Hawaii

/heuh wuy"ee, -wah"-, -wah"yeuh, hah vah"ee/, n.

1. a state of the United States comprising the N Pacific islands of Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Niihau, and Oahu: a U.S. territory 1900-59; admitted to the Union 1959. 965,000; 6424 sq. mi. (16,715 sq. km). Cap.: Honolulu. Abbr.: HI (for use with zip code), Haw.

2. the largest island of Hawaii, in the SE part. 63,468; 4021 sq. mi. (10,415 sq. km).

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I

Volcanic island, part of the state of Hawaii, U.S. It lies south of Maui and constitutes Hawaii county, with Hilo (pop., 2000: 40,759) the island's main town.

Known as the Big Island, it is the largest in area at 4,028 sq mi (10,433 sq km) and southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Island group. It is the youngest geologically and was formed by five volcanoes connected by lava ridges. Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, is located there in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The island has other volcanic peaks, including Mauna Kea. Sugar, tourism, cattle, orchids, and coffee are the basis of the economy.

II

formerly Sandwich Islands

State (pop., 2000: 1,211,537), U.S., comprising a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean that covers 6,459 sq mi (16,729 sq km).

Its capital is Honolulu. Located 2,397 mi (3,857 km) west of San Francisco, the state's major islands are, from west to east, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii; there are more than 120 islets. The state's active volcanoes include Mauna Loa and Kilauea. People of at least part-Hawaiian descent constitute about one-eighth of Hawaii's total population, followed by those of Japanese ancestry, who constitute one-fourth. The majority of the state's residents live on Oahu. The original Hawaiians were of Polynesian origin and came from the Marquesas Islands с AD 400. Capt. James Cook visited the islands in 1778 and called them the Sandwich Islands. In 1796 Kamehameha I united the group under his rule. American whalers began to stop there; they were followed in 1820 by New England missionaries, and Western influences changed the islands. While Kamehameha III in 1851 placed Hawaii under U.S. protection, a coup later fomented by U.S. sugar interests resulted in the monarchy's overthrow and the establishment of a Republic of Hawaii (1893). In 1898 the new republic and the U.S. agreed on annexation, and in 1900 Hawaii became a U.S. territory. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941 led to U.S. involvement in World War II, and Hawaii became a major naval station. Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. Its largest industry is tourism. It is also a world astronomy centre, with telescopes atop Mauna Kea.

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▪ island, Hawaii, United States

Hawaiian  Hawai‘i 

  volcanic island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies southeast of Maui island and constitutes Hawaii county. Known as the Big Island, it is the southeasternmost and largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Its area of some 4,030 square miles (10,438 square km) continues to grow as Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, continues to pour lava into the ocean. The island is formed by five volcanoes (Haulalai, Kilauea, Kohala, Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa) that are connected by lava saddles (ridges) and is the youngest island geologically of the Hawaiian Islands. Mauna Loa (13,677 feet [4,169 metres]), located some 25 miles (40 km) west of Kilauea, is considered the world's largest volcano; the two volcanoes are the main feature of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been designated a World Heritage site. The island is roughly triangular in shape. Its highest point, Mauna Kea (13,796 feet [4,205 metres]), is also the highest point in the state. Hawaii's varied topography includes misty plateaus, craggy ocean cliffs, tropical coastal areas, lava deserts, and fern and bamboo forests, in addition to the often snow-capped peak of Mauna Kea. The volcanoes form an effective barrier to the moisture-laden trade winds and thereby make the western side of the island the driest region in Hawaii.

 Polynesians (Marquesas Islanders) are believed to have first reached the island they named Hawai‘i by outrigger canoe as early as AD 400. A second wave of settlement followed in the 9th or 10th century. The Big Island was the site of the first luakini heiau (a ceremonial structure used for worship and for human sacrifice). There too, centuries later, Kamehameha I, who is considered one of the greatest Hawaiian kings, came to power and established a dynasty. Captain James Cook (Cook, James) visited in 1778, and he died on the Big Island in 1779.

  Hilo, the county seat, is on the east-central coast. Other important villages are Kailua-Kona, Honaunau, and Waimea. Cattle ranching contributes to the economy, and leading agricultural products include orchids, coffee, and macadamia nuts. Other crops include papaya, avocados, guava, mangoes, taro root (used to make poi, a Hawaiian staple), and sweet potatoes. A popular tourist destination, the island is known for its black sands and numerous state parks and recreational areas. Such areas include Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Lava Tree state parks and Pu‘uhonua O Honaunau (where ancient Hawaiians went to seek puuhonua [Hawaiian: “refuge”]) and Kaloko-Honokohau (the site of traditional Hawaiian villages) national historical parks, as well as natural features such as Laupahoehoe Point. The Mauna Kea Observatory is operated by the University of Hawaii. Also noteworthy are the Puako petroglyphs north of Kona and the Puu Loa petroglyphs in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Big Island is not considered to be one of the better islands for surfing; one of the better-known surfing spots, called Drainpipes, was destroyed by lava flow in 1990.

 

▪ state, United States

Introduction

Hawaii, flag of   constituent state of the United States of America. Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai‘i) became the 50th U.S. state on Aug. 21, 1959. Hawaii is a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The islands lie 2,397 miles (3,857 km) from San Francisco, Calif., to the east and 5,293 miles (8,516 km) from Manila, in the Philippines, to the west. The capital is Honolulu, located on the island of Oahu.

  Hawaii was characterized by Mark Twain (Twain, Mark) as “the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean.” The name is thought to derive from Hawaiki, the former name of Raiatea, the ancestral home of Polynesians.

