Sugar in Hawaii
MODERN HAWAIIAN HISTORY
Overview
 Background
 First Plantation
 Great Mahele of 1848
 The Boss and Labor
 Why do people immigrate to the US?
 Why does owner want foreign workers?
 McKinley Tariff
Background
 First Plantation was on the Koloa, Kauai in 1835.
 The land near there was very fertile
 The Great Mahele of 1848 help the sugar economy
 The land was easier to sell after division.
 Economies before sugar:
 Whaling
 Furs
 Sandalwood
First Sugar Plantation
 William Hooper was the first owner of the sugar
plantation at Koloa in 1835 .
 He leased 980 Acres of land from Kamehameha III
for $300 for 50 years.
 In the beginning they used
Hawaiian Labor
Great Mahele of 1848
 Divided lands between the king and chiefs
 Chiefs used to lease the land to foreigners
 You don’t need permission from the king to lease
 It was also hard for common Hawaiian people to get
land through this system.


They went through a long process
After it was said and done the common Hawaiian owned only
1% of the lands.
The Boss and Labor
 Most of the Owners were Americans
 Most of the bosses were European (Portuguese)
 First they used Hawaiians
 But they rebelled and left.
 Major groups that came to Hawaii:
 Chinese were the first to come.
 Portuguese were 2nd
 Japanese were 3rd
 and Filipino were 4th
Why do people immigrate to the US?
 Voluntary Immigration
Push Factors
 Political or Religious persecution
 Refugees
 War
 Economic
 Environmental
 Pull Factors
 Work
 Family
 Education
 Quality of Life

“Picture Brides” come off the boat
Why do owners want foreign workers?
 A Docile workforce
 Far way from home. Cant go back that easily.
 Foreigners think America is Great!
 They think that “money grows on trees “
 A new foreign workforce can replace old workforce.
 New Scabs to replace workforce on strike.
Oahu Sugar Mill (Ewa)
McKinley Tariff
 1890 McKinley Tariff eliminated the duty-free status
of Hawaiian sugar
 Hawaiian sugar had to compete with other sugar
growers, especially Cuba
 Annexation of Hawaii would mean Hawaiian sugar
would become duty-free
 Sugar companies would pay 50% tax on worth that
they brought into the US.
Timeline Assignment
 Look at the History of Sugar industry to make a timeline of
important events that changed its history.

Look at the book to find the information that you need.
 You will need at least 10 events throughout your timeline.
 Look at the origins/endings
 Technologies
 Laws and government interactions.
 Immigrants to Hawaii.
 Land Developments
 Must have a short description of the event. ( At least a
paragraph)
 Must have an illustration for each event.
Example
Picture Bride Questions
 What are some push and pull factors for the main
Character?
 How was Plantation Life back in 1918?
 What are your feelings about ‘Picture Brides’ (not
movie)
 How would you feel if you were the girl and the guy?