About: Economic history of Kauaʻi

The economic history of Kaua’i, anglicized as Kauai, dates back to before the European colonization of Kauai and, in whole, Hawaii. Before Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian island chain in 1778, the native Polynesians of Kauai had a complex subsistence economy of fishing and trade among the other islands. In 1835, the first successful sugarcane plantation was established in Koloa, Kauai and was the beginning of a prosperous sugarcane industry. Sugarcane remained Kauai’s most dominant industry until the mid-20th century. Today, Kauai is a tourism-centered economy with 1,279,968 people visiting the island in 2017. Visitor spending on the island the same year exceeded $1.83 billion—a 9.3% percent increase from the previous year. However, Kauai still boasts a strong agricultural econo