      Hawaii is economically vigorous, with diversified agriculture and manufacturing. Hawaiian activities of national and international importance include research and development in oceanography, geophysics, astronomy, satellite communications, and biomedicine. Often called the Crossroads of the Pacific, the state is strategically important to the global defense system of the United States and serves as a transportation hub of the Pacific basin. Finally, Hawaii is a cultural centre and a major tourist mecca. Area 6,461 square miles (16,734 square km). Pop. (2000) 1,211,537; (2008 est.) 1,288,198.

Land

Relief

  The land area of the state of Hawaii consists of the tops of a chain of emerged volcanic mountains (volcano) that form 8 major islands and 124 islets, stretching in a 1,500-mile (2,400-km) crescent from Kure Island in the west to the island of Hawaii in the east. The eight major islands at the eastern end of the chain are, from west to east, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. Volcanic activity has become dormant, with the exception of the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea on the easternmost and largest island, Hawaii (often referred to as the “Big Island”), where spectacular eruptions and lava flows take place from time to time. The highest Hawaiian mountains are Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, both on the island of Hawaii, reaching 13,796 feet (4,205 metres) and 13,678 feet (4,169 metres) above sea level, respectively.

      There has been little erosion in the geologically young areas, where the terrain is domelike or scattered with hardened lava, and the volcanic craters are clearly defined. In the older areas the mountains have been shaped and eroded by sea, rain, and wind. Their aspects thus include sharp and craggy silhouettes; abrupt, vertically grooved cliffs pocked with caves; deep valleys; collapsed craters (calderas); and coastal plains. The powerful Pacific surf, churning and crashing against the fringing coral shelves and the lava shorelines, has carried minute shells onto the shore and reduced coral and large shells to sand, creating the state's famous expanses of beach.

      Heavy rainfall in mountainous areas produces an extremely voluminous runoff, which is responsible for the erosion that forms the numerous grooves, ridges, and V-shaped valleys characteristic of the older volcanic islands such as Kauai and Oahu. The action of rain combined with waves has had a particularly dramatic effect on the more exposed windward sections of the islands.

Drainage

      Because the topography of Hawaii is generally abruptly descending or sloping, there are few surfaces that collect water. Excess rainfall seeps through porous mountain areas to gather in subterranean chambers and layers retained by less-permeable lava and ash beds, or it is prevented by underlying salt water from seeping to the sea. The resultant artesian water supply is tapped for use in irrigation and also for human consumption. Many streams in Hawaii are intermittent, depending on the volume of rainfall. The island of Kauai has numerous perennial streams, the largest of which is the Wailua River.

Soils

      As a result of the weathering of basaltic lava and volcanic ash, Hawaii is rich in arable soils. Given local conditions, with variations in rainfall and organic matter, the islands contain a wide variety of soils. Of these the most significant are the andisols and mollisols that are the product of lava flows that occurred more than 3,000 years ago on the islands of Maui and Hawaii and that are agriculturally productive when irrigated. Also suitable for agriculture are the oxisols of Oahu and Kauai, both of which are red from iron oxidation.

Climate

      Hawaii lies just below the Tropic of Cancer (Cancer and Capricorn, Tropics of), and its mild tropical climate is considered by many people to be the world's ideal. Although the weather is often humid by U.S. mainland standards, temperatures are conditioned by the northeast trade winds, which prevail most of the year and make living on the islands delightfully comfortable. As moisture-laden air is carried over the islands, most frequently by the trade winds, it is apt to condense, form cap clouds, and dissipate against the shores and mountains of the windward coasts, which are therefore more lush in foliage than the leeward coasts.

      Most Hawaiians recognize only two seasons: summer and winter. Summer (kau) lasts from May through October, with high temperatures and reliable trade winds. The rainy season, winter (ho'oilo), lasts from November to April, with cooler temperatures and frequent rainstorms.

      The average temperature in Honolulu is in the low 70s F (about 22 °C) in the coolest month and in the high 70s F (about 26 °C) in the warmest, though extreme temperatures in the high 50s F (about 14 °C) and low 90s F (about 33 °C) have been recorded there. The average water temperatures off Waikiki Beach in Honolulu range from the mid-70s F (about 24 °C) in late February to the high 70s F (about 26 °C) in late September. The temperature falls about 3.5 °F (2 °C) with every 1,000 feet (300 metres) of elevation, so mountainous regions are considerably cooler, especially during the winter months, when there can be frost; a temperature of 1.4 °F (−17 °C) has been recorded on the summit of Mauna Kea, and winter snows frequently blanket the crests of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

      Rainfall variations throughout the state are dramatic. Mount Waialeale (Waialeale, Mount), on the island of Kauai, is often called the wettest spot on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of about 450 inches (11,430 mm). The driest area of the state is at Kawaihae, on the island of Hawaii, where the average annual rainfall is only about 9 inches (220 mm). The average yearly rainfall in Honolulu is 23 inches (590 mm), and in Hilo, one of the state's wettest cities, it is about 130 inches (3,300 mm).

Plant and animal life

      The plants and animals that have migrated to Hawaii evolved in a relatively benign environment, creating species that live nowhere else on the planet. The seeds of endemic plant species were carried to Hawaii by birds, winds, or currents and tides, bringing about extensive forestation, shrubbery, and grasslands where soil and precipitation were favourable. However, as greater and greater numbers of species were introduced by humans, either purposely or accidentally, the native species, both plant and animal, came under increasing pressure. About one-third of the more than 1,000 animal species that the U.S. government has declared threatened or endangered are located in Hawaii. More than 1,000,000 acres (400,00 hectares) of land in the state have been set aside in an attempt to protect native ecosystems.

