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Area Guide

Honolulu, HI Area Guide

Considered to be the center of Oahu’s art, history, and culture, Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the area on the southeastern shore of Oahu, the City and County of Honolulu make up the entire island. The City and County of Honolulu is the only incorporated city in Hawaii and was thought to have a population of 909,863 in 2000. In the Hawaiian language, Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter." Come and discover historic buildings, museums, and royal palaces blocks away from a bustling Chinatown and a vibrant downtown night scene with sleek bars and lounges, restaurants and art galleries.

History

Honolulu is rich in history and tradition. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first settlers to the Hawaiian Islands arrived from the Marquesas sometime between 500 and 750. Settlers from Tahiti arrived sometime in 1000 and may have enslaved the Marquesans, forcing them to build temples and work in the fields.
On January 18, 1778, The British explorer Captain James Cook was the first known Westerner to sight the island of Oahu. By the late eighteenth century, powerful Hawaiian rulers battled for control of the archipelago. In 1795, King Kamehameha the Great, who controlled the Big Island of Hawaii, captured Maui and Molokai and set his eyes on Oahu. Kamehameha's large fleet of battle canoes landed in present-day Waikiki and his soldiers moved across the valley and into the mountains pursuing Kalanikupule, the king of Oahu. After his victory, Kamehameha united the islands under one kingdom.

In 1793, Captain William Brown directed his English frigate Butterworth into what is now known as Honolulu Harbor. With new ports to trade, Hawaii’s population began to grow and by the 1820s, whaling ships began to stop in Honolulu. The Christian missionaries managed to convince the Hawaiian royalty to prosecute drunken sailors and curb the growing prostitution trade. Most whaling boats abandoned Honolulu for the safer confines of Lahaina on Maui. The sons of these original missionaries would in time become businessmen who came to control most of the land, and operated large and profitable sugar plantations. Westerners also brought many diseases killed off many native Hawaiians; the plantation owners brought thousands of Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipinos, and Koreans to work the land.
Throughout the 1800’s Hawaii went though a series of countries’ hands, including the British, French, as well as many others. In the late 1800’s, planters and businessmen plotted with the United States Minister to Hawaii, John L. Stevens, to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy. Queen Lili'uokalani was forced to relinquish her authority and the queen ceded her powers to the United States with the hope that it would reinstate her due to the illegal nature of the United State’s representative’s actions. U.S. President Grover Cleveland agreed the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani had been illegal, but when he ordered the lowering of the U.S. flag, the provisional government refused. The provisional government in Honolulu systematically tightened its control of the islands, even imprisoning Queen Lili'uokalani for several months. By 1898, Hawaiians could only watch as the United States finally annexed the islands.

The Territory of Hawaii soon became a key military post for the United State. Large installations were built and throughout the early 1900s, the military presence grew steadily. On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor, just west of Honolulu, and other military bases throughout the island of Oahu. In all, 2,341 military personnel and 54 civilians were killed. More than 50 of the bombs that fell on Honolulu were American Navy anti-aircraft shells that missed their targets. Honolulu played a crucial role in the war against Japan, with more than one million soldiers passing through the city on their way to battles in the Pacific. Thousands who died in the war were buried in a cemetery in Honolulu.

On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state of the United States. Most people celebrated, but for many native Hawaiians, becoming a state was just another blow against dreams of sovereignty. In 1993, in a joint resolution, Congress formally apologized to the Hawaiian people for the illegal overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani. Many native Hawaiians continue to press for some type of sovereignty. Status as a new state, the tourism hype, romantic and often inaccurate Hollywood movies about Hawaii soon turned the islands into a major travel destination for Americans. Honolulu's Waikiki District, which in the early twentieth century was mostly wetlands and fertile agricultural land, came to host more than 30,000 hotel rooms by the 1990s. On a typical day, Waikiki, which has a population of about 25,000 people, hosts thousands of visitors.

Honolulu Events and Attractions

Honolulu is home to numerous events and attractions that attract thousands throughout the year. Please feel free to visit any of the links provided below to find out what is in store for your visit to Honolulu.

Honolulu Festival
http://www.honolulufestival.com/

Sony Open
http://www.sonyopeninhawaii.com/