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Hawaii: A History from Polynesian Kingdom to American Statehood
Book by Kuykendall, Ralph Simpson
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
331 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
About the author
Ralph S. Kuykendall
15 books5 followersRalph Kuykendall arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 19, 1922. As executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission, Kuykendall was expected to research and complete three historical works. The first was a school textbook on Hawaiian history. The second was a history on Hawaii’s role in World War I. And the third was a comprehensive and authoritative history of the Hawaiian people. Kuykendall mostly relied upon the historical collections at the Territorial Archives, the Library of Hawaii and other museums. Earlier histories were written from the perspectives of the missionaries, or the missionaries, or traders and foreign governments. Kuykendall wanted to incorporate all of these perspectives
Kuykendall’s first book, A History of Hawaii, was approved by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1925. It co-authored with the help of Dr. Herbert E. Gregory who served as the Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. A History of Hawaii documents the early beginnings of the Hawaiian kingdom to United States territory. The year 1926 marked its first use in Hawaii classrooms.
The second book, titled Hawaii in the World War, was co-authored with Lorin Tarr Gill. Published in 1928, Hawaii in the World War details the territory’s military and domestic involvement in the war.
The final, third book, an accurate history of the Hawaiian people, was by far the most difficult to complete. The work was to be a narrative history divided into three sections; 1) ancient history prior to 1778, 2) Hawaiian monarchy from 1778 through the overthrow of 1893, 3) the transition from provisional government to republic to territory. Kuykendall drew largely from the archives of Washington D.C., the Oregon Historical Society, British Columbia, Harvard College Library, Washington State archives, the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City, Bancroft Library, and the California State Library. He also acquired new collections of documents, newspapers, periodicals, books, and manuscripts.
In 1923 Kuykendall accepted a position as history professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Kuykendall continued to serve as the executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission until its dissolution in 1932. He published a few more books including The Hawaiian Kingdom Trilogy in 1938, 1953, and 1967; and in 1948 Ralph Kuykendall and A. Grove Day published Hawaii: A History From Polynesian Kingdom to American Statehood.
Kuykendall was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1960s and he moved to Tucson, Arizona to live with his son. Kuykendall continued to work up until his death in 1963, he left several unfinished manuscripts. The University of Hawaii at Manoa named the building in which the English Department resides after Kuykendall.
Kuykendall’s first book, A History of Hawaii, was approved by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1925. It co-authored with the help of Dr. Herbert E. Gregory who served as the Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. A History of Hawaii documents the early beginnings of the Hawaiian kingdom to United States territory. The year 1926 marked its first use in Hawaii classrooms.
The second book, titled Hawaii in the World War, was co-authored with Lorin Tarr Gill. Published in 1928, Hawaii in the World War details the territory’s military and domestic involvement in the war.
The final, third book, an accurate history of the Hawaiian people, was by far the most difficult to complete. The work was to be a narrative history divided into three sections; 1) ancient history prior to 1778, 2) Hawaiian monarchy from 1778 through the overthrow of 1893, 3) the transition from provisional government to republic to territory. Kuykendall drew largely from the archives of Washington D.C., the Oregon Historical Society, British Columbia, Harvard College Library, Washington State archives, the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City, Bancroft Library, and the California State Library. He also acquired new collections of documents, newspapers, periodicals, books, and manuscripts.
In 1923 Kuykendall accepted a position as history professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Kuykendall continued to serve as the executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission until its dissolution in 1932. He published a few more books including The Hawaiian Kingdom Trilogy in 1938, 1953, and 1967; and in 1948 Ralph Kuykendall and A. Grove Day published Hawaii: A History From Polynesian Kingdom to American Statehood.
Kuykendall was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1960s and he moved to Tucson, Arizona to live with his son. Kuykendall continued to work up until his death in 1963, he left several unfinished manuscripts. The University of Hawaii at Manoa named the building in which the English Department resides after Kuykendall.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 21, 2016
Some older history books stand up well because they preserve the context of the time while being genuinely interesting; others preserve the time almost too well and feel bland and almost generic in their coverage of events. This book is the latter.
Mind you, reading it is not a complete waste of time. I read this for novel research, and I did jot down some notes. I found some new insights on the sugar cane industry to be fascinating. However, the organization of the book is odd, as it sticks with themes for some chapters and therefore jumps back and forth in time. The tone is bland, too; it's easy to tell this was written before modern 'narrative nonfiction.' This is the sort of book that would make students fall asleep.
The blandness goes deep into the content as well, as the book often ignores racial issues or diverse racial experiences. It only addresses immigrant sugar cane workers' experiences at the end and not in detail or with their own voices. It does go into more detail about some of what citizens of Japanese lineage endured during World War II, and speaks very highly of their contributions. I've read several histories of Hawaii at this point, so the gaps really stand out. The native perspective is mostly lost, as are the voices of non-white immigrants. Instead, the authors' voices intrude more and more as the book culminates with Hawaii achieving statehood (which was happening as the book was first published) with an almost gushing tone of 'Look how far we've come!' It made me feel uncomfortable, like it had become state-sponsored tourism propaganda.
As an example, there's this line in a chapter on sugar cane and pineapple harvesting: "Nowhere in the world has science been applied to agriculture to a greater extent than in Hawaii, and the results are evident in the sugar cane production record." As a native of the salad bowl of California, I read this and found my eyebrows arching high in disbelief at such a definite opinion being stated as fact in a history book.
