Hawaii: Strategic and Beautiful
1907 AD
1907 1907
158.00W21.30N
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HAWAII
	Millions of years ago, on the ocean floor in the mid Pacific, volcanos began erupting, spewing hot magma into the ocean. Over thousands of years, this rock built up and formed a chain of islands known today as the Hawaiian Islands.
	These islands have wonderfully rich volcanic soil and warm weather, ideal for growing such crops as sugarcane, pineapples and flowers. Ideal too, for the tourist industry.
	Hawaii, the 50th state of the United States, is a chain is made up of five major islands: Hawaii (sometimes called "The Big Island" because of its size), Oahu (where most of the people live, and the site of the capital, Honolulu), Kauai, Maui, and Molakai.
	Hawaii is important not only for its agriculture and tourist trade, but also for defense purposes. Pearl Harbor, located on Oahu, is a major port for the United States Pacific fleet.
	The Hawaiian Islands were originally independent and governed by Queen Liliuokalani. But she was overthrown in 1893 (with some unauthorized help by American troops from a warship in the harbor) and the new government asked to become part of the United States.
	President Grover Cleveland declined to accept the islands, but after the Spanish-American war, the strategic importance of the islands became apparent, and in 1898, under President William McKinley, the United States assumed sovereignty of the islands, which became the 50th state in 1959.