El pueblo hawaiano, cuyos ancestros cruzaron el océano desde la Polinesia, desarrollaron su propia sociedad, pero sus lazos culturales con Polinesia son evidentes.
Los hawaianos rendían culto a cuatro dioses principales. Sus lugares de culto, llamados heiaus, eran construidos con roca volcánica. La estructura religiosa y social giraba en torno al concepto kapu, conocido en el resto de la Polinesia como tabú, que establecía reglas prohibitivas o restrictivas para varios de los segmentos de la sociedad y creaba un sistema de castas. La sociedad tribal de Hawaii transmitía sus leyendas y tradiciones por medio de canciones, bailes, poemas y cuentos.
El explorador inglés James Cook desembarcó en Kauai en enero de 1778. Bautizó su descubrimiento con el nombre de islas Sandwich.
Después de un viaje al norte del Pacífico, Cook regresó a Hawaii para pasar el invierno, pero las anteriormente relaciones amistosas con los hawaianos se habían deteriorado y fue asesinado en el transcurso de una expedición punitiva contra ellos en 1779.
Hacia 1790, los occidentales se habían asentado en toda la isla y las enfermedades contagiosas y el alcoholismo diezmaron el número de habitantes nativos. Entre 1790 y 1810, las islas fueron unidas políticamente bajo el liderato de un rey nativo, Kamehameha I, cuyos cinco sucesores —de igual nombre, Kamehameha— gobernaron el reino desde su muerte, en 1819, hasta el final de la dinastía, en 1872.
A principios de 1819, el Consejo de Comisarios para Misiones Exteriores, creado por los congregacionistas de Nueva Inglaterra, envió a Hawaii once grupos de misioneros, los cuales impusieron su estilo de vida, moralidad y culto en todas las islas.
Aunque la dinastía Kamehameha había establecido unas relaciones generalmente amistosas con los colonos de Estados Unidos, el rey Kalakaua y la reina Liliuokalani se esforzaron por rechazar la influencia estadounidense en el gobierno y la economía, con la esperanza de poder devolver Hawaii a los hawaianos. Al mismo tiempo, en 1890, la tarifa McKinley cargó impuestos sobre el azúcar.
El Comité de Seguridad tomó el control del reino el 17 de enero de 1893 y estableció un gobierno provisional, con Sanford B. Dole, hijo de un misionero estadounidense, a la cabeza. Dole presionó para conseguir la anexión de las islas a Estados Unidos, pero la administración del presidente Grover Cleveland rechazó la propuesta. El gobierno provisional creó entonces la República de Hawaii, el 4 de julio de 1894, con Dole como su presidente. El presidente de Estados Unidos, William McKinley, solicitó en 1898 la anexión del territorio, que se produjo el 12 de agosto de 1898, convirtiendo al archipiélago en una de las bases para la presencia estadounidense en el Pacífico. Dole fue su primer gobernador. Pearl Harbor, piedra angular de la defensa estadounidense en el Pacífico, fue atacada por los japoneses el 7 de diciembre de 1941, provocando la intervención de Estados Unidos en la II Guerra Mundial.
La historia de Hawái incluye fases del primer asentamiento humano polinesio en el Archipiélago de Hawái, el descubrimiento europeo en la Edad Moderna, la inmigración euro-estadounidense y asiática, el derrocamiento de la monarquía hawaiana, un breve periodo de existencia como república y la admisión en los Estados Unidos como territorio y luego como estado.
La primera colonización de Hawái se produjo desde islas situadas en el Pacífico Sur, muy probablemente entre el siglo IV y VI, desde las Marquesas,1 con una segunda ola de migración desde Raiatea y Bora Bora en el siglo XI. Las narraciones populares sobre Pa’ao hablan de otra migración de Tahití. Los polinesios hawaianos desarrollaron un complejo entramado social basado en un sistema de castas, regido por un amplio conjunto de tabúes de tipo religioso y social, conocidos como «sistema kapu».2 La historia de las islas se caracterizó por un crecimiento lento pero constante de la población y el tamaño de los cacicazgos, que se extendieron hasta abarcar todas las islas del archipiélago hawaiano. Jefes locales gobernaban sus asentamientos y mantenían alianzas entre sí, conflictos y guerras por el predominio.
Llegada de los europeos
El rey Kalaniʻōpuʻu recibe a James Cook. Acuarela de John Webber, artista a bordo del barco de Cook.
Hay diferentes versiones sobre los primeros europeos que llegaron a Hawái. La más documentada es que el explorador inglés James Cook fue el primer europeo en llegar a las islas en el año 1778. Sin embargo, según varios historiadores, es posible que miembros de la expedición española de Ruy López de Villalobos lo hicieran dos siglos antes, en 1555.3 Existen mapas españoles de la época que muestran unas islas en la latitud de Hawái, pero en una longitud 10 grados más al este. En el manuscrito, la Isla de Maui aparece como «La Desgraciada», y la Isla de Hawái aparece como «La Mesa». Otras islas, muy parecidas a Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, y Molokaʻi aparecen con el nombre de «Los Monjes».4
La presencia hispana a fines del siglo XVIII está suficientemente acreditada: por ejemplo Francisco de Paula y Marín vivió en Hawái desde 1793 hasta su muerte en 1837 y sin ser médico, ejercía como una suerte de médico de la aristocracia hawáiana con la que se emparentó, por esto la dinastía de los Kamehameha podía declarar que tenía linajes hispanos. En efecto, F. de Paula y Marín dejó además algunas palabras españolas en el idioma local que aún se pueden escuchar allí.
Pese a lo anterior, España nunca hizo reclamación oficial de estas islas. Por otra parte y bastante después, el 18 de enero de 1778James Cook y su tripulación, al tratar de descubrir el casi legendario Paso del Noroeste entre Alaska y Asia, se sorprendieron al encontrar estas altas islas en el Pacífico Norte. Cook las llamó Islas Sandwich, debido a la ayuda que le prestara el entonces primer lord del Almirantazgo británico John Montagu, cuarto conde de Sándwich.
El archipiélago de Hawái permaneció durante muchos siglos dividido entre pequeños clanes que regían una o más islas, y solo en 1810 quedó unido bajo un solo gobernante, el caudillo Kamehameha I de la Isla de Hawái. Cuando Cook llegó fortuitamente a las Hawái, en el último cuarto del siglo XVIII, el rey Kamehameha I, que pasaría a la historia con el nombre de Kamehameha El Grande, había comenzado su gradual ascenso al poder. Tras una serie de batallas que terminaron en 1795 y la cesión pacífica de la isla de Kauaʻi en 1810, las Islas Hawái se unificaron por primera vez bajo el mando de un único gobernante. Kamehameha I, fallecido en 1819, fundó la casa de Kamehameha, la dinastía reinante hasta 1872.
Hasta 1816, los jefes de las distintas islas se consideraban a sí mismos bajo la protección británica y por ello en las islas flameaba la Union Jack (Torrotito del Reino UNido). Del mismo modo la monarquía unificadora adoptó una bandera similar a la utilizada hoy por el estado estadounidense de Hawái, con la Union Jack en el cantón de la parte superior junto al asta, y ocho franjas horizontales alternas desde la parte superior blanco, rojo y azul en representación de las ocho islas principales de Hawái. Sin embargo, tras la expedición rusa del capitán Otto von Kotzebue, el soberano de Kauaʻi, Kaumualiʻi, aunque vasallo del rey Hawáiano Kamehameha I, aceptó el protectorado de Rusia (1818), a instancias del empresario ruso-alemán Georg Schaeffer. Este consideraba que un dominio ruso sobre las islas Hawái permitiría rentabilizar la colonia rusa de Alaska y expandir sus actividades comerciales por el Océano Pacífico. Sin embargo la negativa del mismo zar ruso Alejandro I a admitir la validez del tratado acabó con tal intento.
En mayo de 1819, el rey Kamehameha II (Liholiho) ascendió al trono. Bajo intensa presión de sus compañeros y de su regente y madrastra Kaʻahumanu, el rey Kamehameha abolió el sistema de la kapu (similar al tabú) que había regido la vida en las islas. Esto se pone de relieve en cambios revolucionarios como la aparente formalidad de sentarse a comer Kamehameha II con Kaʻahumanu y otras mujeres de todo rango, acto que hasta entonces constituía una violación del kapu (tabú). El sistema religioso (véase ʻAi Noa) prohibía comer junto con mujeres. Como reacción, Kekuaokalani, primo de Kamehameha que fue originalmente designado a compartir el poder con éste, organizó la resistencia de los grupos conservadores que había dentro de los clanes favorables al mantenimiento del sistema kapu. Estos disidentes fueron derrotadas por Ka’ahumanu y LihoLiho en diciembre de 1819.
