Economy | Page 116 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 23, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hanapēpē Massacre

In Hawaiʻi, shortage of laborers to work in the growing (in size and number) sugar plantations became a challenge. Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

Of the large level of plantation worker immigration, the Chinese were the first (1850,) followed by the Japanese (1885.) After the turn of the century, the plantations started bringing in Filipinos. Over the years in successive waves of immigration, the Sugar Planters (HSPA_)brought to Hawaiʻi 46,000-Chinese, 180,000-Japanese, 126,000-Filipinos, as well as Portuguese, Puerto Ricans and other ethnic groups.

Upon arrival in Hawaiʻi, Filipino contract laborers were assigned to the HSPA-affiliated plantations throughout the territory. Their lives would now come under the dictates of the plantation bosses. They had no choice as to which plantation or island they would be assigned. Men from the same families, the same towns or provinces were often broken up and separated. (Alegado)

Between 1906 and 1930, the HSPA brought in approximately 126,000-Filipinos to Hawaiʻi, dramatically altering the territory’s ethnic demographics. Comprising only 19-percent of the plantation workforce in 1917, the Filipinos jumped to 70-percent by 1930, replacing the Japanese, who had dwindled to 19-percent as the 1930s approached. (Aquino)

The end of World War I was a time of crisis for labor in general – the economy had to accommodate two-million soldiers seeking civilian jobs – and, the US Supreme Court issued rulings which were unfavorable to labor. Never-the-less, “There seems to be some sort of strike in every city, town and hamlet in the country.” (Poindexter, Advertiser, October 28, 1919; Alcantara)

In Hawaiʻi, the Japanese abandoned unionism altogether with the failure of the 1920 strike; Filipinos, led by Pablo Manlapit, continued to organize and also form the Higher Wages Movement.

The Movement petitioned the Sugar Planters in 1923 for a $2-a-day, 40-hour work week and an end to abuses. Then, in April 1924, Filipino plantation workers went on strike. Rather than a unified Filipino effort, it turned into a Visayan versus Ilocano conflict (the plantations brought Ilocanos in as strike breakers.) (Alegado)

The strike of 1924 occurred over a period of approximately five months from April through September. It consisted of loosely coordinated strike actions on Oʻahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island under the general direction of the Executive Committee of the Higher Wages Movement involving a few thousand strikers at 23 of Hawai‘i’s 45 plantations, with just four of Kaua‘i’s 11 plantations represented: McBryde, Makaweli, Makee and Līhuʻe. (Kerkvliet)

On September 8, 1924, two Ilocano Filipinos, Marcelo Lusiano and Alipio Ramel (each about 18-years old from the Makaweli plantation,) rode into Hanapēpē on their bicycles to buy a pair of $4 shoes. (Hill)

Filipino laborers earned approximately $20 to $25 a month, and would spend about one-fourth of their wages on food and an additional $2 to wash their clothes. They sent much of the remaining money to relatives in the Philippines.

On their way back to the plantation, Lusiano and Ramel passed the strike headquarters, where they were apparently attacked by Visayan strikers and held inside the schoolhouse against their will. When friends of the young men realized they were missing, they reported them to the Kauai sheriffs. (Hill)

“(T)he men were kidnaped by strikers and held prisoner at a Japanese school house at Hanapēpē. They said they were attacked by strikers and intimidated into declaring that they would join the strikers.” (Honolulu Times, September 12, 1924)

The next day, strikers and police clashed at a strike camp in Hanapēpē. About 40-armed police had gone to pick up the two Ilocanos at the strike camp, believing them to be prisoners of the strikers. (hawaii-edu)

The two men were released and were leaving the school grounds with Deputy Sheriff William Crowell when some strikers began following and taunting them, waving their cane knives in the air threateningly. The sharpshooters fired upon the strikers when they saw the men try to attack Crowell. (Hill)

“The policemen drew out their revolvers and I heard one saying that they should be quiet otherwise they would be pacified with their revolvers to which strikers answered that they should go ahead.”

