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Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
Gavan Daws' remarkable achievement is to free Hawaiian history from the dust of antiquity. Based on years of work in the documentary sources, Shoal of Time emerges as the most readable of all Hawaiian histories.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
368 people are currently reading
1632 people want to read
About the author
Gavan Daws
40 books13 followersGavan Daws (b. 1933) is an American writer, historian and filmmaker residing in Honolulu, Hawaii. He writes about Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia. He is a retired professor of history at University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Daws is originally from Australia and got his B.A. in English and History from the University of Melbourne. He has a Ph.D. in Pacific History from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
His best-known works are Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands, in print since 1968; Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai, the biography of a nineteenth-century missionary priest to Hawaii who served leprosy sufferers, and who has recently been canonized; and Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific. Daws co-produced and co-directed Angels of War: The People of Papua New Guinea and World War II, which won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary. His other work includes song lyrics and a stage play with music and choreography. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Humanities in Australia, and served as the Pacific member of the UNESCO Commission on the Scientific and Cultural History of Humankind.
Daws is originally from Australia and got his B.A. in English and History from the University of Melbourne. He has a Ph.D. in Pacific History from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
His best-known works are Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands, in print since 1968; Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai, the biography of a nineteenth-century missionary priest to Hawaii who served leprosy sufferers, and who has recently been canonized; and Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific. Daws co-produced and co-directed Angels of War: The People of Papua New Guinea and World War II, which won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary. His other work includes song lyrics and a stage play with music and choreography. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Humanities in Australia, and served as the Pacific member of the UNESCO Commission on the Scientific and Cultural History of Humankind.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
July 26, 2015
"Shoal of Time" is an "ok" introduction to Hawaiian history, thorough in some areas, but glaringly thin and/or dated in others. Only recommended for background reading as part of a broader palette of histories, texts and cultural texts offering differing viewpoints.
Other books and historical texts that I recommend for a more complete cultural and historical view include:
"The Voices of Eden"
All Volumes of "The Hawaiian Journal of History" (Hawaiian Historical Society)
"For Whom the Stars"
"Must We Wait in Dispair?"
Anything written by Mary Kawena Pukui but particularly including:
"The Hawaiian Dictionary"
"The Polynesian Family System in Kaʻu"
"Place Names of Hawaii"
Handy, Handy and Pukuiʻs "Native Planters in Old Hawaii"
"The Fornander collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore", Volumes IV, V and VI
Anything written by Samual Kamakau but particularly:
"Ruling Chiefs of Hawaiʻi"
Anything written by Patrick Vinton Kirch but particularly:
"On the Road of the Winds"
"A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief: The Island Civilization of Ancient Hawaiʻi"
"The Evolution of Polynesian Chiefdoms"
"Unwritten Literature of Hawaii"
"Hawaiiʻs Forgotten History"
"Voyage of Rediscovery"
"An Ocean in Mind"
"We the Navigators"
"Nā Inoa Hōkū"
"Presstime in Hawaii"
Bishop Museum Bulletins
Iʻm missing a ton of other titles and authors that should be on this list including several covering the plantation era, post-world war II and Hawaiian renaissance but the above is not a bad start.
Other books and historical texts that I recommend for a more complete cultural and historical view include:
"The Voices of Eden"
All Volumes of "The Hawaiian Journal of History" (Hawaiian Historical Society)
"For Whom the Stars"
"Must We Wait in Dispair?"
Anything written by Mary Kawena Pukui but particularly including:
"The Hawaiian Dictionary"
"The Polynesian Family System in Kaʻu"
"Place Names of Hawaii"
Handy, Handy and Pukuiʻs "Native Planters in Old Hawaii"
"The Fornander collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore", Volumes IV, V and VI
Anything written by Samual Kamakau but particularly:
"Ruling Chiefs of Hawaiʻi"
Anything written by Patrick Vinton Kirch but particularly:
"On the Road of the Winds"
"A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief: The Island Civilization of Ancient Hawaiʻi"
"The Evolution of Polynesian Chiefdoms"
"Unwritten Literature of Hawaii"
"Hawaiiʻs Forgotten History"
"Voyage of Rediscovery"
"An Ocean in Mind"
"We the Navigators"
"Nā Inoa Hōkū"
"Presstime in Hawaii"
Bishop Museum Bulletins
Iʻm missing a ton of other titles and authors that should be on this list including several covering the plantation era, post-world war II and Hawaiian renaissance but the above is not a bad start.
May 30, 2011
This book is widely considered to be the definitive text when it comes to the modern history of Hawai'i. Certainly, no other text attempts to take on such a broad swathe of history in such detail. If you're interested in the history of Hawai'i and/or the imperialist history of the U.S. in the Pacific, Shoal of Time is a must read. However, beware, I found that the book has some pretty big flaws.
First of all, every historical account can only be told from the perspective of the historian who tells it, and this historian is definitely one who has an "all's well that ends well" point of view about the colonization of Hawai'i and all that was lost in the process. In addition there are some historical inaccuracies and exclusions that make a real difference to one's understanding of just what, exactly, happened here.
On the second point, Daws gives short shrift to what many refer to as the "Great Dying," the historical sweep of 80 or so years during which more than 95% of the Hawaiian people died, due largely to contracting diseases brought to Hawai'i by it's colonizers and to which Hawaiians had no immunity. This catastrophe could not but have shaped the worldview of the Hawaiian people, including our relationship to our religion and religious leaders, opening the doors to many significant changes that are presented as though they were easily chosen by Hawaiians. For instance, when everyone around you is dying, you might think your gods were failing you, making the notion of trying on a new god or two kind of appealing, especially when the missionaries bringing you the word of said god are taking advantage of the situation and suggesting that you are all dying of sin.
Also on this point, Daws at one juncture suggests that plantation life in Hawai'i was similar to that of the antebellum southeastern U.S. but for, though not in so many words, the slavery and threats to white women by black men causing unrest and acts of retaliation like lynchings. I accept that slavery is different than peonage, which is more along the lines of what immigrant workers experienced in Hawai'i, but the notion that lynchings in the south were acts of retaliation is just b.s. The whole notion of the sexually depraved black man is a myth created by white men in the south in order to justify acts of violence that were really committed in order to intimidate slaves and prevent them from rebelling (not to mention subsequent generations of African Americans in order to quell challenges to white supremacy). I'd call that a pretty big gaff, and one that reveals a lot about the Daws point of view on issues of race. That point of view comes across now and then throughout, though I believe unintentionally.
But, again, all in all, no other book goes as far, nor into as much detail, at least where English language resources are concerned, as this one. For a history of Hawai'i that delves into Hawaiian language resources which tell a very different story, check out Aloha Betrayed by Noenoe Silva in my books.
First of all, every historical account can only be told from the perspective of the historian who tells it, and this historian is definitely one who has an "all's well that ends well" point of view about the colonization of Hawai'i and all that was lost in the process. In addition there are some historical inaccuracies and exclusions that make a real difference to one's understanding of just what, exactly, happened here.
On the second point, Daws gives short shrift to what many refer to as the "Great Dying," the historical sweep of 80 or so years during which more than 95% of the Hawaiian people died, due largely to contracting diseases brought to Hawai'i by it's colonizers and to which Hawaiians had no immunity. This catastrophe could not but have shaped the worldview of the Hawaiian people, including our relationship to our religion and religious leaders, opening the doors to many significant changes that are presented as though they were easily chosen by Hawaiians. For instance, when everyone around you is dying, you might think your gods were failing you, making the notion of trying on a new god or two kind of appealing, especially when the missionaries bringing you the word of said god are taking advantage of the situation and suggesting that you are all dying of sin.