En 1820, llegó al archipiélago un grupo misionero congregacionalista (el American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, ABCFM) procedente de Nueva Inglaterra. Fueron recibidos oficialmente por Kamehameha II, que les otorgó un año de permiso limitado para hacer proselitismo. En pocos años, algunos de los jefes de más alto rango se convirtieron al congregacionalismo protestante, incluidos los soberanos o regentes Kaʻahumanu, Keōpūolani y Hewahewa, que concedieron el permiso permanente para las actividades de la misión congregacionalista. Los plebeyos rápidamente siguieron el ejemplo de sus dirigentes (como suele pasar en la historia) y se convirtieron masivamente al cristianismo protestante, de modo que Hawái se transformó en una nación decididamente cristiana. En 1839 el nuevo rey, Kamehameha III proclamó un edicto hawaiano de Declaración de Derechos, y en 1840 se promulgó la Constitución de las Islas de Hawái. Las Hawái habían evolucionado desde un sistema de gobierno propio de monarquía absoluta hacia una monarquía constitucional, gracias al contacto con los comerciantes europeos y la necesidad de imponer la autoridad real permitiendo cierto grado de libertad a los jefes de los clanes. La Constitución dividió los poderes de gobierno, estableciendo un poder legislativo, un poder judicial y un poder ejecutivo. El monarca (ya fuera rey o reina) se convirtió en el jefe del ejecutivo y jefe de estado. Las leyes de Hawái —reflejos de una élite muy influida por los misioneros cristianos— con frecuencia entraron en graves conflictos con muchos residentes occidentales y visitantes que preferían el sistema del antiguo régimen de Kamehameha I, muy liberal con las bebidas alcohólicas y las relaciones promiscuas dentro del bullicio del intercambio comercial.
El nuevo estatuto hawaiano impuso a los residentes extranjeros un cambio en la tenencia de la tierra. Anteriormente la tenencia de la tierra se obtenía de acuerdo a la voluntad de los jefes de cada clan, y podía ocuparse informalmente, al extremo que los no residentes deseaban ocupar las tierras con el pago de tasas bajas o ninguna tasa. Los jefes tribales solían aceptar las pretensiones de los extranjeros a cambio de diversos tipos de ayuda (desde la compra de armas de fuego hasta la provisión de alcohol y tabaco), lo que intensificó más el conflicto entre el gobierno central hawaiano, de un lado, y los jefes tribales y su clientela, del otro. Por las reformas de Kamehameha II, los occidentales podrían comprar tierras y estaban obligados a registrarlas catastralmente. A esto se le llamó la Gran Mahele (división de tierras) y fue estatuida como ley el 7 de marzo de 1848 por el rey Kamehameha III (llamado también Kauikeaouli), hijo de Kamehameha I. Simultáneamente, el reino hawaiano aprovechó la pugna colonial entre Francia y Reino Unido para asegurar su independencia, y contó con el apoyo de Estados Unidos, que necesitaba de un país independiente en la zona para mantener la seguridad de su comercio en el Pacífico.
El incidente más grave se produjo cuando Lord George Paulet, capitán de la fragata HMS Carysfort de la Royal Navy, entró en la bahía de Honolulú y capturó la fortaleza Honolulu, ganando de manera efectiva el control de la ciudad, el 10 de febrero de 1843. Paulet exigió la abdicación del Rey Kamehameha III y la cesión de Hawái a la Corona británica. Por la fuerza, Kamehameha fue cesado en sus funciones, pero presentó una protesta oficial ante el Gobierno británico y el superior de Paulet, el Almirante Richard Thomas. Thomas repudió las acciones de Paulet, y el 31 de julio de 1843 restableció la monarquía y gobiernos hawáianos. En su discurso de la restauración, declaró como «Kamehameha» Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono «(La vida de la tierra se perpetúa en la justicia), lema del futuro Estado de Hawái.
La influencia de los misioneros protestantes sobre la aristocracia hawaiana motivó que los misioneros católicos llegados desde 1840, mayormente franceses, fueran recibidos primero con indiferencia y luego con abierta hostilidad, al punto de ordenarse su expulsión y la persecución de los hawaianos que les defendieran. Tal política fue el pretexto para que el 25 de agosto de 1849 el capitán francés Louis Tromelin, al mando de una corbeta y de una fragata de guerra, atacase Honolulú con 140 soldados, tomase las fortificaciones de la ciudad, y lanzara a sus hombres al saqueo de los edificios públicos de la capital. Tras quejas del Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda y de los Estados Unidos, y con la desautorización del gobierno francés, Tromelin abandonó Honolulu el 5 de setiembre de 1849. Tras este incidente, el gobierno hawaiano fortaleció sus alianzas diplomáticas con británicos y estadounidenses pero cesaron las amenazas contra las misiones católicas.
El 18 de marzo de 1874 Hawái firmó un tratado con los Estados Unidos por el cual se le daba el derecho de comercio en concesión exclusiva a los estadounidenses. Fue el Tratado de Reciprocidad de 1875 entre el Reino de Hawái y Estados Unidos para permitir la importación, libre de impuestos, de azúcar de caña de Hawái hacia Estados Unidos a partir de 1876. Este acto alteró drásticamente el paisaje hawaiano mediante la promoción de la agricultura de plantaciones de caña de azúcar. El tratado incluyó también la importación, libre de impuestos, de arroz hawaiano. Los nuevos cultivos supusieron la afluencia masiva de inmigrantes procedentes de Asia (primero chinos, japoneses más tarde e incluso europeos del sur56), mano de obra barata, necesaria para facilitar el cultivo e industrialización de la caña de azúcar, y también la expansión del cultivo de arroz y la consecuente casi desaparición de los tradicionales cultivos del taro en las zonas húmedas de las islas (las lo’i) provocando impactos económicos, sociales y culturales de largo alcance.
La cultura de caña de azúcar y la agricultura de plantaciones fue ampliada enormemente.
Se exigió un alto requisito de agua dulce para el cultivo de la caña de azúcar, implicando enormes obras de desvío de los arroyos de las laderas húmedas de barlovento a las zonas secas de las tierras bajas.
La llegada de inmigrantes asiáticos fue alentada para trabajar en las plantaciones (pronto los inmigrantes superarían numéricamente a la población nativa).
El taro, alimento básico y tradicional de Hawái, fue sustituido por el arroz, para satisfacer el creciente mercado local constituido por los inmigrantes.
El texto que sigue es una traducción defectuosa. Si quieres colaborar con Wikipedia, busca el artículo original y mejora esta traducción.Copia y pega el siguiente código en la página de discusión del autor: {{subst:Aviso mal traducido|Historia de Hawái}} ~~~~
Hasta la anexión en 1898, Hawái fue un estado independiente, reconocido por Alemania, Estados Unidos, Francia, Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda y Rusia, con intercambio de embajadores. Sin embargo, había algunos desafíos a los gobernadores reinantes en Hawái durante el periodo de transición del reino independiente a la llamada «república».
En 1887 un grupo de funcionarios y asesores del gabinete del Rey David Kalākaua y una milicia armada obligaron al rey a promulgar lo que se conoce por sus críticos como la «Constitución Bayoneta«. El impulso tras de la imposición de la Constitución de 1887 fue la frustración de los miembros del Partido Reformista (conocido también como el Partido Misionero), con el aumento de la deuda del Reino, los hábitos de gasto del Rey, y el gobierno general del Reino. La Constitución de 1887 despojó a la monarquía de gran parte de su autoridad, supuso imponer cuotas de ingresos y bienes necesarios para participar en las votaciones, y dejó a los migrantes asiáticos completamente privados de votar. Con ello, sólo los residentes europeos, estadounidenses y los nativos hawaianos tuvieron plenos derechos de voto. Cuando Kalākaua murió en 1891, su hermana Liliʻuokalani asumió el trono. Con tibio apoyo de los hawaianos nativos de Hawái y otros ciudadanos, Liliʻuokalani redactó una nueva constitución que restableció la autoridad de la monarquía y reducía los beneficios que estadounidenses y europeos habían obtenido en 1887 de Kalākaua.
