Avaiki is one of the many names by which the peoples of Polynesia refer to their ancestral and spiritual homelands.
118-727: By no means certain, but certainly possible, is an origin in the large islands of Samoa , namely Savaii and Upolu . Variants include, in order of migration, Havaii , the old name for Raiatea in French Polynesia ; the far better known Hawaii in the United States , Avaiki in the Cook Islands and Niue and Hawaiki in New Zealand . There are endless local variants. In the Cook Islands, for example, on
236-509: A Union Jack . An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew
354-610: A temperate climate , to alpine conditions with a cold, dry climate. The rainy climate impacts soil development , which largely determines ground permeability, affecting the distribution of streams and wetlands . Several areas in Hawaiʻi are under the National Park Service 's protection. Hawaii has two national parks: Haleakalā National Park , near Kula on Maui, which features the dormant volcano Haleakalā that formed east Maui; and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park , in
472-546: A Christian monarchy with the signing of the 1840 Constitution . Hiram Bingham I , a prominent Protestant missionary, was a trusted adviser to the monarchy during this period. Other missionaries and their descendants became active in commercial and political affairs, leading to conflicts between the monarchy and its restive American subjects. Missionaries from the Roman Catholic Church and from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were also active in
590-598: A cognate is the name of the underworld or of the ancestral home, but in Hawaii, the name has no meaning". In 1978, Hawaiian was added to the Constitution of the State of Hawaii as an official state language alongside English. The title of the state constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii . Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii . Diacritics were not used because
708-494: A few sailors arrived in 1778 with Cook's journey, and more in 1789 with an American trader who settled in Hawaiʻi in the late 18th century. It is said that Chinese workers introduced leprosy by 1830, and as with the other new infectious diseases, it proved damaging to the Hawaiians. During the 1780s, and 1790s, chiefs often fought for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795, all inhabited islands were subjugated under
826-615: A grave, in the midst of the white men's sugar fields". The Germans, in particular, began to show great commercial interest in the Samoan Islands , especially on the island of Upolu, where German firms monopolised copra and cocoa bean processing. The United States laid its own claim, based on commercial shipping interests in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Pago Pago Bay in eastern Samoa, and forced alliances, most conspicuously on
944-649: A half centuries, Spanish galleons crossed the Pacific from Mexico along a route that passed south of Hawaiʻi on their way to Manila . The exact route was kept secret to protect the Spanish trade monopoly against competing powers. Hawaiʻi thus maintained independence, despite being on a sea route east–west between nations that were subjects of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , an empire that exercised jurisdiction over many subject civilizations and kingdoms on both sides of
1062-498: A higher percentage of its endemic species than any other U.S. state. The endemic plant Brighamia now requires hand pollination because its natural pollinator is presumed to be extinct. The two species of Brighamia — B. rockii and B. insignis —are represented in the wild by around 120 individual plants. To ensure that these plants set seed, biologists rappel down 3,000-foot (910 m) cliffs to brush pollen onto their stigmas. The archipelago's extant main islands have been above
1180-665: A larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mataʻafa Iosefo . Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British and American warships. After several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were finally defeated. American and British warships shelled Apia on 15 March 1899, including the USS Philadelphia . Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States quickly resolved to end the hostilities and divided
1298-593: A larger-scale war seemed imminent. A massive storm on 15 March 1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict. The Second Samoan Civil War reached a head in 1898 when Germany , the United Kingdom , and the United States were locked in dispute over who should control the Samoan Islands. The Siege of Apia occurred in March 1899. Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu were besieged by
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#17328019643711416-584: A new constitution to proclaim herself an absolute monarch. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly Euro-American business leaders and residents formed the Committee of Safety to stage a coup d'état against the kingdom and seek annexation by the United States. U.S. Government Minister John L. Stevens , responding to a request from the Committee of Safety, summoned a company of U.S. Marines. The queen's soldiers did not resist. According to historian William Russ,
1534-453: A population of some 38,000 Samoans and 1,500 Europeans. However, native Samoans greatly resented New Zealand's colonial rule, and blamed inflation and the catastrophic 1918 flu epidemic on its misrule. By the late 1920s the resistance movement against colonial rule had gathered widespread support. One of the Mau leaders was Olaf Frederick Nelson , a half Samoan and half Swedish merchant. Nelson
1652-512: A single ruler, who became known as King Kamehameha the Great . He established the House of Kamehameha , a dynasty that ruled the kingdom until 1872. After Kamehameha II inherited the throne in 1819, American Protestant missionaries to Hawaiʻi converted many Hawaiians to Christianity. Missionaries have argued that one function of missionary work was to "civilize" and "purify" perceived heathenism in
1770-530: Is Apia . The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity . Samoa is a unitary parliamentary democracy with 11 administrative divisions . It is a sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. Because of
1888-468: Is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania . Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S. , at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau , Kauaʻi , Oʻahu , Molokaʻi , Lānaʻi , Kahoʻolawe , Maui , and Hawaiʻi , after which the state is named; the latter is often called