Also on this point, Daws at one juncture suggests that plantation life in Hawai'i was similar to that of the antebellum southeastern U.S. but for, though not in so many words, the slavery and threats to white women by black men causing unrest and acts of retaliation like lynchings. I accept that slavery is different than peonage, which is more along the lines of what immigrant workers experienced in Hawai'i, but the notion that lynchings in the south were acts of retaliation is just b.s. The whole notion of the sexually depraved black man is a myth created by white men in the south in order to justify acts of violence that were really committed in order to intimidate slaves and prevent them from rebelling (not to mention subsequent generations of African Americans in order to quell challenges to white supremacy). I'd call that a pretty big gaff, and one that reveals a lot about the Daws point of view on issues of race. That point of view comes across now and then throughout, though I believe unintentionally.
But, again, all in all, no other book goes as far, nor into as much detail, at least where English language resources are concerned, as this one. For a history of Hawai'i that delves into Hawaiian language resources which tell a very different story, check out Aloha Betrayed by Noenoe Silva in my books.
November 29, 2017
4.5 star review.
If you want to gain insight into the extraordinary human diversity of Hawaii, this is a fantastic read. This one volume history, now 40 years old, covers Hawaii from Captain Cook’s arrival to Barack Obama’s birth.
I found the book to be highly informative and very well written. Because it covers so much, the stories are at best vignettes but there are so many nationalities represented in Hawaii’s history that it is absorbing.
The middle to latter portions of the book are well documented, the earlier portions are thinly referenced but that is to be expected. If you want to understand the role that the missionaries played or if you want to know what a horrible person Sanford Dole was, this book tells some relatable stories.
While the book is not written from a native Hawaiian perspective it harbors a good deal of disdain for the white American imperialists, justifiably I might add.
Otherwise 5 stars, but a little dated.
If you want to gain insight into the extraordinary human diversity of Hawaii, this is a fantastic read. This one volume history, now 40 years old, covers Hawaii from Captain Cook’s arrival to Barack Obama’s birth.
I found the book to be highly informative and very well written. Because it covers so much, the stories are at best vignettes but there are so many nationalities represented in Hawaii’s history that it is absorbing.
The middle to latter portions of the book are well documented, the earlier portions are thinly referenced but that is to be expected. If you want to understand the role that the missionaries played or if you want to know what a horrible person Sanford Dole was, this book tells some relatable stories.
While the book is not written from a native Hawaiian perspective it harbors a good deal of disdain for the white American imperialists, justifiably I might add.
Otherwise 5 stars, but a little dated.
May 5, 2020
...well... it's thorough.
The main issue here (and other good-readers have raised this) is that the author is extremely and unmistakably on the side of empire. Like, almost comically so. It's like if you watched Star Wars but it was told from the perspective of Darth Vader explaining how the Empire is just trying to bring order to things, really, and sure it doesn't go well for the locals all the times, but in the end it really was for ordered good, and their local customs/religion/traditions were backwards before we got there and sorted it out, etc.
I mean, *I'd* watch that movie, but it sure does have a certain angle.
Take his description of what is widely and commonly called (by historians, Hawaiians, laypeople... like everyone) the "Bayonet Constitution" because King Kalakaua was forced to sign it basically under gunpoint. Not only does he not mention the "bayonet constitution” and really underplay the forced nature of the event, but the entire episode is under the chapter entitled "bulwarks of Liberty" (referencing the white folks who sought and forced the new constitution)-- soooo that gives you a sense of who's side we're on there.
In describing (one of the many) takeover(s) of the Native government essentially by white pineapple and sugar barons, he says "So good government triumphed" and calls them "the well-intentioned revolutionaries" -- I actually snorted out loud.
The chapters on the union activity on the plantation read like union-busting brochures. And in describing the anti-communist, McCarthy -era "anti-American" commission activities in Hawaii (during which loads of people were arrested and imprisoned for being suspected communists with little to no evidence), it reads a bit like "well, you know, communism was scary, so there you have it.”
Additionally, phrasing like "the Orientals" can be extremely jarring-- though maybe when it was originally published that was seen as acceptable language-- but, like, errrrr.... was it?
All in all: it is thorough, but the author has a very obvious bias, so —- is it thorough? What info has been excluded? Whose stories are not being told? Whose voices aren’t represented?
I have a guess...
The main issue here (and other good-readers have raised this) is that the author is extremely and unmistakably on the side of empire. Like, almost comically so. It's like if you watched Star Wars but it was told from the perspective of Darth Vader explaining how the Empire is just trying to bring order to things, really, and sure it doesn't go well for the locals all the times, but in the end it really was for ordered good, and their local customs/religion/traditions were backwards before we got there and sorted it out, etc.
I mean, *I'd* watch that movie, but it sure does have a certain angle.
Take his description of what is widely and commonly called (by historians, Hawaiians, laypeople... like everyone) the "Bayonet Constitution" because King Kalakaua was forced to sign it basically under gunpoint. Not only does he not mention the "bayonet constitution” and really underplay the forced nature of the event, but the entire episode is under the chapter entitled "bulwarks of Liberty" (referencing the white folks who sought and forced the new constitution)-- soooo that gives you a sense of who's side we're on there.
In describing (one of the many) takeover(s) of the Native government essentially by white pineapple and sugar barons, he says "So good government triumphed" and calls them "the well-intentioned revolutionaries" -- I actually snorted out loud.
The chapters on the union activity on the plantation read like union-busting brochures. And in describing the anti-communist, McCarthy -era "anti-American" commission activities in Hawaii (during which loads of people were arrested and imprisoned for being suspected communists with little to no evidence), it reads a bit like "well, you know, communism was scary, so there you have it.”
Additionally, phrasing like "the Orientals" can be extremely jarring-- though maybe when it was originally published that was seen as acceptable language-- but, like, errrrr.... was it?
All in all: it is thorough, but the author has a very obvious bias, so —- is it thorough? What info has been excluded? Whose stories are not being told? Whose voices aren’t represented?
I have a guess...
February 26, 2010
Hands-down the best one-volume political history of modern Hawaii ever written. It's difficult to write a history of the islands since Captain Cook's arrival through US annexation and statehood without "taking sides" in the struggle between the natives and haoles - and the book's point of view definitely does have its clear heroes and villains - but Daws makes an honest effort to provide context for all the warring factions in the book and avoids turning it into a one-sided screed as it could have been.
Two warnings to prospective readers. One - this is a political history, not a cultural one, so don't read it to learn about native customs and traditions. Second - the paperback edition has no pictures, maps or illustrations; and this is a book that would deeply benefit from having them.
These caveats aside, the book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of Hawaii from 1778 to statehood in 1959.
Two warnings to prospective readers. One - this is a political history, not a cultural one, so don't read it to learn about native customs and traditions. Second - the paperback edition has no pictures, maps or illustrations; and this is a book that would deeply benefit from having them.
These caveats aside, the book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of Hawaii from 1778 to statehood in 1959.
May 29, 2012
After living in Hawaii for 4 years, I got sick of not being able to answer questions from friends and family about the history of the islands. I was looking for a readable book that would take me from Captain Cook to statehood, which is exactly what Daws has written.