      Polynesians and Europeans introduced mongooses, rats, frogs, toads, and, in the more remote regions of some of the islands, deer, sheep, pigs, and goats. Endemic birds, which may have evolved from a small number of original immigrants and which have been isolated from others of their kind, have taken on certain characteristics of their own. These include the nene (Hawaiian goose), the Hawaiian stilt, and a variety of small forest birds known as honeycreepers (honeycreeper). Some species of birds have become extremely rare, but, as the result of an increased environmental awareness, steps have been taken to preclude their extinction. Seabirds nest in profusion on the western islands of the archipelago and to a far lesser extent among the major eastern islands. There has been considerable importation of birdlife. Mynas, sparrows, cardinals, and doves live in the trees in both urban and rural areas. Every autumn the small golden plover make an awe-inspiring, nonstop 3,000-mile (4,800-km) flight from Alaska to Hawaii, where they spend the winter, together with ducks from Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern United States.

      The insect population contains about 10,000 native species, of which about nine-tenths are unique to the islands. The ocean sustains a diversity of marine ecosystems, from tide pools to the deep ocean floor, with about one-fourth of all the species being unique to Hawaii. The waters surrounding the islands are home to a wide variety of marine mammals, including about a dozen species of whales.

People

Population (Hawaii) composition

      Most anthropologists believe that the original settlement of Hawaii was by Polynesians (Polynesian culture) who migrated northwest from the Marquesas Islands between the 4th and 7th centuries CE, to be followed by a second wave of immigrants that sailed from Tahiti during the 9th or 10th century. The capabilities demonstrated by the revival of the use of the voyaging canoe and traditional navigation methods in Hawaii beginning in the 1970s indicate that the islands may not have been as isolated after their initial colonization as was once thought; indeed, there may have been considerable purposeful voyaging between Hawaii and far-flung Polynesian destinations. Still, Hawaii's isolation was great enough that Hawaiian culture developed its own distinctive characteristics, even though there are still rather close resemblances in language and culture between the Hawaiians and their Polynesian relatives.

      The original Hawaiians (Hawaiian) were highly skilled in fishing and farming. By the late 18th century their society had evolved into a complex one with a rigid system of laws set down by chiefs and priests. They worshipped and feared a group of gods not unlike the ancient Greek deities of Mount Olympus (Olympus, Mount) in character and power.

      The arrival of foreigners to Hawaii began after British Capt. James Cook (Cook, James) came upon the islands in 1778. During the ensuing four decades, European and American explorers, adventurers, trappers, and whalers stopped for fresh supplies at the Hawaiian Islands—contact that would have a profound effect on the islanders. Not the least of these effects was the introduction of diseases from both the East and the West against which the islanders, theretofore virtually disease-free, had no natural immunities. Venereal disease, cholera, measles, and tuberculosis all contributed to the decimation of the native peoples, whose population fell from approximately 300,000 to fewer than 40,000 by the 1890s, little more than a century later.

      The collapse of the population, coupled with the impact of outside cultures, most likely caused crisis in Hawaiian society and sparked social and political change. Most notably, Hawaiians, led by members of the royal family, overthrew the complex kapu (taboo) system of laws and punishments in 1819. Loss of faith in the old gods, intense curiosity about the ways of people of the United States and Europe, and avid interest in learning to read and write brought about a swift adoption of Christianity on the part of many Hawaiians. The first group of Christian missionaries (mission) arrived from the United States in 1820, and by the mid-19th century Hawaii was largely a Christian kingdom, with a small but significant European and American population.

      Since that time the ethnic and religious makeup of Hawaii has undergone dramatic change. As the number of Native Hawaiians declined, other ethnic groups arrived, mainly to work on the plantations. Contract labourers came first from China, then from Japan, the Azores, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Korea. They were joined by immigrants from the U.S. mainland, Europe, and elsewhere in the Pacific. Over the course of two centuries, people from all over the world had settled in Hawaii, creating a multiethnic society. Each group brought its own customs, languages, and religions into the Hawaiian way of life, broadening it far beyond its Polynesian cultural origins. The descendants of these later settlers now far outnumber the descendants of the original Hawaiians. There is also a continuous influx and outflow of military personnel and their dependents as a result of Hawaii's importance as a base for all branches of the U.S. armed forces.

      The two official languages of Hawaii are English and Hawaiian. In the early 1990s the Hawaiian language was all but extinct, spoken by only a handful of Native Hawaiians. However, a program that established Hawaiian-language immersion schools created a new generation of Hawaiian speakers, and instruction in Hawaiian is now offered from kindergarten through the graduate school level. The language also lives on in place-names and street names and in songs. Most Hawaiian residents can also speak what has come to be called Hawaiian Creole English. Commonly referred to as pidgin, Hawaiian Creole English is a dialect of English created by children in the multilingual environment of Hawaiian plantation camps. Hawaiian Creole English has been used increasingly in Hawaiian fiction, poetry, and drama.

 With a continued influx of Asian immigrants as well as tourists from Asia, notably from Japan, Hawaii has remained multilingual. Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and several major Filipino languages are widely spoken, and it is not uncommon to see signage in these languages. The largest religious groups are Roman Catholics and Protestants. There are, however, small but important groups of Buddhists and of adherents of other Asian religions.

