Transcript File - The Owen Family

A History of Hawaii






1778

Captain James Cook and the crews of the HMS Resolution and HMS
Discovery sight O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and Ni‘ihau on January 18. Cook names
his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, the Earl of
Sandwich.

Captain Cook leaves behind Hawai‘i’s first goats, a ram and two ewes,
during a visit to Ni‘ihau February 2.

Captain Cook returns November 26 and begins to chart the coasts of
the islands of Hawai‘i and Maui.
1779

Captain Cook and his ships arrive at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island
on January 17.

On February 14, Cook and four of his marines are killed ashore by
Hawaiians.
1782

Kamehameha I begins his campaign to unify the islands.
1793

Hawai‘i’s first cattle—five cows, two with calf—are brought ashore at
Kealakekua Bay from Captain George Vancouver’s ship on February
22.
1795

Kamehameha I conquers Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, and O‘ahu, in the
battle of Nu‘uanu.
1796

Kamehameha I fails in his attempt to invade Kaua‘i.

1803


1809


King Kaumualii cedes his island to Kamehameha I and the
Hawaiian Islands are unified under a single leader.
1816


King Kaumualii of Kaua‘i visits O‘ahu to meet
Kamehameha I and arrange the cession of his island.
1810


The Lelia Byrd, commanded by Captain William Shaler,
arrives June 21 bringing the first horses to Hawai‘i.
Otto von Kotzebue, commanding the Russian Navy brig
Rurik, visits Hawai‘i on November 21.
1818


Opukahai‘a (Henry Obookiah) dies in Connecticut
February 17, inspiring Protestant missionaries to come to
the Sandwich Islands.
The Provincias Undias del Rio de lat Plata privateer La
Argentina, Captain Hipólito Bouchard commanding,
arrives August 18.





1819

Louis de Freycinet, commander of the the French corvette Uranie, and
leader of an exploration and scientific expedition, visits Hawai‘i on
August 8.

The first whale ships, the Balena from New Bedford and the Equator of
Newburyport, arrive in Hawaiian waters on September 29.

Kamehameha II and his advisors order the destruction of heiaus and
an end to the kapu system, thus overthrowing the traditional Hawaiian
religion.
1820

The brig Thaddeus arrives at Kailua, Hawai‘i, on April 4, bringing the
pioneer company of American missionaries from Boston. Among them
are the first foreign women to settle in the Islands.
1821

Honolulu's first Christian house of worship is dedicated September 15
at the location of the present Kawaiaha‘o Church.
1822

The first Hawaiian language lesson, The Alphabet, is printed on the
Mission Press January 7.
1823

Keōpūolani, the queen mother, receives a Christian baptism (the first
Hawaiian to be so baptized) on her deathbed and dies September 16.
She is the first Hawaiian in Hawai‘i to be baptized in the Protestant
faith.

1825



1826


Queen Ka‘ahumanu dies at home in Mānoa Valley on June 5. She
was instrumental in the fall of the kapu system and the adoption
of the Christian religion.
1837


He left Hawai‘i as a youth and returned with the pioneer company
of American missionaries in 1820.
1832


The first sugar and coffee plantations are started in Mānoa Valley
by John Wilkinson.
Queen Ka‘ahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I and queen regent for
Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III, is baptized December 4,
along with her cousin Kalanimōkū, his infant son Leleiōhoku (a
grandson of Kamehameha I), her sister Pi‘ia, Deborah Kapule, and
Gideon La‘anui.
The first public streets are laid out in Honolulu.
1842

The United States recognizes the Kingdom of Hawai‘i on
December 19.


1843

Lord George Paulet, commanding the British frigate Carysfort, arrives
on

February 10 and demands provisional cession of Hawai‘i to Great
Britain. Lord Paulet on February 15 orders the Hawaiian flag lowered
and the British flag raised over Hawai‘i.

Admiral Richard Thomas, commanding H.M.S. flagship Dublin, arrives
on July 26. He rescinds the cession under Paulet and restores
sovereignty to the Islands.

