Big Five Hawaii: How Sugar and Industry Shaped the Islands

Hawaii's Big Five companies were instrumental in shaping the islands' economy and landscape. They dominated various industries, including sugar, which was a major player in Hawaii's economy at the time.

The Amfac company, one of the Big Five, was founded in 1899 and played a significant role in the sugar industry. It operated several sugar mills and plantations across the islands.

Hawaii's sugar industry was a major driver of economic growth, with sugar being one of the state's primary exports. The industry brought in a significant amount of revenue and helped establish Hawaii as a major player in the global market.

The Big Five companies, including Amfac, also had a profound impact on Hawaii's environment and communities.

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The Big Five in Hawaii's history refers to a group of five powerful companies that dominated the island's economy. These companies, Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., H. Hackfeld & Co. (later named American Factors (now Amfac)), and Theo H. Davies & Co., controlled various aspects of the economy, including commodity distribution, banking, warehousing, shipping, and importing.

Their control allowed them to influence the prices of goods and services, keeping Hawaiians burdened under high prices and a diminished quality of life. The businessmen behind these companies had close ties to the Hawaiian monarchy, which helped them gain control over the economy.

These companies also played a significant role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893, creating a short-lived republic, and the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii by the United States in 1898.

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The Big Five companies in Hawaii's sugar industry experienced rapid growth and expansion in the mid-19th century. They controlled the commodity distribution, keeping Hawaiians burdened under high prices and toiling under a diminished quality of life.

The Big Five companies, including Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., H. Hackfeld & Co., and Theo H. Davies & Co., gained control over other aspects of the Hawaiian economy, including banking, warehousing, shipping, and importing. This allowed them to prosper and expand their operations.

Alexander & Baldwin acquired additional sugar lands and operated a sailing fleet between Hawaii and the mainland, which became the American-Hawaiian Line and later Matson. This expansion enabled them to transport sugar and other goods efficiently.

Over 500 sugar plantations, sugar mills, and sugar growers sprang up in the Hawaiian Islands since the first recorded planting of sugar cane in Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu in 1825. Many of these plantations were founded by missionaries or their descendants.

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Here's a list of some of the notable sugar plantations in Hawaii:

The Kohala Sugar Company, founded by Reverend Elias Bond in 1862, was a unique operation known as "The Missionary Plantation" that operated for 110 years.

The Big Five dominated Hawaii's economy and politics for much of the 20th Century.

Sugar and pineapple were big and profitable businesses, and the needs of the industries came to dominate the government and life of the Hawaiian Islands.

The plantation system was controlled by 33 large-scale operations, each employing hundreds of workers and covering thousands of acres of the best agricultural lands.

The house in which workers lived, the store from which they bought, the fields in which they found recreation, and the hospital in which they were treated, were all owned by plantation management.

A corporate biography of Hawaii's Big Five notes that the industry was tightly controlled by descendants of missionary families and other businessmen.

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The Big Five companies included Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., H. Hackfeld & Co. (later named American Factors), and Theo H. Davies & Co.

These companies gained control over other aspects of the Hawaiian economy, including banking, warehousing, shipping, and importing.

Their control of commodity distribution kept Hawaiians burdened under high prices and toiling under a diminished quality of life.

The Big Five's influence and years of power and dominance have had a lasting impact on the businesses and lives in Hawaii.

The Kohala Sugar Company, known as "The Missionary Plantation", was a unique operation founded by Reverend Elias Bond in 1862 to support his church and schools.

It operated for 110 years and was one of the largest benefactors to other missions.

Here's a list of the Big Five companies:

The Big Five's impact on Hawaii's economy was significant, but it ultimately led to their decline. Labor costs increased significantly when Hawaii became a state, making it harder for the plantations to remain profitable.

The hierarchical caste system that plantation managers sought to maintain began to break down, with greater racial integration of the sugarcane plantations. This led to workers discovering their rights and organizing a strike in 1920.

Global politics played a large role in the downfall of Hawaiian sugar, allowing Cuba to gain a larger share of the US sugar market. The Big Five responded by slowing down sugar production and shifting their focus to tourism.

The former plantation land was repurposed to build hotels and develop a tourism-based economy, which has dominated Hawaiian economics for the past 50 years.

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The environmental impact of sugar plantations in Hawaii was devastating. The area around Aiea, for example, was once a thriving community with taro and banana plantations, as well as a fish pond, but it was quickly transformed by the sugar industry.

Sugar plantations were strategically located throughout the islands for their fertile soil, level topography, and access to water. This led to the construction of tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, reservoir construction, and well digging.

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One ton of water was needed to produce just one pound of refined sugar, making water a precious resource. This inefficient use of water, combined with the island's limited fresh water supply, exacerbated environmental degradation.

Early sugar mills were extremely inefficient, using an entire cord of wood to produce molasses in just four hours. This led to widespread deforestation, with some ecosystems being completely destroyed.

A single plantation drained a 600-acre riparian area to grow sugarcane, only to discover it was an ancient forest. The land was then harvested for timber, but it proved unsuitable for sugarcane production.

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The 1940s saw a significant shift in Hawaiian labor dynamics, but it wasn't until 1946 that a major strike took place. Workers began to discover they had rights and started to organize.

Sugar plantations were still a major industry in Hawaii at this time, but they were facing increased labor costs. Labor costs increased significantly when Hawaiʻi became a state and workers were no longer effectively indentured servants.

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This strike was a pivotal moment in Hawaiian labor history, marking a turning point in the decline of the sugar industry. The hierarchical caste system plantation managers sought to maintain began to break down, with greater racial integration of the sugarcane plantations.

The strike was a multi-cultural effort, with workers from different racial backgrounds coming together to demand better working conditions and fair treatment. Workers began to wage the first multi-cultural strike in 1920, but 1946 saw a significant escalation of labor demands.

The Big Five conglomerates, which dominated the sugar industry, were slow to respond to these changing labor dynamics. They continued to rely on cheap labor from other parts of the world, eventually finding cheaper labor in India, South America, and the Caribbean.

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The Big Five in Hawaii's corporate history is a fascinating topic. These five companies - Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., H. Hackfeld & Co. (later American Factors), and Theo H. Davies & Co. - dominated the islands' economy and politics for much of the 20th century.

Their control over the sugar industry, banking, warehousing, shipping, and importing gave them immense power. In fact, they even influenced the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893, creating a short-lived republic.

The Big Five's legacy continues to impact Hawaii today. Their economic dominance has left a lasting impact on the islands' fragile ecosystems and limited resources.

The Big Five companies were founded by missionaries and their descendants. This connection to the Hawaiian monarchy and capital investments allowed them to thrive.

A unique operation was the Kohala Sugar Company, also known as "The Missionary Plantation", which was founded by Reverend Elias Bond in 1862 to support his church and schools. It operated for 110 years.

Here's a brief overview of the Big Five companies:

Over 500 sugar plantations, sugar mills, and sugar growers sprang up in the Hawaiian Islands since the first recorded planting of sugar cane in Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu in 1825.