page_title: Discovery and settlement of Hawaii
section_title: Western contact
hierarchical_section_title: Discovery and settlement of Hawaii / Western contact
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: 1776: James Cook English: Official portrait of Captain James Cook Suomi: Kapteeni James Cookin virallinen muotokuva. National Maritime Museum, Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta. Français&#160;: James Cook par Nathaniel Dance. Italiano: Ritratto di James Cook 日本語: クックの公式肖像画　海軍博物館（ロンドン）所蔵 Nederlands: James Cook na zijn terugkeer van zijn tweede expeditie in de Stille Zuidzee Polski: Kapitan James Cook Català: Retrat de l'explorador britànic James Cook Lietuvių: Džeimso Kuko portretas 中文: 庫克船長畫像。現存於英國海事博物館。 Русский: Портрет Дж. Кука, 25 май 1776 года. Художник Натаниэл Дэнс Gagana Samoa: Ata o James Cook, 25 Me, 1776. (le tusiata o Nathaniel Dance) Čeština: Kapitán James Cook, 25. května 1776. (oficiální portrét) Español: Retrato oficial de James Cook
context_page_description: There is no definitive date for the Polynesian discovery of Hawaii. However, high-precision radiocarbon dating in Hawaii using chonometric hygiene analysis, and taxonomic identification selection of samples, puts the initial first settlement of the Hawaiian Islands sometime between 1219 and 1266 C.E., originating from earlier settlements first established in the Society Islands around 1025 to 1120 C.E., and in the Marquesas Islands sometime between 1100 and 1200 C.E.
context_section_description: Economic and demographic factors in the 18th to 19th centuries reshaped the Kingdom of Hawaii. With unfamiliar diseases such as bubonic plague, leprosy, yellow fever, declining fertility, high infant mortality (infanticide) introduction of alcohol, and emigration off the islands or to larger cities for trade jobs the natives in the Kingdom of Hawaii fell from around 150,000 in 1778 to 71,000 by 1853. Alternatively, faced with depopulation and a changing economy Kamehameha I and others sought tradesmen, including navigators, blacksmith, armorer, carpenter, sailmakers, etc. These men could expect to receive a gift of land and one or more native wives if they agreed to stay.
caption: British explorer James Cook was the first European to establish formal ties with the island in 1778
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