“Later on we heard a shot quite far from us. I cannot ascertain whose shot it was, if it came from the police side or the striker’s side, but I was sure it was quite far from us behind.” (Lusiano; Honolulu Times, September 12 ,1924)

In the end, 16 strikers were shot dead; four sheriffs suffered casualties as a result of stab wounds and 25 were reported wounded. (Hill)

“When I heard the shooting, I began to run … I didn’t even have a knife. I had nothing to defend myself with. There were others who had guns, but they only had two bullets. They were courageous, they were acting tough … They’re the ones who died. I’m a coward. Those who ran away, they didn’t die.” (Bakiano; hawaii-edu)

The incident has been referred to the Hanapēpē Massacre; it was the bloodiest incident in the history of labor in Hawaiʻi. (Alegado)

Most of the strikers were arrested; seventy-six were indicted on riot charges, 60 received 4-year sentences. Some returned to work afterward; some were deported back to the Philippines. Nobody was charged with murder. (Hill, Alegado)

Manlapit was convicted of conspiracy and received a two- to 10-year sentence at O‘ahu Prison, but was paroled in 1927 on the condition he leave the Islands. He moved to California, but returned to Hawai‘i in 1933 and returned to the Philippines in 1934. (Soboleski)

In 2006, a plaque was placed in the Hanapēpē Town Park to commemorate the Hanapepe Massacre of 1924.

October 21, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

House Without a Key

“The koa-wood key has reached me and it is a lovely thing – but that was to be expected, since it came from Hawaii.”

“I am proud of the friends I have made in the Islands and prouder of this key than of anything that has happened to me in 20 years of writing. I was eager to draw a true picture of Hawaii, but was not entirely confident of success. “

“I was only a malihini, a stranger, and what would the thousands who had known and loved the islands for many years think of the story? That I did not entirely fail, this gift is proof, and that is only one of the reasons why I shall always prize it highly.”

“I should add at once that my long delay in writing you was due to the fact that the key was only just reached me, having traveled to New York, and thence back to the coast.”

“Most people who have been to Hawaii long to return, and in the future I shall long a bit more ardently than most. I hope before many months I shall be able to do so.”

“In the meantime I want all those who had anything to do with the key to know that their thought of me has touched my heart. Please than them all for me.”

“Their unexpected, graceful gift is characteristic of Hawaii, and just another proof that he who has friends in the islands is rich indeed.” (Star-Bulletin, June 19, 1925)

The thank you letter above was written by Earl Derr Biggers and sent to the Hawaii Tourist Bureau in 1925.

On January 24, 1925, ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ began its serialization of the book that would make Earl Derr Biggers famous: The House Without a Key, the first of the Charlie Chan series.

The principal character in the story was Charlie Chan, the celebrated Chinese detective. Chan was modeled after Chang Apana. In 1897, Helen Kīna‘u Wilder was given the authority to enforce animal cruelty laws. She was appointed a special constable by the Marshall of the Republic of Hawai‘i.

She and her friends pooled their resources to pay a salary to hire Chang Apana, the first officer to investigate animal crimes, who inspired author Earl der Biggers’ popular Charlie Chan series of detective novels. (Hawaiian Humane Society)

Born Ah Ping Chang on December 26, 1871 in Waipiʻo, Oʻahu; he eventually became known as Chang Apana (the Hawaiianized version of the Chinese name Ah Ping.) In 1898, Chang joined the Honolulu Police Department and the “shrewd and meticulous investigator” rose through the ranks to become detective in 1916.

Biggers was an early guest at the Halekūlani Hotel in Waikiki. Biggers’ book title was based on his discovery that no one locked their doors there. In memory of the author and his novel, the Halekūlani named its seaside bar and lanai “House Without a Key.”

“’The House Without a Key’ is the story of a very rich man who has many enemies. He wants a certain locked chest in San Francisco cast into the sea – until it is beyond the reach of man he will know no peace.”

“He commissions his nephew to do the deed. But before the nephew reaches Honolulu the man is dead – murdered by an unknown assailant.”