Kamehameha II, in his restoration day speech, recites a phrase that
becomes Hawaii's national motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono
("The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness").

England and France recognize the independence of the Sandwich
Islands on November 28
1848

The land division known as the Great Mahele begins January 27 and
continues through March 7, dividing Hawai‘i's lands among the king
and chiefs.

An epidemic of measles, whooping cough, and influenza takes the
lives of about 10,000 people. Most of the victims are native
Hawaiians.

The twelfth (and last) company of American Congregationalist
missionaries arrives aboard the Samoser on February 26.

1850


1852


A smallpox epidemic lasts eight months and takes 5,000–
6,000 lives.
1868


The first Chinese contract laborers arrive from Amoy,
Fukien, China, aboard the Thetis on January 3.
1853


The legislature authorizes a contract labor system to
recruit foreign workers for Hawai‘i's plantations June 21.
The first Japanese contract laborers arrive on June 24.
1875

A reciprocity treaty is signed on January 30, allowing
sugar and other products to enter the United States
without customs duties.





1878
 Portuguese contract laborers arrive from the Medeira Islands
on September 30.
1887
 King Kalākaua is forced by the Hawaiian League, a group
favoring a more liberalized constitution, to sign the "bayonet
constitution" on July 6.
1900

President McKinley signs the Organic Act on April 30, making
Hawai‘i a territory of the United States. The U.S. Senate
confirms the appointment of Sanford B. Dole as governor of
Hawai‘i May 9. Sanford B. Dole is inaugurated as the first
governor of the Territory of Hawai‘i on June 14.
1903
 The Gaelic arrives at midnight January 12 with the first group
of Koreans to arrive to work on the sugar plantations.
1908
 The U.S. Congress approves $3.1 million for a naval station at
Pearl Harbor on May 13.
The expansion of Tourism/Travel to
Hawaii

1928


1941



Samuel Wilder King is named governor of the Territory of Hawai'i February
16; he is the first part-Hawaiian governor of the Islands.
1957


Japanese planes attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December
7. The U.S.S. Arizona and other ships are sunk. More than 2,500 lives are
lost. Army Lt. Gen.
Walter C. Short assumes control from Governor Joseph B. Poindexter and
becomes military governor of Hawai‘i. He declares martial law.
1953


The first chain grocery store in Hawai‘i, Oakland-based Piggly Wiggly, opens
in Honolulu February 4.
Statehood for Alaska is approved by the U.S. Congress, but action on
Hawai‘i's request is delayed
1959


Alaska is officially proclaimed the Forty-ninth State on January 3. Statehood
for Hawai‘i is approved by the U.S. Senate on March 11 and by the House
on March 12.
An act signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower designating Hawai‘i the
fiftieth state becomes law on March 18.

1960


1982


The fiftieth star is added to the U.S. flag on
July 4.
Eileen R. Anderson becomes the state's first
woman mayor, defeating Frank F. Fasi in
November for the office of mayor of the City
and County of Honolulu.
1986

John Waihee is elected governor, the first
elected state governor of Hawaiian ancestry.

1993





The 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the
Hawaiian kingdom.
The Rev. Paul Sherry, president of the United
Church of Christ of the United States, formally
apologizes to Native Hawaiians for the church’s role
in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
The U.S. Senate apologizes to Hawaiians for the
illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
President Bill Clinton signs a Congressional
Resolution acknowledging the illegality of the
overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
The remains of Henry Opukaha‘ia, the first Hawaiian
to convert to Christianity, are returned to Hawai‘i
from Connecticut and reburied in Kahikolu
Cemetery in Napoopoo.
Condensed Timeline
