Settlement patterns

      Until the end of World War II, Hawaii's population was scattered in rural settlements, ranging from tiny fishing villages far off the main roads, scant clusters of small houses in isolated valleys, and solitary farm or ranch houses to large coastal and upland villages and plantation and ranch towns.

      During the 1950s and '60s there was a building boom in Hawaii of such magnitude that the configuration of entire towns (urbanization) was altered. Single-family dwellings, individual businesses and shops, small markets, and three- or four-story hotels were overrun by high-rise hotels and apartment buildings, shopping centres, and supermarkets. The most graphic example of this was in the city of Honolulu, where construction of 30- and 40-story buildings gave the city—once sprawling and low—a thrusting, multileveled skyline. The Waikiki area on Oahu became so densely built up that (despite its world-famous beach) it transformed into an urban resort. Resort development on the other islands, notably Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii, was better planned, with less density and more open space along the shorelines. On Oahu, much agricultural land was developed for housing, rural towns became suburbs, and a second city, Kapolei, was founded in 1990 on the leeward plains, once home to vast sugarcane fields.

      Most of the state's residents live on Oahu, and nearly three-fourths of them reside in Honolulu proper and its metropolitan area. Because there are vast areas of Oahu still devoted to agriculture and forest reserves, the majority of the population actually resides in high-density clusters. Honolulu is the only legally incorporated town or city in the state.

      Many of the older houses in agricultural villages on the islands are largely raised frame structures, often with corrugated-iron roofs. More modern homes are found in some smaller towns. Plants of native origin skirt the foundations of homes, and the yards are informally planted with fruit and flower trees. In all but the smallest villages, there are a school, markets, a post office, a fire station, and at least one church.

      Since the late 1990s the population of the state has increased substantially, largely due to immigration from the Philippines, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. By the early 21st century, Asians were the dominant ethnic group, accounting for about two-fifths of the total population.

Economy

      Hawaii ranks relatively low among U.S. states in terms of personal income, farm products sold, value of manufacturing shipments, retail sales, and bank deposits. Largely because of its insularity and dependence on imports, Hawaii has a high cost of living. Transportation costs are included in the prices of nearly all consumer goods. As Hawaii's population rose, housing became increasingly difficult to acquire, and it is disproportionately expensive when compared with housing costs in many mainland states. Building materials, most of which are imported, are expensive. Historically, residential land has been limited and highly priced, since much of the property, notably on Oahu, is owned by corporations and trusts (though legislation has largely remedied this situation for owners of single-family homes if not for condominium owners). One solution to the shortages and expense associated with urban housing has been the development of mixed-housing communities consisting of single-family homes, high-rise dwellings, townhouses, and apartment complexes.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

 Agriculture is a major component of the local economy. Since the first Polynesian settlement on the islands, a tremendous variety of food and ornamental plant life from many parts of the world has been introduced. Food plants grown commercially or in backyards for home consumption include sugarcane, pineapple, papaya, banana, mango, guava, litchi, coconut, avocado, breadfruit, lime, passion fruit, taro, and tamarind, though sugarcane and pineapple production have decreased as the world market for them has been changed by lower labour costs in other pineapple- and sugarcane-producing places such as the Philippines. Nearly all varieties of common garden vegetables are raised on the islands, and flowers abound year-round. Since the early 2000s there has been a slow but steady growth of diversified crops, including coffee, macadamia nuts, ginger root, and seed crops. Most of Hawaii's islands have ranches, with the majority concentrated on the Big Island, where the ranching tradition dates from the 1830s. Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) taught Hawaiians how to manage their herds, beginning a tradition of paniolos, or Hawaiian cowboys, who derived their name from these vaqueros and predated the cowboys of the American West. The paniolos still run their ranches in much the same way today. Livestock raising, together with some lumbering and commercial fishing, are other important sources of income. Nearly half of the commercial fish catch is tuna, especially yellowfin.

Resources and power

      Hawaii has no important mineral deposits; its only natural resources are its climate, water supply, soil, vegetation, and surrounding ocean, as well as the rock, gravel, sand, and earth quarried for use in construction and landscaping. Electric power is supplied by a small number of power companies operating oil-powered steam and diesel generators. Several military installations and some private institutions generate their own power. A small amount of hydroelectric power is generated on several of the islands, and in the mid-1980s a geothermal plant began producing electricity on Hawaii, which supplies about one-fifth of the total electricity to the island. On Maui, the Kaheawa wind farm was opened in 2006. Hawaii still relies on imported oil for most of its energy, but the state has set out to increase its use of renewable energy sources.

Manufacturing

      Hawaii has several hundred companies engaged in diversified manufacturing. Heavy-manufacturing plants, using raw materials for the most part imported from the U.S. mainland, include oil refineries that produce a variety of petroleum products and chemical compounds, a concrete-pipe plant, and an aluminum-extrusion plant. Heavy manufacturing is confined mainly to the island of Oahu. Most lumber is imported from the mainland. A number of garment manufacturers, largely situated in Honolulu, produce printed fabrics and apparel marketed locally, nationally, and abroad.

      A wide variety of Hawaii-grown foodstuffs, sold locally and exported to the mainland, are processed in the state. These include Asian and Hawaiian food specialties as well as tropical fruit juices, jams and jellies, candies, coffee, macadamia nuts, and various alcoholic beverages. Exports include sugar, garments, flowers, and canned fish. Major imports are fuel, vehicles, food, and clothing.

