The first page of print in Hawaiian was struck on the printing press, transported from Boston on the Thaddeus, and...
On this anniversary marking the 200th year of the missionaries’ departure from New England and arrival in Hawai‘i, we acknowledge...
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.
Anchored in Kailua Bay, the passengers of the Thaddeus waited for permission to disembark, entertaining visits on board and making...
The printing press made an indelible impact on Hawaiian history. Beyond first recording the written Hawaiian language, propelling the education...
By the mid-1830s, Hawai‘i had endured a series of escalating foreign conflicts. Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) was pressured from all sides...
Kamehameha I died in May 1819, in Kamakahonu, Hawai‘i. Early on, the king had named his son, Liholiho, successor. But two powerful women – Ka‘ahumanu and Keōpūolani, both his widow – would demand new freedoms, igniting a struggle that toppled the ancient religion.
Around 1,000 years ago, navigators from the Marquesas Islands launched an unprecedented voyage of discovery across the Pacific Ocean.
Within two years, the Pioneer Company desperately needed help to achieve their mission: expanding literacy and converting the population. In...
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 1790 – 1830, a Protestant revival called the Second Great Awakening swept across America. The movement was a reaction to the loosened social bonds brought on by the nation’s westward expansion and beginning industrialization.
International trade brought an influx of foreigners to Hawai‘i. Their growing presence, concentrated in the ports of Honolulu and Lahaina,...