Distinctive Culture And Hawaii example essay topic

Hawaii's political economy went through some major changes. The development of plantations and tourism paved the path for how Hawaii's economy is today. I will discuss how tourism, ethnicity, gender and education both constrain and enable opportunities in contemporary Hawaii. Captain James Cook and his crew came to Hawaii in 1778.

Bringing along many diseases such as, syphilis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis. (Blaisdell, p. 44) Native Hawaiians were not immune to these diseases, they were unable to be cured therefore died and a massive depopulation occurred. An estimated 500,000 Hawaiians were living in Hawaii before Western Contact, and in 1878 less than 45,000 Hawaiians remained. (Trask, p. 10). With the rapid decrease of Hawaiians, also came the fact that their culture was in danger. Foreign exploitation began, when Cook replaced the traditional island subsistence-sharing economy by the for-profit barter and afterward the money economy.

Firearms, and sandalwood lumbering where just a few items that brought foreign economic and political control of the ruling ali'i, who were tricked by many greedy Western merchants. The Great Mahele of 1848 and the Kuleana Act of 1850 contained a major land redistribution act, which was forced onto the monarchy by Westerners (Blaisdell, p. 44). Bringing fee simple ownership to Hawaiians, these land divisions actually alienated the land from them. The Mahele divided the lands between the chiefs, king and government.

The Kuleana act supposedly guaranteed to the fee simple title to small plots of land, which would eventually separate the individual from the group. (Trask, p. 10) Hawaiians depended on the land, they were not use to "private property", which led to many problems, and the chiefs and the government were heavily in debt to the Western merchants. A small company of thirty-four New England missionaries came to Hawaii between 1820 and 1930, were the first modern immigrants. (Lind p. 59) Missionaries were powerful agents of cultural destruction, coming to Hawaii to settle and teach their ways and beliefs. Bloodthirsty priests and despotic chiefs had ruled one reason for missionaries arriving and settling in Hawaii, due to the fact that they believed ancient Hawaiians. (Trask p. 14) Bringing along cultural havoc by establishing a western style educational system, which included the first textbook as the Bible.

The most critical change was in the use of language as a tool of colonization. Language had once been inseparable from the Hawaiians and their history by communicating their heritage between and among many generations, now came to be used as the very vehicle of alienation from their habits of life. (Trask, p. 15) The missionary's duty was not to conform to God's way, but to white "haole" ways. The company of 293 Chinese men imported by the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society in 1852 as contract laborers was the initial wave of the veritable flood of approximately 400,000 workers who were to transform the racial complexion and character of the population in Hawaii. European and American planters learned that there would be a greater assurance and control over workers recruited from abroad, rather than native workers who might agree to work only for a limited time.

Planters realized that since enslavement of the native population was out of the question, they relied on imported labor under contract to serve for a period of time, usually three to five years, enforced by law. (Lind, p. 59) The increasing market in America, for sugar, led to the establishment in 1864 of a government Bureau of immigration. The Hawaiian royalty and government administrators believed that the continuing decline of native population might be reversed was a central consideration in the support given to the bureau. But in fact the principal activities were devoted to recruiting plantation labor. (Lind p. 60) One main issue confronting promoters of immigration throughout the period of plantation dominance was to achieve some balance between the concerns of the planters in obtaining an adequate supply of hardy, disciplined workers at minimum expense and those of the government in restoring the declining native population. The overriding was economic, resulting in a higher proportion of adult males than of adult women from all of the regions drawn upon notably so among those from China, Korea, and the Philippines.

(Lind p. 61) Hawaii is a microcosm of the many cultures, which border the Pacific. Each immigrant group has brought with it a distinctive culture, and Hawaii has permitted each of these races or ethnic groups to follow many of its old world customs and traditions and to assimilate American culture only as it was disposed to do so. Immigrants from Japan outnumbered all other ethnic groups; the large proportion of Japanese in Hawaii is partly responsible for the fact that Japanese culture remained the most intact of the immigrant cultures in Hawaii. A visitor to the Islands before the outbreak of war would have seen many evidences of old world customs practiced openly by the Japanese. Language schools were to be found in practically every community where there was any concentration of Japanese and were attended by the majority of Hawaii's Nisei.

(Kawahara p. 82) Due to the fact of the war, the Japanese culture in Hawaii underwent an immense change. Being conscious of the similarity between their physical and cultural characteristics and those of the enemy and led them to eliminate culture traits which would cause antagonism and disapproval on the part of the other racial groups. (Kawahara p. 83) Immigrant families have realized that Americans must be brought up and taught to act in the American way. The development of the trans-ocean airplane, which made feasible the transportation of large numbers of new relatively, low income tourists to Hawaii. To develop Hawaii's tourist industry came initially from local investors, anxious to reverse the losses incurred after World War II and to increase the flow of profits from their investments in "local concerns". (Beecher t p. 168) Growth, of necessity, in Hawaii, will have to remain dependent upon tourism.

Hawaii's economy will rise and fall with the fortunes and misfortunes of tourism in the context of a changing global economy. The Hawaiian economy is quite uncomfortably dependent upon tourism. Tourism development had also meant lower paying service jobs, which contribute to a lower level of personal income that has not kept pace with the cost of living. Well over 50% of all jobs in Hawaii are directly or indirectly related to tourism, Hawaii witnessed fairly rapid job growth rates.

Hotel, transportation and construction jobs experienced the most rapid growth with all three at record levels. This was followed by moderate job growth in the non-hotel and trade sectors. (A oude, p. 229) Race, gender, ethnicity and education continue to play a significant role in the success of Americans. Both 'race' and 'ethnicity' figure hugely as regards the structuring of advantages and disadvantages in society. Both 'ethnicity' and 'race' are 'social constructions.

' That is, they exist because our beliefs and practices. Employers in Hawaii generally express a racial preference in choosing employees. Obviously the type of work to be done is an important factor in electing workers, for so-called "racial characteristics" seem to make one group more adaptable to one industry than to another. The choices are often influenced by the employer's familiarity and understanding of a race or upon a personal belief that the different groups possess distinctive traits. Which these beliefs have some foundation in the case of the first generation immigrants but there is less basis for distinction among the second and later generations. Many of the island-born and island-reared Orientals develop a stature comparable to that of the Caucasian races and certainly the fairly uniform educational and environmental patterns are creating a great similarity of conduct, ideas, and beliefs.

(Drab gap. 73) By looking at a chart of occupations of Hawaii Residents by Ethnicity and Gender, you come to realize that gender within in each ethnicity plays an important factor in employment. Every ethnicity in Hawaii, there is more males in the job field than females. But yet the percentages range, for example there are 13% more white males working then white females, this is the biggest difference.

The closest percentage would have to be Japanese there are only 1.8% more males than females in the job field. Also education among different affect their income. A White employee has a greater marginal Income then say a Filipino in just graduating high school. A white workers income from graduating high school would on average be somewhere around $26,177, while a Filipino worker would be somewhere around $20,717.

In conclusion, beginning from Captain Cook's arrival to the development of plantations and then the establishment of tourism, all in all would effect and change Hawaii's economy. When missionaries came to Hawaii to change the way of Hawaiians everyday living, that started the change into contemporary Hawaii. Then to the immigration of many, which would make up the many different in Hawaii today, ranging from Whites to Chinese to Japanese and to Filipinos, along with many "mixed plate" races. Tourism played a big part in creating Hawaii; we are a tourist attraction to many. Many jobs rely on tourism, if there is a hurt on tourism, many jobs will be a big hurt, and Hawaii's economy will be affected heavily.