Services, labour, and taxation

 Tourism is Hawaii's largest industry. Expansion has been particularly rapid since World War II, and the growth has resulted in part from continued improvements in transportation and the stimulus provided by the state government and local businesses. The majority of visitors come from the U.S. mainland, Canada, Australia, and Asia, particularly Japan. Cruise ships make regular stops in Honolulu, and interisland luxury cruises are available. About half of the hotel units are on Oahu, chiefly in Waikiki and the adjacent Ala Moana area. Visitors have access to a wide range of recreational and cultural facilities, including golf courses, tennis courts, parks, surfing sites, beaches, restaurants, theatres, musical attractions, and sporting events. Tourism has helped Hawaii to become the centre of the international market of the Pacific basin. Capital investment by U.S. mainland and foreign companies has increased tremendously.

      About one in four Hawaiian workers belong to a union, making the state among the most unionized in the country. Major Hawaiian manufacturing industries are unionized, as are many of the service and construction industries. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the state's largest private-sector union, has an important and turbulent history. In 1949 its members held a six-month dock strike against the five shipping companies that controlled most of Hawaii's economic activity (mainly the sugar and pineapple plantations). All shipping to and from the islands was stopped. The union's successful action helped strengthen the Hawaiian Democratic Party, allowing it to more ably challenge the Republicans, who had been in power since the annexation of Hawaii in 1900. With the decline of sugar and pineapple production since the early 2000s, however, the ILWU's influence in Hawaii has faded, and it has been superseded in membership by the Hawaii Government Employees Association, which has had considerable political clout.

      State taxes are collected under a centralized tax system. The chief sources of the state's revenue are a general excise tax, individual income taxes, and federal grants-in-aid.

Transportation

      Ocean surface transportation is Hawaii's lifeline, and Honolulu Harbor, with its extensive docks, warehouses, and storage sheds, is the centre of Hawaiian shipping. A large percentage of the cargo ships ply between Hawaii and California ports, a few between Hawaii and the East Coast of the United States via the Panama Canal, and others between Hawaii and western Pacific island ports. Tug-pulled barges and small freighters transport goods from Honolulu to the outer islands, returning with agricultural crops and livestock.

      The majority of voyagers to and from Hawaii travel by air, as do most interisland passengers. The major civilian airports capable of serving large-jet traffic are Honolulu International Airport, on Oahu; Hilo International Airport at Hilo and Kona International Airport at Keahole in Kailua-Kona, both on Hawaii; and the Kahului Airport, on Maui. There are several smaller airports and a number of small private airfields on the islands. Military authorities maintain a number of airports throughout the state.

 Hawaiian roads range from narrow country paths to multilane freeways, which are most common on Oahu. Most of the roads follow lowland contours, circling the islands along or near the shorelines and crossing islands only between mountain ranges. There are many spectacular mountain roads providing dramatic vistas. On Oahu two tunnels bring traffic from the heads of two valleys behind Honolulu through the Koolau Range and out into the windward, or northeastern, side of the island.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

      Hawaii is governed by a constitution that was originally adopted in 1950; it was amended in 1959, at the time of admission to statehood, and further amended at the constitutional convention of 1968. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on a joint ticket for four-year terms. They are not permitted to serve more than two consecutive terms. The only other elected members in the 17 departments of the executive branch are the members of the Board of Education. Hawaii's bicameral legislature consists of the Senate, with 25 elected representatives from 25 senatorial districts, serving four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, consisting of 51 members elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. Honolulu is the regional headquarters of the federal government.

      Hawaii's local governmental structure is unique among the U.S. states in that it is limited to two levels of government: the state and the four counties, each with a mayor and a council. There are no municipal governments. State and county governments are also major employers.

      The state judicial system consists of the Supreme Court, an intermediate appellate court, circuit courts, and district courts, as well as a family court, a land court, and a tax appeal court. Judges in the higher courts are appointed by the governor, subject to approval by the Senate.

      Primary elections are held in September, and general elections take place in November. During the first half of the 20th century, the Republican Party dominated Hawaiian politics. In the 1956 elections the Democrats, gaining strength from labour unions and from returning Japanese American World War II veterans, surged to power. The Democrats won the governorship in 1962 and held it until 2002, and they have been dominant in state legislative elections and in federal elections. Hawaiian Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka (since 1990) was the first U.S. senator of Hawaiian descent. He was the sponsor, along with long-serving (1963) Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, also known as the Akaka Bill, which would establish a Native Hawaiian governing body to negotiate with the state and federal governments on issues relating to land, assets, and natural resources. Although the bill has not been passed by the U.S. Senate, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has begun an initiative to register all Native Hawaiians for participation in a new Native Hawaiian government.

      Hawaii holds a strategic position in the defense system of the United States. Pearl Harbor, a vast shipyard for the repair and overhaul of U.S. fleet units, is the home port for many U.S. naval ships. It serves as a training base for submarine and antisubmarine warfare forces. The headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Command are at Camp H.M. Smith in Halawa Heights on Oahu. Other major military installations include the army posts of Schofield Barracks, Fort Shafter, and Fort De Russy; the Hickam and Wheeler air force bases; and the Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. In addition to these, there are military installations, camps, and airfields of varying sizes throughout the state. More than 100,000 U.S. military personnel and their dependents are stationed in or have their home port in Hawaii, and their presence has an important influence on the local economy and social life.

      More than half of the land in the state is owned by private individuals or corporations, although the state itself, holding more than one-third of the land, is the largest single landowner. The northwestern islands are part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Midway Island (Midway Islands), near the western end of the archipelago, was for many years a U.S. naval preserve. It has since come under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which allows limited ecotourism.

