In browsing the old Hawaiian newspapers, I came across some interesting statistics. The Inspector General of Immigration, C.N. Spencer, visited various sugar plantations quarterly and reported on how many immigrants were on each plantation, and which nationality the plantation owner preferred. I assume that as bringing laborers to Hawaii was costly, the plantation owners were…
Tag: Sugar Plantations
Caucasian But Not White: Race and the Portuguese in Hawaii
How would you define your Portuguese ancestors who went to Hawaii? You might start by calling them Azorean, Madeiran, and Portuguese. You would call them Caucasian, wouldn’t you? But, would you call them White? Those who controlled Hawaii’s business and political interests in the 1870s did not. The Portuguese who went to Hawaii were officially…
Use The 1890 Kingdom of Hawaii Directory to Find Sugar Plantation Laborers
I have had the chance to view the “Directory and Handbook of the Kingdom of Hawaii” for 1890. This is an important resource for Hawaii genealogists as it one of the first to include sugar plantation laborers. How to Access this Directory It is available online though the University of Hawaii at Mano’a website. It…
Monday Mystery: The Sugar Plantation Train Photo
In my early years of contacting cousins, I learned about a special photograph that had relatives from my Pacheco side of the tree in it. As the story always went… The person we shall name “cousin”, but it really refers to 6 or 7 different cousins, went to Hawaii sometime in the 1980s. They were…