En respuesta a Liliʻuokalani en su intento de promulgar una nueva Constitución, un grupo de residentes europeos y estadounidenses en Hawái formaron un «Comité de Seguridad» el 14 de enero de 1893, en oposición a la Reina y sus planes. Después de una reunión masiva de seguidores, el Comité se comprometió a la eliminación de la monarquía, y la búsqueda de la anexión a los Estados Unidos.7
El Ministro de Gobierno de los Estados UnidosJohn L. Stevens, citando preocupaciones sobre posibles amenazas a los civiles y bienes de EE.UU., preparó una compañía de infantería de marina del buque USS Boston y dos compañías de marines para desembarcar en el Reino y tomar posiciones en la Legación y el Consulado de EE.UU. en la tarde del 16 de enero de 1893. El historiador William Russ, dijo que: «el mandato judicial para impedir que la lucha contra cualquier tipo de hecho que sea imposible que la monarquía para protegerse a sí misma«.8 Russ también afirma que el Teniente Comandante WT Swinburne, oficial ejecutivo del USS Boston y el oficial superior en tierra «, mantiene firmemente que Wiltse había aterrizado a las fuerzas estadounidenses para proteger la propiedad, y que si la Reina hubiera solicitado asistencia, la habría recibido».8
Además de la amenaza de la pérdida de sufragio para los ciudadanos europeos y estadounidenses de Hawái, los intereses de las empresas en el Reino estaban preocupados por la supresión de los aranceles extranjeros en el comercio de azúcar de EE.UU. debido a las leyes de comercio internacional propugnadas por el senador estadounidense William McKinley, que podían eliminar de manera efectiva todo trato favorable a los productos hawaianos previstos en el Tratado de Reciprocidad), y consideró la posibilidad de la anexión a Estados Unidos (y disfrutar del mismo azúcar y riquezas como los productores nacionales) como un efecto secundario de acceder a poner fin a la monarquía.
Se creó un gobierno provisional con el firme apoyo del grupo de los Honolulu Rifles, un grupo de milicianos que habían defendido el Reino contra la rebelión en 1889 [cita requerida]. En virtud de esta presión, Liliʻuokalani renunció a su trono en favor de la Comité de Seguridad, el 17 de enero de 1893, pero en su últma declaración también abogó por la justicia:Yo Liliʻuokalani, por la gracia de Dios y en virtud de la Constitución del Reino de Hawái, Reina, formulo solemnemente protesta contra todo y cada uno de los actos realizados en contra de mí misma y el Gobierno Constitucional del Reino de Hawái por ciertas personas que afirman haber establecido un Gobierno provisional de y para este Reino.Que me entregó a la fuerza superior de los Estados Unidos de América cuyo Ministro Plenipotenciario Su Excelencia John L. Stevens, ha enviado tropas de los Estados Unidos que atracaron en Honolulú y declaró que apoyaría el Gobierno provisional.Ahora para evitar cualquier choque de fuerzas armadas, y quizás la pérdida de vidas, hago esto bajo protesta e impulsada por la fuerza de mi autoridad, fijando mi rendición hasta el momento en que el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos, a los hechos que se le presenta, deshaga la acción de sus representantes y restablezca la autoridad en mí que me reclaman como la Soberana Constitucional de las Islas Hawái.
Una investigación inmediata sobre los acontecimientos del derrocamiento de la reina, fue encargado por el Presidente Cleveland y se llevó a cabo por el excongresista James Henderson Blount. El Informe Blount se terminó el 17 de julio de 1893 y llegó a la conclusión de que «los Estados Unidos concluyen que representantes diplomáticos y militares habían abusado de su autoridad y son responsables de los cambios en el gobierno.«
El Ministro Stevens se recordó, y el comandante militar de las fuerzas en Hawaiʻi que estaba obligado a dimitir de su comisión. Presidente Cleveland declaró «sustanciales mal ha sido, pues, hacer que una debida consideración de carácter nacional, así como los derechos de las personas heridas exige que debe esforzarse en reparar la monarquía». Cleveland declaró además en su discurso del Estado de la Unión de 18939 y que, «el momento de los hechos desarrollados me parecía la única honorables supuesto para nuestro Gobierno es perseguir a deshacer el mal que se ha hecho por nosotros y las que representan a restablecer en la medida de lo posible la situación existente en el momento de nuestra fuerza de intervención «. Someter el asunto al Congreso el 18 de diciembre de 1893, después de que el Presidente Sanford Ballard Dole se negó a reincorporar a la Reina en el Comando Cleveland, el Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, presidido por Morgan, en la continuación de las investigaciones sobre la cuestión.
El 26 de febrero de 1894, el Informe Morgan se presentó, lo que contradice el Informe Blount y encontrar a Stevens y las tropas de los EE.UU. «no culpables» de toda participación en el derrocamiento. El informe afirma que, «La queja por Liliʻuokalani en la protesta que le envió al Presidente de los Estados Unidos y de fecha el 18 de enero, no es, en opinión de la comisión, bien fundada, de hecho o de la justicia.»10 Después de la presentación de la Informe Morgan, Cleveland optó por no dar curso al asunto y realizó relaciones diplomáticas normales con el Gobierno provisional y más tarde, la República de Hawaiʻi He rechazado más ruegos de la Reina, además de intervenir en el asunto. Sin embargo, el 23 de noviembre de 1993 fue promulgada la (Ley Pública de Estados Unidos 103-150), una resolución de petición de disculpas aprobada por el Congreso de Estados Unidos (S.J.Res.19), propuesta por los senadores de Hawái Daniel Akaka y Daniel Inouye, que reconoce que el derrocamiento del Reino de Hawái se produjo con la participación activa de agentes y ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos.
En 1895, una rebelión dirigida por el fracasado Robert Wilcox trataron de derrocar la República de Hawái, y condujo a la condena y el encarcelamiento de la ex Reina Liliʻuokalani.
El presidente Dwight D. Eisenhower firmó una carta el 18 de marzo de 1959 que permitía la estatalidad hawaiana. Hawái se convirtió oficialmente en el 50° estado de la Unión el 21 de agosto de 1959 luego de una votación del 94% a favor de la estatalidad. El Democratic Party se hizo una fuerza dominante en las políticas estatales apenas terminada la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Los demócratas han sido mayoría en las dos casas de la legislatura desde la proclamación del 18 de marzo de 1959 y han estado en el gobierno por 40 años, desde 1962 al 2002.
Para algunos, la forma en que Hawái se convirtió en una posesión de los Estados Unidos ha sido una pequeña parte de su historia en los últimos años. Aunque los nativos hawaianos disolvieron sus partidos políticos anti-anexión y crearon el Home Rule Party of Hawaii para gobernar el territorio después de la anexión y lucharon por la estatalidad durante décadas, en las últimas ha habido pequeños movimientos étnicos soberanistas.
Hay una constante en las posiciones políticas dentro del movimiento por la soberanía, oscilando entre los partidarios de la Carta de Akaka (la cual goza del apoyo de muchos de los políticos hawaianos de los partidos Democráta y Republicano) hasta abogar por la separación de los Estados Unidos.
Con el apoyo de los senadores Daniel Inouye, de Estados Unidos, y Daniel Akaka, de Hawái, el Congreso aprobó la «Apology Resolution» (US Public Law 103-150), una resolución conjunta del Congreso de los Estados Unidos. La misma fue firmada por el presidente Bill Clinton el 23 de noviembre de 1993. Esta resolución pedía perdón «de parte del pueblo de los Estados Unidos a los nativos hawaianos por el derrocamiento del Reino de Hawái el 17 de enero de 1893, y por la privación del derecho a la autodeterminación del pueblo hawaiano.»
La base histórica y real de la disculpa ha sido criticada por el erudito y abogado constitucional Bruce Fein,12 investigador y activista Kenneth Conklin13 y por el erudito hawaiano Rubellite K. Johnson (descendiente de Kamehameha el Grande y uno de los fundadores de los programas de Estudios Hawaianos en la Universidad de Hawái).14 La Sra. Johnson ha dicho públicamente que «..la mayor parte de la historia que se enseñaba en su antigua universidad y ahora utilizada para justificar la Carta Akaka es una ‘tergiversación de la verdad.'»14
El senador Akaka también es el autor de una carta que posiblemente extendería el reconocimiento federal a los nativos hawaianos como un grupo soberano similar a las tribus nativas americanas, proveyéndoles de un proceso de reorganización para la particular entidad gubernamental de los nativos, y reafirmando la especial relación política y legal entre los Estados Unidos y la entidad gubernamental de los nativos hawaianos con propósitos de continuar una relación de gobierno a gobierno. Los críticos sugieren que tales acciones no tienen precedentes y que las provisiones de la Carta Akaka otorgarían reconocimiento sin ninguna de las mismas calificaciones necesarias para el reconocimiento tribal. La «Carta Akaka» fue recientemente tratada en el Senado, sin embargo, una tendencia a votar la moción falló con 56 votos contra 41, 4 votos menos de lo necesario para ser aprobada.