When I was looking for books, a found a few reviews of this volume that said it was biased against Native Hawaiians, so I was cautious when I started reading. After getting through a few chapters, I realized that the problem is not that Daws is unfair to Native Hawaiians, but that he is brutally honest about all parties involved in Hawaii's complex history. For every time he points out a poor political decision made by the Hawaiian monarchy, he also makes sure to note that many of the white business men were racist, self-interested, and narrow-minded. Rather than take sides, Daws seems interested in helping the reader understand that the annexation and Americanization of Hawaii was not as black and white as people today like to think. He does a good job exploring the complex and long-lasting relationship between Hawaiians and Europeans and explaining how the intersection of multiple political motivations resulted in statehood.
Regardless of how you feel about Hawaii's history, this book is a good read. Daws paints the picture of a thriving, impressive culture that is (perhaps prematurely) thrust on to the Western political stage and forced to adapt. Both good and bad come of it, and I think any student interested in Hawaiian history should read this book if only to understand that the path to take was not always obvious, and that the characters involved were not inherently good or inherently bad.
When I was looking for books, a found a few reviews of this volume that said it was biased against Native Hawaiians, so I was cautious when I started reading. After getting through a few chapters, I realized that the problem is not that Daws is unfair to Native Hawaiians, but that he is brutally honest about all parties involved in Hawaii's complex history. For every time he points out a poor political decision made by the Hawaiian monarchy, he also makes sure to note that many of the white business men were racist, self-interested, and narrow-minded. Rather than take sides, Daws seems interested in helping the reader understand that the annexation and Americanization of Hawaii was not as black and white as people today like to think. He does a good job exploring the complex and long-lasting relationship between Hawaiians and Europeans and explaining how the intersection of multiple political motivations resulted in statehood.
Regardless of how you feel about Hawaii's history, this book is a good read. Daws paints the picture of a thriving, impressive culture that is (perhaps prematurely) thrust on to the Western political stage and forced to adapt. Both good and bad come of it, and I think any student interested in Hawaiian history should read this book if only to understand that the path to take was not always obvious, and that the characters involved were not inherently good or inherently bad.
August 23, 2022
A very well-balanced account of Hawaiian history. Some popular reviews of this work suggest that the author is “on the side of empire” or support an “all’s well that ends well” interpretation of history. I really think this an unfair interpretation. In my opinion, the author is very objective and balanced. History unfolded how it did….the author simply reports it. Sure, you can criticize the book for not picking a side or not being more critical of how things unfolded…but it doesn’t change what happened. I understand Hawaii has a very contentious history. There are clearly a sizeable number of people that harbor some fantasy that Hawaii could forever continue as a prosperous, independent Hawaiian monarchy. Given the shady takeover of the country, I genuinely appreciate this perspective. That said, I don’t know that that was ever a very realistic possibility. Hawaii was a small, weak island nation, with an indigenous population that was literally dying off while the white, Japanese, and Chinese populations were exploding. By the time the monarchy fell, the economy was already wholly dependent on America. If Hawaii, remained independent, the most likely outcome would be widespread poverty. I don’t think an independent Hawaii was ever a very realistic outcome (especially after WWII). This is not intended to give a pass to the attitude or behavior of the US government. There is no legitimate justification for how things went down. But as far as this book goes, I think it recounts the history of the islands accurately and provides a very balanced account of how things actually unfolded. 3 Stars.
What follows are my notes on the book:
As this is the 4th or 5th book on Hawaiian history I have read in the past year, I didn’t take a lot of extensive notes since they begin to overlap so much. That said, I think this book provided a very good account of all the major developments in Hawaiian history:
- The history of native Hawaiians absent foreign influence.
- The arrival of Captain Cook and interpretations of him as a deity
- The murder of Captain Cook
- The rise of King Kamehameha, his use of Western weapons to conquer the entire archipelago
- Liholiho’s rise to become Kamehameha II (and the power behind the throne, his mother Kaʻahumanu who was co-regent and who overthrew the kapu religious system in Hawaii)
- The arrival of the Calvinist, New England Missionaries and their influence.
- The clash between the Missionaries and the traders/whalers (mostly over women/prostitution). But also including the rioting mobs of sailors who attacked the missionaries and had to be driven back by Hawaiian militia.
- The deteriorating economic climate as the sandalwood trade was dying due to overharvesting.
- The advent of whaling.
- The arrival of French priests (a thorn in the side of Protestant missionaries) but also a political third rail.
- The abysmal performance of King Kamehameha’s sons
- The royal acceptance of the Church of England (Anglicanism)
- The rivalry between revivalists and the old school missionaries.
- Land reforms that were intended to free serfs from the Alii, but which ended up selling most lands to foreigners at the expense of the natives.
- The publishing of a constitution and bill of rights in the 1930s/40s.
- Kamehameha III ceding the islands to the British (under duress) and the eventual overturning of this decision by Admiral Thomas.
- The election of Kalakaua over Queen Emma after the Kamehameha line died out (inbreeding)
- The initial success of Kalakaua
- The rise of the Big Five businesses
- The bayonet constitution that stripped King Kalakaua of his power
- The rise of Queen Liliuokalani
- Her attempt to change the constitution and the subsequent Coup d’état
- The impact of the presidency on the future of Hawaii (the Democrats were more supportive of the Hawaiian monarchy, the Republicans supported the annexationists).
- The annexation of the Hawaiian territory.
- The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- The New Deal and the labor movement on the Hawaiian plantations
- The anti-Communist (red scare) counter-movement in the islands
- The movement for statehood (opposed by racist southerners who objected to a “Chinese representative sitting beside them in Congress.
- The statehood campaign of Alaska and how this contributed to Hawaiian statehood
- The advent of modern transportation and the tourist industry.
What follows are my notes on the book:
As this is the 4th or 5th book on Hawaiian history I have read in the past year, I didn’t take a lot of extensive notes since they begin to overlap so much. That said, I think this book provided a very good account of all the major developments in Hawaiian history:
- The history of native Hawaiians absent foreign influence.
- The arrival of Captain Cook and interpretations of him as a deity
- The murder of Captain Cook
- The rise of King Kamehameha, his use of Western weapons to conquer the entire archipelago
- Liholiho’s rise to become Kamehameha II (and the power behind the throne, his mother Kaʻahumanu who was co-regent and who overthrew the kapu religious system in Hawaii)
- The arrival of the Calvinist, New England Missionaries and their influence.
- The clash between the Missionaries and the traders/whalers (mostly over women/prostitution). But also including the rioting mobs of sailors who attacked the missionaries and had to be driven back by Hawaiian militia.
- The deteriorating economic climate as the sandalwood trade was dying due to overharvesting.
- The advent of whaling.
- The arrival of French priests (a thorn in the side of Protestant missionaries) but also a political third rail.
- The abysmal performance of King Kamehameha’s sons
- The royal acceptance of the Church of England (Anglicanism)
- The rivalry between revivalists and the old school missionaries.
- Land reforms that were intended to free serfs from the Alii, but which ended up selling most lands to foreigners at the expense of the natives.
- The publishing of a constitution and bill of rights in the 1930s/40s.
- Kamehameha III ceding the islands to the British (under duress) and the eventual overturning of this decision by Admiral Thomas.
- The election of Kalakaua over Queen Emma after the Kamehameha line died out (inbreeding)
- The initial success of Kalakaua
- The rise of the Big Five businesses
- The bayonet constitution that stripped King Kalakaua of his power
- The rise of Queen Liliuokalani
- Her attempt to change the constitution and the subsequent Coup d’état
- The impact of the presidency on the future of Hawaii (the Democrats were more supportive of the Hawaiian monarchy, the Republicans supported the annexationists).
