Today, we know Hawaii as part of the United States and as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.  The history of Hawaii, of course, pre-dates its statehood.  In fact it stretches back at least fifteen hundred years.

Historians believe that the first residents of Hawaii found the Big Island around the year 500 AD.  They were Polynesians from what we now call the Marquesas Islands and they somehow managed to navigate over two thousand miles en route to the island.  The Polynesians may have been among the first human visitors to Hawaii, but they were only the beginning of a long procession of travelers who would have an impact on the islands.

The Polynesians began the settlement of Hawaii and were later joined by Tahitians who also found the islands.  The Tahitians and Polynesians didn’t always get along famously, but they did manage to co-exist.  In time, the cultures merged to create a uniquely Hawaiian perspective that flourished for several centuries, though there were conflicts between tribes and their chiefs.  Eventually, a single kingdom would be established—but it wouldn’t last long thanks to the arrival of another group.

In the late 1700s, Western explorers found their way to Hawaii.  Among the first was Captain James Cook.  Cook was killed a year later, but the West now knew about Hawaii.  Within a few years, Christian missionaries arrived.  Their teachings were relatively well-received by the local population, whose king had recently abolished the old Tahitian religion, which featured a rather strict caste system.

Hawaii rapidly became a port and center of commerce.  Western ways took their toll on Hawaii, impacting the local culture to its detriment and exposing many of the Hawaiians to deadly western diseases.  By 1893, the influence of the Europeans and Americans was so great that the interlopers were able to overthrow the Hawaiian king.  The coup didn’t involve the firing of a single shot—economic power was wielded effectively in place of armed troops.  By 1898, Hawaii was a US territory.

The next several decades saw a great deal of growth in the area.  Hawaii had a busy agricultural economy and accepted immigrants from Japan, the Phillipines, China and elsewhere.  Hawaii continued in its long history as a “melting pot” for people of all sorts.

Hawaii wasn’t a state, but it was definitely under the control of the US.  In fact, the US Navy stationed much of its Pacific fleet in Hawaii.  Of course, US involvement in World War II was largely precipitated by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941.  Less than twenty years after that “day of infamy”, Hawaii officially became the fiftieth State.

Long loved for its beautiful scenery and mild climate, Hawaii has become a globally significant tourist destination.  People from all around the globe flock to Hawaii for vacations every year.