Things to Do in Captain Cook
Reviews and photos of Captain Cook attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Captain Cook sightseeing.
Local Time 3:13 pm Friday, July 25, 2008
Captain Cook Map
Captain Cook Map
on October 4, 2002
These are what I refer to as the real people of Kealakekua and Captain Cook. Without them, these towns would never have been created.
Their efforts in the coffee and macadamia nut fields is legion in these parts. They get very little credit for their contributions to the area at large.
COFFEE TREE
In the annals of the Big Island's history, one of the largest migrations of Japanese from Japan traveled here to make their fortunes, deluded by false promises of potential wealth and riches beyond their dreams. First the young men, those usually being of a lower class who, responding to the fabrications of plantation owners, left their homeland never to see Japan again.
Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. The women who are in this picture are, in large part, ladies who were likewise deluded into coming to this Island as picture brides a term made popular by the way we now all understand as a means of 'purchasing' the company of a woman, but not for just a few hours, instead, for the rest of their lives. It continues to this day all over the world but it began HERE
PLANTATION WORKERS
When you visit the Big Island of Hawai'i, you will see many sights and hopefully, will enjoy the different kinds of ethnic groups which you will meet and mingle with.
No doubt, you will see a great number of Japanese people on this Island as well as on other Islands.. What you see above is a representation of the original group, the larger picture of PLANTATION WORKERS these being the first of their kind and the largest group of Orientals represented in Hawai'i to this day. The younger generations of today came from this hardy stock, they are now the physicians, dentists, businesspersons, engineers, computer experts, storeowners, etc., and are now citizens of the United States of America, something which was denied to the above group, despite their contribution to the building of Hawai'i's economy and wealth.
As you wander the roads, byways and cities of these Islands, you will see a number of Chinese and persons from the Philippines. You will see many Portuguese names and people. They too came to Hawai'i under similar circumstances, the Chinese came from Canton, and then Shanghai. The very term SHANGHAIED originates from a time when young Chinese men were kidnaped from the streets of Shanghai, loaded onto boats, then brought to other lands to serve the whims of their owners. Make no mistake about it, slavery in the United States did not end when our History books say so. The conditions under which these people lived was far worse than the plantations of the Deep South. These conditions lasted well into the turn of the 20'th century. I saw them with my own eyes, it is an incontrovertible fact.
Hopefully, none of you will perceive my comments as anything more than they are, simply stated truths of our past. I have no personal axe to grind, life has treated me well, but none of should forget the sacrifices of our forefathers who toiled under the hot sun in the dreaded fields. Cane leaves are treacherous, having knife like surfaces.
Those fortunate enough to work in the coffee and macadamia nut fields considered themselves blessed. So as you pass by the vast fields of sugar cane and pineapples, enjoy their beauty, and at the same time, give a little nod to these pioneers who helped to shape and build these lands.
