Labor Shortage

It began with a labor shortage. 

“Sugarcane was first brought to Hawaiʻi by the original caretakers of the land—voyagers from Polynesia who migrated to Hawaiʻi between 1,000 and 1,200 AD and cultivated the islands” (Bittersweet). By the 1840s, the Hawaiians refused to work on the sugarcane plantations because they thought this was dumb work. There was no one to work the sugarcane plantations after the Hawaiians refused to work and there was no way to get foreign workers to Hawaii. This issue led to the Master and Servant act, which allowed Chinese workers to come to Hawaii and work the sugarcane plantations.​​​​​​​

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