2006-414: Is a matai and a long-serving senior member of cabinet, who was elected Prime Minister in 2021. Other women in politics include Samoan scholar and eminent professor Aiono Fanaafi Le Tagaloa , orator-chief Matatumua Maimoana and Safuneituʻuga Paʻaga Neri (former Minister of Communication and Technology). The judicial system incorporates English common law and local customs. The Supreme Court of Samoa
2124-409: Is a unique melting pot of North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian heritage. Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag , which bears
2242-540: Is also a rugby and netball team on Rennell Island called Avaiki. Samoa Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa ( Samoan : Sāmoa i Sisifo ), is an island country in Polynesia , consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu ); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima ); and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including
2360-443: Is also restricted and anyone who enters without permission will be arrested. This island may also be dangerous since it was a military base during the world wars and could still have unexploded ordnance. The Hawaiian archipelago is 2,000 mi (3,200 km) southwest of the contiguous United States. Hawaii is the southernmost U.S. state and the second westernmost after Alaska . Like Alaska, Hawaii borders no other U.S. state. It
2478-424: Is appointed by the head of state to form a government. The prime minister's choices for the 12 cabinet positions are appointed by the head of state, subject to the continuing confidence of the legislative assembly. Prominent women in Samoan politics include the late Laʻulu Fetauimalemau Mataʻafa (1928–2007) from Lotofaga constituency, the wife of Samoa's first prime minister. Their daughter Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa
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#17328019643712596-550: Is creating a conflict between economic and environmental health. In 2020, the Center for Biological Diversity reported on the plastic pollution of Hawaii's Kamilo beach, citing "massive piles of plastic waste". Invasive species are spreading, and chemical and pathogenic runoff is contaminating groundwater and coastal waters. Hawaiʻi is one of two U.S. states, along with Texas , that were internationally recognized sovereign nations before becoming U.S. states. The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
2714-697: Is getting drier and hotter . The warmest temperature recorded in the state, in Pahala on April 27, 1931, is 100 °F (38 °C), tied with Alaska as the lowest record high temperature observed in a U.S. state. Hawaiʻi's record low temperature is 12 °F (−11 °C) observed in May 1979, on the summit of Mauna Kea . Hawaiʻi is the only state to have never recorded subzero Fahrenheit temperatures. Climates vary considerably on each island; they can be divided into windward and leeward ( koʻolau and kona , respectively) areas based upon location relative to
2832-455: Is known as O le Ao o le Malo in Samoan, and since its establishment only paramount chiefs have held the office. The current head of state is Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II , who was elected by the legislature in 2017 and again in 2022. The Legislative Assembly or Fono is the unicameral legislature, consisting of 51 members serving five year terms. Forty-nine are matai title-holders elected from territorial districts by Samoans;
2950-515: Is national defense when what is being destroyed is the very thing the military is entrusted to defend, the sacred land of Hawaiʻi?" Contemporary Indigenous Hawaiians are still protesting the occupation of their homelands and environmental degradation due to increased militarization in the wake of 9/11. After the rise of sugarcane plantations in the mid 19th century, island ecology changed dramatically. Plantations require massive quantities of water, and European and American plantation owners transformed
3068-634: Is preserved in the names of some locations in the US state of Idaho , for example. Spanish explorers may have arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the 16th century, 200 years before Cook's first documented visit in 1778. Ruy López de Villalobos commanded a fleet of six ships that left Acapulco in 1542 bound for the Philippines, with a Spanish sailor named Juan Gaetano aboard as pilot. Gaetano's reports describe an encounter with either Hawaiʻi or
3186-525: Is the court of highest jurisdiction. The Chief Justice of Samoa is appointed by the head of state upon the recommendation of the prime minister. Samoa comprises eleven itūmālō (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts which predate European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation ( faʻavae ) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditional salutations). The capital village of each district administers and coordinates
3304-518: Is the only U.S. state not in North America, and the only one completely surrounded by water and entirely an archipelago. In addition to the eight main islands, the state has many smaller islands and islets. Kaʻula is a small island near Niʻihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a group of nine small, older islands northwest of Kauaʻi that extends from Nihoa to Kure Atoll ; these are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. Across
3422-495: The kapu system, the prevailing legal system before European contact, and heiau , or "temples" to religious figures. Kapu , which typically translates to "the sacred", refers to social regulations (like gender and class restrictions) that were based upon spiritual beliefs. Under the missionaries' guidance, laws against gambling, consuming alcohol, dancing the hula , breaking the Sabbath, and polygamy were enacted. Without
3540-587: The Aleipata Islands ( Nuʻutele , Nuʻulua , Fanuatapu and Namua ). Samoa is located 64 km (40 mi) west of American Samoa , 889 km (552 mi) northeast of Tonga , 1,152 km (716 mi) northeast of Fiji , 483 km (300 mi) east of Wallis and Futuna , 1,151 km (715 mi) southeast of Tuvalu , 519 km (322 mi) south of Tokelau , 4,190 km (2,600 mi) southwest of Hawaii , and 610 km (380 mi) northwest of Niue . The capital and largest city
