Hotels in HI (Hawaii)
Booking a visit to the United States often starts with a review of the different cities in the state. Use the links below to explore the hotels in Hawaii (HI)... many room rate listings are at a deep discount!
Hawaii
Hawai'i (original and local
name), is an archipelago of
islands (the Hawaiian Islands)
in the North Pacific Ocean,
constituting the the U.S. State State nickname: The Aloha State
of Hawaii (American English and
US government usage). Hawai'i is
the only island state and the
southernmost of the U.S. states.
It was also the most recent
(50th) to join the Union,
becoming a state on August 21, Capital Honolulu
1959. As of the 2000 Census, the Largest City Honolulu
population was 1,211,537.
Ranked 43rd
Honolulu is the state capital. Area
- Total 28,337 km²
The state motto is ua mau ke ea - Land 16,649 km²
o ka aina i ka pono ("the life - Water 11,672 km²
of the land is perpetuated in - % water 41.2%
righteousness"). The state flag
combines elements of the Union
Jack, French tricolor, and Population Ranked 42nd
United States flag in - Total (2000) 1,211,537
recognition of the great powers - Density 43/km²
in the Pacific at the time of
the consolidation of the Admittance into
Hawaiian monarchy. The state Union 50th
song is Hawai'i pono'i. - Order
- Date August 21, 1959
Hawai'i has two official Hawaii: UTC-10/ (no
languages, English and Hawaiian. Time zone daylight savings
The state flower is the yellow time)
hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei Latitude 16æ55'N to 23æN
or ma'o hau hele) and the state Longitude 154æ40'W to 162æW
bird is the nene (Hawaiian
goose). The state fish is the
humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Picasso Length 2450 km
trigger). USS Hawaii was named Elevation
in honor of this state. -Highest 4,205 meters
-Mean 925 meters
-Lowest 0 meters
ISO 3166-2: US-HI
History
Discovery and Settlement
The islands were first settled by Polynesians, probably from the Marquesas,
sometime between 200 and 600 AD. It is possible that Spanish explorers
arrived shortly after 1527: Juan Gaetano, a Spanish navigator, may have
visited in 1555. However, on January 18, 1778 Captain James Cook and his
crew were surprised to find high islands as far north in the Pacific as
these islands, and named them then the Sandwich Islands for the fourth Earl
of Sandwich, John Montague.
Hawaii was united under a single ruler, Kamehameha I, for the first time in
1795. The Great Mahele (land division) was signed in Hawaii on March 7, 1848
and on March 18, 1874 Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting
Americans exclusive trading rights.
Overthrow and Annexation
Up to the 1890s, the Kingdom of Hawaii was independent and had been
recognized by the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany with
exchange of ambassadors.
The Hawaiian monarchy lasted until 1893, when the monarch, Queen
Liliuokalani of Hawaii, under pressure, gave up her throne to a Committee of
Safety, made up of American and European sugar farmers, who owned many of
the plantations and controlled much of the business.
On January 14, 1893, a group of non-Hawaiian residents, including the United
States Minister assigned to the Kingdom of Hawaii, John L. Stevens,
conspired to overthrow the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Minister
Stevens, without the authority of the U.S. government or Congress, summoned
a company of uniformed U.S. Marines and two companies of U.S. sailors to
land on the Kingdom and take up positions near the Iolani Palace to
intimidate Queen Liliuokalani and the government.
A provisional government was set up without the consent of the Hawaiian
people or the government, but the Queen yielded authority on January 17,
1893, with a statement pleading for justice:
"I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the
Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all
acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the
Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a
Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.
"That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America
whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has
caused United States troops to be landed a Honolulu and declared that
he would support the Provisional Government.
"Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of
life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my
authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall,
upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its
representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the
Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.".
An investigation established by President Grover Cleveland was conducted by
former Congressman James Blount, and concluded, "United States diplomatic
and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible
for the change in government." Minister Stevens was recalled, and the
military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission.
President Cleveland declared, "substantial wrong has thus been done which a
due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured
people requires we should endeavor to repair" the monarchy. However, the
provisional government in Hawaii successfully defended its position, and
existed as the short-lived Republic of Hawaii under the presidency of
Sanford Dole.