↑ Kane, Herb Kawainui (1996). «The Manila Galleons». Bob Dye, ed. Hawáiʻ Chronicles: Island History from the Pages of Honolulu MagazineI. Honolulu: University of Hawáii Press. pp. 25-32. ISBN0-8248-1829-6.
↑ Hawáii National Park. (June 1959). «Hawáii Nature Notes«. The Publication of the Naturalist Division, Hawáii National Park, and the Hawáii Natural History Association.
↑# AFFIDAVIT_OF_F._W._McCHESNEY. El Informe Morgan, p817 «Se habló en la reunión de la comisión en WR’s Castle, en la siguiente (domingo) por la mañana, de que la derogación de las resoluciones de la monarquía y la pronunciación de la anexión, ofrecido en la reunión de masas;»
↑ Saltar a:ab Russ, William Adam (1992). The Hawaiian Revolution (1893-94). Associated University Presses. pp. 333-350. ISBN0945636431.
Daws, Gavan, Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands, Macmillan, New York, 1968. Paperback edition, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1974
Kuykendall, R., Hawaiian Kingdom, 3 vols, 1938-1967
The history of Hawaii describes the era of human settlements in the Hawaiian Islands. That history begins sometime between 124 and 1120 AD,[1] when the islands were first settled by Polynesians. Hawaiian civilization was isolated from the rest of the world for at least 500 years.
Europeans led by British explorer James Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778. However, some researchers state the Spanish captain Ruy López de Villalobos was the first European to see the islands in 1542.[2][3] Within five years after Cook’s arrival, European military technology helped Kamehameha I conquer and unify the islands for the first time, establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii. The kingdom was prosperous and important for its agriculture and strategic location in the Pacific.
American immigration began almost immediately after Cook’s arrival, led by Protestant missionaries. Americans set up plantations to grow sugar. Their methods of plantation farming required substantial labor. Waves of permanent immigrants came from Japan, China, and the Philippines to work in the fields. The government of Japan organized and gave special protection to its people, who comprised about 25 percent of the Hawaiian population by 1896.[4]
The native population succumbed to disease brought by the Europeans (particularly smallpox), declining from 300,000 in the 1770s to over 60,000 in the 1850s to 24,000 in 1920.[5] Americans within the kingdom government rewrote the constitution, severely curtailing the power of King «David» Kalākaua, and disenfranchising the rights of most Native Hawaiians and Asian citizens to vote, through excessively high property and income requirements. This gave a sizeable advantage to plantation owners. Queen Liliuokalani attempted to restore royal powers in 1893 but was placed under house arrest by businessmen with help from the US military. Against the Queen’s wishes, the Republic of Hawaii was formed for a short time. This government agreed on behalf of Hawaii to join the US in 1898 as the Territory of Hawaii. In 1959, the islands became the state of Hawaii of the United States.
The date of the first settlements of the Hawaiian Islands is a topic of continuing debate.[6]Patrick Vinton Kirch‘s books on Hawaiian archeology, standard textbooks, date the first Polynesian settlements to about 300, with more recent suggestions by Kirch as late as 600. Other theories suggest dates as late as 700 to 800.[6] The most recent survey of carbon-dating evidence puts the arrival of the first settlers at around A.D. 940–1130.[7]
The history of the ancient Polynesians was passed down through genealogy chants that were recited at formal and family functions. The genealogy of the high chiefs could be traced back to the period believed to be inhabited only by gods. The pua aliʻi («flower of royalty») were considered to be living gods.[8]
By about 1000, settlements founded along the perimeters of the islands were beginning to cultivate food in gardens.[9]
A Tahitian priest named Pā‘ao is said to have brought a new order to the islands around 1200. The new order included new laws and a new social structure that separated the people into classes. The aliʻi nui was the king, with his ʻaha kuhina just below them. The aliʻi were the royal nobles with the kahuna (high priest) below them, the makaʻāinana (commoners) next with the kauā below them as the lowest ranking social caste.[10]
The rulers of the Hawaiian islands (noho aliʻi o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻAina) are a line of Native Hawaiians who were independent rulers of various subdivisions of the islands of Hawaii. Their genealogy is traced to Hānalaʻanui and others.[11] The aliʻi nui were responsible for making sure the people observed a strict kapu (a code of conduct relating to taboos). The system had rules regarding many aspects of Hawaiian social order, fishing rights and even where women could eat. After the death of Kamehameha I, the system was abolished, and the Hawaiian religion soon fell as the gods were abandoned.[12]
By 1500 Hawaiians began to spread to the interiors of the islands and religion was more emphasized.[9]
Religion in Hawaii is much the same as most other Polynesian cultures, with a theology, ritual and a code of conduct.[13] There are many gods and heroes. Wākea, the Sky Father, wed Papahānaumoku, the Earth Mother. From their union came all others, including the other gods.[13]
Hawaiian religion was polytheistic, with four deities most prominent: Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa. Other notable deities include Laka, Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahānaumoku, and, most famously, Pele. In addition, each family is considered to have one or more guardian spirits or family gods known as ʻaumakua to protect them.[14] One such god is Iolani, the god of aliʻi families.[13]
One breakdown of the Hawaiian pantheon[15] consists of the following groups:
four major gods (ka hā) – Kū, Kāne, Lono, Kanaloa
forty male gods or aspects of Kāne (ke kanahā)
four hundred gods and goddesses (ka lau)
a multitude of gods and goddesses (ke kini akua)
spirits (na ʻunihipili)
guardians (na ʻaumākua)
Another breakdown[16] consists of three major groups:
four gods, or akua: Kū, Kāne, Lono, Kanaloa
many lesser gods, or kupua, each associated with certain professions
guardian spirits, ʻaumakua, associated with particular families
Liloa, Hākau and ʻUmi a Līloa
Liloa
Līloa was a legendary ruler of the island of Hawaii in the late 15th century.[17] His royal compound was in Waipiʻo Valley. His line is traced to Hawaiian «creation».[18]
Līloa had two sons; his firstborn Hākau from his wife Pinea, (his mother’s sister), and his second son, ʻUmi a Līloa from his lesser ranking wife, Akahi a Kuleana.[19] Upon his death, elevated Hākau as ruler and delegated religious authority to ʻUmi.[20] Akahi a Kuleana was of a lesser line of chiefs who Liloa had fallen in love with when he discovered her bathing in a river. The couple met when Liloa was visiting Hamakua. He claimed his right to her as King and she accepted.
Līloa was the first born son of Kiha nui lulu moku, one of the noho aliʻi (ruling elite). He descended from Hāna laʻa nui.[11][22] Līloa’s mother, Waioloa, his grandmother, Neʻula and great grandmother, Laʻa kapu were of the ʻEwa aliʻi lines of Oahu.[11][20] Liloa’s father ruled Hawaii as aliʻi nui and upon his death elevated Līloa. Kiha had had four other sons, Kaunuamoa, Makaoku, Kepailiula and Hoolana, whose descendants are the Kaiakea family of Molokai, distant relatives of Abraham Fornander‘s daughter.[23]
In his book, David Malo described how Liloa originated the practice of moe āikane, the sexual relationship between males.[24] The relationships had no social stigma and were accepted practice beginning with the aliʻi and then copied by the other classes. Warriors engaged in the practice. The relationships cannot be defined as bisexuality. In many cases the men involved felt it an honor and responsibility to honor their hana lawelawe.[24]
Hākau
Just before his death, Liloa bestowed on Hākau the succession as Chief, telling Umi that he was to serve as his «man» (Prime Minister) and that both were to respect the other and should either have issue with the other it would be for them to decide. At first a decent king, Hākau soon became brutal. To avoid his brother’s anger, ‘Umi exiled himself to another district.
Hākau refused to help Nunu and Ka-hohe, his father’s two favorite, ailing Kahuna who had requested food. This was considered highly insulting.[25] The two were of the priestly class of the god Lono. They resented their treatment and plotted to see the kingdom in someone else’s hand.[26] Hākau did not believe the priests to have any power and disrespected them as ‘Umi was the spiritual authority[18] This was a period in when no King could defy a Kahuna. Many had a royal bloodline, land and could leave their temples as warriors when needed, but could never relinquish their spiritual responsibilities.[27] Through a messenger of Kaoleioku, of Waipunalei, the high-priest of the temple of Manini, at Koholalele the two priests contacted Umi’s court. The two priests traveled to Waipunalei where they supported Umi’s revolt.[18]
When Hākau received news that his brother was preparing to war against him, he sent his main forces out to immediately prepare by seeking feathers to adorn their war regalia. After the men had left and Hākau was undefended, Umi’s men came forward with a deception that they were there with bundles of offerings for the king. When the bundles were dropped to the ground they were filled with rocks they used to stone Hākau to death.Umi was given a number of royal tokens to prove he was the son of Liloa, including a Niho Palaoa. The lei (necklace) was made of braided human hair and whale bone.
