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Did you know that the state of Hawaii used to be its own kingdom? King Kamehameha the
Great was the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaii, bringing together
its main six islands into one monarchy in 1795. The Hawaiian islands were first settled
by Polynesian voyagers from the South Pacific who brought with them their culture, language
and traditions. The first Westerner to see Hawaii was Captain James Cook in 1778. Captain
Cook wrote books about the islands of Hawaii that led to many other adventurers and traders
visiting the islands. Hawaii's famous King Kamehameha died in 1819. A statue of him stands
in the capitol city of Honolulu; a duplicate is in the Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol
in Washington, D.C. Every year, the people of Hawaii celebrate King Kamehameha and his
contributions to Hawaii on June 11. Hawaii became the 50th State in 1959. It is the only
state where everyone is a minority -- there are no racial majorities since most of the
population has a background of mixed ethnicities. Hawaiians are very proud of their Polynesian
heritage, and preservation of native Hawaiian culture is an important political issue there.
Over the years, native Hawaiians have fought for greater autonomy in the state and to preserve
their cultural traditions. Some well-known traditional practices are dinner festivals
called luaus, the flower-necklace called the lei, the native hula dance, and the Hawaiian
language. Tourism accounts for about 40% of Hawaii's
GDP. The state has a population of just 1.4 million people but hosted more than 7 million
visitors last year. The Hawaiian islands are actually were born
from underwater volcano eruptions, and above water there are still many active volcanoes
on the islands. The Kilauea Volcano on Hawai`i island is today the most active volcano on
earth, erupting 60 times since 1840. These volcanoes contribute to Hawaii's vast natural
beauty.