When was Hawaii first founded as an island?

Question

I don't want to know when Hawaii was established as a state of the USA. I want to know who found Hawaii? How did the generation of people form there? When was it found? Was it formed from an earthquake or volcano?

Answer 1

The conventional view is that the first Europeans to arrive to Hawaii was the crew of British captain James Cook, who discovered the islands in 1778. However, there is evidence of earlier visits by Spanish explorers.

As to formation, the eight large islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago are volcanic, while a number of smaller islands are atolls (overgrown coral reefs).

How did people get there in the first place? Opinions differ. Most anthropologists agree that the original population salied to Hawaii from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands some time between 300 and 1000 AD. Others believe that there was also a second wave of settlers, from Tahiti, around 1300, but evidence of this second wave exists only in folklore, but not in material culture or language.

Answer 2

Archaeologic evidence points to earliest habitation in the 11th Century AD, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, Raiatea and Bora Bora. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook. However, substantial evidence (Stokes 1932 for example) exists of earlier Spanish visits to Hawaii. Hawaii was an independent kingdom from 1810 until 1893, when the monarchy was overthrown. It was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898. It was annexed by the U.S. in 1898, but became a territory in 1900 and has been a state since 1959.

All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor from a magma source described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes.

Anthropologists believe that Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands first populated the Hawaiian Islands at some time between 300 and 1000 AD. There is a great deal of dispute regarding these dates.

Archaeologists and historians also differ as to whether there were one or two waves of colonization. It is believed by some authors that there had been an early settlement from the Marquesas, and a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti, circa 1300, who were said to have introduced a new line of high chiefs and the practice of human sacrifice. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paao (Pāʻao).

Answer 3

The Hawaiian Islands were formed by a chain of volcanos about 10 million years ago.
The islands are the most remote of all south Pacific islands & were populated from nearest polynesian islands perhaps several thousand years ago.
They were discovered by Europeans, explorer Capt James Cook, in the late 1770's..

Answer 4

So what your question is, how early did people live on the Island of Hawaii, and when did someone outside of Hawaii "discover" it? Here is a link-- It was first inhabited about 11 AD, and James cook discovered it in the mid 1700's. Hope that this helps out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii

Answer 5

Go to answers.com at search of site type Hawaii , you get hints choose the appropriate one , hope fully some of your questions will be answered.