- The annexation of the Hawaiian territory.
- The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- The New Deal and the labor movement on the Hawaiian plantations
- The anti-Communist (red scare) counter-movement in the islands
- The movement for statehood (opposed by racist southerners who objected to a “Chinese representative sitting beside them in Congress.
- The statehood campaign of Alaska and how this contributed to Hawaiian statehood
- The advent of modern transportation and the tourist industry.
December 31, 2021
DNF. I thought this would be great background for my up coming visit to Hawai’i but I was wrong. The hairs went up on the back of my neck when in the first couple chapters I found out that Hawaiians were savages, a while later that they were incapable of rational thought, and I finally gave up when I saw that the task of missionaries was twice as hard because in addition to converting people they had to civilize them too.
I get the value of reading history written by the colonizers and I’ve done it before just to get that perspective. But this was just too much for me and made me wonder if I could believe any of it. Colonizers’ perspective is one thing. Insulting is another. I’ll check out some of the other sources suggested in other reviews thanks.
I get the value of reading history written by the colonizers and I’ve done it before just to get that perspective. But this was just too much for me and made me wonder if I could believe any of it. Colonizers’ perspective is one thing. Insulting is another. I’ll check out some of the other sources suggested in other reviews thanks.
January 10, 2011
Shoal is the history of the Kings of Hawaii from Kamehameha 1 to the end of the monarchy in the late 1900s. The story is true, but the events are incredible and compelling. How the Hawaiian Islands were discovered and eventually subverted by the US and the European powers makes for great storytelling.
July 5, 2022
In preparation for an upcoming trip to Hawaii, I decided to read Gavan Daws's Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands. My main interest in the history of the islands run from the point of discovery by Captain James Cook to the annexation by the United States. The two end chapters, covering the period from annexation to statehood in 1959 were not quite so interesting, mostly because -- except for racism -- the issues were much the same as mainland U.S. issues: McCarthyism, organized labor, and party politics.
The Hawaiian monarchy in retrospect has a tragic air about it. The kings were short-lived and did not tend to produce male heirs. Under a Kamehameha the Great, these weaknesses were not evident; but as monarch followed monarch, the dynasties became ever weaker. I was particularly interested in reading about Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho) and his consort Queen Emma.
Books like this are difficult to write, especially when what they cover comes closer to the confusion and fragmentation of the present day. It is interesting to me that Hawaii was a viable independent country which lost its autonomy because of the large number of American merchants and entrepreneurs who settled on the islands.
The Hawaiian monarchy in retrospect has a tragic air about it. The kings were short-lived and did not tend to produce male heirs. Under a Kamehameha the Great, these weaknesses were not evident; but as monarch followed monarch, the dynasties became ever weaker. I was particularly interested in reading about Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho) and his consort Queen Emma.
Books like this are difficult to write, especially when what they cover comes closer to the confusion and fragmentation of the present day. It is interesting to me that Hawaii was a viable independent country which lost its autonomy because of the large number of American merchants and entrepreneurs who settled on the islands.
April 6, 2018
it took me ages to finish this, but at least i didn't take a whole year (yikes)
I am truly amazed this book even exists to be honest - and I'm sure the copies of it are rare, so it's even more incredible I had the chance to read it at all.
The writing is deeply moving for me, a perfect blend of humor and striking truth that exposes the beauty and brutality of Hawaiian history in a way I would never have expected.
It's a shame it was published in 1974, since I'd love to know more contemporary history as well.. but the amount of research for the time span is phenomenal - so much detail is put into this history that at any moment you feel completely at home in the narrative, as if it was just a carefully crafted plot instead of real events.
also! reading it in hawaii was even more interesting since it made me so much more aware of the impact of Hawaiian history on the land today. (ex: the names of places like Dillingham Airfield or seeing the impact of big industries).
I am truly amazed this book even exists to be honest - and I'm sure the copies of it are rare, so it's even more incredible I had the chance to read it at all.
The writing is deeply moving for me, a perfect blend of humor and striking truth that exposes the beauty and brutality of Hawaiian history in a way I would never have expected.
It's a shame it was published in 1974, since I'd love to know more contemporary history as well.. but the amount of research for the time span is phenomenal - so much detail is put into this history that at any moment you feel completely at home in the narrative, as if it was just a carefully crafted plot instead of real events.
also! reading it in hawaii was even more interesting since it made me so much more aware of the impact of Hawaiian history on the land today. (ex: the names of places like Dillingham Airfield or seeing the impact of big industries).
dnf
June 24, 2025DNF. I do not want to read about Hawai'ian history from the perspective of Captain Cook. I struggle to believe that he and his crew tried to protect "the natives" from STDs but that the women basically dragged Cook's crew into their houses. Huh? What in the world? Brb, going to go find a different history of Hawai'i to read.
October 25, 2018
Considering that I was born there, my mom's side of the family has lived there for multiple generations, and I have a Hawaiian middle name, I can't help but feel shamefully overdue in finally seeking out a substantial history of the place, and this book happened to present itself the last time I was back at my parent's house and browsing around for something to read (it was a gift to my Mom from her librarian at Punahou, when the book was still fairly new).
It's one thing not to be curious for so long about a place whose history is inseparable from that of your own family, but the more nagging motivation for eventually hunting something like this down might honestly be plain-old white guilt - the knowledge that my recent ancestors were complicit in the gradual, mundane domination of the native Hawaiians, sitting uneasily in the back of my mind since the onset of Political Awareness Puberty. It seems appropriate and necessary that at some point I should figure out what that process really looked like, but alas, Shoal of Time is no People's History of Hawaii, for better or worse. Daws possesses what's normally considered an admirable sense of personal removal from his topic, and while I wouldn't necessarily call him an apologist for imperialism in the Hawaiian Islands, he does treat some of the graver injustices with an analytical, fatalistic tone that's hard to distinguish from tacit approval.
On the plus side: gee whiz does this guy know how to hunt down documents. If it seems like he has no personal opinions on certain characters or events, it's because he doesn't *have* to to fill up a dense, 400 pg. book, relying instead on a stupifying body of diaries, letters, diplomatic cables, court proceedings, pamphlets, etc. (...Or maybe that's where the bar for most historians is, and I just don't read enough of the broad, thorough, non-pop stuff? Will have to work on that). Nonetheless, a unique and perceptive critical voice still sneaks in between the cracks of all the citations; one that's content to poke at human folly without getting its feathers ruffled over it.
It's one thing not to be curious for so long about a place whose history is inseparable from that of your own family, but the more nagging motivation for eventually hunting something like this down might honestly be plain-old white guilt - the knowledge that my recent ancestors were complicit in the gradual, mundane domination of the native Hawaiians, sitting uneasily in the back of my mind since the onset of Political Awareness Puberty. It seems appropriate and necessary that at some point I should figure out what that process really looked like, but alas, Shoal of Time is no People's History of Hawaii, for better or worse. Daws possesses what's normally considered an admirable sense of personal removal from his topic, and while I wouldn't necessarily call him an apologist for imperialism in the Hawaiian Islands, he does treat some of the graver injustices with an analytical, fatalistic tone that's hard to distinguish from tacit approval.