3658-626: The Hawaiʻi hotspot . The process is continuing to build islands; the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean continually moves northwest and the hotspot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. Because of the hotspot's location, all active land volcanoes are on the southern half of Hawaiʻi Island. The newest volcano, Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Lōʻihi), is south of the coast of Hawaiʻi Island. The last volcanic eruption outside Hawaiʻi Island occurred at Haleakalā on Maui before
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3776-621: The League of Nations , then through the United Nations. Between 1919 and 1962, Samoa was administered by the Department of External Affairs , a government department which had been specially created to oversee New Zealand's Island Territories and Samoa. In 1943, this department was renamed the Department of Island Territories after a separate Department of External Affairs was created to conduct New Zealand's foreign affairs. During
3894-578: The Marshall Islands . Most scholars have dismissed these claims due to a lack of credibility. Nonetheless, Spanish archives contain a chart that depicts islands at the same latitude as Hawaiʻi, but with a longitude ten degrees east of the islands. In this manuscript, Maui is named La Desgraciada (The Unfortunate Island), and what appears to be Hawaiʻi Island is named La Mesa (The Table). Islands resembling Kahoʻolawe' , Lānaʻi , and Molokaʻi are named Los Monjes (The Monks). For two and
4012-524: The Seal of Hawaii use the spelling without symbols for glottal stops or vowel length. There are eight main Hawaiian islands. Seven are inhabited, but only six are open to tourists and locals. Niʻihau is privately managed by brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson ; access is restricted to those who have their permission. This island is also home to native Hawaiians. Access to uninhabited Kahoʻolawe island
4130-586: The chiefdoms , which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called aliʻi , ruled their settlements, and launched wars to extend their influence and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste -based society, much like that of Hindus in India. Population growth was facilitated by ecological and agricultural practices that combined upland agriculture ( manuka ), ocean fishing ( makai ), fishponds and gardening systems. These systems were upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs, like
4248-625: The election , ending the rule of long-term Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), although the constitutional crisis complicated and delayed this. On 24 May 2021, she was sworn in as the new prime minister, though it was not until July that the Supreme Court ruled that her swearing-in was legal, thus ending the constitutional crisis and bringing an end to Tuilaʻepa's 22-year premiership. The FAST party's success in
4366-461: The kapu system, many temples and priestly statuses were jeopardized, idols were burned, and participation in Christianity increased. When Kamehameha III inherited the throne at age 12, his advisors pressured him to merge Christianity with traditional Hawaiian ways. Under the guidance of his kuhina nui (his mother and coregent Elizabeth Kaʻahumanu ) and British allies, Hawaiʻi turned into
4484-464: The kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice, and the building of heiau . This later immigration is detailed in Hawaiian mythology ( moʻolelo ) about Paʻao . Other authors say there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence of a later influx of Tahitian settlers and that Paʻao must be regarded as a myth. The islands' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of
4602-424: The lava flows and the sulfur dioxide fumes, necessitated the evacuation of more than 2,000 inhabitants from their neighborhoods. The islands of Hawaiʻi are distant from other land habitats, and life is thought to have arrived there by wind, waves (i.e., by ocean currents), and wings (i.e., birds, insects, and any seeds that they may have carried on their feathers). Hawaiʻi has more endangered species and has lost
4720-594: The lokahi , that linked cultural continuity with the health of the natural world. According to Hawaiian scholar Mililani Trask , the lokahi symbolizes the "greatest of the traditions, values, and practices of our people ... There are three points in the triangle—the Creator, Akua ; the peoples of the earth, Kanaka Maoli ; and the land, the ʻaina . These three things all have a reciprocal relationship." In January 1778, British Captain James Cook encountered
4838-591: The "Big Island" or "Hawaii Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument , the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world. Of the 50 U.S. states , Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in land area and the 11th-least populous ; but with 1.4 million residents, it ranks 13th in population density . Two-thirds of Hawaii residents live on O'ahu, home to
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4956-505: The 2021 election and subsequent court rulings also ended nearly four decades of HRPP rule. The 1960 constitution , which formally came into force with independence from New Zealand in 1962, builds on the British pattern of parliamentary democracy , modified to take account of Samoan customs. The national modern Government of Samoa is referred to as the Malo . The head of state of Samoa
5074-556: The Americans or the British. The second major incident arose out of an initially peaceful protest by the Mau (which literally translates as "strongly held opinion"), a non-violent popular pro-independence movement which had its beginnings in the early 1900s on Savai'i, led by Lauaki Namulauulu Mamoe , an orator chief deposed by Solf. In 1909, Lauaki was exiled to Saipan and died en route back to Samoa in 1915. By 1918, Western Samoa had
5192-474: The Hawaiian Islands serendipitously while crossing the Pacific during his third voyage of exploration . This marked the first documented contact by a European explorer with Hawaiʻi. Cook named the archipelago "the Sandwich Islands" in honor of his sponsor John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich . The native name of the islands was originally rendered and published as " Owyhee" or "Owhyhee" , a form which
5310-506: The Mau as a legitimate political organisation, and Olaf Nelson was allowed to return from exile. In September 1936, Samoans exercised for the first time the right to elect the members of the advisory Fono of Faipule , with representatives of the Mau movement winning 31 of the 39 seats. After repeated efforts by the Samoan independence movement, the New Zealand Western Samoa Act of 24 November 1961 terminated
5428-563: The National Park Service's control include Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on Hawaiʻi Island and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oʻahu. President George W. Bush proclaimed the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument on June 15, 2006. The monument covers roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 km ) of reefs, atolls, and shallow and deep sea out to 50 miles (80 km) offshore in
5546-479: The New World. This carried into Hawaiʻi. According to historical archaeologist James L. Flexner, "missionaries provided the moral means to rationalize conquest and wholesale conversion to Christianity". But rather than abandon traditional beliefs entirely, most native Hawaiians merged their Indigenous religion with Christianity. Missionaries used their influence to end many traditional practices, including
5664-490: The New Zealand anthropologist Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hīroa), gives a less mystical interpretation of this Mangaian Avaiki: "when Tangi'ia came to Rarotonga from Tahiti, he brought with him some rankless "manahune" [commoners] ... As they had no chance of rising in social status, some of them under the leadership of Rangi migrated to Mangaia to start a new life (c.1450–1475). Their antagonism toward Rarotonga made them conceal
5782-502: The New Zealand authorities banned the organisation. As many as 1500 Mau men took to the bush, pursued by an armed force of 150 marines and seamen from the light cruiser HMS Dunedin , and 50 military police. They were supported by a seaplane flown by Flight Lieutenant Sidney Wallingford of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force . Villages were raided, often at night and with fixed bayonets. In March, through
5900-565: The Ngati Karika (Te au o Tonga tribe - Rarotonga). For the Ngati Tangi'ia (Takitumu tribe-Rarotonga), it would be at Tahiti . Others locate Avaiki at Raiatea ... In the mythology of Mangaia in the Cook Islands, Avaiki is the " underworld " or "netherworld". It is described like a hollow of a vast coconut shell. Varima-te-takere , the mother of Vatea , lives in the lowest depths of the interior of this coconut shell. Nevertheless,
6018-570: The Pacific Ocean—an area larger than all the national parks in the U.S. combined. Hawaiʻi has a tropical climate . Temperatures and humidity tend to be less extreme because of near-constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs reach around 88 °F (31 °C) during the day, with lows of 75 °F (24 °C) at night. Winter day temperatures are usually around 83 °F (28 °C); at low elevation they seldom dip below 65 °F (18 °C) at night. Snow, not usually associated with
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#17328019643716136-657: The Pacific. Despite such contested claims, Cook is generally considered the first European to land at Hawaiʻi, having visited the Hawaiian Islands twice. As he prepared for departure after his second visit in 1779, a quarrel ensued as he took temple idols and fencing as "firewood", and a minor chief and his group stole a boat from his ship. Cook abducted the King of Hawaiʻi Island , Kalaniʻōpuʻu , and held him for ransom aboard his ship to gain return of Cook's boat, as this tactic had previously worked in Tahiti and other islands. Instead,
6254-616: The Samoans' seafaring skills, pre-20th-century European explorers referred to the entire island group , including American Samoa, as the "Navigator Islands". The country was a colony of the German Empire from 1899 to 1915, then came under a joint British and New Zealand colonial administration until 1 January 1962, when it became independent. The islands of Samoa were formed during the Miocene period around 7 million years ago. For
6372-699: The Solomon Islands south of Bougainville, and (3) territorial alignments in West Africa. The German Empire governed the western part of the Samoan archipelago from 1900 to 1914. Wilhelm Solf was appointed the colony's first governor. In 1908, when the non-violent Mau a Pule resistance movement arose, Solf did not hesitate to banish the Mau leader Lauaki Namulau'ulu Mamoe to Saipan in the German Northern Mariana Islands . The German colonial administration governed on
6490-552: The Trusteeship Agreement and granted the country independence as the Independent State of Western Samoa , effective 1 January 1962. Western Samoa, the first small-island country in the Pacific to become independent, signed a Treaty of Friendship with New Zealand later in 1962. Western Samoa joined the Commonwealth of Nations on 28 August 1970. While independence was achieved at the beginning of January, Samoa annually celebrates 1 June as its independence day. At
6608-701: The UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . In June 2017, Parliament amended Article 1 of the Samoan Constitution to make Christianity the state religion. In September 2019, a measles outbreak resulted in the deaths of 83 people. Following the outbreak, the government imposed a curfew in December later during the same year. In May 2021, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa became Samoa's first female prime minister. Mataʻafa's FAST party narrowly won
6726-463: The activities of the great powers battling for influence in Samoa ;– the United States, Germany and Britain – and the political machinations of the various Samoan factions within their indigenous political system. Even as they descended into ever greater interclan warfare, what most alarmed Stevenson was the Samoans' economic innocence. In 1894, just months before his death, he addressed
6844-474: The affairs of the district and confers each district's paramount title, amongst other responsibilities. For example: Hawaii Hawaii ( / h ə ˈ w aɪ . i / hə- WY -ee ; Hawaiian : Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi] ) is an island state of the United States , in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of
6962-469: The archaeological record supports oral tradition and native genealogies that indicate interisland voyaging and intermarriage among precolonial Samoans, Fijians , and Tongans . Notable figures in Samoan history included the Tui Manu'a line, Queen Salamasina , King Fonoti and the four tama a ʻāiga : Malietoa , Tupua Tamasese , Mataʻafa , and Tuimalealiʻifano . Nafanua was a famous woman warrior who
7080-564: The archipelago are around 130 small rocks and islets, such as Molokini , which are made up of either volcanic or marine sedimentary rock. Hawaiʻi's tallest mountain Mauna Kea is 13,796 ft (4,205 m) above mean sea level; it is taller than Mount Everest if measured from the base of the mountain, which lies on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and rises about 33,500 feet (10,200 m). The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanic activity initiated at an undersea magma source called
7198-551: The arrival of the SS Talune from Auckland on 7 November 1918. The NZ administration allowed the ship to berth in breach of quarantine; within seven days of this ship's arrival, influenza became epidemic in Upolu and then spread rapidly throughout the rest of the territory. Samoa suffered the most of all Pacific islands, with 90% of the population infected; 30% of adult men, 22% of adult women and 10% of children died. The cause of
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#17328019643717316-420: The authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands. The treason trials of 1892 brought together the main players in the 1893 overthrow. American Minister John L. Stevens voiced support for Native Hawaiian revolutionaries; William R. Castle, a Committee of Safety member, served as a defense counsel in the treason trials; Alfred Stedman Hartwell, the 1893 annexation commissioner, led
7434-464: The capital island of Rarotonga , northern facing volcanic rocks, tumbling onto the shore millennia ago and still set in place, are well known as the ancient departure point for souls bound for Avaiki - the afterworld or heaven. In fact each island, vaka or ngati (family line) has its own Avaiki or interpretation of it. For instance it would be somewhere in the Manu'a islands group (American Samoa) for
7552-556: The defense effort; and Sanford B. Dole ruled as a supreme court justice against acts of conspiracy and treason. On January 17, 1893, a small group of sugar and pineapple-growing businessmen, aided by the American minister to Hawaii and backed by heavily armed U.S. soldiers and marines, deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani and installed a provisional government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. According to scholar Lydia Kualapai and Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi, this committee
7670-636: The demonstration. When he resisted, a struggle developed between the police and the Mau. The officers began to fire randomly into the crowd and used a Lewis machine gun , mounted in preparation for the demonstration, to disperse the demonstrators. Mau leader and paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was shot from behind and killed while trying to bring calm and order to the Mau demonstrators. Ten others died that day and approximately 50 were injured by gunshot wounds and police batons. That day would come to be known in Samoa as Black Saturday. On 13 January 1930,
7788-483: The document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the ʻokina ⟨ʻ⟩ and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the state's name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi . In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government used Hawaii as the state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and
7906-426: The early 21st century as Roman Catholic saints . The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V —who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election of Lunalilo over Kalākaua . Lunalilo died the next year, also without naming an heir. In 1874, the election was contested within the legislature between Kalākaua and Emma, Queen Consort of Kamehameha IV . After riots broke out, the U.S. and Britain landed troops on
8024-699: The early economic development of Samoa. The Salem brig Roscoe (Captain Benjamin Vanderford), in October 1821, was the first American trading vessel known to have called, and the Maro (Captain Richard Macy) of Nantucket , in 1824, was the first recorded United States whaler at Samoa. The whalers came for fresh drinking water, firewood, provisions and, later, for recruiting local men to serve as crewmen on their ships. The last recorded whaler visitor
8142-407: The epidemic was confirmed in 1919 by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Epidemic concluded that there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of the Talune from Auckland on 7 November 1918. The pandemic undermined Samoan confidence in New Zealand's administrative capacity and competence. Some Samoans asked that the rule of the islands be transferred to
8260-405: The first known non-Polynesian to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit was followed by French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville , who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768. Contact was limited before the 1830s, which is when British missionaries of the London Missionary Society, whalers, and traders began arriving. Visits by American trading and whaling vessels were important in
8378-413: The first month of World War I , on 29 August 1914, troops of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force landed unopposed on Upolu and seized control from the German authorities, following a request by Great Britain for New Zealand to perform this "great and urgent imperial service." From the end of World War I until 1962, New Zealand controlled Western Samoa as a Class C Mandate under trusteeship through
8496-401: The four highest titles of Samoa – the elder titles of Malietoa and Tupua Tamasese of antiquity and the newer Mataʻafa and Tuimalealiʻifano titles, which rose to prominence in 19th-century wars that preceded the colonial period. These four titles form the apex of the Samoan matai system as it stands today. Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century. Jacob Roggeveen , a Dutchman, was
8614-475: The government changed the rule of the road from right to left , in common with most other Commonwealth countries - most notably countries in the region such as Australia and New Zealand, home to large numbers of Samoans. This made Samoa the first country in the 21st century to switch to driving on the left. At the end of December 2011, Samoa changed its time zone offset from UTC−11 to UTC+13, effectively jumping forward by one day, omitting Friday, 30 December from