ʻUmi-a-Līloa
ʻUmi-a-Līloa was a ruling aliʻi ai moku (district high chief of Hawai’i). He became chief after the death of his half brother Hākau[28] and was considered a just ruler, religious[29] and the first to unite almost all of the Big Island.[30] The legend of ʻUmi-a-Līloa is one of the most popular hero sagas in Hawaiian history.[31]
Liloa told Akahi that, if she were to have a male child, she should present the boy to him along with royal tokens he gave her as gifts, to prove her boy was the son of the king. Akahi hid the tokens from her husband and later gave birth to a son. At the age of 15 or 16, his stepfather was punishing the boy when his mother intervened and told the man not to touch him because the boy was his lord and chief. She uncovered the tokens to present to her husband to prove the high treason he would have committed. Akahi gave her son the royal malo and lei niho palaoa given to her by ‘Umi’s biological father. Only high chiefs wore these items. She sent ‘Umi to Waipiʻo Valley to present himself to the king as his son.
Liloa’s palace was guarded and attended by several Kahuna. The entire enclosure was sacred. Entering without permission carried the death penalty. Umi entered the enclosure with attendants afraid to stop someone wearing the royal insignia and walked straight to Liloa’s sleeping quarters, waking him there. When Liloa asked who he was, he said «It is I, ‘Umi your son». He then placed the tokens at his father’s feet and Liloa proclaimed him to be his son. After learning of ‘Umi, Hākau became upset. Liloa assured his first born that he would be king after his death and his brother would serve him. ‘Umi was brought to court on an equal footing with Hākau. Living within Liloa’s court alongside his brother, Umi found great favor from his father, increasing Hākau’s dislike.[35]
In exile, ‘Umi took wives and began building forces and followers. Chiefs began to believe him to be of the highest chiefly nature from signs they observed. He gave food to people and became known for caring for all.
After Hākau’s death the other aliʻi of the island claimed their districts for themselves. ‘Umi took the advice of the two priests by marrying many woman of high noble rank, including his half sister Kapukini and the daughter of the ruler of Hilo, where he had been given sanctuary during Hākau’s reign. Eventually Umi conquered the entire island.[28][31]
After unifying the island of Hawaii, ‘Umi was faithful to those who had supported him, and allowed his three most faithful companions, and the two Kahuna who had aided him, to help him govern.[31]
Aikāne
Aikāne relationships or (mostly male) homosexual or bisexual activity in the pre-colonial era was an accepted tradition.[36] These relationships were accepted as part of ancient Hawaiian culture.[37] Such sexual relationships may begin in the teens and continue thereafter, even though they have heterosexual partners.[38] The Hawaiian aikāne relationship was a part of Hawaiian noble life, including that of Kamehameha I. Some myths refer to women’s desires and therefore some women may have been involved in aikāne relationships as well.[39]
Lieutenant James King stated that «all the chiefs had them» and recounts a tale that James Cook was actually asked by one chief to leave Lt. King behind, considering such offer a great honor. Members of Cook’s crew related tales of the tradition with great disdain. American adventurer and sailor John Ledyard commented in detail about the tradition.[40]
Land was divided up in strict adherence to the wishes of the Ali‘i Nui. The traditional system of land has four hierarchical levels:
mokupuni (island)
moku (subdivisions of an island)
ahupuaʻa (subdivision of moku)
ʻili (two or three per ahupuaʻa, but Kahoolawe for example had eight)
Some oral history relates that ʻUmi a Līloa created the ahupuaʻa system.[41] The system exploited the fact that communities were already organized along stream systems. The community governance system of Kānāwai is attributed specifically to shared water usage.
The Hawaiian agricultural system contained two major classes; irrigated and rain-fed (dryland) systems. Irrigated systems mainly supported taro (kalo) cultivation. Rain-fed systems were known as the mala. There they cultivated uala (sweet potatoes), yams, and dryland taro[42] along with coconuts (niu), breadfruit (ʻulu), bananas (maiʻa) and sugarcane (ko). The kukui tree (Aleurites moluccanus) was sometimes used as a shade to protect the mala from the sun.[43] Each crop was carefully placed in an area most suitable to its needs.[44]
Hawaiians domesticated dogs, chickens and pigs. They also grew personal gardens at home. Water was a very important part of Hawaiian life; it was used for fishing, bathing, drinking, and gardening, and for aquaculture systems in the rivers and at the shore’s edge.[42]
Ahupuaʻa most frequently consisted of a section of an island that went from the top of the local mountain to the shore, often following the boundary of a stream. Each ahupuaʻa included a lowland mala and upland forested region.[45] Ahupuaʻa varied in size depending on the economic means of the location and political divisions of the area. «As the native Hawaiians used the resources within their ahupuaʻa, they practiced aloha (respect), laulima (cooperation) and malama (stewardship) which resulted in a desirable pono (balance)». The Hawaiians believed that the land, the sea, the clouds and all of nature had a certain interconnectedness which is why they used all of the resources around them to reach the desired balance in life.[46] Sustainability was maintained by the konohiki and kahuna: priests, who restricted the fishing of certain species during specific seasons. They also regulated the gathering of plants.[47]
The term «ahupuaʻa» is derived from the Hawaiian words ahu «heap, cairn» and puaʻa «pig«. The boundary markers for ahupuaʻa were traditionally heaps of stones used to hold offers to the island chief, which was often a pig.
Each ahupuaʻa was divided into smaller sections called ʻili and the ʻili were divided into kuleana. These were individual plots of land that were cultivated by commoners who paid labor taxes to the land overseer each week. These taxes went to support the chief.[47] Two possible reasons for this subdivision have been offered:
travel: in many areas of Hawaiʻi, it is easier to travel up- and downstream than from stream valley to stream valley.
economy: having all climate and economic exploitation zones in each land division ensured that each could be self-sufficient for a large portion of its needs.