On the plus side: gee whiz does this guy know how to hunt down documents. If it seems like he has no personal opinions on certain characters or events, it's because he doesn't *have* to to fill up a dense, 400 pg. book, relying instead on a stupifying body of diaries, letters, diplomatic cables, court proceedings, pamphlets, etc. (...Or maybe that's where the bar for most historians is, and I just don't read enough of the broad, thorough, non-pop stuff? Will have to work on that). Nonetheless, a unique and perceptive critical voice still sneaks in between the cracks of all the citations; one that's content to poke at human folly without getting its feathers ruffled over it.
December 20, 2017
This might be the original "comprehensive" history of Hawaii, but boy is it a dull and tedious read. I did appreciate how much ground Daws tries to cover, as many other Hawaiian histories focus on the short-lived monarchy and the period of annexation, whereas he covers the pre-Captain Cook era through the granting of statehood post-WWII. However, his monotonous litany of facts, unbroken by nary an interesting anecdote, made it difficult to absorb the information or concentrate on the text for long periods of time. I also found Daws' skimming of certain historical periods a strange decision; Liliuokalani is only given a bit part, for example. Perhaps his treatment of Liliuokalani is symptomatic of his necessarily limited perspective as a white male writer; indeed, I found Daws' treatment of non-white and/or female historical figures problematic, as many of them are presented as caricatures, or (in the case of the women) hardly acknowledged at all. If you're trying to see how scholars have documented Hawaiian history differently through the ages, your sort of have to read this book. But if you're just a regular reader looking to know more about the history of Hawaii, I'm sure you can find a less biased (and more entertaining!) modern read.
July 7, 2022
As a child, I remember reading James Michener’s Hawaii with intense interest, particularly the hypothesized canoe voyages over open ocean from Bora Bora. Subsequently, I loved reading
Kon Tiki, wherein a group of guys set out to prove how the Pacific could be crossed in merely a raft. Shoal of Time isn’t like either of these other works. Instead, this is a story about racial intermixture, cultural confrontations, and the ways personalities interact to carry history forward. The origins of the Hawaiian people are undoubtedly as varied and mysterious as those of the infusions of Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese that followed them.
Having finally come to a place in life where I’m actually about to travel to Hawaii for the first time, I was motivated to plow through this dry and laborious history. Reading history is less entertaining, but nevertheless vital for gaining perspective about places one visits. Similarly, reading history instigates a deeper foundation for the more pleasant fictional readings that are found within the settings of one’s travel destinations.
However, the historical account addressed in Shoal of Time is but a mere snapshot in the course of the entire existence of the Hawaiian Islands. The history of Hawaii dates eons before this book, which doesn’t start until the arrival of Captain Cook. There is nothing here about the geologic history of the islands or about how people initially came to dwell there. There is also much more modern Hawaiian history that is omitted, which has occurred since Statehood, the point where this book ends. These omissions tend to mark this book as less than comprehensive and certainly dated in scope.
Nevertheless, the short span associated within this writing, from the latter part of the 18th century to the early 20th, reveals much about the rapid advancement of the human race. Of particular interest are the advancements in human race relations that are deeply ensconced within this particular span of time. A modern minded person who finds prejudice and bigotry incomprehensible can encounter it full bore within historical writings such as this.
Racism
Just as genetics are connected with shapes of noses or hair colors, so history clearly affirms its association with a capacity for good governance. Today, we perpetuate error by promulgating the mythology that “all men are created equal”. On the contrary, every person and every race is highly diverse. Let’s face it, one race may indeed bear a greater capacity for governmental organization, while others possess genes better tuned toward creativity, music, engineering, science, or other things. The history of Hawaii clearly reveals that the persisting characteristics of passivity and inaction doomed the Hawaiian monarchy, as well as an undeniable intransigence against change in general.
Modern society has become intoxicated with the idea of racial equality. Today we find ourselves placing people in governmental jobs and other positions that are well beyond their capacity. We do so because we think this is a way of planting seeds for expanding equality. But affirmative action is like mixing seeds randomly in a garden without thought as to the extent of sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer particular breeds require. It’s like putting a less athletic player in the game so all players get equal playing time, oblivious to who wins the competition. It’s the equivalent of setting society up to suffer the results of rising disorganization.
Racism will never be defeated until we can recognize and embrace the fact that all people are not created equally. Because people bring diversified skills to the table, we must unerringly endeavor to identify the positive attributes of each person so that particular person can excel within the realm of their abilities. Why ask a clumsy person to walk the tightrope in a circus? Why make an unorganized and inefficient person the mayor of Chicago? Why ask a rap artist to sing country music? The truth is that all of society benefits greatest when people are placed where they are most efficient, not when we force people into positions where they are incapable.
If we consider this perspective while reading Shoal of Time, we can better understand that it was inevitable that native Hawaiians would be dominated by technologically superior peoples, just as it was similarly inevitable for the indigenous peoples of the American continent to be so dominated; and just as it would be equally inevitable if a superior race of aliens landed on earth today.
Survival of the Fittest
The universe is about constant change and a constant battle amongst life forms that are insatiably seeking to consume the accumulated energy within other life forms. It is naive to think that progressive ideas can easily thwart this universal force. World religions seek to enlighten us about this animalistic force and propose ways to combat it.
Certainly, the struggle for domination of Hawaii was first a struggle for religious domination of the people. The native goddess Pele was diminished with the arrival of foreigners bringing alternative gods that competed for domination: the Catholicism of the French, the Protestantism of the Americans, the Episcopal Anglicanism of the British, the Buddhism of Asia, and others, all swirling about the indigenous Hawaiians, each endeavoring to saddle them with its own particular brand of indoctrination, but all trying to tell them about the diabolical nature of the animalistic force of selfishness that threatens us all.
Histories like this illuminate how we can evolve to better deal with this diabolical force. For example, an early catalyst for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is the abuse of Japanese migrant workers on Hawaiian plantations. There was a general denigration of Asians of all types on the Hawaiian plantations, but the Japanese were treated worst of all. Migrant Japanese workers were paid a substantially lesser wage than all the others simply because they were Japanese. One writer in Hawaii published the following in 1924:
Surely, anyone reading this can see that publishing such insults in newspapers does nothing but invite war. In fact, I don’t think anyone can truly understand why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor without reading such a history as this.
I doubt most people today realize that Hawaii was not yet even a state at the time the Japanese attacked, or how the politics of statehood were affected by the Japanese bombing. Until the bombing, Hawaii was denied statehood for a very long period simply because Senators and Congressmen were appalled to think of having Asian legislators in their midst.
Evil Going Viral
One of the most influential books I’ve ever read is entitled Trauma Bond by Lawrence Swaim and it explains the uncanny way in which evil seeds itself in others, grows, and perpetuates itself in the world. Just as Japanese resentment led to war and ultimately nuclear catastrophe, so the former abuses of African Americans led to bloody civil war and racial tensions that still persist today. Historical abuses of Jews by the Nazi government led to the highly militarized state of modern Israel. Similarly, purposeful fragmentation of the Ottoman emperor by Western governments continues to produce radical Islamic terrorists all over the world. How we treat people matters. There are sustained ramifications in the world when we treat people badly.
So long as human beings continue to plant seeds of selfish evil, so they will continue to reap evil. The human species must learn to identify and defeat such evil if it is to survive. In my opinion, the true impart to humanity of Darwin’s term “survival of the fitness” pertains to the capability to eliminate evil and discord. A failure to do so will result in extinction.
Wherever there are perceptions of racism we should double our efforts to demonstrate niceness, to say sir or lady, to offer assistance, to never fail to speak, converse, show respect, welcome, and use our human skills to drive racism into non-existence; not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because there are adverse repercussions, beyond our wildest nightmares, waiting to become manifest through the negative energies of discrimination.
