Colonial epidemic disease in Hawai'i facts for kids

The Hawaiian Islands were once a very healthy place for the Native Hawaiian people. But when people from other countries, especially Europeans, started visiting and settling in Hawai‘i, they accidentally brought new diseases. The Hawaiian people had never been exposed to these illnesses before, so their bodies didn't know how to fight them off. This led to a huge and sad decline in the Native Hawaiian population.

These new diseases included things like the flu, measles, smallpox, and leprosy. They caused a lot of sickness and death across the islands. For example, by 1840, just 62 years after Captain Cook first arrived, the number of Native Hawaiians had dropped by a shocking 84%. By 1920, only about 24,000 Native Hawaiians remained, down from hundreds of thousands before outsiders arrived. This was a terrible time for the Hawaiian people, and it changed their history forever.

Early Diseases Arrive in Hawai‘i

Before Western explorers came, not much is known about widespread diseases in Hawai‘i. There were some illnesses, but no big epidemics that wiped out many people. The first major diseases arrived with explorers like Captain James Cook, a British explorer who reached the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1770s.

Captain Cook's Voyages

Captain Cook made two trips to the Hawaiian Islands with his ships and crew. On these trips, his crew members brought diseases that were new to Hawai‘i. Captain Cook knew his men might be sick. Even though doctors didn't fully understand how diseases spread back then, he tried to keep his crew away from the Native Hawaiians to prevent sickness. But his efforts were not successful.

First Visit in January 1778

Cook and his crew first arrived in Hawai‘i on January 18, 1778, near the coast of Kaua'i. Their contact was mostly on Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. During their stay, stormy weather pushed some of the men ashore on Ni'ihau. There, they met and interacted with the Native people. Even though they only stayed a few weeks, leaving on February 2, this contact was enough to introduce new diseases.

Second Visit in November 1778

After exploring other parts of the Pacific, Captain Cook returned to Hawai‘i on November 26, 1778. This time, they stopped in Maui. The Native people greeted them, complaining about new diseases they couldn't cure. Cook's own crew members wrote about how Hawaiians blamed Cook's men for bringing these illnesses. This started a difficult relationship between the Hawaiians and Captain Cook, who was later killed by Native Hawaiians in 1779.

Impact of Early Diseases

These first diseases didn't cause a huge number of deaths right away. However, they led to other serious problems like infertility (not being able to have children) and early childhood deaths. This made it harder for new generations to be born and survive. It's thought that within the first two years after Cook arrived, about 1 in 17 Native Hawaiians died. The Hawaiian population may have dropped by almost 50% in the first 20 years.

Major Diseases in the 1800s

The arrival of diseases didn't stop with Captain Cook. Throughout the 1800s and into the 1900s, Hawai‘i faced many more outbreaks. In 1803, a sickness (possibly yellow fever) came, potentially killing up to 175,000 people. Later, there were outbreaks of influenza (1845–49), measles (1848), smallpox (1853), leprosy (1865-1969), cholera (1895), and others. People living at the time described the immense sadness, feeling that more Hawaiians were dying than living. By the end of the 1800s, the Native Hawaiian population had shrunk to about 39,000 people.

Measles (1848)

Measles had been a problem in other Pacific islands for many years, and Hawai‘i was no different. Even before it reached the islands, it affected Hawai‘i's leaders. In 1824, King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu traveled to England. Sadly, they both caught measles there and died. Measles later arrived in Hawai‘i in 1848 with Christian missionaries and other Western visitors. It spread quickly. It's estimated that between 10% and 33% of the Hawaiian population died during this epidemic.

Leprosy (1865-1969)

The arrival of leprosy (also called Hansen's Disease) in Hawai‘i brought great sadness and separation. The disease came to the islands in the mid-1800s and was widespread by the 1860s. Leprosy doesn't always cause death, but it can change a person's appearance, which led to a lot of fear and unfair treatment. Hawaiians had little natural protection against this disease, so it spread more quickly among them. Some outsiders unfairly blamed Hawaiian culture and way of life for the spread, calling them "dirty."

The Kalaupapa Settlement

Starting around 1865, people in Hawai‘i who were thought to have Hansen's Disease were called "lepers." They were forced to move to a very remote part of Moloka‘i called Kalaupapa. This "leper colony" was demanded by Western advisors who said it was the only solution. Records later showed that many families living with infected people did not catch the disease themselves.

People of all ages, including children, were sent to Kalaupapa. They were not allowed to say goodbye to their families or ever return home. Many children grew up there, losing touch with their families and building new lives within that small community. More than 8,000 people were sent to Kalaupapa between 1866 and 1969, when the quarantine ended. A sad fact is that 97% of these people were Native Hawaiians. This period also happened around the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Many historians believe that sending Native Hawaiians away made it easier for Western colonizers to take control of the nation.

Political Impact of Diseases

The new diseases and the decline of the Hawaiian population had a big impact on the relationship between Hawaiians and Western foreigners. Some missionaries and colonizers used the diseases as a way to discriminate. They wrongly blamed Hawaiians' culture, saying they were unclean or immoral. For example, a survey in 1848 asked missionaries why the Hawaiian population was shrinking. They suggested reasons like "bad mothering," "native houses," "idolatry," and "lack of value on life." Scholars see this as a way for colonizers to feel superior and justify taking control of the Native people and their land.

During the leprosy epidemic, calling many Hawaiians "lepers" and "contaminants" allowed colonizers to send them away and find more reasons to discriminate. It was also during this time that American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian government and took control.

Hawaiian Population Rebounds

After the sharp and drastic decline, it took a long time for the Native Hawaiian population to grow again. For a while, the numbers stayed very low. But in the late 1900s, the population began to bounce back. Many Hawaiians born during this time were of mixed ancestry, as outsiders and Natives had children together.

This led to changes in how the U.S. Census counted Hawaiian people. In 2000, the U.S. Census allowed people to choose more than one race. This change caused the number of people identifying as Hawaiian to increase greatly. In fact, among Native Hawaiians in the United States, only 33% identify as solely Hawaiian. About 36% identify as being two races, and 26% identify as three.

Many Hawaiians do not live on the islands today. About 40% live on the U.S. mainland. Only about 6% of Hawai‘i's current state population claims Native Hawaiian ancestry. Despite this spread, the Hawaiian population is expected to keep growing. The Pew Research Center estimates that the Native Hawaiian population on the islands could reach over 500,000 by 2045 and up to 675,000 by 2060. This growth is so significant that the population is now nearing numbers not seen since before outsiders arrived over 200 years ago.

Images for kids

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  Captain James Cook

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  King Kamehameha II

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  The Kalaupapa Leper Settlement

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  Kalaupapa Village