Governance
The Kingdom was administered by an ali’i chief.[47][48] Divisions were under the control of other smaller chiefs and managed by a steward.[49] The headman of a land division or ahupua`a is a konohiki.[47]Mokus were ruled by an aliʻi ʻaimoku. Ahupua’as were run by a headman or chief called a Konohiki.[21]:p. 71
In Keelikolani vs Robinson, kononiki is defined as a Land Agent. In Territory vs Bishop Trust Co. LTD., when the agent was appointed by a chief, they were referred to as konohiki. The term could also be a designated area of land owned privately as compared to being owned by the government.[50] A chief of lands retained life tenure on the land even after being discharged from the position, but a head man overseeing the same land had no such protection.[51]
Often ali’i and konohiki are treated synonymously. However, while most konohiki were ali’i nobility, not all ali’i were konohiki. The Hawaiian dictionary defines konohiki as a headman of a land division, but also to describe fishing rights. Kono means to entice or prompt. Hiki refers to something that can be done. The konohiki was a relative of the ali’i and oversaw the property, managing water rights, land distribution, agricultural use and any maintenance. The konohiki also ensured that the right amounts of gifts and tribute were properly made at the right times.[52]
As capitalism was incorporated into the kingdom the konohiki became tax collectors, landlords and fishery wardens.[52]
CaptainJames Cook led three separate voyages to chart unknown areas of the globe for the British Empire.[53] On his third voyage he encountered Hawaii.[54] He first sighted the islands on 18 January 1778.[55] He anchored off the coast of Kauai and met with the local inhabitants to trade and obtain water and food for their continued voyage. On 2 February 1778, Cook continued on to the coast of North America and Alaska searching for a Northwest Passage for approximately nine months. He returned to the Hawaii chain to resupply, initially exploring the coasts of Maui and Hawaii Island to trade. He anchored in Kealakekua Bay in January 1779. After departing Kealakekua, he returned in February 1779 after a ship’s mast broke in bad weather.[56]
On the night of 13 February, while anchored in the bay, one of his only two longboats (lifeboats used to ferry to/from ship/shore) was stolen by the Hawaiians.[57] In retaliation, Cook tried to kidnap the aliʻi nui of Hawaii Island, Kalaniʻōpuʻu. On 14 February 1779 Cook confronted an angry crowd. Kanaʻina approached Cook, who reacted by striking the royal attendant with the broad side of his sword. Kanaʻina picked up the navigator and dropped him while another attendant, Nuaa killed Cook with a knife.[58]
The Kingdom of Hawaii lasted from 1795 until its overthrow in 1893 with the fall of the House of Kalakaua.[59]
Main article: House of KamehamehaKamehameha I, founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The origins of the House of Kamehameha can be traced to half brothers, Kalaniʻōpuʻu and Keōua. Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s father was Kalaninuiʻīamamao while Keōua’s father was Kalanikeʻeaumoku, both sons of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku.[61] They shared a common mother, Kamakaʻīmoku. Both brothers served Alapaʻinui, the ruling King of Hawaii Island. Hawaiian genealogy notes that Keōua may not have been Kamehameha’s biological father, and that Kahekili II might have been his biological father.[61][62] Regardless, Kamehameha I’s descent from Keawe remains intact through his mother, Kekuʻiapoiwa II, a granddaughter of Keawe. Keōua acknowledged him as his son and this relationship is recognized by official genealogies.[61]
The traditional mele chant of Keaka, wife of Alapainui, indicates that Kamehameha I was born in the month of ikuwā (winter) around November.[63] Alapai gave the young Kamehameha to his wife Keaka and her sister Hākau to care for after the ruler discovered the boy had lived.[64][65]Samuel Kamakau, wrote, «It was during the time of the warfare among the chiefs of [the island of] Hawaii which followed the death of Keawe, chief over the whole island (Ke-awe-i-kekahi-aliʻi-o-ka-moku) that Kamehameha I was born». However, his general dating was challenged.[66]Abraham Fornander wrote, «when Kamehameha died in 1819 he was past eighty years old. His birth would thus fall between 1736 and 1740, probably nearer the former than the latter».[67] William De Witt Alexander lists the birth date as 1736.[68] He was first named Paiea but took the name Kamehameha, meaning «The very lonely one» or «The one set alone».[69][70]
Kamehameha’s uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu raised him after Keōua’s death. Kalaniʻōpuʻu ruled Hawaii as did his grandfather Keawe. He had advisors and priests. When word reached the ruler that chiefs were planning to murder the boy, he told Kamehameha:The god Kū-ka-ili-moku was left to Kamehameha I by his uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu
«My child, I have heard the secret complaints of the chiefs and their mutterings that they will take you and kill you, perhaps soon. While I am alive they are afraid, but when I die they will take you and kill you. I advise you to go back to Kohala.» «I have left you the god; there is your wealth.»[61]
After Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death, Kīwalaʻō took his father’s place as first born and ruled the island while Kamehameha became the religious authority. Some chiefs supported Kamehameha and war soon broke out to overthrow Kīwalaʻō. After multiple battles the king was killed and envoys sent for the last two brothers to meet with Kamehameha. Keōua and Kaōleiokū arrived in separate canoes. Keōua came to shore first where a fight broke out and he and all aboard were killed. Before the same could happen to the second canoe, Kamehameha intervened. In 1793 Captain George Vancouver sailed from the United Kingdom and presented the Union Flag to Kamehameha, who was still in the process of uniting the islands into a single state; the Union Jack flew unofficially as the flag of Hawaii until 1816,[71] including during a brief spell of British rule after Kamehameha ceded Hawaii to Vancouver in 1794.
By 1795, Kamehameha had conquered all but one of the main islands. For his first royal residence, the new King built the first western-style structure in the Hawaiian Islands, known as the «Brick Palace«.[72] The location became the seat of government for the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1845.[73][74] The king commissioned the structure to be built at Keawa’iki point in Lahaina, Maui.[75] Two ex-convicts from Australia‘s Botany Bay penal colony built the home.[76] It was begun in 1798 and was completed after 4 years in 1802.[77][78] The house was intended for Kaʻahumanu,[79] but she refused to live in the structure and resided instead in an adjacent, traditional Hawaiian-styled home.[75]
Kamehameha I had many wives but held two in the highest regard. Keōpūolani was the highest ranking aliʻi of her time[80] and mother to his sons, Liholiho and Kauikeaouli. Kaʻahumanu was his favorite. Kamehameha I died in 1819, succeeded by Liholiho.[81]
Kamehameha II in England with Queen and entourage
After Kamehameha I’s death, Liholiho left Kailua for a week and returned to be crowned king. At the lavish ceremony attended by commoners and nobles he approached the circle of chiefs, as Kaʻahumanu, the central figure in the group and Dowager Queen, said, «Hear me O Divine one, for I make known to you the will of your father. Behold these chiefs and the men of your father, and these your guns, and this your land, but you and I shall share the realm together». Liholiho agreed officially, which began a unique system of dual-government consisting of a King and co-ruler similar to a regent.[82] Kamehameha II shared his rule with his stepmother, Kaʻahumanu. She defied Hawaiian kapu by dining with the young king, separating the sexes during meals, leading to the end of the Hawaiian religion. Kamehameha II died, along with his wife, Queen Kamāmalu in 1824 on a state visit to England, succumbing to measles. He was King for 5 years.[81]
The couple’s remains were returned to Hawaii by Boki. Aboard the ship The Blond his wife Liliha and Kekūanāoʻa were baptized as Christians. Kaʻahumanu also converted and became a powerful Christian influence on Hawaiian society until her death in 1832.[83] Since the new king was only 12 years old, Kaʻahumanu was now senior ruler and named Boki as her Kuhina Nui.
Boki left Hawaii on a trip to find sandalwood to cover a debt and was lost at sea. His wife, Liliha took the governorship of Maui and unsuccessfully attempted to whip up a revolt against Kaʻahumanu, who upon Boki’s departure, had installed Kīnaʻu as a co-governor.[83]
Kaʻahumanu was born on Maui around 1777. Her parents were aliʻi of a lower-ranking line. She became Kamehameha’s consort when she was fourteen. George Vancouver states: «[O]ne of the finest woman we had yet seen on any of the islands».[84] To wed the young woman, Kamehameha had to consent to make her children his heirs to the Kingdom, although she had no issue.[18]
Before his death, Kamehameha selected Kaʻahumanu to rule along with his son. Kaʻahumanu had also adopted the boy.[85] She had the highest political clout in the islands. A portrait artist remarked of her: «This Old Dame is the most proud, unbending Lady in the whole island. As the widow of [Kamehameha], she possesses unbound authority and respect, not any of which she is inclined to lay aside on any occasion whatsoever».[86] She was one of Hawaii’s most influential leaders.[87]
Sugar became a major export from Hawaii soon after Cook’s arrival.[88] The first permanent plantation began in Kauai in 1835. William Hooper leased 980 acres of land from Kamehameha III and began growing sugarcane. Within thirty years plantations operated on the four main islands. Sugar completely altered Hawaii’s economy.[89]
American influence in Hawaiian government began with U.S. plantation owners demanding a say in Kingdom politics. This was driven by missionary religion and sugar economics. Pressure from these plantation owners was felt by the King and chiefs as demands for land tenure. After the brief 1843 takeover by the British, Kamehameha III responded to the demands with the Great Mahele, distributing the lands to all Hawaiians as advocated by missionaries including Gerrit P. Judd.[90]
During the 1850s, the U.S. import tariff on sugar from Hawaii was much higher than the import tariffs Hawaiians were charging the U.S., and Kamehameha III sought reciprocity.[91] The monarch wished to lower U.S. tariffs and make Hawaiian sugar competitive with other foreign suppliers. In 1854 Kamehameha III proposed a policy of reciprocity between the countries, but the proposal died in the U.S. Senate.[92]
U.S. control of Hawaii was considered vital for the defense of its west coast. The military was especially interested in Pu’uloa, Pearl Harbor.[93] The sale of one harbor was proposed by Charles Reed Bishop, a foreigner who had married into the Kamehameha family, had risen to be Hawaiian Minister of Foreign Affairs and owned a country home near Pu’uloa. He showed two U.S. officers around the lochs, although his wife, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, privately disapproved of selling Hawaiian lands. As monarch, William Charles Lunalilo, was content to let Bishop run most business affairs, but the ceding of lands became unpopular with Hawaiians. Many islanders thought that all the islands, rather than just Pearl Harbor, might be lost and opposed any cession. By November 1873, Lunalilo canceled negotiations and returned to drinking, against his doctor’s advice; his health declined swiftly, and he died on February 3, 1874.[93]King David Kalākaua
