Kauaʻi, sometimes written Kauai, is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauaʻi is 73 miles (117 km) northwest of Oʻahu, across the Kauaʻi Channel. The island's 2020 population was 73,298. Styling itself the "Garden Isle", Kauaʻi is the site of Waimea Canyon State Park and Nā Pali Coast State Park. It forms the bulk of Kauaʻi County, which includes Niʻihau as well as the small nearby islands of Kaʻula and Lehua.
Etymology and language Hawaiian narrative derives the name's origin from the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovering the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a favorite son; a possible translation of Kauaʻi is "place around the neck", describing how a father would carry his child. Another possible translation is "food season". Kauaʻi was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language, which still survives on Niʻihau. While the dominant dialect is based on that of Hawaiʻi island, which has no [t] sound, the Kauaʻi dialect had this sound. This happened because the Kauaʻi dialect had retained the old Polynesian /t/ sound, replaced in the "standard" Hawaiʻi dialect by [k]. This difference applies to all words with these sounds, so the Kauaian name for Kauaʻi was pronounced "Tauaʻi", and Kapaʻa was pronounced "Tapaʻa".
History
Settlement It is uncertain when humans discovered the Hawaiian islands. Early archaeological studies suggested that Polynesian explorers from the Marquesas Islands or Society Islands may have arrived as early as 600 AD, possibly with a second wave arriving from Tahiti around 1100 AD Later analyses suggest that the first settlers arrived around 900–1200 AD
Arrival of James Cook
In January 1778, British navigator James Cook made the first recorded contact between any European and the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands when he arrived at Kauaʻi by accident while crossing the Pacific during his third voyage of exploration. The British immediately observed similarities in language and culture between the Kauaians and the parts of Polynesia with which they were already familiar, such as Tahiti. After some Kauaians were persuaded to board his ship, Cook later wrote:
I never saw [indigenous people] so astonished at entering a ship. Their eyes were continually flying from object to object, the wildness of their looks and actions fully expressed their surprise and astonishment. Later, while investigating a location for the ships to anchor, a shore party was mobbed by a crowd, a shot was fired, and one Kauaian was killed. The next day, January 20, 1778, the two ships anchored in Waimea Bay on the southwest coast, where the expedition spent days obtaining fresh water and trading for fresh food. The local people especially valued iron: even small amounts, such as a single nail, could be traded for plentiful food supplies. Within two weeks, Cook left the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands to continue his original mission.
Cession to the Kingdom of Hawaii
At the time of Cook's visit, the Hawaiian islands comprised several kingdoms. By 1795, the king of Hawaii Island, Kamehameha I, had established the Kingdom of Hawaii, uniting most of the islands, but Kauaʻi remained independent. Kamehameha tried to conquer Kauaʻi in 1796, but stormy seas caused the attack from Oahu to be canceled and he was afterward distracted by events elsewhere. By 1803, Kauaʻi was ruled by Kaumualiʻi, who maintained his independence from the Kingdom of Hawaii. A second invasion of Kauaʻi from Oahu was planned but this too was canceled after an epidemic broke out among Kamehameha's forces. In 1810, a diplomatic agreement was reached whereby Kaumualiʻi agreed to be Kamehameha's vassal, and to cede Kauaʻi to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi upon his death by making Kamehameha's son his heir.
Schäffer affair
The Schäffer affair was a diplomatic episode instigated in 1815 by Georg Anton Schäffer, a German working with the Russian American Company. While at Kauaʻi in 1816, Schäffer involved Kaumualiʻi in "a treasonable design" whereby Kauaʻi would accept the protection of the Russian Empire in exchange for exclusive trading privileges. In 1817, a fort was built at Waimea and a Russian flag raised over it. But on Kamehameha's orders, and persuaded by other foreign traders, Kaumualiʻi abandoned his relationship with Schäffer and forced the Russians to leave Kauaʻi.
Plantations From the 1830s till the mid-20th century, plantations of sugarcane were Kauaʻi's most important industry. In 1835, the first sugarcane plantation was founded on Kauaʻi, and for the next century the industry dominated Hawaiʻi's economy. Kauaʻi's last sugarcane plantation, the 118-year-old Gay & Robinson Plantation, stopped planting sugarcane in 2008.
Old Sugar Mill of Koloa
In 1835, Old Koloa Town opened a sugar mill. From 1906 to 1934 the office of County Clerk was held by John Mahiʻai Kāneakua, who had been active in attempts to restore Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne after the U.S. takeover of Hawaiʻi in 1893.
Valdemar Knudsen Valdemar Emil Knudsen was a Norwegian who arrived on Kauaʻi in 1857. Knudsen, or "Kanuka", originally managed Grove Farm in Koloa. He later sought a warmer land and purchased the leases to Mana and Kekaha, where he became a successful sugarcane plantation owner. He settled in Waiawa, between Mana and Kekaha, immediately across the channel from Niʻihau Island. His son, Eric Alfred Knudsen, was born in Waiawa. Knudsen was appointed land administrator by King Kamehameha IV for an area covering 400 km2, and was given the title konohiki as well as a position as a noble under the king. Knudsen, who spoke fluent Hawaiian, later became an elected representative and an influential politician. Knudsen lends his name to the Knudsen Gap, a narrow pass between Hāʻupu Ridge and the Kahili Ridge. Its primary function was as a sugar farm.
Hurricane Iniki
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