The
Hawaiian Islands are separated from the rest of the
world
by a vast ocean. It is located at about 21°19 N and 157°48'
W.
It is 2,300 miles from the nearest point on the mainland of
the United States. Hawaii rose up out of the sea as a line
of volcanoes beginning about 70 million years ago. There has
never been a land bridge to any other place. Before
the first humans came to Hawaii around 1000 AD, many
living things found their way there. Spores,
seeds, microorganisms, birds, and other living things have
found their way to the islands in various ways. Some have
died and some have thrived, creating diverse and rich forests.
There is nothing quite like them anywhere. The wettest rain
forest in the world is on Mt. Waialeale on the island of Kauai.
Rain in that magical place averages 450 inches a year. The
first people arrived from the south, probably the Marquesas
islands. They established a society ruled by powerful warlords
and regulated by taboos ( kapu ) and religious ethics.
Just when the first Europeans
reached Hawaii is uncertain, but there is evidence
that Spaniards were the earliest visitors.
It is well documented that the English explorer, James Cook,
came upon and landed at [xxxxx], on the shores of the Big
Island
( Hawaii ) on January 18, 1778. He died there in 1819.
A mighty warrior,
King Kamehemeha managed to unite,
by force, all the islands save Kauai and Niihau under his
rule.
His kingdom lasted until 1893, when the last Hawaiian monarch,
Queen Liliuokalani, was overthrown in a coup led by supporters
of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom and replaced by
a Provisional Government, and later a Republic. During those
transitional years, many tons of sugar were shipped from Hawaii
to the world market. In 1898, Hawaii
became territory the United States of America. In 1959 it
became a state of the United States of
America. |
