Page 733 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

INTRODUCING HA W AI ‘ I  731

Canoeing and swimming, some of the most popular water activities in Hawai‘i

squelched. Ironically, it took the threat of Hawaiians survive today, but the native
invasion to make the feudal institutions spirit of “Aloha,” a Hawaiian word that
democratic. On December 7, 1941, simultaneously means hello, goodbye,
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, instigating welcome, and love, is still alive.
America’s entry into World War II, and The introduction of air travel in
changing Hawai‘i forever. 1959 brought Hawai‘i within easy reach
of the West Coast. As tourism became
Hawai‘i Today the chief industry, resort developments
Located midway between mainland US proliferated, signaling a new era for the
and the Far East, Hawai‘i has a diverse island economy. At the same time, a
population. Of its 1.3 million residents, resurgence in Native culture, language,
roughly one-third are non-Asian, one- and crafts has softened the harsher
third are of Japanese descent, and the edges of the commercial development,
rest a wide-ranging mix of Filipinos, so that no matter where you go in
Chinese, Koreans, and Samoans. Only a the islands, their Polynesian roots are
few thousand full-blooded indigenous clearly visible.
KEY DATES IN HISTORY
AD 400 Polynesians migrate to the Hawaiian Islands
from the Marquesas Islands
1778 James Cook is the first European to the islands,
which he names the Sandwich Islands after his
benefactor, the Earl of Sandwich
1795 Reign of Kamehameha begins
1893 With the support of the US Navy, American
businessmen overthrow the Kingdom of Hawai‘i,
declaring an independent republic
1898 Hawai‘i is annexed as a US Territory
1941 Japanese bombers attack Pearl Harbor on
December 7
1959 Hawai‘i becomes the 50th state
1983 Mount Kīlauea begins its present eruption
1993 US government issues a formal apology on the
100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom
of Hawai‘i
1996 Citizens vote to convene on the issue of
Cyclist on a scenic bike ride, away from the crowded sovereignty
beach Waikīkī

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