Honolulu Hawaii History

Honolulu had a settlement around 1100 A.D., but Polynesian immigrants arrived almost 2000 years ago. In 1804 King Kamehameha I won a battle over Oahu and moved from Hawaii Island to Waikiki to what we know as downtown Honolulu. The word means “sheltered harbor”. In 1794 the first foreign ship came into the harbor by Captain William Brown; he named the harbor Fair Haven, but the name Honolulu was commonly used. During the 1800s, the city became a very prominent shipping point in Hawaii with sandalwood, sugar, pineapples exports. Whaling ships also stopped here. America and Europe sent merchants, missionaries and colonizers to westernize the Hawaiian Islands. New England missionaries in the 1820s had the most lasting affect on the islanders’ religion, education, economics and politics. Asian immigrants also brought their culture. In 1850, Kamehameha III proclaimed Honolulu the capital city of his kingdom; it remained the capital when Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. American defense installations and tourism are the two most prevalent industries.