Most people associate Hawaii with a tropical place that is home to a lot of beautiful sceneries and wonderful landscapes. Yes, Hawaii is bestowed with a lot of gifts from nature and this is what makes it one of the most visited places in the world. It is rich in tradition and culture, and all of the people would greet you with enthusiasm. The Oahu island tour, for instance, will definitely make you feel that you have entered paradise. Well, while all of these are true. There is still more to Hawaii than what is portrayed in the popular culture. And this is what we will be sharing with you in this article.   

Native Hawaiians   

The aboriginal people in the islands of Hawaii are called Kanaka Maoli and they settled in the islands around the 5th century AD. Hawaiians and native Hawaiians are different in some ways. Native refers to the racial classification used by the United States to differentiate the original settlers in the islands. An American by blood who resides in Hawaii is a Hawaiian but a native Hawaiian has the blood of the original settlers of the islands. Of course, because of interracial marriages, mixed blood exists. According to a report, there are only 5,000 estimated pure-blooded native Hawaiians in the world.   

Hawaii was once a sovereign nation   

Hawaii is currently one of the states of America but before colonization, it was once a sovereign nation with distinct culture, tradition, language, and nation. It had made treaties and friendly pacts with other nations including the United States. The royalty or the monarch was the leader of the nation and the ones who control the political power. Up until now, the monarch is still respected and revered by the people in Hawaii. In fact, locals would expect visitors and travelers to respect the royals as well as their temples and sacred land. Additionally, Hawaii has festivals and celebrations dedicated to their royalty as well as holidays to commemorate some kings and princes.   

Hawaii almost became extinct   

When Captain James Cook visited the islands in 1778, there were more or less 400,000 natives living in the islands. However, because the Hawaii islands were geographically secluded from the world, diseases were still unknown and inexperienced by the natives. When the Americans set foot and brought with them diseases from their homeland, the native’s immune system couldn’t keep up with these diseases and therefore, thousands of natives died. The majority of deaths are caused by measles, chickenpox, STD, cough, common cold, and other new diseases introduced by the Americans.  

 After Western contact, they immediately became literate   

It was in the 1820s that the first Christian missionaries came to Hawaii and soon after the event, many children started attending school and learning to read and count. They were so literate that when European visitors went to the islands, they know things that only European elites of the time had the chance to learn.  

There are still many things that people need to learn about the Hawaiian history. It is important that people get to be educated about the culture, traditions, and how Hawaii started.