The Hawaiian Islands: A History

The Hawaiian Islands consist of eight large islands and a splash of smaller islands that are sparsely inhabited, or not at all. The history of this span of islands, simply known as Hawaii, is rich; it stretches as far back as prehistoric times. Now, it's one of the hottest travel destinations on planet Earth.

Prehistory and the Earliest Settlers
Joan Aidem, a naturalist, discovered fossilized remains of a bird in the 1970s. Come to find out, this flightless goose is a direct ancestor of the nene goose, which is the state bird of Hawaii. The archaeological digs sparked by the fossil-find has revealed several thousand different prehistoric species to have existed in the island chain. As for the earliest settlers of the Hawaiian Islands, it's believed that the Polynesians were the first to set foot on the habitable islands sometime between the years 300 and 600 A.D. The culture there thrived for several hundred years until Tahitians conquered and enslaved the Polynesian settlers sometime in the year 1200.

Growth and Change
Between the years 1200 and 1800, the Hawaiian Islands became a hotbed of trade, as well as social and economic growth. This was because the Tahitians, whom had conquered the Polynesians, made alliances with British travelers like Capt. James Cook. However, with this boom in growth and trade came the downsides of exposing the islanders to the ailments of the British -- many died of cholera and contracted sexually transmitted infections.

Modern Hawaii
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and several years of consideration, Hawaii was recognized as a U.S. State in 1959. Since then it's flourished into a glamorous and exotic travel destination for people from all over the world. It also happens to be the birthplace of President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.