Hawaii [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Two thousand four hundred miles south-west of San Francisco lies Hawaii Island, the largest in a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean which form the 50th State of the United States of America. The famed Captain James Cook sighted these islands in January 1778 although they had undoubtedly been visited by earlier European navigators in the 16th century When Captain Cook landed he found a Stone Age people whose ancestors had been skilled Polynesian seamen who had voyaged to the Hawaiian Islands, probably from Tahiti, over a thousand years previously. They had travelled in 100 ft long, double-hulled canoes capable of carrying as many as a hundred people together with live animals and a supply of food plants such as coconut, breadfruit, banana and sugar cane. Their journey must have taken several weeks and their lack of navigational aids suggests an advanced knowledge of astronomy The Polynesian crewmen were chosen for their immense strength and stamina as well as their considerable bulk - necessary to sustain them in their exposure to the seas and winds. When they arrived at the Hawaiian Islands they built houses and planted crops. They sent their canoes back and encouraged others of their people to join them. It is said that when Captain Cook landed the population was in the region of 300,000 from whom he received a warm and rapturous welcome - the famous 'aloha'. Aloha derives from an old word meaning "affectionate greeting" and today this traditional reception, which involves offering flowers and goodwill to strangers, is still a charming custom practised in Hawaii. When Cook first landed he was treated as a reincarnation of the god Lono. He named the carefree group of islands the Sandwich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich, at that time First Lord of the Admiralty in Britain. He encouraged bartering amongst the people and his crew; iron nails from the ships were exchanged for sweet potatoes, for instance, as the islanders had no knowledge of metal and these mundane objects were highly prized. When the time came for Captain Cook and his crew to leave the islands, a storm badly damaged the foremast of one of his ships and he ordered a return to shore. Incensed by the theft of certain articles, mainly of metal, from his ships, Cook led a party ashore to regain them - if necessary by taking hostages. A confrontation ensued, culminating in the violent death of the famous explorer. His body was buried vdth full naval honours in the bay. Life in Hawaii continued under a powerful Chief named Kamehameha, who set up a dynasty of Polynesian Kings and Queens that was to last untíl 1893. Kamehameha did much to promote growth in his islands, encouraging trade, particularly in sandalwood - a fragrant commodity that was much valued at that time in the Orient. steadily the islands began to prosper. Whaling, based at Honolulu and Lahaina, was flourishing and so too were the commercially-grovm crops of sugar, coffee, rice and pineapples. The Hawaiians themselves had no inclination to work on the thriving plantations so Oriental labourers, first from China and then from Japan and the Philippines, were imported in large numbers. These days the work is highly mechanised and the wages are considerably higher but a large number of the descendants of those early immigrants now hold many of the responsible jobs throughout the islands. Naturally, the original Polynesian race has been diluted through the centuries and the population now is a truly mixed one; a society genuinely integrated and with equality in all aspects of its life. In 1893 a bloodless revolution ended the dynastic rule and Hawaii became a republic. Sovereignty of the republic, however, passed to the U.S.A. and in 1898 citizens of Hawaii became citizens of America. An important naval base was established at Pearl Harbour; a base that was to be the focus of an attack by the Japanese in 1941 which brought America into World War II and united the Hawaiians in favour of becoming a State of that powerful nation. This, in fact, did not happen until 1960, since when it has been loiown as the Aloha State. Tourism throughout the islands has boomed and vast sums of money have been invested in luxury hotels, golf courses, clubs and restaurants - all the facilities expected of first class holiday resorts. Why do people visit Hawaii? One of the reasons is the spectacularly rugged and mountainous scenery which includes active volcanoes, and the white sand beaches washed by sparkling blue Pacific waters which also provide some of the most celebrated surfing conditions in the world. There is also lush tropical vegetation with shower trees, poincianas, plumerías and Jacarandas to dazzle the eye, and exotic fruits such as papayas, guavas, passion fruit and litchis, whose very names are sufficient to stimulate the taste buds and which ripen to perfection in the hot, reliable sunshine. But above all, to every visitor is offered the traditional hospitality that is so much a feature of the lovely Hawaiian Islands and is so much a part of the character of the warm-hearted Hawaiian people. Left: Ala Moana Park, a favourite recreation spot, pictured at sunset.