The Hawaiian Melting Pot
Hawaii was and is our precursor for fomenting acceptable race relations. Hawaii is a microcosm within which the rest of the world may view the mixing of races. Hawaiian history is like watching the various races thrown together and swished around in a transparent test tube. Hawaii is a much more intense melting pot than the U.S. mainland has ever been, and in this regard, Hawaii can lead the mainland forward.
We should see Hawaii as a great racial experiment, not as a historical basis for castigating modern Europeans. Instead, we should study the social interactions within such melting pots and learn better ways to move forward. The great value of diversity lies in the organized deployment of the wide range of skills and attributes possessed by so many different peoples. The lesson from Shoal of Time is that most often we do the opposite by prejudging and categorizing people negatively. This author writes as follows in explaining the tendency of the islanders to develop stereotypes:
How does the diabolical, animalistic force make us so inclined to focus on negatives? It would be just as easy to use positive characteristics for these people groups. One can synthesize the positives out of the above paragraph by speaking of Hawaiians as possessing a unique ability to relax and exude peace, the Filipinos as creative and energetic, the Chinese as industrious, the Japanese as honorable, the Koreans as tough, the Portuguese as an essential bridge between the races, and the haoles as natural leaders.
Just as we can synthesize the common truths inherent to all religions, so we can similarly synthesize the unique attributes that make for a more perfect person. We can all learn from our imperfections, and we evolve when we do so. And if we fail to do so, we will ultimately perish as a species.
Instead of viewing ourselves as Rome, by consolidating the world with force, we must seek to consolidate the world by means of the enhanced global prosperity that arises when there is unified peace and international cooperation. That simply means governmental bodies willing to establish and sustain a level playing field upon which all people rise or fall on the basis of individual merit and not on the basis of birthright, elitism, or inheritance. This is the only way to successfully identify the best and brightest so they may be established in positions appropriate for the advance of all humanity.
-End-
Vocab
Interloper - a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong
Extirpated - root out and destroy completely
Tacitly - understood or implied without being stated
Feckless - lacking initiative or strength of character
Enigmatic - mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand
Obstreperous - noisy and difficult to control
Portentous - done in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress
Pretentious- attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.
Occidental - relating to the countries of the west; a native or inhabitant of the west
Sanguine - optimistic or positive especially in a difficult situation
Kon Tiki, wherein a group of guys set out to prove how the Pacific could be crossed in merely a raft. Shoal of Time isn’t like either of these other works. Instead, this is a story about racial intermixture, cultural confrontations, and the ways personalities interact to carry history forward. The origins of the Hawaiian people are undoubtedly as varied and mysterious as those of the infusions of Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese that followed them.
Having finally come to a place in life where I’m actually about to travel to Hawaii for the first time, I was motivated to plow through this dry and laborious history. Reading history is less entertaining, but nevertheless vital for gaining perspective about places one visits. Similarly, reading history instigates a deeper foundation for the more pleasant fictional readings that are found within the settings of one’s travel destinations.
However, the historical account addressed in Shoal of Time is but a mere snapshot in the course of the entire existence of the Hawaiian Islands. The history of Hawaii dates eons before this book, which doesn’t start until the arrival of Captain Cook. There is nothing here about the geologic history of the islands or about how people initially came to dwell there. There is also much more modern Hawaiian history that is omitted, which has occurred since Statehood, the point where this book ends. These omissions tend to mark this book as less than comprehensive and certainly dated in scope.
Nevertheless, the short span associated within this writing, from the latter part of the 18th century to the early 20th, reveals much about the rapid advancement of the human race. Of particular interest are the advancements in human race relations that are deeply ensconced within this particular span of time. A modern minded person who finds prejudice and bigotry incomprehensible can encounter it full bore within historical writings such as this.
Racism
Just as genetics are connected with shapes of noses or hair colors, so history clearly affirms its association with a capacity for good governance. Today, we perpetuate error by promulgating the mythology that “all men are created equal”. On the contrary, every person and every race is highly diverse. Let’s face it, one race may indeed bear a greater capacity for governmental organization, while others possess genes better tuned toward creativity, music, engineering, science, or other things. The history of Hawaii clearly reveals that the persisting characteristics of passivity and inaction doomed the Hawaiian monarchy, as well as an undeniable intransigence against change in general.
Modern society has become intoxicated with the idea of racial equality. Today we find ourselves placing people in governmental jobs and other positions that are well beyond their capacity. We do so because we think this is a way of planting seeds for expanding equality. But affirmative action is like mixing seeds randomly in a garden without thought as to the extent of sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer particular breeds require. It’s like putting a less athletic player in the game so all players get equal playing time, oblivious to who wins the competition. It’s the equivalent of setting society up to suffer the results of rising disorganization.
Racism will never be defeated until we can recognize and embrace the fact that all people are not created equally. Because people bring diversified skills to the table, we must unerringly endeavor to identify the positive attributes of each person so that particular person can excel within the realm of their abilities. Why ask a clumsy person to walk the tightrope in a circus? Why make an unorganized and inefficient person the mayor of Chicago? Why ask a rap artist to sing country music? The truth is that all of society benefits greatest when people are placed where they are most efficient, not when we force people into positions where they are incapable.
If we consider this perspective while reading Shoal of Time, we can better understand that it was inevitable that native Hawaiians would be dominated by technologically superior peoples, just as it was similarly inevitable for the indigenous peoples of the American continent to be so dominated; and just as it would be equally inevitable if a superior race of aliens landed on earth today.
Survival of the Fittest
The universe is about constant change and a constant battle amongst life forms that are insatiably seeking to consume the accumulated energy within other life forms. It is naive to think that progressive ideas can easily thwart this universal force. World religions seek to enlighten us about this animalistic force and propose ways to combat it.
Certainly, the struggle for domination of Hawaii was first a struggle for religious domination of the people. The native goddess Pele was diminished with the arrival of foreigners bringing alternative gods that competed for domination: the Catholicism of the French, the Protestantism of the Americans, the Episcopal Anglicanism of the British, the Buddhism of Asia, and others, all swirling about the indigenous Hawaiians, each endeavoring to saddle them with its own particular brand of indoctrination, but all trying to tell them about the diabolical nature of the animalistic force of selfishness that threatens us all.
Histories like this illuminate how we can evolve to better deal with this diabolical force. For example, an early catalyst for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is the abuse of Japanese migrant workers on Hawaiian plantations. There was a general denigration of Asians of all types on the Hawaiian plantations, but the Japanese were treated worst of all. Migrant Japanese workers were paid a substantially lesser wage than all the others simply because they were Japanese. One writer in Hawaii published the following in 1924:
“The Oriental races are practically all of small stature, yellow or brown color and, in the case of the Japanese, characterized by flat features, protruding teeth and short legs. We have a right to ask ourselves if we want to incorporate such characteristics in the American body.”
Surely, anyone reading this can see that publishing such insults in newspapers does nothing but invite war. In fact, I don’t think anyone can truly understand why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor without reading such a history as this.
I doubt most people today realize that Hawaii was not yet even a state at the time the Japanese attacked, or how the politics of statehood were affected by the Japanese bombing. Until the bombing, Hawaii was denied statehood for a very long period simply because Senators and Congressmen were appalled to think of having Asian legislators in their midst.