Health and welfare

      The U.S. Department of Health maintains hospitals, health centres, clinics, care centres, and nursing services. The Hawaiian Home Lands Commission controls the transfer of land use to qualified persons of Hawaiian ancestry for homesteading.

Education

      Hawaii's school system provides educational facilities from nursery school through the graduate school level. Institutions of higher learning include the University of Hawaii (Hawaii, University of), with campuses at Hilo, Manoa, and West O'ahu; several smaller private colleges; and a state-established system of two-year community colleges. The Brigham Young University campus at Laie is an undergraduate institution that has one of the most multicultural student bodies of any university in the United States. Private business, technical, and specialized schools provide additional educational facilities and opportunities.

      The Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, commonly referred to as the East-West Centre, is a project of the federal government housed at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii. It provides specialized and advanced academic programs and technological training to students from the United States and from countries in Asia and the Pacific.

Cultural life

      Hawaii's cultural milieu is the result of overlay after overlay of varied cultural groups. The original culture remains evident in the islands, but the Native Hawaiian aesthetic has become diminished and diluted over the years through death and intermarriage. Today, Hawaiian culture reflects a mixture of Eastern and Western influences. The traditions of many ethnic groups have become mainstream in contemporary Hawaii, including the celebration of the Chinese New Year in late January or early February and the annual Japanese Bon festival in July or August.

      Native Hawaiian culture underwent a renaissance beginning in the 1970s, most notably with the resurgence of the hula, the voyaging canoe, the art of tattooing, and its music and language. Most Hawaiian inhabitants know at least some Hawaiian words and observe cultural practices including the giving of the lei, a garland of flowers. The “Aloha Spirit,” however commercialized it has become, is reflective of the way many diverse groups live together on the small islands.

The arts

 Interest in the arts is high, and many distinguished artists, photographers, and performers have been residents of Hawaii. Appreciation of classical, modern, and experimental art forms is manifest in attendance figures at galleries, film festivals, concerts, legitimate theatre performances, and museums. Honolulu has converted its Chinatown neighbourhood into a cultural district, which draws crowds on the first Friday of each month to its art galleries and performance spaces. Numerous hula exhibitions and competitions are held; foremost among them is the week-long Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo.

      Hawaiian music is also a vital cultural force. It draws from many musical sources, including ki ho‘ala (Hawaiian slack-key guitar), brought to the islands by vaqueros from Mexico. (In 2005 the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences added a Hawaiian music category to its Grammy Awards, and many of the winners in the category have been slack-key musicians.) Don Ho (1930–2007) was one of the best-known Hawaiian musicians. Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole was a popular Hawaiian singer whose support of Hawaiian sovereignty made him a cultural hero in Hawaii.

Cultural institutions

      An assortment of cultural and scientific institutions in Hawaii provides a wide variety of opportunity for the appreciation and understanding of the fine arts, history, traditions, and sciences. The Bernice P. Bishop Museum, founded in 1889 in Honolulu, is a research centre and museum dedicated to the study, preservation, and display of the history, sciences, and cultures of the Pacific and its peoples. The Honolulu Academy of Arts (1927), often called the most beautiful museum in the world, houses a splendid collection of Western art, including works by late 19th- and early 20th-century masters Claude Monet (Monet, Claude), Vincent van Gogh (Gogh, Vincent van), Henri Matisse (Matisse, Henri), Paul Gauguin (Gauguin, Paul), and Pablo Picasso (Picasso, Pablo). Its collection of Asian art is one of the finest in the Western world. The active art, music, and drama departments in Hawaiian schools and colleges and at the University of Hawaii (Hawaii, University of) contribute to the expanding cultural life of Hawaii, while the state has several theatre organizations, professional and amateur. The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (1900) and the Hawaii Opera Theatre (1960) perform in Honolulu and on the other major islands. Their home is the Neal Blaisdell Center, a municipal theatre–concert-hall–arena complex where touring theatrical companies and ballet troupes and musical artists of international renown also perform. Honolulu's Chamber Music Society gives a concert series each year.

Sports and recreation

 In terms of sports, Hawaii is probably most associated with surfing, which has roots in ancient Polynesia but emerged as a modern sport in Hawaii in the early 20th century. No one looms larger in the early history of the sport than Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (Kahanamoku, Duke Paoa), who was also an Olympic champion swimmer once considered the greatest freestyle swimmer in the world. The islands have long been a surfers' mecca, especially at the Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay, and Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore. In November and December, the North Shore is the site of major surfing competitions known collectively as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (though one of the women's events is held at Maui's Honolua Bay).

      Baseball's history in Hawaii dates from the 1850s, when Alexander Cartwright (Cartwright, Alexander Joy), one of the men responsible for the invention of the game, brought it with him when he relocated to the islands. In the 1920s a semiprofessional league was founded in Hawaii featuring teams representing the islands' many ethnic groups. The Honolulu-based Hawaiian Islanders (1961–88) were for a time one of the most prominent franchises in the minor leagues, and since 1993 the Hawaiian Baseball League, which plays in the winter, has been a proving ground for professional players from the United States, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere in Asia.

      Hawaiians also take great interest in gridiron football, especially in the fortunes of the University of Hawaii's team, and the islands play host to the National Football League's all-star game, the Pro Bowl, as well as college football's Hula Bowl all-star game and Hawaii Bowl.

      The Honolulu marathon, first run in 1973, is one of the world's largest. International windsurfing competitions often take place on Oahu. Cycling and swimming are also popular recreations. Skiing is common at Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea during winter months.

