Sharks upon the Land

Historian Seth Archer traces the cultural impact of disease and health problems in the Hawaiian Islands from the arrival of Europeans to 1855. Colonialism in Hawaii began with epidemiological incursions and Archer argues that health remained the national crisis of the islands for more than a century. Introduced diseases resulted in reduced life spans rising infertility and infant mortality and persistent poor health for generations of Islanders leaving a deep imprint on Hawaiian culture and national consciousness. Scholars have noted the role of epidemics in the depopulation of Hawaii and broader Oceania yet few have considered the interplay between colonialism health and culture - including Native religion medicine and gender. This study emphasizes Islanders'' own ideas about and responses to health challenges on the local level. Ultimately Hawaii provides a case study for health and culture change among Indigenous populations across the Americas and the Pacific.