Captive paradise

Hawaii entered the United States later than any other state, and it is the only one that was once an independent kingdom ruled by monarchs. When Captain Cook reached the islands in the late 1700s, European powers began competing for them, since their central location made them valuable across the Pacific. Missionaries soon arrived with strict Calvinist beliefs, setting them against a Native Hawaiian society whose religion centered on ancient gods, open sexual customs, and ritual human sacrifice. Hawaii's kings and queens embraced Christianity while still trying to hold on to older traditions. Over time, the ambitions of American sugar planters proved decisive, and in 1893 American Marines helped depose Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch.

Haley's account follows several figures who shaped this history. It begins with King Kamehameha I, who united the islands by force, and traces how his line later declined through inbreeding. It also covers Gilded Age businessmen such as Claus Spreckels, whose shrewd dealings left rivals behind, and Lorrin Thurston, a political agitator who insisted that white settlers should govern Hawaii. The narrative ends with President William McKinley, under whose leadership the islands were formally annexed by the United States.