A History of Hawaii National Park

10~23 (June 1941) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE J.-l •• ----~~::':_~::':_:':::!:: ______ NATIONAL PARK FILE NO. A HISTORY OF HAWAII NATIONAL PARK by I~ J. Castro IMPORTANT This file constitutes a part of the official records of the National Park Service and should not be separated or papers withdrawn without express authority of the official in charge. All Files should be returned promptly to the File Room. Officials and employees will be held responsible for failure to observe these rules, which are necessary to protect the integrity of the official records. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16-22371-2 I • • I A History of Hawaii National Park I by I. J. Castro I The Pacific ~:::; a big ocean: it covers more than one-third of the earth's surface and more area than all of its land. It I stretches more than 10,000 miles from Panama to the Philippines and I almost as far frow the Bering Sea to Antarctica. The Pacific is the mother cf oceans; the setting of romantic, moonlit isles; the hunting I ground of' a parade of explorers, buccaneers, and traders; the battle ground where an em\lire bent unon world conquest was vanquished by a I nation determined to preserve its hard-won freedoms; and the home of I the Polynesians, a hardy breed of people whose beginnings are obscure and full of conjecture, I Three distinct regions make up the Pacific World, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. The designation Polynesia is derived from I the Greek ~' an island, and poli, many, Largest among these re I gions is Polynesia, which forms an almost perfect equilateral triangle with Easter Island at the apex, Hawaii at the left corner of the base I line, and New Zealand at the right, The distance between each point of the triangle is between four and five thousand miles. I The islands of the Pacific number into the thousands and range from shoals and atolls to mighty land masses. They are commonly I identified as continental or oceanic islands, depending on the geo I logical story they tell. Continental islands are geologically parts I I I I of the continental platforms, for their rock types and structures are similar to those of the continental land masses; oceanic is I lands, generally the product of volcanism, are far removed from I the continents and differ in geological structure with the conti nental masses. I I Stretching from northwest to southeast for a distance of 1,500 miles across the Pacific lie the Hawaiian Islands where nature I blended a forerunner to Paradise. The archipelago was built by sustained and prodigious volcanic activity that probably began some I 60 million years ago through a series of fissures in the ocean floor. I The islands represent the tops of an enormous submarine mountain range. VJind, rain, surf, and other agents have eroded some of the I islands into small rAnmants that project only a few feet above the surface of the ocean. I The Hawaiian archipelago consists of 18 islands, reefs, I shoals, atolls, and pinnacles varying in size from 4,030 square miles to a few acres. Largest in the group is the Island of Hawaii, which I boasts two of the world's most consistently active volcanoes, the highest insular mountain, and the largest single mountain mass. Small I est of the lot is Gardner Pinnacle, a stack of volcanic rock of three acres. I Midway, which marked the beginning of the end for the Japanese Empire in \ilorld War II, is a part of the chain, as are such I places as Lanai and Kauai and Molokai and others. I I 2 I • I The timeless buildup of the islands continues, and if one could look into the future he would probably see new islands thrusting I their tops above the ocean to the southeast. I Plant spores and seeds borne by currents, winds, and migratory birds eventually found their way to these once barren islands I and mantled them with a carpet of vegetatjon. The native birds were probably blown in by strong winds; the Hawalian bat and seal, the only I native mammals, probably came in under their own power; and the coconut, I along with the pig, dog, and other plants and animals, was introduced by the first settlers. I Into this isolated community came the Polynesians, who had ventured out into the unknovm fastnesses of the vast Pacific in search I of a homeland. Their conquest of the Great Ocean and its far reaches I must be one of the most thrilling achievements of the human drama, but little is known about it. I * * * * * I The origin of the Polynesian branch of the human family is nebUlous. Analogies have been traced to Egypt, India, Persia, and South America but no evidence has been uncovered to lend conclusive I ; credence to these theories. Affinities