“The secret of the chest. By mystery of the murder and the enmity that existed between the dead man and his brother furnish a lively plot”. (Stockton Independent, December 4, 1926)

The ”Decision to present the key to Biggers was made at a recent meeting of the tourist bureau, and arrangements for having it made were left to WH Hussman, Hawaii representative of the bureau.”

The key measures 25 inches in length and is six inches in width at both ends. It was made at the Hilo Boarding School manual training shop. (Star Bulletin, April 6, 1925)

“The present of the Hawaii Tourist Bureau was for a time displayed in Benson, Smith & Co.’s window, where it attracted much interest.” (Star-Bulletin, April 15, 1925)

Bigger’s book and subsequent movies helped to put Hawaii and one of its iconic hotels on the map.

The key had an inscription, “Hawaii is still the ‘House without a Key’: you have it. Use it often.” True to his word, Biggers would soon return to the Islands.

Earl Derr Biggers was born in 1884 in Warren, Ohio. He graduated from Harvard University in 1907 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After college, Biggers went to work at The Boston Traveler, where he wrote a humorous column, and then reviews, until 1911.

Biggers ultimately wrote six Charlie Chan mystery novels: The House Without A Key, The Chinese Parrot, Behind That Curtain, The Black Camel, Charlie Chan Carries On, and Keeper of the Keys.

The Charlie Chan movies were one of the most successful screen series in history, with over 40 movies based on the character. There were also numerous Chan radio adaptations and comic strips, as well as attempts to bring the character to television. Earl Biggers died in Pasadena, California, in April of 1933 at the age of 48, from a heart attack.

October 16, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Blue Men

“Captain James Cook, who had been sent into the Pacific on a voyage of exploration by the King of England, discovered several islands which he named in honor of the Earl of Sandwich.”

“He later sailed northward and in March of the next year sighted the American coast in the neighborhood of the present Yaquina Bay. He thus became the first to make a contact between the Oregon country and Hawaii.”

“Cook was followed within a few years by vessels that engaged in trading furs from the Indians along the northwest coast of America which they sold in China. The captains of such ships were quick to learn the value of the Hawaiian Islands as a resting place and provisioning station.”

“Their custom was to stop there on the northward voyage, spend a season in trade, return to the islands for the winter, and afterwards sail back to the American coast to complete their cargo of furs before going to Canton. (Clark)

“King Kamehameha, claiming the throne in 1810 after an internal power struggle, attempted to forge a united kingdom out of competing groups.. He decided upon. an outward-looking policy to cushion his country against foreigners by absorbing the European’s economy and Christianity.”

“The heart of this policy was to send out young men to learn western techniques and values through practical experience. One place they migrated to was the Oregon Country, where Hawaiians had been in the crews of merchant vessels as early as 1788.” (Dodds)

When the Americans entered the fur trade of the Pacific in 1788 they, like the British, stopped at the Hawaiian Islands. (Clark) The Hawaiians soon became a vital labor supply in the fur trade. (Dodds)

“Loyal and docile, asking only food and clothing for compensation, the Hawaiians on one occasion saved Donald McKenzie from a surprise attack at Fort Walla Walla at the hands of his discontented Indian trappers.”

“The Hudson’s Bay Company and Nathaniel Wyeth also found the Kanakas most valuable as laborers, canoe men, sailors, gardeners, herders, and domestic servants, among other pursuits.”

“The missionaries, too, admired the islanders. The Methodists used them as blacksmiths, farm laborers, and kitchen help, and the Lees at one time proposed to import Hawaiian Christians as missionaries to their countrymen.”

“At the Whitman mission the Kanakas were also well received; and they worked in a variety of pursuits. Both Methodist and American board workers found the Kanakas to be in an respects preferable to their Indian charges.”

