Hawaiiana is a popular term of academia used
in reference to history and various aspects of the culture of
Hawai'i, currently a region and state of the United States.
The term is used especially in reflection
of the periods of antiquity and the Kingdom of Hawai'i era.
Hawaiiana has become increasingly popular among students of
history and sociology throughout the world. The principal
repository of Hawaiiana is the Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Museum in Honolulu on the island of O'ahu. The institution is
also called the Hawai'i State Museum of Natural and Cultural
History and often shares artifacts and information with other
institutions globally for the sake of research and study.
Hawaii became the 50th state
of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is situated in the
North Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the mainland,
at 21°18'41?N, 157°47'47?W. In the 19th century, Hawaii was also
known as the Sandwich Islands.
In dialects of American
English, "Hawaii" is pronounced at least three different ways. In
the Hawaiian language, there is also some variation possible,
but the most general pronunciation is.
This last Hawaiian pronunciation is often used by
native-English-speaking Hawaii residents, as well.
Archaeologic evidence points
to earliest habitation in the 11th century, probably by
Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, Raiatea and Bora Bora.
The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778
by British explorer James Cook. However, substantial evidence
(Stokes 1932 for example) exists of earlier Spanish visits to
Hawaii. Hawaii was an independent kingdom from 1810 until 1893,
when the monarchy was overthrown. It was an independent republic
from 1894 until 1898. It was annexed by the United States in
1898, but became a territory in 1900 and has been a state since
1959.
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