1627Traditional home of the Polynesians. The Spanish first visit Hawaii
1778The islands were originally called the Sandwich islands by English Captain James
Cook in 1778. They were named after his friend John Montague, the 4th Earl of
Sandwich and first lord of the Admiralty.
1779Captain James Cook was killed in dispute with Hawaiians at Kealakekua, Island of
Hawaii.
1791Polynesian ruler Kamehameha controls the entire islands of Hawaii.
1794Hawaii is placed under the protectorate of Great Britain by Vancouver
1813The Spanish introduce coffee and pineapple to Hawaii
1820The first Protestant missionaries arrive from New England
1826U.S. enters into treaty with Hawaii.
1840Hawaii adopts its first constitution
1843Lord George Paulet claims Hawaii for England for 5 months but then enters a
treaty
1849French admiral Legoarant de Tromelin fails in attempted invasion of the islands
1893Hawaiian Monarchy overthrown
1894July 4th, Republic of Hawaii established
1898Congress passes the Newlands Resolution which annexing Hawaii as a territory
1941Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
1959Congress passes the Hawaii Admission Act to admit Hawaii as an American State.
Statehood - The Date that Hawaii was admitted to the Union - August 21, 1959.
Constitution - Hawaii was the 50th State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto - "
Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono " the State Motto is translated as " The life of the
land is perpetuated in righteousness "
Current Issues in Hawaii
Living on an Island

High cost of living, food, housing,
electricity, and taxes
Methamphetamine Use




“…meth use in the workforce in
Hawaii is at 410 percent greater
than that average.”
Theories:
Financial pressures cause people to
work longer and harder hours.
Meth increases a person’s energy.
Harmful Effects of Meth Use



chronic use can actually “significantly
change how the brain functions”.
reduced motor skills, emotional and
cognitive problems, hallucinations,
delusions, irregular heartbeat, anxiety,
insomnia, and violent behavior.
Meth is also highly addictive and the
effects may persist even after use has
stopped.
What’s being done?

Programs like the Hawaii Meth
Project are using public service
messaging, public policy, and
outreach efforts to educate
residents on the dangers of the
drug, prevent first time meth use,
and reduce the number of users in
and out of the workforce.
Homelessness in Hawaii




Hawaii has the third-highest ratio of homeless
people to residents of any state, better only than
Nevada and Oregon
Combination of; highest housing costs with
below-average wages
Tent colonies on beaches
“Better to be homeless where the weather is nice”


13 percent of those receiving homeless outreach
services in Honolulu had been in Hawaii for less
than a year
Others, particularly those from Pacific island
nations, travel to Hawaii to receive critical medical
care that's not available at home
Solutions?


increase mental health care services,
repair shelters, and move the chronically
homeless into permanent housing.
the issue ultimately can only be
addressed person by person since
everyone's situation is different.
Solutions range from job training to
providing psychiatric care to, in the
long-term, making more affordable
housing available.
Racism in Hawaii
Demographics



1.3 million residents
25% white/Caucasian
20% Native Hawaiian/mixed race


Anti-white sentiments have been more
than 200 years in the making.
The pivotal event occurred when
American and European businessmen,
backed by U.S. military forces, overthrew
Hawaii's monarch in 1893 and placed her
under house arrest two years later. The
United States annexed the islands as a
territory in 1898, and they became a
state in 1959.



Homeland invaded
Exposed to diseases for which they
had no immunity
Alien culture forced upon them




It’s an issue
The tourism-dependent state barely
acknowledges hate crimes.
“arrogant mainlanders are the most
likely to incur natives' wrath”





The last day of school has long been unofficially
designated "Kill Haole Day," with white students
singled out for harassment and violence. (Haole —
pronounced how-lee — is slang for a foreigner, usually
white, and sometimes is used as a racial slur.)
A non-Native Hawaiian student who challenged the
Hawaiian-preference admission policy at a wealthy
private school received a $7 million settlement this
year.
A 12-year-old white girl new to Hawaii from New York
City needed 10 surgical staples to close a gash in her
head incurred when she was beaten in 2007 by a
Native Hawaiian girl who called her a "f***ing haole."
A vocal segment of Native Hawaiians is pushing for
independence to end the "prolonged occupation" by the
United States and governance by natives.
Demonstrators shouting racial epithets at whites
disrupted a statehood celebration in 2006.
Tips

Be respectful


Of the people, of the land, and of the
culture
You have to earn ‘aloha’