Hawaii [antikvár]

All the visions that stir the imagination when the tropics come to mind are to be found in Hawaii. The glistening waters off a sun drenched beach, lush green mountains laced with waterfalls, the romantic reverie of palms silhouetted against a vibrant dusk sky, and moonlit nights caressed by gentle trade winds are but some of the ways in which Hawaii epitomizes paradise. Hawaii was admitted as the 50th State on August 21, 1959, having been administered as an American territory since 1898. For five years before that it had been a republic under the control of American planters and businessmen who had helped overthrow the monarchy and the rule of Queen Liliuokalani. It is believed that the earliest inhabitants of the Islands were Polynesians who over a span of centuries had come from southeast Asia by way of the Marquesas and the Society Islands. In time contact was lost with these home islands and Hawaii developed its own distinctive Polynesian culture. A feudalistic lifestyle emerged, with the ruling alii (nobility) and kahunas (priests) controlling a population of farmers, fishermen, warriors and slaves. The kapu system was tied closely to their religion and consisted of rules and regulations that insured the rule ofthe alii and kahunas. It was Captain James Cook's arrival in 1778 that introduced the archipelago he called the Sandwich Islands to the western world. At the time of Cook's arrival Hawaii was in the midst of interisland wars being waged by chiefs trying to extend their dominions. By 1810, with the aid of foreign advisors and modern weaponry, Kameha-meha I, the greatest ofthe Hawaiian chiefs, had united the islands into a single kingdom. By the time the first missionaries arrived from New England in 1820, foreign influence had already played a role in causing the abolition of the kapu system and the destruction of the gods and temples of the old religion. The missionaries played a vital role in this transitional period, not only introducing Christianity to the Hawaiians with the support of the royal family and alii, but also creating an alphabet for the unwritten Hawaiian language, establishing schools where science, history and technology were taught, developing modern agricultural techniques, and coordinating the establishment of nineteenth century American-style democracy as advisors to Hawaii's kings. Westernization brought with it the end of the feudal land-owning system, and in the mid-nineteenth century the lands were divided between the crown, the alii, and the commoners. This change helped pave the way for plantation agriculture, which prospered with the introduction of sugar and later pineapple. Sugar was to trigger further changes, for with Hawaii's native population dying off from a combination of introduced diseases and spiritual demoralization, new sources of labor meant the importation of foreigners. Decade to decade the source of contract labor changed, drawing Chinese, Japanese, American, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, Korean and Filipino immigrants to Hawaii's shores, thus remaking the genetic landscape. Despite growth and change, Hawaii remains a place for indulging in romantic imagery. These unique islands are a place of marvelous contrasts where Polynesia, America and the Orient converge in a setting of unexcelled beauty. Aloha it is easy to understand why it is the most universally known word ofthe Hawaiian language. It is used in greetings of hello, goodbye and love. To take its message seriously and live out its meaning often is to carry the spirit of Hawaii with you wherever you go.