107 years ago, an entire island was closed off to outsiders in Hawaii.
#Honolulu, #Kauai, #Maui, #Molokai, #Niihau, #Oahu #Hawaii
On the very outskirts of the Hawaiian archipelago, one of the best vacation spots on the whole Earth, there is a real forbidden island. Niihau received this status in 1915, and for 107 years almost no one has had the right to get to its shores. People still inhabit the island, but others are prohibited from coming here.
The total area of Niihau is 179.9 kilometers. The nearby parts of the archipelago are open to the public and popular with wealthy tourists, but the island was bought for itself back in 1864 by the wealthy industrial heiress Elizabeth Sinclair. King Kamehameha V received $10,000 in gold for Niihau.
The Sinclair family greatly influenced the life and culture of the islanders. The first farms appeared on Niihau. By 1876, 350 Aborigines and as many as 20 thousand sheep lived here, which seriously affected the fauna and flora of the entire island.
The Sinclairs tried to take care of the Aborigines, permanent houses were built for them. However, people who were unaccustomed to the new way of life quickly lost their roots, and the Hawaiian art of weaving colored mats became a thing of the past – sheep and cows that appeared later ate almost all the vegetation.
Finally, in 1915, Sinclair’s grandson, Aubrey Robertson, decided to close the island completely to outsiders. Thus, he planned to preserve at least the remnants of the real life of the local aborigines. Tourists were completely prohibited from visiting the island, and even relatives of the original population were required to obtain special permission.
Rights to the island were passed on from generation to generation. The current owners, Bruce and Keith Sinclair, are direct descendants of Niihau’s original buyer.
The island still remains closed – except for the owners and local population, only officers of the American Navy can set foot on its shores.
10 thousand dollars changed the life and fate of an entire island. The influence of civilization on small nations is difficult to underestimate.
