5 facts about the economy they took: Hawaiʻi before the illegal overthrow

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HONOLULU (KHON2) — Before skyscrapers, fast food and tourism ads, Hawaiʻi was already part of a global economy. Long before 1893, ships from across the world docked in Hawaiian ports as they carried sugar, rice and coffee grown on the islands.

Hawaiʻi was not poor, isolated or undeveloped. Rather, it was a sovereign kingdom with its own laws and legal systems, land systems, economy and trading partners.

But as money and power flowed into the islands, a movement from outside the Hawaiian Kingdom began to crave control over its economy in a move to shift autonomy away from Native Hawaiians.

To understand why the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom happened, you first have to understand how Hawaiʻi’s economy worked, who benefited from it and who was pushed out.

A note on the information below. All of this comes from several different resources that will be listed at the end of this article. So, keep reading to find out.

Economic structures

The Hawaiian Kingdom’s economy was mostly based on agriculture and trade. Early on, Native Hawaiians practiced a land system called the ahupuaʻa, which divided land from the mountains to the sea.

This system allowed people to farm, fish and share resources in a balanced way. After contact with Western nations, the economy slowly shifted toward large farms and businesses that produced goods for export.

Money, banks and contracts became more important, especially in the 1800s.

Resources for production

Hawaiʻi had rich natural resources that supported production, and fertile volcanic soil and a warm climate made farming successful.

Fresh water from streams and rain helped grow crops, and the ocean provided fish and supported trade through harbors like Honolulu.

Land was the most important resource; but laws were eventually created that allowed foreigners to own land, which changed who controlled production.

Factors of production

The main factors of production were land, labor and capital. Land was used for farming sugar, rice, coffee and other crops.

Labor came from Native Hawaiians at first but later from immigrant workers from China, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico and other places. Capital came from investors, many of whom were U.S. and European businessmen who funded increased infrastructure with plantations, mills and ships.

Backbone products of the economy

After former Confederates fled the U.S. South after the Civil War, many of them landed in Hawaiʻi; and sugar became the most important product in the late 1800s.

Large sugar plantations dominated the economy and made a lot of money. Rice, grown mainly by Chinese farmers, was also important.

Other products included coffee, bananas, pineapples (later), cattle and sandalwood (earlier). These goods were mostly sold to the U.S., especially California, and to other Pacific nations.

Who drove and accessed the economy

Native Hawaiians were active in farming, fishing and local trade; but over time, they lost control of much of the land and wealth through laws created to squeeze them out.

This led to foreign businessmen and plantation owners gained more power and influence over the economy. By 1893, a small group of wealthy plantation owners had major economic control, while many Native Hawaiians had less access to land and economic decision-making.

Overall, the Hawaiian Kingdom had a strong but unequal economy that became increasingly controlled by foreign interests before the overthrow.

Where to find these resources

We found A History of the Hawaiian Kingdom by Leah Tau-Tassill, Linda K. Menton and Eileen H Tamura to be a great resource.

Another great resource was found through Gutenberg, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of the History of the Hawaiian Kingdom by Ralph S. Kuykendall. It was first written in 1938 and collected much of the information we knew at the time.

We were able to get a copy of Paradoxes of Hawaiian Sovereignty: Land, Sex, and the Colonial Politics of State Nationalism. It examines the push from many for the U.S. to restore the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Likewise, a copy of Leveraging Sovereignty: Kauikeaouli’s Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Nation, 1825–1854. It’s a good resource for understanding the legalities and vision for Hawaiʻi’s future pre-occupation.

Hawai’i: Eight Hundred Years of Political and Economic Change is an excellent look at the long history of Hawaiʻi’s human economies that led to embracing capitalistic economies that led to giving those who overthrew the Kingdom a foothold to do so.

An online resource for teaching your keiki about this history can be found here.

These are online resources we used in conjunction with the books listed above:

Hawaiian Kingdom Legislative Records from 1840-1893. Click here.
The Hawaiian Kingdom’s Constitution. Click here.
Hawaiian Kingdom history. Click here.
Copies of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s international treaties. Click here.
The U.S. House of Representatives history of Hawaiʻi. Click here.
The Library of Congress’s Hawaiʻi Collections and Resources. Click here.
Ulukau has an expansive database of historical records and analysis. Click here.
Hawaiʻi History Day also has a good database of records. Click here.

Hawaiʻi’s economy did not collapse before 1893. Rather, it was taken by force. What was once a sovereign system built on balance, land stewardship and global trade was slowly reshaped to serve outside interests, until political power followed economic control.

Understanding how the Hawaiian Kingdom’s economy worked makes one thing clear: the overthrow did not happen in a vacuum. It was the result of deliberate economic pressure, legal manipulation and the steady removal of Native Hawaiians from the drivers’ seat of their own nation.

History does more than explain what was lost. It shows us how it was taken.

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