“The Indians, in missionary eyes, were slow in emulating American agriculture and domestic science, but the Hawaiians were adaptable and hard working.” (Dodds)

In the nineteenth century the Hawaiians were known as Kanakas or ‘Blue Men.’ One theory for the ‘Blue Men’ name is because of traditional tattooing, which appears blue in color. (Rogers) Others suggest it was because they turned that color in the winter drizzles of the Pacific Northwest. (Dodds)

The growing population of Hawaiian into the Oregon Country resulted in growing concerns. Then, in 1845, the Oregon legislature addressed a bill designed to reduce the flow – it was called the Sandwich Islander Tax.

The intent was later disclosed, “For the taxation of the Sandwich Islanders, employed almost exclusively as servants and laborers, by the HB Company, and intended merely to annoy and embarass the gentlemen in charge of the said company.” (Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1909)

However, on October 15, 1862, Oregon Governor Addison C Gibbs approved the law that had passed the House of Representations (October 8, 1862) and Senate (October 13, 1862) that stated:

“Employers of Hawaiian labor were taxed three dollars for those islanders already residents and five dollars for those who were to be introduced in the future. After the organic law of 1848 created the territory of Oregon, Kanakas on several occasions applied for American citizenship.” (Dodds)

“The final blow came in the passage of the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850, which gave to the emigrants 160 to 320 acres of free land (depending on their time of arrival), but which … excluded from its term blacks and Hawaiians, although not part-Indians.”

“After this rebuff most of the Kanakas returned to the Islands. more fortunate than other ethnic minorities, who had no place to go. In the end, in spite of the Hawaiians efforts to accommodate, racism had conquered assimilation.” (Dodds)

October 15, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sinking of the Two Carthaginians

The Wandia was built in Denmark in 1921 as a three-masted schooner. Captain Peterson used her to haul general cargo in the Baltic for some 30 years. She then had a few years of service as a commercial fishing boat in Iceland, and later hauled cargo in Central America.

In 1964, Robert Tucker Thompson (‘Tucker’) flew to Costa Rica to deliver a yacht back to Newport Beach. Sailing up the coast of Central America, there were stories of a Baltic trading schooner that was just ahead.

“Wandia” was anchored in Acapulco; when Tucker arrived, he was interested in the boat and the owner was considering selling. … Several months later, the ship arrived in San Diego and the deal was done. (Tucker’s father worked as a film processor in the movie industry.)

Then the ship needed to go to work. Tucker sent letters and photos to all the film studios. A film of James Michener’s 1959 book “Hawaii” was about to be made by Mirisch. The studio had one ship, but also needed a whaling ship. Tucker and the production entered into a purchase/re-purchase agreement.

Re-rigging took place in San Pedro harbor (LA) in a rushed ‘Hollywood‘ manner – dismantling and building taking place almost simultaneously. The “Wandia” was then named the “Carthaginian” (the name James Michener gave the whaling boat in his novel). (Tucker)

“In addition to changed rigging, the Carthaginian also had the special equipment necessary to a whaling career installed. Such things as the small boats used to harpoon whales …”

“… as well as lookout hoops for sighting their quarry, equipment for removing blubber, and many other items, were added. At the same time, the entire hull was completely checked and repairs or replacements effected.” (McConkey)

The original script eliminated the arrival of the New England missionaries in Hawaii, a key element of the original story, but include Rev. Abner Hale and his wife, Jerusha (Max Von Sydow and Julie Andrews), a missionary couple.

An October 24, 1964 news conference in Honolulu announced the production would be filmed in Hawaii. Filming for the movie began February 22, 1965, about as far from the islands as one can be: 150 miles above the Arctic Circle, off Bodo, Norway. In the spring, filming moved to New England. (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

On June 9, 1965, filming began on Oahu at an Army facility at Makua. Most of the production crew stayed at the brand-new Ilikai Hotel; the lead actors rented homes on Diamond Head Road and Kahala Avenue.

The Mirisch Corp. brought 168 people from Hollywood to Hawaii for filming and hired 200 local technicians and 700 local residents as extras. Ten locals were cast to portray missionaries, among them Bette Midler, a 1963 Radford High School graduate.