If you read this book, drink some caffeine and approach with a thoughtful perspective; there is some good information to be found. But don't let this be the only book you read on the history of Hawaii. Definitely seek out other sources.
Mind you, reading it is not a complete waste of time. I read this for novel research, and I did jot down some notes. I found some new insights on the sugar cane industry to be fascinating. However, the organization of the book is odd, as it sticks with themes for some chapters and therefore jumps back and forth in time. The tone is bland, too; it's easy to tell this was written before modern 'narrative nonfiction.' This is the sort of book that would make students fall asleep.
The blandness goes deep into the content as well, as the book often ignores racial issues or diverse racial experiences. It only addresses immigrant sugar cane workers' experiences at the end and not in detail or with their own voices. It does go into more detail about some of what citizens of Japanese lineage endured during World War II, and speaks very highly of their contributions. I've read several histories of Hawaii at this point, so the gaps really stand out. The native perspective is mostly lost, as are the voices of non-white immigrants. Instead, the authors' voices intrude more and more as the book culminates with Hawaii achieving statehood (which was happening as the book was first published) with an almost gushing tone of 'Look how far we've come!' It made me feel uncomfortable, like it had become state-sponsored tourism propaganda.
As an example, there's this line in a chapter on sugar cane and pineapple harvesting: "Nowhere in the world has science been applied to agriculture to a greater extent than in Hawaii, and the results are evident in the sugar cane production record." As a native of the salad bowl of California, I read this and found my eyebrows arching high in disbelief at such a definite opinion being stated as fact in a history book.
If you read this book, drink some caffeine and approach with a thoughtful perspective; there is some good information to be found. But don't let this be the only book you read on the history of Hawaii. Definitely seek out other sources.
September 7, 2026
This is an abbreviated history of Hawai'i from Cook to statehood, and as such it is useful as an overview of these years. It is dry, but clear. Kuykendall and Day provide a sober and succinct assessment of power dynamics as they existed at the time, without going into too much detail. They simply communicate how the islands changed over time. This was valuable to me because more recent histories of Hawai'i are judgmental at best or overtly political at worst. The only disadvantage of this 300-page overview of nearly 200 years (1778-1959) is much detail is necessarily left out.
There is some, but not much, praise or censure of historical actors or their actions. The character and motivations of both the native and foreign actors are mostly left out or summarized in favor of a swift and accurate accounting of legal, economic, and to a lesser degree, cultural change. Such brevity does not hide or downplay native savvy or courage, because the facts are allowed to speak for themselves. The chiefs immediately recognized the technological superiority of the foreigners, and the profound changes that would occur as the result of contact and exchange. Their actions preserved the kingdom in relative peace and prosperity for over a century, all while suffering a devastating population decline from introduced diseases, the dismantling of social heirarchies through the legal restructuring of property, and the unraveling of their old belief system through the adoption, apparently voluntary, of Christian religions.
There is no judgment of the old society in this book, or even much description of it; but one can glean a basic positive bias for Christianity, capitalism, and representative democracy. To put it another way, I would say the authors probably believe the nearly 200-year journey from being a collection of illiterate, human-sacrificing, feudalist tribes perpetually at war, to aquiring the rights and individual liberties of citizens of the most powerful and technologically advanced nation on earth through statehood, was not exactly a tragedy. Make of this what you will, at least it is clear.
There is some, but not much, praise or censure of historical actors or their actions. The character and motivations of both the native and foreign actors are mostly left out or summarized in favor of a swift and accurate accounting of legal, economic, and to a lesser degree, cultural change. Such brevity does not hide or downplay native savvy or courage, because the facts are allowed to speak for themselves. The chiefs immediately recognized the technological superiority of the foreigners, and the profound changes that would occur as the result of contact and exchange. Their actions preserved the kingdom in relative peace and prosperity for over a century, all while suffering a devastating population decline from introduced diseases, the dismantling of social heirarchies through the legal restructuring of property, and the unraveling of their old belief system through the adoption, apparently voluntary, of Christian religions.
There is no judgment of the old society in this book, or even much description of it; but one can glean a basic positive bias for Christianity, capitalism, and representative democracy. To put it another way, I would say the authors probably believe the nearly 200-year journey from being a collection of illiterate, human-sacrificing, feudalist tribes perpetually at war, to aquiring the rights and individual liberties of citizens of the most powerful and technologically advanced nation on earth through statehood, was not exactly a tragedy. Make of this what you will, at least it is clear.
November 4, 2023
A generally-accurate account of Hawai’i’s mainstream history from the arrival of Captain Cook through the ratification of statehood. Tid-bits of less popular Hawaiian history can be gleaned from this older book, particularly historical facts that go against the modern grain of anti-statehood and sovereignty. Overall, an authoritative and well-written history book. As with most history books, Hawai’i: A History is not as colorful as other, more engaging books about Hawai’i. Certainly still worth a read. Aloha!
December 5, 2022
Agree with other reviews. The book sticks to themes and jumps back and forth through time, which makes readers confused about the sequence of incidents that happened during a period. Sufficient knowledge is provided in the book and it was easy to read.
March 21, 2018
A very interesting and detailed history of Hawaii. I enjoyed it a lot.
November 3, 2019
Good but not great. I love history, but this felt missing. Bought it, quick read and returned. Not something I wanted to keep.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews