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January 18, 1778: Captain James Cook Arrives

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January 18, 1778: Captain James Cook Arrives

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British explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first documented European to reach the Hawaiian Islands, naming them the 'Sandwich Islands.' This marked the beginning of Western influence in Hawaii and would dramatically change the course of Hawaiian history.

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King Kamehameha I completes his conquest of all Hawaiian islands, establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii. This unification brought stability and created a single Hawaiian monarchy that would rule for nearly a century.

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King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and Queen Ka'ahumanu abolish the traditional kapu system of religious laws. This significant cultural shift created a spiritual vacuum that would later be filled by Christian missionaries.

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1820: First American Missionaries Arrive

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1820: First American Missionaries Arrive

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The first company of American Protestant missionaries arrives in Hawaii, beginning a long-term influence on Hawaiian culture, religion, and politics. They established schools, introduced written Hawaiian language, and gained significant political influence.

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King Kamehameha III institutes the Great Mahele, a land division that introduced private property ownership to Hawaii. This dramatic change in land tenure would eventually enable foreigners to acquire large portions of Hawaiian land.

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King Kamehameha III was now becoming more fearful of being seized by France, just as how recently they had taken over Tahiti and other nations. The French began to show their aggression, and in this time of the King's fear, he thought it would be good to get additional protection from the U.S. This ended up with an 1849 treaty between the U.S. and Hawaii, with trust and good intentions behind it.

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After King Kamehameha III passed away, King Kamehameha IV did not pursue the annexation the former king was trying to do. Instead, King Kamehameha IV took the throne when Hawaii’s new sugar industry was replacing the declining whaling industry.  Hawaii’s growers sent most of their unrefined sugar to the U.S., and paid a high import tax.  To overcome this problem, King Kamehameha IV wanted a Reciprocity Treaty to improve Hawaii’s economy by removing America’s tax on Hawaiian sugar.  In exchange, U.S. goods would enter Hawai‘i tax free.

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In 1874, Kalakaua became the world’s first king to visit the U.S., in efforts of pursueing the Reciprocity Treaty for all sugar planters. When the treaty reached the Senate floor, Senators discussed it in secret session.  Secretary of State Hamilton Fish inserted a special clause prohibiting any nation from leasing or obtaining Pearl Harbor, making it so that if the U.S. could not have the land than no one else could. For Hawai‘i sugar growers, the treaty produced sweet profits, as small farms expanded into huge plantations.

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1887: Secret Hawaiian League Established

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1887: Secret Hawaiian League Established

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When the Reciprocity Treaty needed to be renewed, the U.S. inserted a new clause giving America the exclusive rights to use Pearl Harbor.  Unhappily, King Kalakaua signed the treaty. Then, small group of Caucasian businessmen established a secret Hawaiian League to challenge King Kalakaua.  By mid-year, the League would have 400 members. Then, Caucasian businessman would create another party called the "Reform Party", advocates for a better government through a constitutional monarchy.

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The "reformers" wanted more power, which is why they made an alliance with the all-Caucasian military organization, the Honolulu Rifles. One member wanted to assassinate King Kalakaua but the League rejected their idea. By late afternoon, the “reformers” handed King Kalakaua a new constitution. They gave Kalakaua 24 hours to sign it, which he did after a bitter protest. The new constitution gave control of the government to the Caucasian Hawaiian League.

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A day before the overthrow, the Queen had been freshly accused of "Revolutionary Acts" by the Committee of Safety and Sanford Dole was asked to help abolish the monarchy. In the day following, Dole accepted the Committee of Safety turning into the Provisional Government. The first step of the committee's plan was to enforce the government until the Sandwich Islands were handing over to the U.S. Shortly after, the government demanded Queen Liliuokalani to yield from her throne, and after protest, she gave in to save her people.

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When Queen Liliuokalani proposed the idea of a new constitution to the Legislature, her cabinet members would not agree or support her. The annexationist's saw the opportunity to get closer to possession of Hawaii and established the "Committee of Safety". Their first proposal was "annexation to the U.S."

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Soon after the overthrow, Queen Liluokalani made two appeals to the current U.S. president, and the runner-up, Grover Cleveland. As the annexation of Hawaii was being pushed through the senate, new president Cleveland opposed this treaty. Then, he sent former Congressman James Blount to investigate the overthrow as the Queen had requested in her earlier appeal. After months of Blount's investigating, he sent his report to the President. Cleveland read this report and realized that America was guilty for wrongfully overthrowing the Hawaiian Monarchy. He sent a message to congress, revealing the illegal actions the Provisional Government committed. Following this message, Cleveland told new president, Dole, of the Provisional Government to step down from the throne so Queen Liliuokalani could take it back, but he wouldn't follow Cleveland's order.

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Opposed to the Blount Report, annexationist and U.S. Senator, John Morgan, held a meeting for the overthrow. About everyone he invited to this meeting supported to overthrow, so, they could did agree with Morgan. Since nobody agreed with him, Morgan went on to also send a report, urging the U.S. to recognize the Provisional Government. Instead of this report coming for Stevens, it actually supported his actions, explaining how before the Americans came to Hawaii the island was in a state of barbarity. Both the Blount and Morgan Report addressed the same issues but disagreed on whether these actions were okay to do. These reports caused a stalemate in the senate, in turn leaving things as it was in Hawaii and in the U.S.

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Although President William McKinley was freshly elected and stood for the republican party, annexationists were more frustrated than ever, still fighting to obtain the two-thirds vote for the annexation treaty. Native Hawaiians protested against annexation excessively by sending in petitions, but despite their efforts, America declared war on Spain the U.S. begun to station soldiers in Hawaii. Even during the war, annexationists voted on the treaty by majority vote. Hawaii was now annexed by Joint Congressional Resolution.