Lunalilo left no heirs. The legislature was empowered by the constitution to elect the monarch in these instances[94] and chose David Kalākaua as Lunalilo’s successor.[95] The new ruler was pressured by the U.S. government to surrender Pearl Harbor to the Navy.[95] Kalākaua was concerned that this would lead to annexation by the U.S. and to violating the traditions of the Hawaiian people, who believed that the land (‘Āina) was fertile, sacred and not for sale.[95] From 1874 through 1875, Kalākaua made a state visit to Washington DC to gather support for a new treaty.[96][97] Congress agreed to the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 for seven years in exchange for Ford Island.[98][99] After the treaty, sugar production expanded from 12,000 acres to 125,000 acres in 1891.[100] At the end of the seven-year term, the United States showed little interest in renewal.[101]
On January 20, 1887, the United States began leasing Pearl Harbor.[102] Shortly afterwards, a group of mostly non-Hawaiians calling themselves the Hawaiian Patriotic League began the Rebellion of 1887.[103] They drafted their own constitution on July 6, 1887.[104] The new constitution was written by Lorrin Thurston, the Hawaiian Minister of the Interior who used the Hawaiian militia to threaten Kalākaua.[102] Kalākaua was forced to dismiss his cabinet ministers and sign a new constitution that greatly lessened his power.[95] It would become known as the «Bayonet Constitution» due to the threat of force.[102]Lorrin Thurston, Minister of the Interior (Hawaii)
Grover Cleveland was president at the time, and his secretary of state Thomas F. Bayard sent written instructions to the American minister George W. Merrill that in the event of another revolution in Hawaii, it was a priority to protect American commerce, lives and property. Bayard specified, «the assistance of the officers of our Government vessels, if found necessary, will therefore be promptly afforded to promote the reign of law and respect for orderly government in Hawaii.»[105] In July 1889, there was a small scale rebellion, and Minister Merrill landed Marines to protect Americans; the State Department explicitly approved his action. Merrill’s replacement, minister John L. Stevens, read those official instructions, and followed them in his controversial actions of 1893. [106]
Although Kalākaua’s signature alone had no legal power, the new constitution allowed the monarch to appoint cabinet ministers, but stripped him of the power to dismiss them without approval from the Legislature.[107] Eligibility to vote for the House of Nobles was altered, requiring that both candidates and voters own property valued three thousand dollars or more, or have an annual income of six hundred dollars or more.[108] This disenfranchised two thirds of native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups who had previously been eligible to vote.[109] This constitution benefited the foreign plantation owners.[110] With the legislature now responsible for naturalizing aliens, Americans and Europeans could retain their home country citizenship and vote as citizens of the kingdom.[111] Along with voting privileges, Americans could hold office and still retain their American citizenship, something not afforded in any other nation[112] and even allowed Americans to vote without becoming naturalized.[113] Asian immigrants were no longer able to acquire citizenship or vote.[114]
Kalākaua’s distant cousin, a native Hawaiian officer and veteran of the Italianmilitary, Robert William Wilcox returned to Hawaii at about the same time as Liliʻuokalani[116] in October 1887 when the funding for his study program stopped. Wilcox, Charles B. Wilson, Princess Liliʻuokalani, and Sam Nowlein plotted to overthrow King Kalākaua and replace him with Liliʻuokalani. 300 Hawaiian conspirators hid in Iolani Barracks and an alliance was formed with the Royal Guard, but the plot was accidentally discovered in January 1888, less than 48 hours before the revolt.[117] No one was prosecuted, but Wilcox was exiled. On February 11, 1888 Wilcox left Hawaii for San Francisco, intending to return to Italy with his wife.
Princess Liliʻuokalani was offered the throne several times by the Missionary Party who had forced the Bayonet Constitution on her brother, but she believed she would become a powerless figurehead like her brother and rejected the offers.[118] In January 1891, Kalākaua traveled to San Francisco for his health, staying at the Palace Hotel. He died there on January 20.[119] She then ascended the throne. Queen Liliʻuokalani called her brother’s reign «a golden age materially for Hawaii».[120]Queen Liliʻuokalani
Liliʻuokalani assumed the throne in the middle of an economic crisis. The McKinley Act had crippled the Hawaiian sugar industry by removing the duties on sugar imports from other countries into the US, eliminating the previous Hawaiian advantage due to the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875.[121] Many Hawaii businesses and citizens lost revenue; in response Liliʻuokalani proposed a lottery system to raise money for her government. Controversially, opium licensing was proposed.[122] Her ministers and closest friends were all opposed to this plan; they unsuccessfully tried to dissuade her from pursuing these initiatives, both of which came to be used against her in the brewing constitutional crisis.[123]
Liliʻuokalani’s chief desire was to restore power to the monarch by abrogating the 1887 Bayonet Constitution and promulgating a new one.[124] The 1893 Constitution would have extended suffrage by reducing some property requirements. It would have disenfranchised many non-citizen Europeans and Americans. The Queen toured several islands on horseback, talking to the people about her ideas and receiving overwhelming support, including a lengthy petition in support of a new constitution. However, when the Queen informed her cabinet of her plans, they withheld their support, uncomfortable with what they expected her opponent’s likely response to be.[125]
Threats to Hawaii’s sovereignty emerged throughout the Kingdom’s history. However, only with the Bayonet Constitution was its sovereignty ultimately compromised. The precipitating event[126] leading to the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893 was Liliʻuokalani’s attempt to promulgate a new constitution. The conspirators’ stated goals were to depose the queen, overthrow the monarchy, and seek Hawaii’s annexation to the U.S.[127][128] The conspirators were five American, one English and one German national.[129]
The overthrow was led by Thurston, who was the grandson of American missionaries[130] and derived his support primarily from the American and European business class and other supporters of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Most of the leaders of the Committee of Safety that deposed the queen were American and European citizens who were Kingdom subjects.[131][132][133] They included legislators, government officers and a Supreme Court Justice of the Hawaiian Kingdom.[134]
On January 16, the Marshal of the Kingdom, Charles B. Wilson was tipped off by detectives of the planned coup. Wilson requested warrants to arrest the 13 Council members and put the Kingdom under martial law. Because the members had strong political ties with U.S. Government Minister John L. Stevens, the requests were repeatedly denied by Attorney General Arthur P. Peterson and the Queen’s cabinet, fearing if approved, the arrests would escalate the situation. After a failed negotiation with Thurston,[135] Wilson began to collect his men for the confrontation. Wilson and Captain of the Royal Household Guard Samuel Nowlein rallied a force of 496 men who were kept at hand to protect the Queen.[136]
The overthrow began on January 17, 1893. A policeman was shot and wounded while trying to stop a wagon carrying weapons to the Honolulu Rifles, the paramilitary wing of the Committee of Safety. The Committee feared the shooting would bring government forces to rout the conspirators and stop the coup before it could begin. The Committee of Safety initiated the overthrow by organizing the Honolulu Rifles made of about 1,500 armed local (non-native) men. The Rifles garrisoned Ali’iolani Hale across the street from ʻIolani Palace and waited for the Queen’s response.USS BostonJohn L. Stevens, an American diplomat, conspired to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii
As these events were unfolding, the Committee of Safety expressed concern for the safety and property of American residents in Honolulu.[137]
The coup efforts were supported by U.S. Government Minister John L. Stevens.[138] The coup left the queen under house arrest at Iolani Palace. The Kingdom briefly became the Republic of Hawaii, before annexation by the United States in 1898. Advised about supposed threats to non-combatant American lives and property[139] by the Committee of Safety, Stevens summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of U.S. sailors to take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. 162 armed sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality. The sailors and Marines did not enter the Palace grounds or take over any buildings, and never fired a shot, but their presence intimidated royalist defenders. Historian William Russ states, «the injunction to prevent fighting of any kind made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.»[140]
In March 1897, William McKinley, a Republican expansionist, succeeded Democrat Grover Cleveland as U.S. President. He prepared a treaty of annexation but it lacked the needed 2/3 majority in the Senate given Democratic opposition. A joint resolution, which does not have the power to annex, written by Democratic Congressman Francis G. Newlands to annex Hawaii passed both the House and Senate; it needed only majority support. The Spanish–American War had broken out and many leaders wanted control of Pearl Harbor to help the United States to become a Pacific power and protect the West Coast. In 1897 Japan sent warships to Hawaii to oppose annexation. The possibility of invasion and annexation by Japan made the decision even more urgent.[141]
McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii on July 7, 1898, creating the Territory of Hawaii. On 22 February 1900 the Hawaiian Organic Act established a territorial government. Annexation opponents held that this was illegal, claiming the Queen was the only legitimate ruler. McKinley appointed Sanford B. Dole as territorial governor. The territorial legislature convened for the first time on February 20, 1901. Hawaiians formed the Hawaiian Independent Party, under the leadership of Robert Wilcox, Hawaii’s first congressional delegate.[142]
Sugarcaneplantations in Hawaii expanded during the territorial period. Some companies diversified and came to dominate related industries including transportation, banking and real estate. Economic and political power was concentrated in what were known as the «Big Five«.
