Collections in Context

The Hawaiian Islands unified under King Kamehameha’s leadership in 1795. Three years after the unification, the Kingdom of Hawai‘i encountered Europeans. The arrival of British explorer James Cook to the islands paved the way for two-way travel between Hawai‘i and Europe and the United States. European countries and the United States did not immediately recognize Hawaiian sovereignty, but by the 19th century, Hawai‘i was an internationally recognized nation.

The Hawaiian flag (shown in this photo) includes the Union Jack, a British naval symbol. This reflects the British Royal Navy’s historical relations with the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, particularly with King Kamehameha.

The beautiful archipelago is estimated to have been first encountered by Polynesians as early as 400 A.D. Voyaging throughout the Pacific may have continued between Asia and the Pacific Islands up until the 12th and 13th centuries, when kingdom-nations began to appear on the islands of Hawai‘i. These kingdoms were united in 1795 under the direction of the warrior-chief named Kamehameha the Great, who led a unification campaign that lasted 15 years.

While Hawaiians were traveling the world, foreigners were traveling to Hawai‘i. Missionaries, who first arrived in the decades before international recognition of Hawaiian sovereignty, were some of the first non-Hawaiians to move to the islands. A while later, plantation owners moved to Hawai‘i to profit off the land.

Native Hawaiians attempted to repeal the Bayonet Constitution by signing several petitions. In response, Queen Lili‘uokalani, King Kalākaua’s successor, proposed a new constitution. Her new constitution would have given power back to the monarchy and made it easier for Native Hawaiians to vote.

In response, a cabal (political group) of U.S. and European businessmen overthrew Queen Lili‘uokalani. The U.S. ambassador to Hawai‘i lent military support to the cabal. The queen was imprisoned in the ‘Iolani Palace, and the conspirators formed a provisional (temporary) government. This provisional government focused on protecting U.S. and European business interests.

Many Native Hawaiians supported Queen Lili‘uokalani after the overthrow. Some of these supporters were sentenced to death for their part in a rebellion against the provisional government. Queen Lili‘uokalani abdicated the throne in exchange for the release of her imprisoned supporters.

After the illegal annexation, Hawai‘i and Hawaiian culture became a novelty for people living on the U.S. mainland.

In the 1920s, Los Angeles’ harbor gained national acclaim when it offered a direct route from its port to Hawai‘i. World War I naval ships were refashioned into luxury cruise liners and transported up to 600 passengers three times a week. In addition, the Los Angeles Steamship Company offered transportation to Hawai‘i.

Among the ships’ many amenities, brochures and booklets written about Hawai‘i were commonly provided to the clientele. Some of these booklets, like the one pictured here, attempted to refashion Hawaiian folklore and stories to appeal to the cultural sensibilities of the Anglo middle class. These romanticized accounts, although creative in their approach, were misrepresentations of traditional Hawaiian beliefs and further contributed to the practice of appropriation to fulfill a Western ideology of all things foreign.