  Hawaii has two national parks—Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park) (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987), on the island of Hawaii, and Haleakala, on Maui—as well as the much-visited USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. There are also many state and county parks, including the Waimea Canyon State Park on Kauai. All beaches in the state are open to the public.

Media and publishing

      Hawaii's major daily newspapers are the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii Tribune-Herald (Hilo), and Maui News. Hawaii Herald (founded in 1912 as Hawaii Hochi) serves the Japanese American community in Hawaii. The state has several radio and television stations, including some television stations that broadcast in Japanese and Korean.

History

Early history

      The first inhabitants of Hawaii may have reached the islands as early as 300 CE from the Marquesas Islands. Contact with and settlement by Tahitians (Tahiti) began in the 9th century CE. Powerful classes of chiefs and priests arrived and established themselves but became embroiled in conflicts that were similar to the feudal struggles in Europe, with complicated land rights at the centre of the disputes. The early Hawaiians (Hawaiian) lacked a written language. Their culture was entirely oral and rich in myth, legend, and practical knowledge, especially of animals and plant life. The material life of the islands was hampered by the lack of metal, pottery, or beasts of burden, but there was great skill in the use of wood, shell, stone, and bone, and the huge double and outrigger canoes were technical marvels. Navigational methods were well developed, and there was an elaborate calendar. Athletic contests encouraged warrior skills.

The arrival of Europeans

      Capt. James Cook (Cook, James), the British explorer and navigator, is generally credited with having made the first European discovery of Hawaii; he landed at Waimea, Kauai Island (Kauai), on Jan. 20, 1778. Upon his return the following year, he was killed during an affray with a number of Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay.

      The initial appearance of Cook was followed by a period of intermittent contact with the West. During this period King Kamehameha I used European military technology and weapons to emerge as an outstanding Hawaiian leader, seizing and consolidating control over most of the island group. For 85 years thereafter monarchs ruled over the Hawaiian kingdom. In the early 19th century the American whaling fleet began wintering in Hawaii, and the islands were visited with mounting frequency by explorers, traders, and adventurers. Capt. George Vancouver (Vancouver, George) introduced livestock to the islands in 1792. In 1820 the first of 15 companies of New England missionaries arrived. By the middle of the century there were frame houses, horse-drawn vehicles, schools, churches, taverns, and mercantile establishments. A written language had been introduced, and European and American skills and religious beliefs—Protestant and Roman Catholic—had been imported. Hawaiian culture was irrevocably changed.

Establishment of U.S. dominance (colonialism, Western)

      After the arrival of missionaries, a small but powerful “white” minority began to exert greater and greater power over the Hawaiian monarchy. This minority urged upon King Kamehameha III a written constitution in 1840 and, more importantly, the Great Mahele, or division of lands, in 1848, which guaranteed private ownership of property. Kamehameha III sustained insults to his sovereignty from both the French and the British. U.S. interests grew paramount, however, in the succeeding years, culminating in the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, essentially a free-trade agreement between the United States and Hawaii in which the former guaranteed a duty-free market for Hawaiian sugar and the latter gave the United States special economic privileges that were denied to other countries. (When the treaty was renewed in 1887, the United States received exclusive rights to enter and establish a naval base at Pearl Harbor.)

 King Kalakaua, who would be the last king of Hawaii, had lobbied for the Reciprocity Treaty. He lost the support of the planter class because of his attempts to revive Hawaiian culture and because of his profligate spending. In 1887 a company of “white” troops, the Honolulu Rifles, helped force upon him the Bayonet Constitution, which severely limited his powers and which allowed suffrage for the wealthy residents (who were generally American or European). When his successor, Queen Liliuokalani, seemed as if she would abrogate that constitution, the Committee of Safety, a group of American and European businessmen, some of whom were citizens of the kingdom, seized power in 1893, with the help of a company of U.S. Marines from the U.S.S. Boston, at anchor in the harbour. The U.S. government, under Pres. Grover Cleveland (Cleveland, Grover), refused to annex the territory, however, noting that the overthrow of the monarchy was an “act of war” accomplished against popular will using U.S. armed force (see primary source document: Controversy over Hawaii (Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland: Controversy Over Hawaii)). A short-lived republic (an oligarchy of American and European businessmen) ensued, until the administration of Pres. William McKinley (McKinley, William) annexed the islands as U.S. territory in 1900.

      As a U.S. territory, Hawaii until 1940 was distinguished by a rapid growth in population, the development of a plantation economy based on the production of sugar and pineapples for consumption on the U.S. mainland, and the growth of transport and military links. Movements for statehood, based in part on Hawaii's obligation to pay U.S. taxes without having corresponding legislative representation, began to emerge. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (Pearl Harbor attack), on Dec. 7, 1941, brought not only Hawaii but the United States as a whole into World War II, and the islands were beset by an upsurge of military activity and a sometimes controversial curtailment of civil liberties. The post-1945 period was marked by further economic consolidation and a long constitutional path to statehood, a status finally achieved in 1959.

