1778
Captain Cook lands at Waimea, Kaua`i
(there is evidence that Captain Cook was not the first European to visit Hawai`i, but his was the first major encounter that began the continued interaction between the cultures)
Gonorrhea, syphilis and tuberculosis, guns, alcohol and tobacco are introduced

April, 1810
Kamehameha unites the Hawaiian Archipelago under his rule (with the aid of Western weapons)

May 8, 1819
Kamehameha dies Liholiho, Kamehameha II, becomes Mo`i (King)

June 1819
Kapu system abolished

March 31, 1820
First American Calvanist Missionaries arrive

July 1824
Liholiho dies of measles in London

June 6, 1825
Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, become Mo`i
Ka`ahumanu becomes Kuhina Nui (Regent)

1826
America recognizes Hawai`i's independence

October 8, 1840
First Constitution enacted by Kauikeauoli, Kamehameha III

1843
British Navy seizes Hawai`i for Great Britain, then restores the Kingdom five months later

November 28, 1843
Great Britain and France recognize Hawai`i's independence

March 8, 1848
Mahele, land division - first private ownership of land

June 1850
First foreign ownership of land

December 15, 1854
Kauikeaouli dies and is succeeded by Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV

November 30, 1863
Liholiho dies and Lot Kapuaiwa, Kamehameha V, becomes Mo`i

August 20, 1864
New Constitution decreed by Lot

December 11, 1872
Lot dies

1873 - 74
William Lunalilo elected as King

February, 1874
King Lunalilo dies
David Kalakaua elected King

December, 1882
`Iolani Palace completed

July 7, 1887
"Bayonet Constitution" forced on King Kalakaua by all white Hawaiian League, stripping the power of the sovereign and Kanaka Maoli of their land rights

July, 1889
Robert Wilcox rebellion fails to overturn Bayonet Constitution

January, 1891
King Kalakaua dies in San Francisco
Lydia Kamaka`eha becomes Queen Lili`uokalani

January 17, 1893
Queen Lili`uokalani deposed by conspiracy of American businessmen with support of United States Marines and diplomatic representative
"Provisional Government" established

December 18, 1893
President Cleveland sends a message to Congress calling for the restoration of Queen Lili`uokalani as sovereign

July 4, 1894
Republic of Hawai`i declared

January, 1895
Unsuccessful attempt by Royalists to restore the Queen, Lili`uokalani and 200 others arrested and tried, Queen abdicates throne under duress

July 7, 1898
President McKinley signs illegal resolution to annex Hawai`i

1900
Hawai`i becomes territory of the United States through the Organic Act imposed on Hawai`i

1921
Congress passes Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to provide land for Kanaka Maoli settlement, in response to severely declining population and conditions of life (fails miserably by design)

1945
Hawai`i placed under Article 73 of the United Nations Charter as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, under the administering authority of the United States

August 21, 1959
United States claims Hawai`i as a state of the union after illegal "plebiscite" vote is held, which does not offer the option of independence, as required by international law

1978
Office of Hawaiian Affairs created in state Constitutional Convention

November 23, 1993
United States apologizes for the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai`i, recognizes the inherent sovereignty and right of self-determination of the Kanaka Maoli people

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