The theme song of “Hawaii” eventually was altered to become the longtime KGMB jingle, “One of the good things about Hawaii … is wonderful … KGMB.”

A combination of wind, rain, sun, sand, dirt and military helicopters buzzing above delayed production an extra month at Makua.

Filming concluded on Oahu on November 10, 1965. (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

When filming finished and the movie company no longer needed the ship, the re-purchase option was executed. Tucker and family moved aboard and took on crew for a trip around the Islands and to California, with plans for a South Pacific cruise.

While anchored off Lahaina, Larry Windley, director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, urged the members to consider purchasing the ship for a museum; by the time the ship reached Hilo, representatives had arrived there with a proposal ready for signing, to take effect when the South Pacific cruise had finished.

“Carthaginian” continued on to the west coast. Then, arrangements were made for the voyage of the “Carthaginian” to the Marquesas, Society Islands and Hawaii. (Tucker)

“The first Carthaginian owned and operated by the restoration foundation as a floating museum since 1966 when it was purchased for $75,000, had been rigged out to represent a three-masted bark, similar to the type that brought the early missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.”

A few years later, tragedy struck; the Carthaginian “sank in April 1972 after it was caught on a reef in the Lahaina channel while being sailed to Honolulu for an annual dry-dock checkup.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

“Efforts to save her were given up when it was discovered that the ship had a 12-foot hole in its hull and a broken keel. … the 51-year-old- ship will be towed out to sea where it will be sunk.” Star Bulletin, April 4, 1972)

“Efforts to find a replacement for the vessel were begun immediately. The search lasted several months and involved a hunt in shipyards around the world until the discovery of what was considered the perfect replacement.”

“The new Carthaginian, a 52-year old cargo ship named the Komet was found in Trollhatten, Sweden and purchased by the foundation for $25,000.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

Carthaginian II was a 97-foot steel-hulled sailing boat that was converted into a replica whaling ship and floating museum to replace the popular Carthaginian tourist attraction.

A big point was made that she was exactly the same size as the ‘Thaddeus,’ the brig that brought the first missionaries to Hawaii from Boston. Visitors were invited to imagine what it must have been like for the missionaries, tossing across the waves for many months crammed inside her.

The boat was built in 1920 in Kiel, Germany at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard and was once run as a two-master. Later the boat was converted to diesel power and in the Baltic Sea used as a freighter for cement.

She was renamed Carthaginian II and restored over several years. Masts made of spruce, a deck of eucalyptus, and other details for a whaling supply ship of the 19th century were installed.

Upon completion of the renovations, the Carthaginian II served as a floating museum in Lahaina Harbor from 1978 to 2001. (Atlantis Artificial Reef FEA)

But age caught up with her, finally. It was decided that refurbishing the old ship was cost-prohibitive and, anyway, she would probably not survive being towed to Oahu for the repairs. Meanwhile, she was becoming a potential safety hazard sitting in the harbor. (Maui 24/7)

In 2003, the Lahaina Restoration Society asked Atlantis Submarine Maui, a tour company featuring underwater ocean tours, for help in exploring whether she could be used as an artificial reef off the Lahaina coast. The company, which had been offering submarine tours off Lahaina since 1991, agreed. (Maui 24/7)

After permitting, then came the sinking of Carthaginian II … In 2005, the boat was towed half a mile away from the coast and sunk to create an artificial reef, and now stands at a water depth of about 100-feet and also serves as a destination for diving expeditions.

October 12, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

15th Century

Folks describe different ‘phases’ or ‘periods’ of human settlement and agricultural development in the Islands over time. Different people use different terms for each of these (some use varying timeframes, as well,) but they seem to generally fall into Settlement, Development, Expansion and ultimately Post-Contact.

Settlement – AD 1000-1400

It is believed that initial Polynesian discovery and settlement of the Hawaiian Islands occurred between approximately AD 1000 and 1200. (Kirch) This effectively started the ‘Settlement’ phase.

For generations, the small, slowly growing population clustered around shore sites near streams that supplied them with water. Such sites are best for inshore fishing.