Hawaii after statehood

      Since statehood both the population and the economy boomed in Hawaii, with ever-increasing numbers of visitors. Outside investment, notably from the U.S. mainland and Japan, along with rising real estate values, made the islands seem especially bountiful. However, wages have not kept up with the cost of living, and many Hawaiians work multiple jobs to survive. Also, much of the land that had been occupied by Native Hawaiians was cleared for new developments and state parks. Beginning in the 1980s, a sovereignty movement emerged on the islands in which Native Hawaiians demanded legal restoration of sovereignty or reparations for the U.S. takeover of their kingdom. Some groups have pressed for Hawaii to become its own nation, while others have advocated for federal recognition of Native Hawaiians equivalent to that of Native Americans. In 1993 U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton (Clinton, Bill) apologized for America's role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

      After decades of growth, the islands underwent a protracted recession in the early 1990s. By the end of that decade, however, the economy had recovered, and much development took place on Maui and the Kona side of Hawaii Island. Tourism remained the dominant industry in the early 21st century. Visitors are lured not only by the warm climate and exotic beauty of the islands but also by a growing number of world-class resorts, built on such a grand scale that they are destinations in themselves. Moreover, the Mauna Kea Observatory has helped Hawaii become a major world centre of astronomy.

      Despite the draw of Hawaii for tourists, foreigners, and researchers, Native Hawaiians continue to demand land rights, more autonomy in their internal affairs, and the right to self-governance. The establishment of a Native Hawaiian governing entity continues to be debated between Native Hawaiians and those who oppose ancestry-based sovereignty.

J. Patricia Morgan Swenson Lee S. Motteler John Heckathorn

Additional Reading

General works

Physical characteristics of Hawaii are examined in Joseph R. Morgan, Hawai‘i: A Unique Geography, updated ed. (1996); and Gordon A. Macdonald, Agatin T. Abbott, and Frank L. Peterson, Volcanoes in the Sea: The Geology of Hawaii, 2nd ed. (1983). Sonia P. Juvik, James O. Juvik, and Thomas R. Paradise, Atlas of Hawai‘i, 3rd ed. (1998), contains information on the state's physical, biotic, cultural, and social environments. Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert, and Esther T. Mookini, Place Names of Hawaii, rev. and enlarged ed. (1974), combines geography and local history. David W. Forbes, Encounters with Paradise: Views of Hawaii and Its People, 1778–1941 (1992), was originally published to accompany an art exhibit of the same name and remains the best resource for fine-art images of the islands.Hawaiian archaeology is introduced in Patrick Vinton Kirch, Feathered Gods and Fishhooks (1985, reissued 1997). Patrick Vinton Kirch and Marshall Sahlins, Anahulu: The Anthropology of History in the Kingdom of Hawaii (1992), is a scholarly yet readable account of Hawaiian history, ethnography, and archaeology centred around the archaeological exploration of a single valley.Eleanor C. Nordyke, The Peopling of Hawai‘i, 2nd ed. (1989), is a demographic study of how Hawaii became a multicultural, multiethnic society. Andrew W. Lind, An Island Community: Ecological Succession in Hawaii (1938, reissued 1968), is an excellent study of migrations to Hawaii and subsequent ethnic relations. A less rosy view of Hawaii's melting pot is described in Jonathan Y. Okamura, Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai‘i (2008).Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, rev. and enlarged ed. (1986), is the standard for Hawaiian-English and English-Hawaiian dictionaries. Aloha (bimonthly) contains articles on Hawaii's cuisine, arts, customs, and history, among other topics.

History

General histories include Gavan Daws, Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands (1968, reissued 1974), one of the best single-volume histories of Hawaii; Ralph S. Kuykendall and A. Grove Day, Hawaii: A History, from Polynesian Kingdom to American State, rev. ed. (1961, reissued 1976); and Ruth Tabrah, Hawaii: A Bicentennial History (1980).David E. Stannard, Before the Horror: The Population of Hawai‘i on the Eve of Western Contact (1989), argues that estimates of Hawaii's population before European contact are too low. The prehistory of Hawaii in the larger context of the Pacific Islands is presented in Patrick Vinton Kirch, On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact (2000). Gananath Obeyesekere, The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific (1992), argues that the deification of Capt. James Cook is an illusion based on Eurocentric views of “native” societies; Marshall Sahlins, How “Natives” Think: About Captain Cook, For Example (1995), answers Obeyesekere's critique of his work.Isabella Bird, The Hawaiian Archipelago (1875, reissued as Six Months in Hawaii, 2002), is a spirited travelogue by a British woman who, transformed by the experience of the islands, became the most famous female traveler of her generation. Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii (1966, reprinted 1975), remains the most vivid introduction to 19th-century Hawaii. Dennis M. Ogawa and Glen Grant, Kodomo no tame ni/For the Sake of the Children: The Japanese American Experience in Hawaii (1978), is a collection of essays detailing the rise of Japanese Americans in Hawaii from plantation workers to political power. Lawrence H. Fuchs, Hawaii Pono: A Social History (1961, reissued 1983), chronicles Hawaii's transition from a sugar oligarchy at the turn of the 20th century to a democratic society at statehood.Details of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy are presented in Michael Dougherty, To Steal a Kingdom (1992); Tom Coffman, Nation Within: The Story of America's Annexation of the Nation of Hawaii (1998); and ‘Onipa‘a: Five Days in the History of the Hawaiian Nation: Centennial Observance of the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy (1994), published by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.Statehood is discussed in Roger Bell, Last Among Equals: Hawaiian Statehood and American Politics (1984). George Cooper and Gavin Daws, Land and Power in Hawaii: The Democratic Years (1985), demonstrates the tangled connections between politics and land development in the great boom years in Hawaii, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. Haunani-Kay Trask, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai‘i, rev. ed. (1999), is a basic text on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Davianna McGregor, Na Kua‘aina: Living Hawaiian Culture (2007), reveals how Native Hawaiians in rural areas have maintained their traditions after more than a century of U.S. control.John Heckathorn

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