Maui

==History==
{{main|History of Maui}}
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2015}}
[[File:Iao Needle MO.jpg|thumb|left|The "needle" of [[Iao Valley|{{okina}}Īao Valley]]]]

[[Polynesia]]ns from [[Tahiti]] were the original people to populate Maui. The Tahitians introduced the [[Kapu (Hawaiian culture)|kapu]] system, a strict social order that affected all aspects of life and became the core of Hawaiʻian culture. Modern Hawaiʻian history began in the mid-18th century. [[Kamehameha I]], king of the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawaiʻi]], invaded Maui in 1790 and fought the inconclusive [[Battle of Kepaniwai]], but returned to Hawaiʻi to battle a rival, finally subduing Maui a few years later.

On November 26, 1778, explorer [[James Cook]] became the first European to see Maui. Cook never set foot on the island because he was unable to find a suitable landing. The first European to visit Maui was the French admiral [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse]], who landed on the shores of what is now known as [[La Perouse Bay]] on May 29, 1786. More Europeans followed: traders, whalers, loggers (e.g., of [[sandalwood]]) and [[missionary|missionaries]]. The latter began to arrive from [[New England]] in 1823, settling in Lahaina, which at that time was the capital. They clothed the natives, banned them from dancing [[hula]], and greatly altered the culture. The missionaries taught reading and writing, created the 12-letter [[Hawaiian alphabet]], started a printing press in Lahaina, and began writing the islands' history, which until then was transmitted orally.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/May-June-2008/Hale-Pai/ |title=Hale Pa'i |first=Rita |last=Goldman |date=May 2008 |magazine=Maui Magazine |access-date=8 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531191931/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/May-June-2008/Hale-Pai/ |archive-date=31 May 2010}}</ref> Ironically, the missionaries both altered and preserved the native culture. The religious work altered the culture while the literacy efforts preserved native history and language. Missionaries started the first school in Lahaina, which still exists today: Lahainaluna Mission School, which opened in 1831.

[[File:'Japanese Laborers on Spreckelsville Plantation', oil on canvas painting by Joseph Dwight Strong, 1885, private collection.jpg|thumb|Japanese laborers on Maui harvesting [[sugarcane]] in 1885]]

At the height of the [[whaling]] era (1843–1860), Lahaina was a major center. In one season over 400 ships visited with up to 100 anchored at one time in [[Lahaina Roads|Lāhainā Roads]]. Ships tended to stay for weeks rather than days, fostering extended drinking and the rise of [[prostitution]], against which the missionaries vainly battled. Whaling declined steeply at the end of the 19th century as [[petroleum]] replaced [[whale oil]].

Kamehameha's descendants reigned until 1872. They were followed by rulers from another ancient family of chiefs, including [[Liliuokalani|Queen Liliʻuokalani]], deposed in the 1893 [[overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii]] by American business interests. One year later, the [[Republic of Hawaii]] was founded. The island was [[annexation|annexed]] by the United States in 1898 and made a [[Territories of the United States|territory]] in 1900. Hawaiʻi became the 50th [[U.S. state]] in 1959.

In 1937, [[Vibora Luviminda]] [[trade union]] conducted the last [[strike action]] of an ethnic nature in the Hawaiʻian Islands against four Maui [[Sugar plantations in Hawaii|sugarcane plantation]]s, demanding higher wages and the dismissal of five foremen. Manuel Fagel and nine other strike leaders were arrested, and charged with kidnapping a worker. Fagel spent four months in jail while the strike continued. Eventually, Vibora Luviminda made its point and the workers won a 15% increase in wages after 85 days on strike, but there was no written contract signed.

Maui was centrally involved in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater]] of [[World War II]] as a staging center, training base, and [[R&R (military)|rest and relaxation]] site. At the peak in 1943–1944, more than 100,000 soldiers were there. The main base of the [[4th Marine Division (United States)|4th Marine Division]] was in [[Haiku, Hawaii|Haiku]]. Beaches were used to practice [[amphibious warfare|landings]] and train in marine demolition and sabotage.

=== 2023 wildfires ===
{{Main|2023 Hawaii wildfires}}
In August 2023, [[2023 Hawaii wildfires|wildfires]] impacted the island, especially in [[Lahaina]]. The source of the fires remain undetermined as an open fire investigation is still underway.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-12 |title=VIDEO: Lahaina fire fatalities rise to 93; Green said toll will 'continue to climb' |url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/08/12/breaking-news/upcoming-livestream/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]] |language=en-US}}</ref>