The food plants of Hawaiʻi can be divided into three groups: those known as staple foods (the principal starchy foods – kalo (taro,) ʻuala (sweet potato,) ʻulu (breadfruit,) etc;) those of less importance (to add nutrients and variety to the diet;) and those known as famine foods. (Krauss)

Kamakau states that there were no chiefs in the earliest period of settlement but that they came “several hundred years afterward … when men became numerous.”

Development- AD 1400-1650

Archaeological evidence indicates a chronology of household expansion (and, by inference, to population growth, as well as increased managerial presence and a desire to produce higher yields) starting about this time. The Islands evolved from shifting cultivation into a stable form of agriculture. Likewise, a formalization of governance was taking shape.

Dr Marion Kelly noted there were three main technological advances resulting in food production intensification that started to evolve: (a) loko i‘a, walled fishponds, (b) lo‘i, terraced pondfields with their irrigation systems and (c) systematic dry-land field cultivation organized by vegetation zones.

In addition, this movement toward a centralization of government allowed for development and maintenance of large projects, such as irrigation systems, large taro loʻi, large fish ponds, heiau and trails.

Expansion – AD 1650-Contact (1778)

A population peak (usually estimated at several hundred thousand) was reached around 1650 AD, more than 100 years before contact with Europeans.

It was at this population peak, or shortly before, that Hawaiians began to inhabit less favorable coastline areas and barren zones between the coast and upland agricultural sites and to develop extensive dryland agricultural systems in marginal regions. (Cuddihy)

Large-scale irrigation works and permanent field systems were developed during the expansion period. Settlements were intruding into increasingly marginal environments, including the interiors of leeward valleys and the higher elevation slopes. Population densities in the fertile windward valleys increased, although densities in tablelands and elsewhere were much lower.

Post Contact – After 1778

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four chiefdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

It was not necessarily a peaceful time. Island rulers, Aliʻi or Mōʻī, typically ascended to power through familial succession and warfare. In those wars, Hawaiians were killing Hawaiians; sometimes the rivalries pitted members of the same family against each other.

In addition to deaths in wars, epidemics of infections added to the decline in Hawaiʻi’s population from approximately 300,000 at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 135,000 in 1820 and 53,900 in 1876.

The Islands at the Time of Columbus (During the Development Phase – AD 1400-1650)

At about the time Christopher Columbus was crossing the Atlantic to America (1492 – he was looking for an alternate trade route to the East Indies,) exciting stuff was happening in the Hawaiian Islands.

The political governance and land management system by Aliʻi-ai-moku, was expanding and developing after two centuries since its inception, and there was a wake of progress taking place on our shores.

In this general timeframe, and not necessarily contemporaries, the Aliʻi-ai-moku (Island rulers) across the chain were: Mā‘ilikūkahi on Oʻahu, Piʻilani on Maui, ʻUmi-a-Līloa on Hawaiʻi and Kukona on Kauaʻi.

Māʻilikūkahi – Oʻahu

Soon after becoming aliʻi, Māʻilikūkahi moved to Waikīkī. He was probably one of the first chiefs to live there. Up until this time Oʻahu chiefs had typically lived at Waialua and ‘Ewa. From that point on, with few exceptions, Waikīkī remained the Royal Center of Oʻahu aliʻi, until Kamehameha I moved the seat to Honolulu.

Māʻilikūkahi is noted for clearly marking and reorganizing land division palena (boundaries) on O‘ahu. Defined palena brought greater productivity to the lands; lessened conflict and was a means of settling disputes of future aliʻi who would be in control of the bounded lands; protected the commoners from the chiefs; and brought (for the most part) peace and prosperity.

What is commonly referred to as the ‘ahupuaʻa system’ is a result of the firm establishment of palena (boundaries.) Ahupuaʻa served as a means of managing people and taking care of the people who support them, as well as an easy form of collection of tributes by the chiefs.

