A Brief History of Maui
Hawaiian folklore attributes the origin of the island’s name to the legend of Hawai ’ iloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to the legend he named the island of Maui after his son who in turn was named for the demi-god Maui. According to legend, the demi-god Maui raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea.
Seafaring Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands and Tahiti were the original peoples to populate Maui.
In the early 15th century the island was united by King Pi`ilani (pee-EE-lah-nee). Under King Pi`ilani’s reign, Maui experienced peace, prosperity, and the development of roads, fishponds and irrigation systems. Construction of the King’s Highway began under Pi`ilani, and was finished by his son. It became the only ancient highway to circle any of the Hawaiian islands, and stretched more than 138 miles. Remnants of this highway can still be seen near La Perouse Bay in South Maui.
King Kamehameha I conquered all of the Hawaiian Islands in the mid-1700s. He later made his capital in Lahaina after conquering Maui in the bloody Battle of Kepaniwai in 1790 in the I’ao Valley.
Modern Hawaiian history began in the mid-1700s. On November 26, 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European explorer to discover Maui. Cook never set foot on the island because he was unable to find a suitable landing. The first European to visit Maui was the French admiral Jean François de Galaup de La Pérouse, who landed on the shores of what is now known as La Perouse Bay on May 29, 1786.
Whalers, loggers and missionaries soon followed. The missionaries began to arrive in 1823, choosing Lahaina because it was the capital. They clothed the natives, banned them from dancing hula, and greatly altered the culture. The missionaries taughyt reading and writing, created the 12-letter Hawaiian alphabet.
The Hawaiian monarchy reigned in the islands until 1893 when it was overthrown by a group of American and European businessmen. The island was annexed by the United States in 1898 and made a territory in 1900. Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state in 1959.