8732-491: The higher mountains. Windward sides face cloud cover. Hawaii has a decades-long history of hosting more military space for the United States than any other territory or state. This record of military activity has taken a sharp toll on the environmental health of the Hawaiian archipelago, degrading its beaches and soil, and making some places entirely unsafe due to unexploded ordnance . According to scholar Winona LaDuke : "The vast militarization of Hawaii has profoundly damaged
8850-419: The highest costs of living in the U.S. However, Hawaii is the third-wealthiest state, and residents have the longest life expectancy of any U.S. state, at 80.7 years. The State of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi . A common explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that it was named for Hawaiʻiloa , a figure from Hawaiian oral tradition. He is said to have discovered
8968-699: The island chain at the Tripartite Convention of 1899 , signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900. The eastern island-group became a territory of the United States (the Tutuila Islands in 1900 and officially Manu'a in 1904) and was known as American Samoa. The western islands, by far the greater landmass, became German Samoa . The United Kingdom had vacated all claims in Samoa and in return received (1) termination of German rights in Tonga , (2) all of
9086-560: The island chiefs: There is but one way to defend Samoa. Hear it before it is too late. It is to make roads, and gardens, and care for your trees, and sell their produce wisely, and, in one word, to occupy and use your country ... if you do not occupy and use your country, others will. It will not continue to be yours or your children's, if you occupy it for nothing. You and your children will in that case be cast out into outer darkness. He had "seen these judgments of God" in Hawaii , where abandoned native churches stood like tombstones "over
9204-481: The islands of Tutuila and Manu'a , which became American Samoa . Britain also sent troops to protect British business enterprise, harbour rights, and consulate office. This was followed by an eight-year civil war , during which each of the three powers supplied arms, training and in some cases combat troops to the warring Samoan parties. The Samoan crisis came to a critical juncture in March 1889 when all three colonial contenders sent warships into Apia harbour, and
9322-518: The islands to restore order. The Legislative Assembly chose King Kalākaua as monarch by a vote of 39 to 6 on February 12, 1874. In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi . Drafted by white businessmen and lawyers, the document stripped the king of much of his authority. It established a property qualification for voting that effectively disenfranchised most Hawaiians and immigrant laborers and favored
9440-483: The islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian Sawaiki , with the reconstructed meaning "homeland." Cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori ( Hawaiki ), Rarotongan ( ʻAvaiki ) and Samoan ( Savaiʻi ). According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, "elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or
9558-510: The kingdom, initially converting a minority of the Native Hawaiian population, but later becoming the first and second largest religious denominations on the islands, respectively. Missionaries from each major group administered to the leper colony at Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi, which was established in 1866 and operated well into the 20th century. The best known were Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope , both of whom were canonized in
9676-412: The land in order to access it, primarily by building tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, constructing reservoirs, and digging wells. These changes have made lasting impacts on the land and continue to contribute to resource scarcity for Native Hawaiians today. According to Stanford scientist and scholar Sibyl Diver, Indigenous Hawaiians engage in a reciprocal relationship with
9794-411: The land of origin and invent an origin from a spiritual homeland in the netherworld of Avaiki." While Solomon Islands is mostly considered Melanesia, the province of Rennell and Bellona is Polynesian. The province consists of Rennell Island , Bellona Island and the uninhabited Indispensable Reefs . The locals call Rennell Island “MUNGAVA” and they call Bellona Island “MUNGIKI”. They then combine
9912-409: The land, "based on principles of mutual caretaking, reciprocity and sharing". This relationship ensures the longevity, sustainability, and natural cycles of growth and decay, as well as cultivating a sense of respect for the land and humility towards one's place in an ecosystem. The tourism industry's ongoing expansion and its pressure on local systems of ecology, cultural tradition and infrastructure
10030-585: The land. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are more federal hazardous waste sites in Hawaii – 31 – than in any other U.S. state." Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi writes in "Challenging U.S. Militarism in Hawai'i and Okinawa" that these military bases and hazardous waste sites have meant "the confiscation of large tracts of land from native peoples" and quotes late Hawaiian activist George Helm as asking: "What
10148-528: The last three letters of each Island and come up with a word called AVAIKI. If someone local does something silly you might hear someone say ‘ That’s the Avaiki way ’. A further example of this nomenclature can also be evidenced with the identification of the name of the Province, Renbel which combines Rennell and Bellona. MV Renbel is also the name of the ferry that supplies the province from Honiara . There
10266-429: The late 18th century, possibly hundreds of years earlier. In 1790, Kīlauea exploded ; it is the deadliest eruption known to have occurred in the modern era in what is now the United States. Up to 5,405 warriors and their families marching on Kīlauea were killed by the eruption. Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. Hawaii Island has the second-highest point among
10384-679: The local calendar. This also had the effect of changing the shape of the International Date Line , moving it to the east of the territory. This change aimed to help the nation boost its economy in doing business with Australia and New Zealand. Before this change, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney , but the change means it is now three hours ahead. The previous time zone, implemented on 4 July 1892, operated in line with American traders based in California . In October 2021, Samoa ceased daylight saving time . In 2017, Samoa signed