Piʻilani – Maui

According to oral tradition, Piʻilani unified the entire island of Maui, bringing together under one rule the formerly-competing eastern (Hāna) and western (Wailuku) multi-district kingdoms of the Island. Chief Piʻilani (“stairway to heaven”) unified West Maui and ruled in peace and prosperity. His territory included Nā Hono a Pi‘ilani, the six West Maui bays, a place he frequented.

Piʻilani’s prosperity was exemplified by a boom in agriculture and construction of heiau, fishponds, trails and irrigation systems. Famed for his energy and intelligence, Piʻilani constructed the West Maui phase of the noted Alaloa, or long trail (also known as the King’s Highway.)

His son, Kihapiʻilani laid the East Maui section and connected the island. This trail was the only ancient pathway to encircle any Hawaiian island (not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupō Gap and through the summit area and crater of Haleakalā.)

ʻUmi – Hawaiʻi Island

ʻUmi-a-Līloa (ʻUmi) from Waipiʻo, son of Līloa, defeated Kona chief Ehunuikaimalino and united the island of Hawai‘i. He then moved his Royal Center from Waipi‘o to Kona. At about the time of ʻUmi, a significant new form of agriculture was developed in Kona; he is credited with starting it. Today, archaeologists call the unique method of farming in this area the ‘Kona Field System.’

The Kona Field System was planted in long, narrow fields that ran across the contours, along the slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualālai. This intensive agricultural activity changed farming and agricultural production on the western side of Hawai’i Island; the Kona field system was quite large, extending from Kailua to south of Honaunau

The Kona Field System was described as “the most monumental work of the ancient Hawaiians.” The challenge of farming in Kona is to produce a flourishing agricultural economy in an area subject to frequent droughts, with no lakes or streams for irrigation.

Kukona – Kauai

Kukona became a symbol of the very highest ideals of chivalry in battle, was born in Kōloa and fought his defining battle at Poʻipū.

During the 15th century, an ambitious chief of Hawaiʻi who had already conquered three other islands, tried to seize Kauaʻi. He was accompanied into battle by the combined armies and chiefs of Maui, Molokai and Oʻahu. The war is known as the War of Ka‐welewele. The much smaller forces defending Kauaʻi, led by Kukona and his son Manokalanipo, soundly defeated the invaders after leading them inland and then surrounding them at the shore.

Kukona captured all four chiefs of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Molokai. He had the opportunity to kill them all and assume leadership over the islands. However, he preferred peace and allowed them to return safely home with a promise that they never again make war on Kauaʻi. This peace lasted for four hundred years.

What about Puna?

The Islands were at peace, the population was growing and new intensified means of feeding the subsistence society were being developed. However, in Puna, there was a disturbance in the forest …

The longest recorded eruption at Kīlauea, arguably, was the ʻAilāʻau eruption and lava flow in the 15th century, which may be memorialized in the Pele-Hiʻiaka chant. It was the largest in Hawaiʻi in more than 1,000-years.

The flow was named after ʻAilāʻau, who was known and feared by all the people. ʻAi means the “one who eats or devours.” Lāʻau means “tree” or a “forest.” (He was the fire god before Pele arrived at Hawaiʻi Island.)

The eruption probably lasted about 60 years, ending around 1470. This large volume of lava covered a huge area, about 166 square miles (over 106,000-acres) – larger than the Island of Lānaʻi.

From the summit of the ʻAilāʻau shield, pāhoehoe lava flowed 25-miles northeastward, making it all the way to the coast. Lava covered all, or most, of what are now Mauna Loa Estates, Royal Hawaiian Estates, Hawaiian Orchid Island Estates, Fern Forest Vacation Estates, Eden Rock Estates, Crescent Acres, Hawaiian Acres, Orchid Land Estates, ʻAinaloa, Hawaiian Paradise Park and Hawaiian Beaches. (USGS)

Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death

There is a new disturbance in the forest …

Click HERE for more information on the Historic Periods, Agriculture Intensification, the 15^th Century Rulers and the Forest.

Pre-contact Footprint-Hawaiian Islands-GoogleEarth-OHA-TNC