Discovery and settlement of Hawaii facts for kids

The Polynesian people discovered the Hawaiian Islands a long time ago. Scientists use special dating methods to figure out when this happened. They believe the first people settled in Hawaii sometime between 1219 and 1266 A.D. These early settlers came from other islands like the Society Islands (around 1025 to 1120 A.D.) and the Marquesas Islands (around 1100 to 1200 A.D.).

How many people lived in ancient Hawaii?

For a long time, many people thought that once the first settlers arrived, the population of Hawaii just kept growing steadily. They believed it only stopped growing when James Cook arrived in 1778, bringing new diseases that caused the population to drop quickly. This idea suggested there might have been between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people in Hawaii in 1778.

However, new scientific dating and archaeological findings don't support this idea of constant growth. Instead, evidence from ancient sites, like the amount of wood charcoal found (which shows how many fires were made for cooking and warmth), suggests a different story. As the population grew, they would have used more land for farming and built more temples called heiau.

The evidence now points to a model where population growth slowed down, especially because Hawaii is an island. Studies of abandoned villages show that the population reached its highest point before Cook arrived. This idea suggests that the population before Cook's arrival was likely between 100,000 and 150,000 people.

Scientists think the population history of Hawaii can be split into three parts:

• Before settlement: No people lived on the islands.
• Initial growth (around 1150 AD to 1450 AD): The population grew from about 100 people to around 150,000. During this time, people cleared more forests for farming and built many heiau.
• Stable period (1450 AD to 1778 AD): The population stayed fairly stable, with some ups and downs. During this time, fewer new heiau were built, and less land was cleared for farming. By the time Cook arrived in 1778, the estimated population was between 110,000 and 150,000.

Early visitors before Western contact

James Cook is famous for visiting Hawaii, but he might not have been the very first outsider to arrive. Hawaiian stories mention shipwrecks on islands like Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai between 1521 and 1530 AD. These stories describe the shipwrecked people as white, leading many to believe they were Spanish.

There are also records of Japanese boats landing in Hawaii. One group of Japanese sailors arrived at Makapu'u Point on O'ahu in 1258. Another group, carrying sugar cane, landed on Maui in 1270. There are many similarities between Hawaiian and Japanese cultures, like the design of knives. This suggests that Japanese sailors might have visited Hawaii many times between 1550 and 1630. Some records even show up to a dozen successful voyages from Japan to Hawaii between 1600 and 1778.

Western contact and population changes

When Westerners started visiting Hawaii in the late 1700s and early 1800s, it brought big changes to the Kingdom of Hawaii. One of the biggest impacts was the introduction of new diseases like bubonic plague and yellow fever. The native Hawaiian population, which was around 150,000 in 1778, dropped sharply to about 71,000 by 1853. This decline was due to diseases, many babies not surviving, and people leaving the islands for trade jobs in bigger cities.

To deal with the shrinking population and changing economy, leaders like King Kamehameha I looked for skilled workers from other countries. These included navigators, blacksmiths, carpenters, and sailmakers. If these men agreed to stay in Hawaii, they could expect to receive land and marry local women.

Why the population dropped so fast

Many things caused the rapid drop in the Hawaiian population. Missionaries who visited Hawaii described empty villages and farms, which they blamed on wars during Kamehameha's rule and diseases brought by foreign ships. Other experts explained the severe population decline as a result of diseases, many babies not surviving, and people moving away from the islands.

Hawaiian customs and land use also played a part in the population decline after the diseases hit. The family unit often focused on a "favored child" who would inherit property. This system made it hard for families to grow unless they were given new land. In the 1800s, many young adults chose not to work as tenants on the land. This meant fewer people were working the land and supporting the traditional family structure, which was more about replacing people than growing the population.

The whaling industry

Between 1820 and 1845, the whaling industry grew very quickly in Hawaii. In 1819, only a few whaling ships visited, but by the 1840s, there were 400 to 500 ships visiting the islands twice a year. They stopped in Hawaii for supplies, rest, and to find workers before heading back to New England. For example, a census in Nantucket, Massachusetts (a whaling center), showed that 793 Native Hawaiians had moved there by 1840.

Early immigration

With fewer native Hawaiians available to work on the growing sugar plantations, and many leaving the islands on ships, recruiters went to Asia and Europe to find more male workers. Between 1850 and 1900, about 200,000 contract laborers came to Hawaii from places like China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Portugal, Germany, and Norway. This made the islands much more diverse.

Most of these workers left the sugar plantations after their contracts ended, often moving to California. Many saw Hawaii as a place to earn money, not to settle down and raise families. For example, there was only one Chinese woman for every seventeen Chinese men.

In response to the increasing immigration, King Kamehameha V created the Board of Immigration. This board aimed to control the arrival of foreign workers. While some criticized that Chinese male laborers were treated poorly, the Hawaiian government stated that the main goal was to bring in more workers to help with the high death rates and population decline. However, by 1881, they temporarily stopped Chinese immigration because of mistreatment and exploitation of Chinese workers.

Despite this, many Chinese and Japanese workers stayed after their contracts ended, creating a small Chinatown in Honolulu. By 1893, Chinese and Japanese male workers made up 51.9% of the population. After Hawaii became part of the United States in 1900, federal law stopped further Chinese immigration. Then, Koreans came until 1905. By 1908, a total of 180,000 Japanese workers had arrived, though no more were allowed in after that year, and 50,000 stayed permanently.

Estimated Population

Official Population Census

Images for kids

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  King Kamehameha I of Hawaii

See also

In Spanish: Descubrimiento y asentamiento de Hawái para niños