In 1896, William McKinley replaced Cleveland as president. Two years later,
he signed the Newlands Joint Resolution which provided for the official
annexation Hawaii on July 7, 1898 and the islands officially became a United
States territory on February 22, 1900. The territorial legislature convened
for the first time on February 20, 1901. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed a bill on March 18, 1959 which allowed for Hawaiian statehood.
The manner in which Hawaii became U.S. possession has been a bitter part of
its history. In January of 1993, a Joint Resolution [PL 103-150] was passed
by the United States Congress apologizing for participation in the illegal
overthrow. The long-sought resolution was championed by United States
senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii. In 1999, the United
Nations declared that the plebiscite vote that led to Hawaii's statehood was
in violation of article 73 of the United Nations' charter.
An attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 by the Empire of Japan was a
trigger for the United States' entry into World War II.
Geology and Geography
The State of Hawaii is spread over 137 islands and atolls in the central
Pacific. The inhabited islands are those from the Big Island to Ni'ihau (see
map), but the island chain extends another 1000 miles to the northwest.
Law and Government
The main Hawaiian Islands and the counties of the state are shown on the map
to the right. The Hawaii state government is modeled after that of the
United States. It has three branches: executive, legislative and judicial.
The executive branch is headed by the Governor of the state, and all state
agencies belong to this branch. The legislative body consists of the Senate
with 25 members and the House of Representatives with 51 members. The
highest state court is the Hawaii Supreme Court.
Economy
The total gross output for the state in 1999 was $41 billion placing Hawaii
40th compared to the other states. The Per Capita Income for Hawaiian
residents was $28,221. Tourism is now the state's largest industry.
Industrial product outputs are minimal because of the considerable shipping
distance to markets on the U.S. West Coast or Japan, but would include food
processing and apparel. The main agricultural outputs are nursey stock and
flowers, coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugar cane.
Agricultural sales for 2002 (according to Hawai'i Agricultural Statistics
Service) were $370.9 M from diversified agriculture, $100.6 M from
pineapple, and $64.3 M from sugarcane.
Demographics
A large proportion of Hawaii's population is of Asian (especially Japanese)
descent, from those early immigrants who came to the islands in the
nineteenth century to work on sugar plantations. The first Japanese arrived
in Hawaii on February 9, 1885.
The population of Hawaii is approximately 1.2 million, while the de facto
population is over 1.3 million due to military presence and tourists. O'ahu
is the most populous island, with a population of just under one million.
The largest city is the capital, Honolulu, located on O'ahu. Other populous
cities include Hilo, Kane'ohe, Kailua, Pearl City, and Wailuku.
Education
Hawaii is currently the only state in the union with a unified school
system. Policy decisions are made by the eleven-member state Board of
Education. The Board of Education sets statewide educational policy and
hires the state superintendent of schools, which oversees the operations of
the state Department of Education. The Department of Education is also
divided into seven districts, four on Oahu and one for each of the other
counties.
The structure of the state Department of Education has been a subject of
discussion and controversy in recent years. The main rationale for the
current centralized model is equity in school funding, leveling out
inequalities between rich and poor communities. However, policy initiatives
have been made in recent years to move more decision-making power to the
school level, and current Governor Linda Lingle is a proponent of
decentralization, replacing the current Board with seven elected district
boards. This discussion is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Colleges and Universities
* Brigham Young University * University of Hawaii System
Hawaii o University of Hawaii Hilo
* Chaminade University o University of Hawaii Manoa
* Hawaii Pacific University o University of Hawaii West Oahu
* University of the Nations
Miscellaneous Information
Local directions in Hawaii are not expressed in terms of compass points
(i.e., north-south-east-west) but by a radial system that uses local
landmarks. For example, mauka means inland (literally, "towards the
mountain"), while makai means the opposite ("towards the sea"). In Honolulu
"Diamond Head" is equivalent to "east," because that's the main landmark on
the coast east of downtown Honolulu, and "Ewa" is equivalent to "west,"
because that place is on the coast west of Honolulu. So instead of saying
something was on the north-west corner of an intersection in Honolulu, it
might be described as the "mauka and ewa" corner of that intersection.
Hawai'i, being one of the United States, is included in the North American
Numbering Plan. Its area code within that plan is 808.
Hawai'i Standard Time is UTC-10. Hawai'i does not observe a Daylight Saving Time.
Hawaii has been the setting for many television shows including Hawaii
Five-O and Magnum P.I.
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