Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
widely supported in Hawaii. But there is great controversy over what shape Hawaiian
sovereignty should take and who exactly qualifies as Native Hawaiian. Even so, the issue
of Hawaiian sovereignty, as retired US senator Daniel Akaka said, 'is important for all
people of Hawaii…to finally resolve the longstanding issues from a dark period in
Hawaii's history, the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.'
TIMELINE
40-30 million BC
The first Hawaiian island, Kure, rises from the sea, appearing where the Big Island is today.
Borne by wind, wing and wave, plants, insects and birds colonize the new land.
AD 300-600
The first wave of Polynesians, most likely from the Marquesas Islands, voyage by canoe to the
Hawaiian Islands - a half-century before Vikings leave Scandinavia to plunder Europe.
1000-1300
Sailing from Tahiti, a second wave of Polynesians arrives. Their tools are made of stone, shells
and bone, and they bring taro, sweet potato, sugarcane, coconut, chickens, pigs and dogs.
1778-9
Captain Cook, the first foreigner known to reach the islands, visits Hawaiʻi twice. After being
warmly welcomed, Cook loses his temper over a stolen boat and is killed by Hawaiians.
1810
Kamehameha the Great negotiates peacefully to take control of Kauaʻi, uniting all the islands in
one kingdom for the first time. He establishes his royal court at Lahaina on Maui.
1819
Kamehameha I dies 'in the faith of his fathers.' A few months later, his son, the new king Liho-
liho, breaks the kapu (taboo) on eating with women, dramatically violating the Hawaiian reli-
gion.
1820
The first Christian missionaries arrive in Hawaiʻi. King Liholiho eventually allows missionary
leader Hiram Bingham to establish the mission's headquarters in Honolulu.
