Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Captain James Cook, Hawaii's first
haole.
Overnight, stone-age Hawaii entered the age of iron. Nails were traded for fresh water,
pigs, and the affections of Hawaiian women. The sailors brought syphilis, measles, and other
diseases to which the Hawaiians had no natural immunity, thereby unwittingly wreaking hav-
oc on the native population.
After his unsuccessful attempt to find the Northwest Passage, Cook returned to Kealakekua
Bay on the Big Island, where a fight broke out over an alleged theft, and the great navigator
was killed by a blow to the head. After this “fatal catastrophe,” the British survivors sailed
home. But Hawaii was now on the sea charts, and traders on the fur route between Canada
and China anchored in Hawaii to get fresh water. More trade—and more disastrous liais-
ons—ensued.
Two more sea captains left indelible marks on the islands. The first was American John
Kendrick, who in 1791 filled his ship with sandalwood and sailed to China. By 1825, Hawaii's
sandalwood forests were gone, enabling invasive plants to take charge. The second captain
was Englishman George Vancouver, who in 1793 left cows and sheep, which spread out to the
high-tide lines. King Kamehameha I sent for cowboys from Mexico and Spain to round up the
wild livestock, thus beginning the islands' paniolo (cowboy) tradition.
The tightly woven Hawaiian society began to unravel after the death in 1819 of King Kame-
hameha I, who had used guns seized from a British ship to unite the islands under his rule.
One of his successors, Queen Kaahumanu, abolished the old taboos of the alii and opened the
door for religion of another form.
Staying to Do Well
