While the oldest Hawaiian island (Kauai) was formed some 5.1 million years ago, the Big Island is the newest addition, and is still growing. There were once five active volcanoes contributing to the island’s growth: Mauna Kea, Kohala, Hualalai, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Hualalai last erupted in 1801, while Kilauea and Mauna Loa are still considered active.

The early Hawaiians…
By the time Westerners discovered Hawaii (in the late 18th century), Polynesians from the Marquesas, Tahiti and the Cook Islands had lived on the islands for more than 1,200 years. These island people had traveled over 3,500 miles by sea, bringing with them the plant life and animals necessary for their survival. They had established a way of life based around agriculture and a government based around alii (chiefs) and kahuna (priests). The system of kapu dictated the rules of society. The Hawaiian people were, for the most part, peaceful. Because there were only a limited number of able-bodied warriors, a fighting lifestyle was not practical. Pre-contact life on the Big Island was quite prosperous. As one of the primary taro producers in the island chain, it managed to maintain a relatively high standard of living through inter-island trade.

The ancient Hawaiians were a highly religious people; many gods and goddesses affected their behavior in everyday life. On the Big Island, the most powerful of these was the Volcano Goddess, Pele. Big Islanders believed that Pele’s wrath showed itself in the form of the molten lava that frequently ran down the mountainside and (less frequently) destroyed villages and killed their inhabitants.

Captain Cook’s Arrival
January 17, 1779 was the date of Captain James Cook’s arrival into Kealakekua Bay. Coincidentally, the British ships sailed into the bay during a celebration known as Makahiki. More than 10,000 Hawaiians had flocked to the area to honor the god Lono. According to Hawaiian legend, Lono was a ‘white god’ accompanied by white banners-a remarkably similar description to that of Cook, who arrived by sea with his white flags flying. The Big Islanders greeted this British navigator as though he were in fact a god. He was treated with complete deference during the remaining two weeks of Makahiki: entertained, honored and plied with gifts. In return, Cook presented the Hawaiians with gifts and with British-style entertainment (fireworks).

Apparently, the initial goodwill was not enough to maintain peaceable relations between the British and the Islanders. Cook sailed out of Kealakekua, only to turn back due to ship damage. At that point, Makahiki had ended and a kapu (rule) that forbade entrance to the bay was being enforced. In respect for this kapu, the Hawaiians confiscated the British shore boat. The British responded by attempting to kidnap the Hawaiian chief Kalaniopuu. They planned to use the chief as hostage until their boat was returned. This attempt was Cook’s fatal mistake: he was killed by a group of Hawaiians as soon as he reached the shore.

Hawaiian Sovereignty
After Cook’s death in 1779, a young Big Island alii named Kamehameha was inspired to seize a British ship. With the cannon and guns on the ship, he was able to obtain control of the entire Hawaiian Island chain. Under Kamehameha’s rule, Hawaii became an organized sovereignty for the first time, and was recognized by the world as such. The king built his court on the Big Island and established a system of trade and taxation. As the islands were forced to become more and more involved with trade in the western world, it became increasingly difficult to preserve Hawaiian culture. Kamehameha managed to maintain the delicate balance until his death in 1819.

The island population had been fairly small to begin with, numbering about 300,000. After the arrival of the westerners, disease ran rampant on the islands, killing off all but about 50,000 people by the year 1880. As the population diminished, so did the strength of the Hawaiian nation.

Hawaii’s Island
In the 1840s, an attempt was made by the British Consul to seize control of the Hawaiian Island chain. Although British government changed their position, thereby rendering the attempt unsuccessful, this event raised the issue of land ownership on the Islands. Foreigners decided that the time had come to claim their piece of paradise. Up until that time, the Hawaiians had measured land in terms of its resources. In order to qualify as an ahupuaa (the Hawaiian unit of measurement), the land had to contain timber, fresh water, farmland and water for fishing. This concept was beyond European understanding, and they set about divvying up the land as they saw fit.

In 1845, an event later known as the Great Mahele occurred. This event surrendered all lands for redistribution: a third was to go to royalty, another third to the government, and the last third was to be divided amongst the people. By 1850, land ownership rights were given to any foreigner who cared to purchase them. The majority of the land held by the island people passed into the hands of the foreigners in the course of just a few decades.

Once the Hawaiians began to lose control of the land, it was a slippery slope downward to the total decline of their island culture. The last queen, Liliuokalani, was forced to relinquish power into the hands of the businessmen who had won control of the sugar industry. Annexation followed shortly thereafter: on August 12, 1898, Hawaii became a territory of the United States. On July 27, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th of the United States, with the Big Island constituting one of its four counties.

The Big Island of Hawaii Today While much of the Big Island’s culture was lost through the course of the past 200 years, recent times have seen a resurgence of interest in Hawaiiana. The dance, song and legend of ancient Hawaii have not yet been lost, although they no longer represent the beliefs of a nation. Perhaps more amazing than the perseverance of the Hawaiian people is the fact that, today, so many races live harmoniously in what was once a land of conflict.