Ebook: Demographic Statistics of Hawaii: 1778–1965

Hawaii has been the object of much demographic attention. Inhabited by a number of differing ethnic groups in varying stages of assimilation, it provides an ideal setting for cross-sectional and historical analyses of social, economic, and biological variables. Moreover, Hawaii has moved from a primitive, preliterate society to a modern, industrial state in less than two centuries. This transition lies been exhaustively documented contemporaneously by island statisticians.

Despite the interest in Hawaiian demography within many disciplines, prior to this publication there was no comprehensive documentation and evaluation of the sources which provide us with the vital statistics. The author traces thoroughly the demographic data which have been compiled from 1778 through 1965, and presents that material in a lucid text accompanied by 84 tables. He demonstrates four major themes that have dominated Hawaiian demography since Cook's arrival nearly two hundred years ago: depopulation of the native Hawaiians, immigration of foreign laborers, intermarriage among the various racial groups, and movement between Hawaii and the Mainland. The first two themes have passed into history; the third, interracial marriage, is now being replaced by population exchange with the Mainland as the dominant factor in demographic change in Hawaii.