The Hawaiian islands formed from millions of years of volcanic activity, with the final island, Hawai'i, emerging some 400,000 years ago. As for human habitation, Polynesian sailors from what is now French Polynesia are thought to have settled the westernmost islands in approximately 124.
By the end of the 4th century, the island of O'ahu was also settled by the Polynesians.
More Polynesians from modern-day French Polynesia migrated to Hawaii in the mid-5th century, this time settling the island of Maui.
In the 8th century, a second wave of Polynesian migrants arrived in Maui, this time from Tahiti. This second wave of migrants brought many aspects of modern Hawaiian culture, including the strict social order and code of conduct known as kapu.
By the 12th century, the island of Hawai'i was governed by noble chiefs known as ali'i. Of these, the supreme noble, the ali'i nua, ruled the entire island.
True to their Polynesian roots, the Hawaiians were skilled in their use of wood, shell, stone, and bone. They also built impressive canoes, which could hold plants, water, and even animals to sustain sailors on long journeys. The Hawaiians’ great navigation skills were complemented by a complex calendar.
Hawaiiwan religion was polytheistic, featuring four main deities out of a pantheon of many. The aforementioned kapu system of social order had close ties to this faith; it enforced the separation of certain people based on factors such as spirituality and gender, and regulated foods.
The islands’ first contact with the West occurred when Captain James Cook of Great Britain landed on Kaua’i in 1778. Soon thereafter, King Kamehameha I of Hawai’i waged a series of wars that led to the unification of the islands. By 1824, the new Hawaiian Kingdom had full control of Hawaii.
Beginning in the 1820s, Hawaii experienced an influx of white American immigration, at first headed by Christian missionaries. This led to Protestantism displacing the indigenous faith as well as the development of a sugar-based plantation economy. Another major immigrant group was the Japanese.
White Hawaiians began to wield increasing influence over the kingdom. In 1840, they got King Kamehameha III to adopt a Western-style constitution, and in 1848, they introduced private ownership of land with the Great Māhele. With American support, they overthrew the kingdom altogether in 1893.
The rebels established the Republic of Hawaii with the intention to eventually join the United States, which was realized in 1898. The islands were officially integrated into the U.S. as the Hawaii Territory in 1900. The plantation economy expanded, led by large corporations dubbed the Big Five.
Protests and strikes against the plantation economy began in the 1940s, culminating in the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954. The revolution led to improved working conditions for workers. Five years later, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th (and currently final) state of the United States.
Since statehood, there has been a renewed interest in the preservation and revitalization of native Hawaiian culture. In the 1960s and 70s, Hawaiian musicians spearheaded the Hawaiian Renaissance; interest in the Polynesian Hawaiian language, the hula dance, and other indigenous elements surged.
Today, about half a million out of Hawaii’s 1.4 million population identify as Native Hawaiian, with the remainder being mostly white or Asian. About 24,000 people still speak the Hawaiian language, while about 600,000 speak the English-based creole known as Hawaiian Pidgin.
Economically, Hawaii has moved away from its old plantation days, with tourism and the military now being the largest sectors of the economy. Hawaii remains one of the wealthiest states in the United States, despite the rather high cost of living.