Term Papers on HISTORY

Term Paper Title	HISTORY
# of Words	2645
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	10.58

HISTORY

Early Explorers
     Spanish, Dutch or Japanese explorers may have stopped at
the Hawaiian Islands as early  as the 1500’s.  But the rest of the
world did not hear of the islands until Captain James Cook of the British Navy discovered them on January 18, 1778.                    Captain Cook named the Hawaiian Islands “The Sandwich Islands” in honor of the Earl of Sandwich who was the first Lord of the British admiralty.  The island people treated Captain Cook very well because they thought he was a god.                         In l779, Captain Cook sailed into Kealakekua Bay on the west coast of the Hawaiian Islands.  10,000 Hawaiians came out to greet the ship.  The islanders greeted Cook as the returned great god Lono, the god of good harvest.  They treated Cook and his men with great generosity.                                        The Hawaiians wanted to buy nails so badly that for one nail they would exchange enough food to feed the ship’s entire crew for a day.  The nails were the first metal they had ever seen.  Captain Cook and his men took most of the chickens, hogs and produce from the Kona section of Hawaii in exchange for the metal.                                                                  They sailed away, but when a storm broke out they were forced to return to Kealakekua Bay.  There they received a very different welcome.  The islanders now felt they had been cheated.  The islanders began stealing metal from the ships.  A fight started when one of Captain Cook’s men fired a gun.  Several Hawaiians hit the Captain with a club and then stabbed him to death.  His men buried him in Kealakekua Bay.                    For the next few years, Hawaii was left undisturbed by the outside world.  But from l786 on, it was often visited by ships from England, France, Russia, Spain and the U     nited States.
Settlers
     The first inhabitants of Hawaii were Polynesians.   They sailed to the Hawaiian Islands in giant outrigger canoes from other Pacific Islands - Samoa and Java.  They arrived on the islands about 2,000 years ago.  Other Polynesians moved there from Tahiti about 1200 A.D.                                             These early Polynesian settlers may have named the group of islands Hawaii in honor of a chief named Hawaiiloa.  This is the chief who led the Polynesians to the Hawaiian Islands.                    The settlers brought their religious and social rules with them.  The priests controlled matters of religion and the chiefs had the authority in all other affairs.  The settlers also believed in many gods of nature such as the god of sunlight, water, trees and volcanoes.  They respected all living things and took only what they needed to live.                                             The common people and the chiefs wore clothes made of tapa cloth, a material made from the mulberry tree.  The bark was pounded until it became soft and pliable.  During religious ceremonies, the chiefs wore beautiful capes and helmets made of brightly colored bird feathers.                                        One of the most powerful warrior chieftains was Kamehameha I.  He saw the guns that the European explorers had and traded for them.  He began a 10 year war in l782 to gain control of all the islands.  After many bloody battles, he became the king of all the islands except Kauai and Niihau.                     The tribal chieftains remained in control of local laws, but alll recognized Kamehameha as their king.                              Between 1810 and l830 King Kamehameha sent great quantities of sandalwood to China.  Money from the sandalwood trade became the major source of income for Kamahameha I and several later kings.  In l8l3, the first pineapple plants arrived on  the islands.

Famous People                                                            Captain James Cook (l728-l779)  Captain in the British Royal Navy.    Explored the Pacific Islands and Antactic oceans.  He and his crew became the first Europenas to visit the Hawaiian Islands.                                                                                               Duke Paoa Kahanamoku  (l889-1968)  Born in Haleakala, Maui,   was  a swimmer and surfer.  Won  100 yards freestyle at the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games.  Held the world record for almost 20 years.                    Kamehameha I  (1758-1819)  Born in Kohala, Hawaiian Islands,  first ruler of the kingdom of Hawaii.  Was known as Kamehameha the Great.  United the...

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