Posted on 03/28/2003 7:26:12 AM PST by Tribune7
March is Women's History Month. It's a month during which the exploits and accomplishments of women are remembered and celebrated. One group of women who are sometimes overlooked in American history classes, except in their own state, are the women of old Hawaii.
Hawaii is especially unique because it had the distinction of being an autonomous kingdom before it became a republic, a United States Territory, and ultimately our 50th State.
When European explorers and later New England missionaries encountered Hawaiian women, they were surprised at the social and political freedom which Hawaiian women enjoyed.
One of the first things the missionaries observed was that the Polynesian women of Hawaii did not cook. When the Hawaiian women saw how hard the missionary women "slaved" over their stoves and tables, they reacted to the sight with a combination of pity and some amusement.
(Excerpt) Read more at countypressonline.com ...
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