Hawai'i was granted statehood in 1959, and is the youngest American state. It consists of a group of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,400 miles (3,900 kilometers) west of San Francisco, and has a total area of 6,470 square miles (16,758 square kilometers). Hawai'i consists of eight major islands (Maui, Oahu, Hawai'i, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau, and Kahoolawe) and 124 smaller islands. The 2010 U.S. census estimates the population of Hawai$$is at 1,360,301. Tourism is Hawai$$s leading business, although agriculture, aquaculture, mining, and film production have also begun to increase state revenue. Hawai'i has been shaped significantly by its experience as a sovereign kingdom, republic, U.S. territory, and U.S. state.

Hawai$$s earliest inhabitants were Polynesians, who came to the islands 1,500 years ago. Hawai'i ...