications of the Hawaiian Historical Society and Bishop Museum at Honolulu.