King Sugar

The Melting Pot in Hawai‘i

Hawai‘i is famous for the multi-ethnic mix of its population. But how did so many different peoples come to be here?

The answer is that most of the ethnic groups were recruited from around the world to work on the Islands' sugar plantations. So it's fair to say that the alien crop, sugar, is responsible for the multi-ethnic character of our "local" population.

Photograph by Tai Sing Loo, 1919 Bishop Museum Archives

Pioneer Mill Company sugar fields, Maui. Photo by Herbert Bauer, from Bishop Museum Archives

'Ewa Plantation, ca. 1950. Because most workers were immigrants, plantations supplied more than just jobs. Managers provided housing, stores, transportation, and recreational facilities. Plantations and mills became the hub of new communities. Many communities remained even after the sugar mills closed. 'Ewa is a good example of such a plantation community. Photo by Photo Hawai‘i , from Bishop Museum Archives

Sugar's social and political impact

Sugar, "king" of crops, was the foundation of island economy for nearly a century. Sugar planters, mostly foreigners, were very influential in the late 1800s. Their effort to protect their investments led to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893.

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