Changes

The original settlers of the Hawaiian island chain were Polynesian explorers who voyaged in ocean-worthy canoes from the southern Pacific (primarily the Marquesas), arriving in the islands circa 300-600 AD.  In addition to their Polynesian culture and traditions, these earliest settlers brought with them an array of plants and animals.  A second wave of migrations between the Hawaiian and Society Islands took place circa 1000-1300 AD, and this wave brought an infusion of Tahitian religious forms and social structure to the inhabitants of Hawaii. This period ended around 1300 AD, after which the culture of the Hawaiians developed a distinct identity.<ref>http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&CategoryID=311</ref>

The original settlers of the Hawaiian island chain were Polynesian explorers who voyaged in ocean-worthy canoes from the southern Pacific (primarily the Marquesas), arriving in the islands circa 300-600 AD.  In addition to their Polynesian culture and traditions, these earliest settlers brought with them an array of plants and animals.  A second wave of migrations between the Hawaiian and Society Islands took place circa 1000-1300 AD, and this wave brought an infusion of Tahitian religious forms and social structure to the inhabitants of Hawaii. This period ended around 1300 AD, after which the culture of the Hawaiians developed a distinct identity.<ref>http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&CategoryID=311</ref>

The population of ancient Hawaii grew sharply between 900 and 1300 AD, then stabilized at a lower rate as the inhabitants lived in balance with the resources of the islands.  At the time James Cook arrived in 1778, the population of the islands was estimated to be around 300,000.  The introduction of outside diseases by contact with westerners decimated the native population, and by 1872 only 56,000 native Hawaiians remained. <ref>http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/06/16/millennium/index.html</ref>

The population of ancient Hawaii grew sharply between 900 and 1300 AD, then stabilized at a lower rate as the inhabitants lived in balance with the resources of the islands.  At the time James Cook arrived in 1778, the population of the islands was estimated to be around 300,000.  The introduction of outside diseases by contact with westerners decimated the native population, and by 1872 only 56,900 native Hawaiians remained. <ref>http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/06/16/millennium/index.html</ref>

==History Since 1700==

==History Since 1700==