10502-531: The mediation of local Europeans and missionaries, Mau leaders met New Zealand's Minister of Defence and agreed to disperse. Supporters of the Mau continued to be arrested, so women came to the fore rallying supporters and staging demonstrations. The political stalemate was broken following the victory of the Labour Party in New Zealand's 1935 general election. A 'goodwill mission' to Apia in June 1936 recognised
10620-413: The monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory , Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union , on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in
10738-404: The monarchy was unable to protect itself. In Hawaiian Autonomy , Liliʻuokalani states: If we did not by force resist their final outrage, it was because we could not do so without striking at the military force of the United States. Whatever constraint the executive of this great country may be under to recognize the present government at Honolulu has been forced upon it by no act of ours, but by
10856-490: The name it had been called by in the United Nations since it joined. American Samoa protested against the name change, asserting that it diminished its own identity. In 2002, New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark formally apologised for New Zealand's role in the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918 that killed over a quarter of Samoa's population and for the Black Saturday killings in 1929. On 7 September 2009,
10974-410: The natural world, resulting in widespread biodiversity and intricate social and environmental relationships that persist to this day. On a single island, the climate around the coasts can range from dry tropical (less than 20 inches or 510 millimeters annual rainfall) to wet tropical; on the slopes, environments range from tropical rainforest (more than 200 inches or 5,100 millimeters per year), through
11092-471: The once-isolated islands, causing the Hawaiian population to drop precipitously. Native Hawaiians had no resistance to Eurasian diseases, such as influenza , smallpox and measles . By 1820, disease, famine and wars between the chiefs killed more than half of the Native Hawaiian population. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaiʻi's people. Historical records indicate the earliest Chinese immigrants to Hawaiʻi originated from Guangdong Province ;
11210-454: The other two are chosen by non-Samoans with no chiefly affiliation on separate electoral rolls. At least ten per cent of the MPs must be women. Universal suffrage was adopted in 1990, but only chiefs ( matai ) may stand for election to the Samoan seats. There are more than 25,000 matais in the country, about five per cent of whom are women. The prime minister , chosen by a majority in the assembly,
11328-444: The overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. Historically dominated by a plantation economy , Hawaii remains a major agricultural exporter due to its fertile soil and uniquely tropical climate in the U.S. Its economy has gradually diversified since the mid-20th century, with tourism and military defense becoming
11446-461: The past 2 million years, the Samoan archipelago has experienced records of volcanic hotspots . Samoa was discovered and settled by the Lapita people (Austronesian people who spoke Oceanic languages ), who travelled from Island Melanesia . The earliest human remains found in Samoa are dated to between roughly 2,900 and 3,500 years ago. The remains were discovered at a Lapita site at Mulifanua , and
11564-555: The period of New Zealand control, their administrators were responsible for two major incidents. In the first incident, approximately one fifth of the Samoan population died in the influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 . In 1918, during the final stages of World War I , the Spanish flu had taken its toll, spreading rapidly from country to country. On Samoa, there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before
11682-419: The principle that "there was only one government in the islands." Thus, there was no Samoan Tupu (king), nor an alii sili (similar to a governor), but two Fautua (advisors) were appointed by the colonial government. Tumua and Pule (traditional governments of Upolu and Savai'i) were for a time silent; all decisions on matters affecting lands and titles were under the control of the colonial Governor. In
11800-623: The scientists' findings were published in 1974. The Samoans' origins have been studied in modern times through scientific research on Polynesian genetics , linguistics , and anthropology . Although this research is ongoing, a number of theories have been proposed. One theory is that the original Samoans were Austronesians who arrived during a final period of eastward expansion of the Lapita peoples out of Southeast Asia and Melanesia between 2,500 and 1,500 BCE. Intimate sociocultural and genetic ties were maintained between Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, and
11918-570: The southeast region of Hawaiʻi Island, which includes the active volcano Kīlauea and its rift zones. There are three national historical parks : Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, the site of a former leper colony; Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona on Hawaiʻi Island; and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park , an ancient place of refuge on Hawaiʻi Island's west coast. Other areas under
12036-405: The state's capital and largest city, Honolulu . Hawaii is among the country's most demographically diverse states, owing to its central location in the Pacific and over two centuries of migration. As one of only seven majority-minority states , it has the only Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community , and largest proportion of multiracial people in the U.S. Consequently, Hawaii
12154-462: The supporters of Kalaniʻōpuʻu attacked, killing Cook and four sailors as Cook's party retreated along the beach to their ship. The ship departed without retrieving the stolen boat. After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian Islands attracted many European and American explorers, traders, and whalers, who found the islands to be a convenient harbor and source of supplies. These visitors introduced diseases to