Evil Going Viral
One of the most influential books I’ve ever read is entitled Trauma Bond by Lawrence Swaim and it explains the uncanny way in which evil seeds itself in others, grows, and perpetuates itself in the world. Just as Japanese resentment led to war and ultimately nuclear catastrophe, so the former abuses of African Americans led to bloody civil war and racial tensions that still persist today. Historical abuses of Jews by the Nazi government led to the highly militarized state of modern Israel. Similarly, purposeful fragmentation of the Ottoman emperor by Western governments continues to produce radical Islamic terrorists all over the world. How we treat people matters. There are sustained ramifications in the world when we treat people badly.
So long as human beings continue to plant seeds of selfish evil, so they will continue to reap evil. The human species must learn to identify and defeat such evil if it is to survive. In my opinion, the true impart to humanity of Darwin’s term “survival of the fitness” pertains to the capability to eliminate evil and discord. A failure to do so will result in extinction.
Wherever there are perceptions of racism we should double our efforts to demonstrate niceness, to say sir or lady, to offer assistance, to never fail to speak, converse, show respect, welcome, and use our human skills to drive racism into non-existence; not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because there are adverse repercussions, beyond our wildest nightmares, waiting to become manifest through the negative energies of discrimination.
The Hawaiian Melting Pot
Hawaii was and is our precursor for fomenting acceptable race relations. Hawaii is a microcosm within which the rest of the world may view the mixing of races. Hawaiian history is like watching the various races thrown together and swished around in a transparent test tube. Hawaii is a much more intense melting pot than the U.S. mainland has ever been, and in this regard, Hawaii can lead the mainland forward.
We should see Hawaii as a great racial experiment, not as a historical basis for castigating modern Europeans. Instead, we should study the social interactions within such melting pots and learn better ways to move forward. The great value of diversity lies in the organized deployment of the wide range of skills and attributes possessed by so many different peoples. The lesson from Shoal of Time is that most often we do the opposite by prejudging and categorizing people negatively. This author writes as follows in explaining the tendency of the islanders to develop stereotypes:
“All the inhabitants of the territory had their own firm and unshakable views about the bad character of their neighbors. Hawaiians were feckless and lazy, Filipinos were flighty and given to violence; Chinese were grasping; Japanese were unreasonably attached to ideas of pride and honor; Koreans were noisy and rough; Portuguese could never make up their mind whether they were haoles (white) or not; and haoles themselves were arrogant and condescending.”
How does the diabolical, animalistic force make us so inclined to focus on negatives? It would be just as easy to use positive characteristics for these people groups. One can synthesize the positives out of the above paragraph by speaking of Hawaiians as possessing a unique ability to relax and exude peace, the Filipinos as creative and energetic, the Chinese as industrious, the Japanese as honorable, the Koreans as tough, the Portuguese as an essential bridge between the races, and the haoles as natural leaders.
Just as we can synthesize the common truths inherent to all religions, so we can similarly synthesize the unique attributes that make for a more perfect person. We can all learn from our imperfections, and we evolve when we do so. And if we fail to do so, we will ultimately perish as a species.
Instead of viewing ourselves as Rome, by consolidating the world with force, we must seek to consolidate the world by means of the enhanced global prosperity that arises when there is unified peace and international cooperation. That simply means governmental bodies willing to establish and sustain a level playing field upon which all people rise or fall on the basis of individual merit and not on the basis of birthright, elitism, or inheritance. This is the only way to successfully identify the best and brightest so they may be established in positions appropriate for the advance of all humanity.
-End-
Vocab
Interloper - a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong
Extirpated - root out and destroy completely
Tacitly - understood or implied without being stated
Feckless - lacking initiative or strength of character
Enigmatic - mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand
Obstreperous - noisy and difficult to control
Portentous - done in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress
Pretentious- attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.
Occidental - relating to the countries of the west; a native or inhabitant of the west
Sanguine - optimistic or positive especially in a difficult situation
December 21, 2019
An abridged and dated account of Hawaiian history. Certain events are either glossed over such as the signing of Britain and France's recognition of Hawai'i as a sovereign kingdom and first non-European country into the family of nations. Daws is also inconsistent with his accounts: regarding Kaumuali'i allying himself with Georg Schaffer against Kamehameha, the author is detailed. Yet in talking about Ka'ahumanu, Daws only mentions that she created the office of kuhina nui and that creation was how she became the center of political affairs. The omitting of how she actually became a central political figure ignores a lot of history and information including her action of why the kapu system was abolished or how she managed to bring Kaua'i and Ni'ihau in the Hawaiian kingdom when Kamehameha could not.
Shoal of Time is a dated book, and the author appears to willfully ignore alot of significant events to Hawaiian history.
Shoal of Time is a dated book, and the author appears to willfully ignore alot of significant events to Hawaiian history.
May 18, 2025
Aloha, bruddah! If you’re thinkin’ of hittin’ up Hawaii, you gotta read Shoal of Time first. Seriously, it’s like the ultimate cheat sheet for understanding our islands without gettin’ caught in the tourist traps. Daws breaks down all that colonial drama and cultural mash-up, so you won’t be that one guy at the luau askin’ where the nearest Starbucks is—yikes!
Now, pair that with Michener’s Hawaii, and you’re golden. Daws gives you the facts, and Michener brings the feels. It’s like a two-for-one special on Hawaiian history, minus the spam musubi. You’ll be sippin’ your mai tai with a side of knowledge, ready to impress the locals! Trust me, read these before you land; it’s better than trying to learn the hula in a hotel ballroom.
So grab your book, kick back, and prepare to be the most educated beach bum around!
Now, pair that with Michener’s Hawaii, and you’re golden. Daws gives you the facts, and Michener brings the feels. It’s like a two-for-one special on Hawaiian history, minus the spam musubi. You’ll be sippin’ your mai tai with a side of knowledge, ready to impress the locals! Trust me, read these before you land; it’s better than trying to learn the hula in a hotel ballroom.
So grab your book, kick back, and prepare to be the most educated beach bum around!
December 19, 2021
Anyone "triggered" by this book should from here on out self-censor reading any historical work written pre 1980 or so. History is a big, bad scary meanie and not for you!
This is a straightforward chronicle in the vein of Thucydides that leaves interpretation up to the reader (if one so chooses) and in depth study of particulars mentioned and/or bypassed up to other, more specialized works. SoT is not here to be your echo chamber and/or reinforce your preferred lens of ideological viewing. It's simply a book of events (heavier on things economic) from Cook to statehood. You can find doctrines of indoctrination elsewhere aplenty so feel free to do so.
3.5, not a bad read.
This is a straightforward chronicle in the vein of Thucydides that leaves interpretation up to the reader (if one so chooses) and in depth study of particulars mentioned and/or bypassed up to other, more specialized works. SoT is not here to be your echo chamber and/or reinforce your preferred lens of ideological viewing. It's simply a book of events (heavier on things economic) from Cook to statehood. You can find doctrines of indoctrination elsewhere aplenty so feel free to do so.
3.5, not a bad read.
May 15, 2021
Lots of details for sure, but I found this book to lack any cultural information and it is definitely biased. Had a super hard time w the way he writes about women as well. Many other books give a much deeper understanding of Hawaii. Choose topic-based books to learn.
March 26, 2018
Too politically-focused. Not a good look at the Hawaiian people and culture.
April 2, 2025
Gavan Daws's book is often referred to as the definitive history of Hawaii. I chose it because several travel guides recommended it. Unfortunately, the level of detail in the history didn't match my level of interest. It gave me a good overview of Hawaii's storied turbulent history. There was much conflict between many different cultures on a small piece of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sigh...