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy, killing almost 2,500 people and sinking the main American battleship fleet. Fortuitously, the four Pacific aircraft carriers were not in port and escaped damage. Hawaii was put under martial law until 1945. Unlike the West Coast of the United States in which 100,000 ethnic Japanese citizens were interned, the Japanese American population in Hawaii completely avoided such similar fate, though hundreds of pro-Japan leaders were arrested. Pearl Harbor was the U.S.’ main forward base for the Pacific War. The Japanese tried to invade in summer 1942 but were defeated at the Battle of Midway. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen passed through on their way to the fighting.[143]
Many Hawaiians served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a U.S. Armyinfantryregiment. The regiment was composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. The regiment fought primarily in Italy, southern France and Germany. The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in American history. Its 4,000 members had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times due to casualties. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (five in one month). Twenty-one of its members, including Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, were awarded Medals of Honor. Its motto was «Go for Broke».[144]
In 1954 a series of non-violent industry-wide strikes, protests and other civil disobedience transpired. In the territorial elections of 1954 the reign of the Hawaii Republican Party in the legislature came to an abrupt end, replaced by the Democratic Party of Hawaii. Democrats lobbied for statehood and held the governorship from 1962 to 2002. The events also unionized the labor force, hastening the plantations’ decline.
Statehood
All islands voted at least 93% in favor of statehood in 1959
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act on March 18, 1959 which allowed for Hawaiian statehood. After a popular referendum in which over 93% voted in favor of statehood, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.[citation needed]
Annexation legacy
For many Native Hawaiians, the manner in which Hawaii became a U.S. territory was illegal. Hawaii Territory governors and judges were direct political appointees of the U.S. President. Native Hawaiians created the Home Rule Party to seek greater self-government. Hawaii was subject to cultural and societal repression during the territorial period and the first decade of statehood.[citation needed] The 1960s Hawaiian Renaissance led to renewed interest in the Hawaiian language, culture and identity.
With the support of Hawaii Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Congress passed a joint resolution called the «Apology Resolution» (US Public Law 103-150). It was signed by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993. This resolution apologized «to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893… and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination.» The implications of this resolution have been extensively debated.[145][146]
In 2000, Akaka proposed what was called the Akaka Bill to extend federal recognition to those of Native Hawaiian ancestry as a sovereign group similar to Native American tribes. The bill did not pass before his retirement.[147]
^ Kane, Herb Kawainui (1996). «The Manila Galleons». In Bob Dye (ed.). Hawáiʻ Chronicles: Island History from the Pages of Honolulu Magazine. I. Honolulu: University of Hawáii Press. pp. 25–32. ISBN0-8248-1829-6.
^ Hawáii National Park. (June 1959). «Hawáii Nature Notes«. The Publication of the Naturalist Division, Hawáii National Park, and the Hawáii Natural History Association.
^ Thomas A. Bailey, «Japan’s Protest Against the Annexation of Hawaii,» Journal of Modern History 3#1 (1931): 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1086/235690.
^ Athens, J. S. (2014). «A paleoenvironment and archeological model-based age estimate for the colonization of Hawai’i». American Antiquity. 79 (1): 144–155. doi:10.7183/0002-7316.79.1.144.
^ Desaulses de Freycinet, Louis Claude; Kelly, Marion (1978). Hawaií in 1819: A Narrative Account. Department of Anthropology, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.
^«konohiki». Merriam-Webster dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ Kircha, P.V. (1990). «Monumental architecture and power in Polynesian chiefdoms: A comparison of Tonga and Hawaii». World Archaeology. 22 (2): 206–222. doi:10.1080/00438243.1990.9980141.
^ Russ, The Hawaiian Revolution, p. 67: «She … defended her act[ions] by showing that, out of a possible 9,500 native voters in 1892, 6,500 asked for a new Constitution.»
^ Daws, Shoal of Time, p271: The Queen’s new cabinet «had been in office less than a week, and whatever they thought about the need for a new constitution… they knew enough about the temper of the queen’s opponents to realize that they would endure the chance to challenge her, and no minister of the crown could look forward… to that confrontation.»
^Kuykendall, Ralph (1967). The Hawaiian Kingdom, Volume 3. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 533 and 587–88. ISBN0-87022-433-6. From Kuykendall, p. 587-588: «W.D. Alexander (History of Later Years of the Hawaiian Monarchy and the Revolution of 1893, p. 37) gives the following as the wording of Thurston’s motion [to launch the coup]: ‘That preliminary steps be taken at once to form and declare a Provisional Government with a view to annexation to the United States.’ Thurston later wrote that his motion was ‘substantially as follows: «I move that it is the sense of this meeting that the solution of the present situation is annexation to the United States.»‘(Memoirs, p. 250) Lt. Lucien Young (The Boston at Hawaii, p. 175) gives the following version of the motion: ‘Resolved, 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.'»
^ Andrade, Jr., Ernest (1996). Unconquerable Rebel: Robert W. Wilcox and Hawaiian Politics, 1880–1903. University Press of Colorado. p. 130. ISBN0-87081-417-6.
^Twombly, Alexander (1900). Hawaii and its people. Silver, Burdett and company. p. 333.
^The Morgan Report, p808-809, «At the request of many citizens, whose wives and families were helpless and in terror of an expected uprising of the mob, which would burn and destroy, a request was made and signed by all of the committee, addressed to Minister Stevens, that troops might be landed to protect houses and private property.
^ Kinzer, S. (2006) America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. p. 30. [Minister Stevens] «certainly overstepped his authority when he brought troops ashore, especially since he knew that the ‘general alarm and terror’ of which the Committee of Safety had complained was a fiction.»
^ «Aloha, Apartheid: A court strikes down a race-based policy in Hawaii, while Congress considers enshrining one». Wall Street Journal. August 8, 2005.
Beechert, Edward D. Working in Hawaii: A Labor History (U of Hawaii Press, 1985) 401pp
Brown, DeSoto and Anne Ellett. Hawaii goes to war: life in Hawaii from Pearl Harbor to peace (1989).
Chapin, Helen. Shaping history: The role of newspapers in Hawai’i (University of Hawaii Press, 1996).
Cochran, Thomas C. and Ray Ginger. «The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, 1899–1919,» Business History Review (1954). 28#4, pp. 342–365.
Forbes, David W. Encounters with paradise: views of Hawaii and its people, 1778–1941 (Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1992).
Greenlee, John Wyatt. «Eight Islands on Four Maps: The Cartographic Renegotiation of Hawai’i, 1876-1959.» Cartographica 50, 3 (2015), 119–140. online
MacLennan, Carol A. Sovereign Sugar, Industry and Environment in Hawaii (2014).
Mak, James. «Creating ‘Paradise of the Pacific’: How Tourism Began in Hawaii.» (No. 2015-1. 2015) online. 82pp
Melendy, Howard Brett, and Rhoda E.A. Hackler. Hawaii, America’s Sugar Territory, 1898–1959 (Edwin Mellen Press, 1999).
Melendy, Howard Brett. Walter Francis Dillingham, 1875–1963: Hawaiian Entrepreneur and Statesman (Edwin Mellen Pr, 1996).
Morgan, William Michael. Pacific Gibraltar: U.S.-Japanese Rivalry Over the Annexation of Hawaii, 1885-1898 (Naval Institute Press, 2011). See online review by Kenneth R. Conklin, PhD
Rohrer, Judy. Haoles in Hawai’i (2010), 124ff.; scholarly survey
Russ, William Adam. The Hawaiian Revolution (1893-94) (1992)
Russ, William Adam. The Hawaiian Republic (1894–98) and its struggle to win annexation (Susquehanna U Press, 1992).
Schmitt, Robert C. Historical Statistics of Hawaii (University Press of Hawaii, 1977).
Siler, Julia Flynn. Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America’s First Imperial Adventure (2012).
Sumida, Stephen H. And the View from the Shore: Literary Traditions of Hawai’i (University of Washington Press, 2015).
Tregaskis, Richard. The warrior king: Hawaii’s Kamehameha the Great (1973).
Wilson, Rob. «Exporting Christian Transcendentalism, Importing Hawaiian Sugar: The Trans-Americanization of Hawai’i.» American Literature 72#.3 (2000): 521–552. online
You must be logged in to post a comment Login