12272-477: The surface of the ocean for less than 10 million years, a fraction of the time biological colonization and evolution have occurred there. The islands are well known for the environmental diversity that occurs on high mountains within a trade winds field. Native Hawaiians developed complex horticultural practices to utilize the surrounding ecosystem for agriculture. Cultural practices developed to enshrine values of environmental stewardship and reciprocity with
12390-488: The time of independence, Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II , one of the four highest-ranking paramount chiefs in the country, became Samoa's first prime minister . Another paramount chief, Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II , was admitted to the Council of Deputies ; the remaining two – Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole and Malietoa Tanumafili II – became joint heads of state for life. On 15 December 1976, Western Samoa
12508-452: The tropics, falls at 13,800 feet (4,200 m) on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island in some winter months. Snow rarely falls on Haleakalā. Mount Waiʻaleʻale on Kauaʻi has the second-highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches (12,000 mm) per year. Most of Hawaii experiences only two seasons; the dry season runs from May to October and the wet season is from October to April. Overall with climate change , Hawaiʻi
12626-469: The two non-contiguous U.S. states (alongside Alaska ), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago , and the only state in the tropics . Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that comprise almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception, which is outside the state, is Midway Atoll ). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state
12744-618: The two largest sectors. The state attracts visitors, surfers, and scientists with its diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundant public beaches, oceanic surroundings, active volcanoes, and clear skies on the Big Island. Hawaii hosts the United States Pacific Fleet , the world's largest naval command, as well as 75,000 employees of the Defense Department. Hawaii's isolation results in one of
12862-501: The unlawful acts of its own agents. Attempts to repudiate those acts are vain. In a message to Sanford B. Dole, Liliʻuokalani states: Now to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps the loss of life, I do under this protest, and impelled by said force, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in
12980-476: The wealthier, white elite. Resident whites were allowed to vote but resident Asians were not. As the 1887 Constitution was signed under threat of violence, it is known as the Bayonet Constitution. King Kalākaua, reduced to a figurehead, reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Queen Liliʻuokalani , succeeded him; she was the last monarch of Hawaiʻi. In 1893, Liliʻuokalani announced plans for
13098-499: The world's islands. On the volcanoes' flanks, slope instability has generated damaging earthquakes and related tsunamis , particularly in 1868 and 1975 . Catastrophic debris avalanches on the ocean island volcanoes' submerged flanks have created steep cliffs. Kīlauea erupted in May 2018, opening 22 fissure vents on its eastern rift zone . The Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens are within this territory. The eruption destroyed at least 36 buildings and this, coupled with
13216-402: Was admitted to the United Nations as the 147th member state . It asked to be referred to in the United Nations as the Independent State of Samoa . Travel writer Paul Theroux noted marked differences between the societies in Western Samoa and American Samoa in 1992. On 4 July 1997 the government amended the constitution to change the name of the country from Western Samoa to Samoa ,
13334-596: Was deified in ancient Samoan religion and whose patronage was highly sought after by successive Samoan rulers. Today, all of Samoa is united under its two principal royal families: the Sā Malietoa of the ancient Malietoa lineage that defeated the Tongans in the 13th century; and the Sā Tupua, Queen Salamasina's descendants and heirs who ruled Samoa in the centuries that followed her reign. Within these two principal lineages are
13452-412: Was eventually exiled during the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he continued to assist the organisation financially and politically. In accordance with the Mau's non-violent philosophy, the newly elected leader, High Chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi, led his fellow uniformed Mau in a peaceful demonstration in downtown Apia on 28 December 1929. The New Zealand police attempted to arrest one of the leaders in
13570-497: Was formed against the will of Indigenous Hawaiian voters, who constituted the majority of voters at the time, and consisted of "thirteen white men" according to scholar J Kehaulani Kauanui. The United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii ( John L. Stevens ) conspired with U.S. citizens to overthrow the monarchy. After the overthrow, Sanford B. Dole , a citizen of Hawaii and cousin to James Dole, owner of Hawaiian Fruit Company,
13688-481: Was probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas Islands , and a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora took place in the 11th century. The date of the human discovery and habitation of the Hawaiian Islands is the subject of academic debate. Some archaeologists and historians think it was a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti around 1000 CE who introduced a new line of high chiefs,
13806-437: Was sovereign from 1810 until 1893, when resident American and European capitalists and landholders overthrew the monarchy . Hawaiʻi was an independent republic from 1894 until August 12, 1898, when it officially became a U.S. territory. Hawaiʻi was admitted as a U.S. state on August 21, 1959. Based on archaeological evidence, the earliest habitation of the Hawaiian Islands appears to date between 1000 and 1200 CE. The first wave
13924-716: Was the Governor Morton in 1870. Christian missionary work in Samoa began in 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived in Sapapali'i from the Cook Islands and Tahiti . According to Barbara A. West, "The Samoans were also known to engage in 'headhunting', a ritual of war in which a warrior took the head of his slain opponent to give to his leader, thus proving his bravery." In A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa (1892), Robert Louis Stevenson details
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