Hawaii Seal

Hawaii Geography and Economy

Area 28,311 km²
Residents 1,428,557
Residents per km² 50.5
Capital Honolulu
Postal Code HI
ISO-3166-2 code US HI
FIPS code 15th

Abbreviated as HI by AbbreviationFinder, Hawaii (Hawaiian Hawaiʻi or Mokupuni o Hawaiʻi ) is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean and has been the 50th state in the United States since 1959. The archipelago belongs to the Polynesian cultural area, forms the northern tip of the so-called Polynesian triangle and is counted among the South Sea islands. The nickname of Hawaii is ” Aloha State ” (Aloha State).

Relief model of the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii’s diverse landscapes, a year-round warm climate and many public beaches make it to a popular destination of tourists, surfers, biologists and geologists. Due to its location in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii has both Asian and North American influences with its own Polynesian culture.

Geographically, Hawaii is not assigned to the American continent but, as part of Polynesia, to the island world of Oceania, which is equal to the continents. Hawaii is 3,682 km southwest of the US west coast (Flumeville, California ). A total of 137 islands and atolls with a total area of ​​16,625 km² belong to Hawaii, but most of them are not or no longer inhabited.

The eight largest islands are (from west to east): Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and Hawaii (Big Island). The largest islands are assigned to five counties: Hawaiʻi (Big Island) and Oʻahu each represent a separate county; Kauaʻi and Niʻihau together form a county; Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe are also grouped together. A specialty is Kalawao County, which is limited to the Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokaʻi. In terms of population, it is one of the smallest counties in the United States.

The Midway Atoll (Hawaiian: Pihemanu ) in the northern Hawaiian Ridge is the only area that geographically belongs to Hawaii, but not to the US state of Hawaii.

Economy

The real gross domestic product per capita real GDP was USD 58,742 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states USD 57,118; national ranking: 16).

Tourism is the main industry of the state (8.94 million visitors in 2016), followed by the economic activities and influencing factors of the military installations and troops.

In the past, the cultivation and export of sugar cane and pineapples on plantations was the most important branch of the economy and still makes an important contribution to income today. Since the once lucrative whaling was already banned by Kamehameha V (1863–1873), the cultivation of these plants has become increasingly important. In 1901, James Dole founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company in Hawaii.

In addition, even flowers, macadamia nuts, coffee, bananas, tobacco, rice, cotton, papaya, guava, coconuts and other tropical fruits harvested. Furthermore, orchids are grown and cattle grazing and fishing (tuna) are operated.

Known Hawaii was also for the cultivation of cannabis. In 1990 the US government carried out Operation Wipeout. Over 90% of the Hawaiian cannabis plants were destroyed, worth about six billion US dollars.

The Hollywood film industry in Hawaii is also an important branch of the economy.

Infrastructure

Honolulu International Airport is an air traffic hub in the Pacific. Industries are food processing mostly for the US market (canned pineapple), refined sugar, mechanical engineering, metal goods, building materials and clothing industry. Military facilities such as Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Tripler Army Medical Center are important to the local economy.

The Port of Honolulu has extensive loading facilities and is at the center of the trans-Pacific passenger and cargo shipping lines.

History of the annexation

Relations between the then independent Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States were initially very good. So from 1820 American missionaries settled in Honolulu and in 1842 the independence of Hawaii was recognized by the United States. However, the influence grew bigger and bigger from about 1850, especially through the treaty on duty-free sugar export to the USA from 1875 and its addition in 1887 with the takeover of the naval base Pearl Harbor. After Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown in a coup in 1893, the Republic of Hawaii was established in 1894, and the American Sanford Dole was installed as its president.

Under external pressure and also to secure the rule, there were a number of important reforms, including, after the symbolic break of the historical Kapu system (taboo system) in 1819 and the distribution of land in 1848, above all the enactment of constitutions by the kings ( 1840, 1852, 1864) belonged. In 1840 the kingdom declared itself sovereign, which was formally recognized by the United States in 1842 and by the United Kingdom and France in 1843.

On February 15, 1894, a committee was formed, which in March officially received the order to draw up a constitution for the republic of Hawaii to be founded, since the efforts to quickly annex by the USA were unsuccessful. This constitution was ratified by a constitutional convention on July 3, 1894, and entered into force the following day. The republic founded in this way was recognized shortly afterwards by the USA, but was primarily intended to serve the goal of annexation.

The republic was short-lived. Because of its great strategic importance, Hawaii was annexed to the United States by a joint resolution ( joint resolution ) of the Senate and the House of Representatives on July 7, 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The formal act took place on August 12, 1898.

The immigration of Asians and Americans in large numbers ultimately made the native Hawaiians a minority in their own country. The linguistic and cultural loss of identity favored the spread of the western lifestyle. This was shown by the result of a referendum in which the majority voted in favor of joining the USA. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state and William F. Quinn became the first Hawaiian governor.

Hawaii Flag

Ka Hae Hawaiʻi is the flag of the US state of Hawaii. It was introduced in 1816 and is therefore one of the oldest unchanged flags in the world, because it was also the official symbol of the archipelago as a kingdom (until 1893), during the provisional government (1893-1894), as a republic (1894-1898) and Territory of the United States (1898–1959). It is also the only flag of a US state that has the British Union Jack as a component.

Since 1990, July 31st has been celebrated in Hawaii as Flag Day (Ka Hae Hawaiʻi).

Description

The flag consists of eight horizontal stripes that alternate from above in the colors white, red and blue. They symbolize the eight main islands of the archipelago: Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau. The Gösch is the Union Jack taken

History

There are several theories about the origin of the flag. Most historians attribute the design to an officer in the British fleet who modeled it on the flag of the United Kingdom. According to a popular version, however, it represents a bastard from the flags of the United States and Great Britain, with whom King Kamehameha I tried to appease the two rival great powers.

Also known as Aloha State, Hawaii is short for HI with a population of 1,211,537. According to Countryaah, the capital city and the biggest city of Hawaii is Honolulu.

Hawaii Seal