Keōpūolani, mother of Liholiho and Kaiukeaouli, born with the kapu moe, was the highest ranking ali‘i, though she was instrumental...
In 1786, trading ships began making regular stops in Hawai‘i on their way to China and the Pacific Northwest. Pursuing the lucrative fur trade, vessels from Great Britain, Spain and America found Hawai‘i an ideal place to restock provisions and replenish depleted crews with fresh Hawaiian sailors.
From the time of Captain Cook, Hawaiians saw that foreigners used writing to both formalize agreements and communicate ideas. But...
Hawaiians quickly took to reading and writing but were slower to accept Christianity. Ali‘i such as Keōpūolani and Ka‘ahumanu, however,...
In 1839, Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) established the Chiefs’ Children’s School in Honolulu, to educate Hawai‘i’s future leaders. Amos and Juliette...
Kapunahou has long been celebrated for its legendary freshwater spring. After the Battle of Nu‘uanu in 1795, Kamehameha I awarded...
The printing press made an indelible impact on Hawaiian history. Beyond first recording the written Hawaiian language, propelling the education...
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM), founded in 1810, arose from the religious fervor that America experienced during the Second Great Awakening.
On October 23, 1819, the fourteen men and women of the first company to Hawai‘i boarded the brig Thaddeus, anchored in Boston Harbor. They were joined by four Hawaiian men, three as members of the mission and a prince returning home to Kaua‘i.
William Richards arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1823 with the second company of missionaries. At the direction of Keōpūolani, he, his...
From the first arrival of foreigners in Hawai‘i in 1778, Hawaiians perished from introduced diseases at an alarming rate. By...
In 1827, a small group of Catholics from France arrived in Honolulu to establish a mission. Within two years, they...