Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag, which bears a Union Jack. An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew the monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory, Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. (Full article...)
Enlisting in the Union Navy in 1864, Bush served as a sailor aboard USS Vandalia and the captured Confederate vessel USS Beauregard, which maintained the blockade of the ports of the Confederacy. He was discharged from service in 1865 after an injury, which developed into a chronic condition in later life. The impoverished Bush was unable to return to Hawaii for more than a decade, during which time he traveled through New England and much of the Pacific. Back in Hawaii, he worked as a government tax collector and road supervisor for the island of Kauai, where he settled down. In later life, he converted to Mormonism and became an active member of the Hawaiian Mission. After the annexation of Hawaii to the United States, Bush was recognized for his military service, and in 1905 was granted a government pension for the injuries he received in the Navy. He died at his home on Kauai on April 24, 1906. (Full article...)
The 18.9-mile (30.4 km), automated fixed-guideway line was planned, designed, and constructed by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), a semi-autonomous government agency. Hitachi Rail, who also built the railcars used on the line, operates Skyline for the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services (which also manages the region's TheBus service). The almost entirely elevated line is the first large-scale, publicly run metro in the United States to feature platform screen doors and driverless trains. In 2024, the line had an annual ridership of 1,151,000, or about 3,400 per day as of the fourth quarter of 2024. (Full article...)
This section is here to highlight some of the most common words of the Hawaiian Language, ʻŌlelo, that are used in everyday conversation amongst locals.
Pau
Finished, ended, through, terminated, completed, over, all done
Some common uses:
Pau ka hana, The work is finished; in Pidgin a typical sentence would sound like, "Brah, wat time you pau work?"
Princess Kaʻiulani (Hawaiian pronunciation:[kəʔiu'lɐni]; Victoria Kawēkiu Kaʻiulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn; October 16, 1875 – March 6, 1899) was a Hawaiian royal, the only child of Princess Miriam Likelike, and the last heir apparent to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom. She was the niece of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. After the death of her mother, Kaʻiulani was sent to Europe at age 13 to complete her education under the guardianship of British businessman and Hawaiian sugar investor Theo H. Davies. She had not yet reached her eighteenth birthday when the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom altered her life. The Committee of Safety rejected proposals from both her father Archibald Scott Cleghorn, and provisional president Sanford B. Dole, to seat Kaʻiulani on the throne, conditional upon the abdication of Liliʻuokalani. The Queen thought the Kingdom's best chance at justice was to relinquish her power temporarily to the United States.
Davies and Kaʻiulani visited the United States to urge the Kingdom's restoration; she made speeches and public appearances denouncing the overthrow of her government and the injustice toward her people. While in Washington, D.C. she paid an informal visit to President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Cleveland, but her efforts were in vain. The situation put both Kaʻiulani and her father in dire financial straits. Her annual government stipend ceased, and her father's income as a government employee came to an end. Father and daughter spent the years 1893–1897 drifting among the European aristocracy, relatives and family friends in England, Wales, Scotland and Paris, before finally returning to Hawaii. (Full article...)
"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here." — Dan Quayle
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