The writing was pretty good, I soldiered on, and we finally got to statehood for Hawaii.
The writing was pretty good, I soldiered on, and we finally got to statehood for Hawaii.
Read
February 8, 2024Very comprehensive
This title was really quite fascinating and was comprehensive in the information about the beauty of Hawai'i from historical points to race and the changes that have shaped the state we know today.
This title was really quite fascinating and was comprehensive in the information about the beauty of Hawai'i from historical points to race and the changes that have shaped the state we know today.
dnf
April 20, 2025This is too much from the white imperialist perspective for me.
May 24, 2021
To its credit, a comprehensive narrative of 200yrs of history based on clear primary source research and put together in a narrative form that is minimally overwhelming.
As with any work of history though, the author’s perspective shows through clearly and often - and while Daws seems to acknowledge some of the harm done to Hawaii and native Hawaiians in recent history, he does not bring to this history a critical understanding of colonialism. History is written by the “victor”, and more specifically in this “the colonizer”.
I’m still glad to have read the book as it gives an overall context that has prepared me for more focused reading, but I would certainly welcome a similar work written by an author more comfortable connecting historical events to systems of power.
As with any work of history though, the author’s perspective shows through clearly and often - and while Daws seems to acknowledge some of the harm done to Hawaii and native Hawaiians in recent history, he does not bring to this history a critical understanding of colonialism. History is written by the “victor”, and more specifically in this “the colonizer”.
I’m still glad to have read the book as it gives an overall context that has prepared me for more focused reading, but I would certainly welcome a similar work written by an author more comfortable connecting historical events to systems of power.
December 19, 2021
Good read teaches about history that is unknown or not taught to us
I read this book for a course on Hawaiian history. Excellent book teaches alot of history unknown to those of us that didn't grow up in Hawaii. Gives depth to historical figures that are venerated in Hawaii. I enjoy seeing historical figures humanized the good and the bad. It has humor in the book, its not a dry historical read I would recommend it
I read this book for a course on Hawaiian history. Excellent book teaches alot of history unknown to those of us that didn't grow up in Hawaii. Gives depth to historical figures that are venerated in Hawaii. I enjoy seeing historical figures humanized the good and the bad. It has humor in the book, its not a dry historical read I would recommend it
Read
April 5, 2020Written from the point of view of a non-Hawai'ian, Shoal of Time presents the history of the islands from the time of Captain Cook's arrival to Hawai'i's admission to statehood. I purchased the book on the strength of a discussion I had with an Islander who told me that it was required for one of his classes when he was in college--and that he initially despised it and threw it away after reading the first chapter. When his professor insisted that he had to give the book a fair shake, he consented, bought a new copy and read it. While his first impression was softened, he nevertheless considered it a "haole" book and not representative of the Hawai'ian perspective.
My own reading proved the validity of his estimation of the book. Particularly in the first couple of chapters; Gavan Daws presents the Hawai'ian people as they were viewed by the Europeans, and later, the Americans. He does it in such a way as to give the reader the impression that he is describing the native population as they actually were, rather than as they were seen by people of an entirely different culture.
Because, in reality, the Hawai'ian people were marginalized by the Americans who usurped their government, the book also marginalizes them. It concentrates on the events that led to statehood, the activities of the missionaries, planters, and other foreign elements as they took control of the morals, economy, and finally the government of the Islands.
Well written, and accomplishing its purpose, the book will probably never receive a place in the Hawai'ian hearts as a telling of their story; it is nevertheless, a good portrayal of how a people lost their lands, their culture, and their government.
My own reading proved the validity of his estimation of the book. Particularly in the first couple of chapters; Gavan Daws presents the Hawai'ian people as they were viewed by the Europeans, and later, the Americans. He does it in such a way as to give the reader the impression that he is describing the native population as they actually were, rather than as they were seen by people of an entirely different culture.
Because, in reality, the Hawai'ian people were marginalized by the Americans who usurped their government, the book also marginalizes them. It concentrates on the events that led to statehood, the activities of the missionaries, planters, and other foreign elements as they took control of the morals, economy, and finally the government of the Islands.
Well written, and accomplishing its purpose, the book will probably never receive a place in the Hawai'ian hearts as a telling of their story; it is nevertheless, a good portrayal of how a people lost their lands, their culture, and their government.
February 15, 2017
Damn that was a long book. I enjoyed the ancient history the most as that is where my interests are. Even still it is useful to have read this book as a way of understanding Hawaiian culture today and much of the animosity directed at Haoles.
June 17, 2016
Shoal of Time may be tedious at times, but it's also incredibly comprehensive and fascinating. It took me weeks to make it through this book, and in the process, I created dozens of bookmarks for research purposes. The approach of the book feels very fair in its treatment of haoles (whites), native Hawaiians, and the islands' history of misunderstanding, racism, and political corruption. It goes into detail on the first arrivals of foreigners, to Kamehameha, to the takeover of haoles and sugar companies and American annexation, to the attack on Pearl Harbor, to Hawaii gaining statehood. I had no idea that statehood was delayed for years because Hawaii, with its heavy populations of "foreigners" and union labor, was regarded as a hotbed of communism. The book contains a lot of interesting data like that.
While the book did require skimming in spots, it was a good read overall, and I can see why it has stayed in print for decades.
While the book did require skimming in spots, it was a good read overall, and I can see why it has stayed in print for decades.
May 7, 2022
This book was written in 1968, and was apparently untouched by the civil rights movement. Other reviewers have more eloquently described the bias of this book than I could. As for me, I’ll let a couple of the quotes speak for themselves:
“To be sure, work was available… but the most noticeable thing about the towns… was the number of natives visible, idle, and unproductive.” p 178
“Having curbed an irresponsible king, the reformers were not about to turn the country over to a masterless rabble of mixed origins.” p 251
These quotes are the rule, not the exception. This book is a useful demonstration of 1960’s racism and a synopsis of the arguments white colonizers used to justify their actions and attitudes on the islands. But as an objective, balanced view of events it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s probably time to just retire this book.
“To be sure, work was available… but the most noticeable thing about the towns… was the number of natives visible, idle, and unproductive.” p 178
“Having curbed an irresponsible king, the reformers were not about to turn the country over to a masterless rabble of mixed origins.” p 251
These quotes are the rule, not the exception. This book is a useful demonstration of 1960’s racism and a synopsis of the arguments white colonizers used to justify their actions and attitudes on the islands. But as an objective, balanced view of events it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s probably time to just retire this book.
February 21, 2007
I bought this book back in 2004 while I was in Honolulu, laid up with terrible sunburn.
It is THE book on Hawaiian history since their "discovery", tracing the political and cultural history of the islands from their first western contact to the modern day.
If flying to Honolulu from the east coast, you're going to be on a plane for 12 hours and you'll likely be wide awake. Read this book, your tour guides aren't that complicated. Also, for terrific and cheap surfing lessons anywhere on Oahu, call my groovy buddy Roger: 808-734-4558 (cell).
Aloha!
It is THE book on Hawaiian history since their "discovery", tracing the political and cultural history of the islands from their first western contact to the modern day.
If flying to Honolulu from the east coast, you're going to be on a plane for 12 hours and you'll likely be wide awake. Read this book, your tour guides aren't that complicated. Also, for terrific and cheap surfing lessons anywhere on Oahu, call my groovy buddy Roger: 808-734-4558 (cell).
Aloha!
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