The history of the Big Island is one rich in excitement and drama encapsulating a cast of personnages, dramatic events, and sweeping cultural, economic, and social change. Hawai‘i was the first of the Hawaiian Islands to be settled by the early Polynesians and the only island influenced by a volcanic atmosphere. It was here where most of the major battles in the civil wars to unite the islands were waged and where the greatest and first of the Hawaiian monarchs emerged. It was here where the kapu system was overthrown and where Captain Cook died. It is also the island most ravaged by natural disasters and the island that served as a training base for the marine division that took Iwo Jima and other Pacific islands. It is the island where ranching was most important where the first horses landed, where coffee was first grown, and where the seeds for the Hawaiian renaissance and sovereignty movements were planted. Part I: PEOPLE OF OLD Volcanic Landscapes The People of Old: A New Culture The Hula of Old The Districts and Their Ruling Chiefs Captain James Cook (1728–1779) Captain Cook’s Death Part II: THE MONARCHY Kamehameha I, the Islands’ First King The Monarchy After 1819 Royal Visits Part III: WESTERNIZATION Merchants, Adventurers, and Traders Hawaiian Ways: A Threatened Culture Missionaries Catholics Ranching and Paniolo Parker Ranch Part IV: KING SUGAR Sweet Success Sugar Towns Sugar Trains Sugar Water Newcomers Part V: TOWNS & PLACES Hilo Ka‘u South Kona Kailua-Kona North Kona Mahukona Kawaihae Waipi‘o Valley Laupahoehoe Onomea Part VI: THE AMERICAN CENTURY 1900–1950 Hawaiian Ways: Cultural Traditions Early Tourism Kona Inn Captain Cook Sesquicentennial Volcano Lands Volcano House Kona Coffee Macadamia Nuts Tobacco Hawai‘i’s Melting Pot Labor Unrest World War II Waimea’s Camp Tarawa Part VII: MODERN ERA 1950 to Present Natural Forces A Disappearing Industry Ka‘u Sugar Kalapana—A Look Back in Time The Hula Pu‘ukohola Heiau and Ho‘oku‘ikahi The Last People of Waipi‘o Resort Development On the Road Hawaiian Ways: The Tradition Continues Miloli‘i: A Most Hawaiian Place Hawai‘i Island Looking Forward Editors: Sophia Schweitzer and Bennett Hymer