with the Egyptians and I Indonesians give weight to the belief that they may have had their I beginnings in Egypt, sojourned in Indonesia for a spell, and then made their way east into the Pacific. As to anthropological characteristics, I they are probably a conposite of the main divisions of the human race but do not constitute a race in their own right. I I 3 I I In his An Account of the Polynesian Race, Abraham Fornander summarizes the migr2tions of the Polynesians as follows: I 11 At the close of the first and during the second century of I the present era the Polynesians left the Asiatic Archipelago and entered the Pacific, establishing themselves on the Fiji group, and I thence spreading to the Samoa, Tonga and other groups eastward and northward. I 11 During the fifth century A. D., Polynesians settled on the I Hawaiian Islands, and remained there, comparatively unknown, until: "The eleventh century A. D., when several parties of fresh I emigrants from the Marquesas, Society and Samoan groups arrived at the Hawaiian Islands, and, for the space of five or six generations, I revived and maintained an active intercourse with the first named I groups; and "From the close of the above migratory era, which may be I roughly fixed ••••• about twenty-one generations ago, Hawaiian history runs isolated from the other Polynesian groups, until their re I discovery by Captain Cook in 177f5." I Fornander 1 s assertions are based on exhaustive research into Hawaiian and related Polynesian legends and traditions and reason I able establishment with confirmed historical events. I * * * * * The conquest of the Pacific by the Europeans began with I Magellan, who discovered a western passage to the east in 1520. I I 4 - I I Sailing under the Spanish f1ag, he set the course for subsequent discoveries and explors.Uons by the Spanish, French, Dutch, and I English. Mendana, Torres, Schouten, Bougainville, Tasman, La Perouse, I and Cook--these are soee of the discoverers who brought the beginning of the end to centuries of ~vth and legend. A strong sense of duty I to save souls fror0 purgatory, promises of fabulous riches, colonial expansion, and searches for new trade routes and sources were the I motivating factors behind these explorations. I Most illustrious among the many explorers of the Pacific was Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy. Born in 1728, he I went to sea early in his youth and quickly established a reputation as an outstanding astronomer and mariner. He made three voyages into I the Pacific between 1768 and 1779, discovering many new lands and I changing many geographical concepts. The new knowledge that he gave to the world made him immortal. I The third and last of Cook's voyages resulted in his dis covery of the Hawaiian Islands on January 18, 1778. Of this momentous I feat he recorded a simple entry in his journal: 11 An island appeared, bearing north-east-by east. Not long after, more land was seen, which I bore north, and v:as totally detached from the former. 11 I Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau are the islands which Cook and his men had seen and were unaware of the existence of other islands in I the group. After provisioning his ships, Cook sailed into the North I Pacific in search of the legendary Northwest Passage. In February I I 5 I I 1779 he returned to Hawaii and discovered the other islands in the archipelago. I Cook had a fondness for the Hawaiians, writing of them: I "We met with less reserve and suspicion in our intercourse with the people of this island than we had ever experienced among any tribe of I savat;es. The inhabitants of 'rahiti have not that confidence in our integrity. ~~"'hence it may be inferred that those of Hawaii are more I faithful in their dealings with other than the Tahitians." I Ironically it is these hospitable people of whom he thought so much who brrmght the end to his brilliant career in 1779. In a I skirmish precipitated over the loss of one of his ship's small boats, Cook was stabbed to death at Kealakekua Bay. By this time the path I had been blazed for the traders, missionaries, and whalers who were to follow. I ·¥.**** I The Hawaiian Islands were consolidated into a kingdom by I Kamehameha I, who abolished the ancient system of government by district chieftains and appointed governors over the principal islands. I The Hawaiian monarchy continued until the reign of Queen Liliuolr..alani, whose govermnent was overthrown in 1893. The Republic of Hawaii suc I ceeded the provisional government established after the depose of I Liliuokalani, and in 1900 the United States annexed the islands into the Territory of Hawaii.

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