North Polynesia (1900–1911 CE)

Establishment of the Territory and Economic Growth

With annexation finalized in 1898, Hawaii was formally organized as the Territory of Hawaii on April 30, 1900, under the Hawaiian Organic Act, signed into law by President William McKinley. The Act established a territorial government, including a governor appointed by the U.S. president, a bicameral legislature, and judicial system, firmly integrating Hawaii into the American political framework.

Sanford B. Dole's Governorship

Sanford B. Dole, former president of the Republic of Hawaii, became the first governor of the Territory in 1900. Dole's administration emphasized infrastructural development, modernizing Honolulu with improved roads, port facilities, and public utilities, reinforcing Hawaii’s position as a critical Pacific hub.

Economic Transformation and Plantation Expansion

Sugarcane plantations experienced unprecedented growth, bolstered by duty-free access to U.S. markets guaranteed by annexation. Companies such as Alexander & Baldwin and C. Brewer & Co. significantly expanded production, leading to considerable economic prosperity for plantation owners. The economic boom also stimulated growth in subsidiary industries, including shipping, railways, and commerce.

Demographic Shifts and Labor Immigration

To meet rising labor demands, immigration from Asia and other regions accelerated dramatically. Thousands of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Portuguese laborers arrived under contracts to work in the sugar and pineapple plantations, profoundly transforming Hawaii's demographic composition. This wave of immigration introduced new cultures, languages, and traditions, significantly diversifying Hawaiian society.

Labor Conditions and Early Union Movements

Laborers on plantations faced difficult working conditions, long hours, and minimal pay, prompting the first significant labor movements. In 1909, Japanese plantation workers organized major strikes on the island of Oahu, notably at the Waipahu Plantation, demanding improved wages and working conditions. Though these early efforts were met with harsh repression and limited immediate success, they laid a crucial foundation for future labor activism in Hawaii.

Educational and Cultural Developments

Education underwent notable reform under the territorial government, with the expansion of public schooling and increased efforts at Americanization. English-language education became compulsory, significantly impacting Hawaiian language usage and cultural practices. Concurrently, native Hawaiian culture experienced renewed efforts at preservation through music, dance (particularly hula), and traditional crafts, as cultural advocates documented and celebrated indigenous traditions amid rapid modernization.

Political and Social Challenges

Although the Organic Act granted citizenship to all residents of Hawaii, it restricted voting rights and political participation primarily to property-owning, English-speaking individuals, effectively marginalizing much of the indigenous and immigrant populations. Native Hawaiians, increasingly displaced from political and economic power, began to organize politically and socially, advocating for greater recognition and protection of their rights and heritage.

Infrastructure and Public Health Initiatives

In response to the growing urban population, infrastructure projects increased significantly. Honolulu expanded its streetcar lines, sewage systems, and water supply. Public health became a major focus after outbreaks of bubonic plague in Honolulu in 1900 led authorities to undertake aggressive sanitation and public health measures, including burning infected areas and imposing strict quarantine policies.

Strategic and Military Importance

The U.S. military presence in Hawaii steadily grew during this period, underscored by the strategic significance of Pearl Harbor. Substantial naval and military installations were expanded, and Pearl Harbor underwent significant improvements and fortifications, laying the groundwork for its future importance as a major Pacific naval base.

Conclusion of the Era

The years from 1900 to 1911 firmly established Hawaii as an integral U.S. territory, characterized by dynamic economic growth, profound demographic change, significant labor movements, and increasing political complexity. While the islands benefited economically, native Hawaiians and immigrant populations faced complex challenges as they adapted to rapid modernization, demographic shifts, and political marginalization, setting the stage for significant future developments.

Albert Fuller Ellis identifies phosphate deposits on the Pacific Islands of Nauru and Banaba Island (Ocean Island), and manages their development.

The Pacific Phosphate Company begins to exploit the reserves in 1906 under an arrangement with the German administrators of the island, exporting its first shipment in 1907.

Ellis was born in Roma, Queensland; his family moved to Waikato in New Zealand, where he attended the Cambridge District High School.

At the age of eighteen, Ellis joined his brothers James and George in working for John T. Arundel and Co.; their father George C. Ellis, a chemist, and later a farmer in New Zealand, was a director of the company.

John T. Arundel and Co. was engaged in Pacific trading of phosphates, copra, and pearl shell.

While working in the company's Sydney office in 1899 Ellis determined that a large rock from Nauru being used as a doorstop was rich in phosphate.

Following the discovery Ellis traveled to Ocean Island and Nauru and confirmed the discovery.

Operations on Ocean Island commenced three months after the discovery.

Both Australia and New Zealand contribute troops to Britain’s war with the Boers.

By the turn of the century, every Southeast Asian state from Burma to the Philippines has either an opium monopoly or an officially licensed franchise.

In 1905-1906, for example, opium sales provide 16 percent of taxes for French Indochina, …

The Burmese government bans local monopolies on the retail sale of opium, which is auctioned out to the highest bidder in lower Burma in 1902 and in upper Burma in 1904.

In 1909, a new system is introduced in Burma whereby licenses are allotted to select vendors at a fixed fee.

The profit is determined by the difference between the wholesale rate at which the opium is issued from the treasury and the retail price at which the vendor is required to sell to the customers.

A resident excise officer supervises the annual sale and disposal of the surplus opium.
(Source: Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gwalior)

Dutch opium imports to Indonesia rise steadily throughout the 19th century to 208 tons by 1904.

(Source: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade)

…16 percent for the Netherlands Indies, …

…20 percent for Siam, …

…and 53 percent for British Malaya.

(Source: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade)

Responding to pressures from the anti-opium movement in the US, in 1903 the colonial regime appoints the Episcopal missionary Bishop Charles Brent and two medical doctors to an investigative opium committee that recommends total prohibition.

Between 1906 and 1908, the U.S. regime bans opium smoking in the Philippines, becoming the first American government to outlaw narcotic drugs.

The Philippine ban launches America's attempts at domestic suppression and drug diplomacy.

Aware that opium smuggling from China is sabotaging the Philippine prohibition, Bishop Brent convinces President Theodore Roosevelt to organize the first international opium commission.
(Source: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade)