Portuguese and Puerto Rican ethnic influences in Hawaiian history

Hawaiian Ethnic Cultures

When people think about Hawaii, they tend to think in terms of its island people. Polynesian or Asian perceptions often come to mind because of our familiarity with the influence of the Japanese, Chinese and Filipino peoples. But the fact is that Hawaii is very much flavored by other national and ethnic influences too, including the those of two distinct Hispanic groups, the Puerto Ricans and the Portuguese, whose impacts have been all but forgotten (Mira, 2008).

In the simplest of terms, the differing historical perceptions of these two groups arises from the fact that one (the Portuguese) was seen positively viewed before their initial influx occurred. The other, the Puerto Ricans, suffered more from the timing of their migration in regards to other non-Hispanic ethnicities and because of the degree of surprise that came from their more forced integration. The Portuguese were basically blessed with having a solid foundation in helping to form the island's early development and its musical bridges to other cultures, while the Puerto Rican influence was experienced as a mix of work and sorrow.

THE PUERTO RICAN (BORICUA)

Puerto Rico may have been a rich port of call for many sailors in the early days of worldly ocean travel, but it was not because the country was always well off economically for its people. On several occasions it suffered severely from employment problems and cultural changes tied to conditions imposed by domineering nations that wanted not only to control their islands but that wanted to do so to exploit their people (Rodriguez, 2007). This was exactly what was happening in the years before and after the invasion and takeover from Spain by America. While the political transition itself went fairly smoothly because many Puerto Ricans openly sided with the U.S., the actual end result was a continuation of trends that were already in place and because so many corporate and other influences had their own agendas for profit and international advantage (Baker, 2002: 175).

One important element of this transition was the emergency of a large and singularly focused sugarcane business sector. Large agricultural corporations had their eyes on the islands because they saw it as a way to not just make money but to fortify the U.S. In the Caribbean (Whalen, 2005). Their first move was to continue devastating the small, rural sectors that features some crop variation (which helped individual farmers) in favor of more consolidated larger production facilities that could be more easily controlled. While it would take some years to get to the final result, the following quote suggests what was happening and where it would be heading: "The economy went from a diversified, subsistence economy with four basic crops produced for export (tobacco, cattle, coffee and sugar) to a sugarcane economy with 60% of the sugar industry controlled by absentee American owners (Rodriguez, 2007: 2)"

It was these ownership forces that would ultimately command the push to send some 5,000 Puerto Ricans to the Hawaiian Islands because of several factors. The sugar business was growing strong and needed workers who knew what to do and could do the work cheaply (Camacha Souza, 1984). There was also a desire to head of growing dislike of some Asian immigrants who were already making up large portions of the workforce. Prejudices were running rampant again the Japanese, Chinese and Filipinos and it was thought that other workers would be better equipped to meet the needs of the plantation owners. Puerto Ricans, who were often treated as it they were at least somewhat white (at least the lighter skinned ones), were thought to be a good replacement group who could be brought over fairly cheaply. A business writer of the times put it pretty bluntly "the population is not ignorant or indolent or degraded," and it was more than ready to be exploited in another island on the other side of the U.S. that would not be that much different from their own home land (Whalen, 2002:5). Though it was often presented in promising and glorified terms, the fact is that many of the men went without their families and found the work and the experience challenging at best. This was why the phrase "trabajo y tristeza" became common; the work was difficult, the culture sorrowful.

Their pay was pretty much as expected, around $15 per month for men. It would be later that this base pay would be supplemented with bonuses, but only in exchange for long and hard work hours. Other promises of good living quality, health care, fuel and water didn't always live up to the expected standards. More importantly, however, the management practices were alien to them and they could not understand the language of the many others with whom they worked. Stories about cultural conflicts prevailed. Apparently Japanese men, for example, were not concerned with walking naked to their baths, something that offended the religious and moral standards of the Puerto Ricans who have much different cleanliness habits. Ultimately, these types of disputes would lead to the creation of stereotypes about Puerto Ricans being "dirty" and uncivilized (Camacha Souza, 1984: 166-169). By about 1910, the largest contingent of U.S. Puerto Ricans lived in Hawaii. This number was down from the original immigrant influx because many of the men were already leaving their work and seeking other ways to marry or set up families that would help disassociate them from the prejudices again Puerto Ricans. These practices would eventually make it very difficult to determine the actual influence of this migratory event because it was the beginning of a pattern of this group being more interested in sharing their ethnic mixes than in claiming allegiance to just their Puerto Rican ancestry. This can still be seen as very different today from some of the practices of their countrymen and women in other places like New York where their Hispanic ancestry is more often seen as a badge of pride.

CONCLUSION

Thirty years is not an exceptionally long time when it comes to the process of integrating ethnic groups into a culture. As such, it can be expected that not much might change in the short time period of between 1870 and 1900. That was not the case for Hawaii on many fronts as a variety of different ethnic groups joined the culture. The roles of some of the Asian groups may be better known, but the highlights demonstrated here suggest that Hispanic influences were important too. But they also show how just the way that the group was viewed more than what they did played an important role in what that experience would mean later and what it even means today.

Before closing there are two other indicators of the impact of these competing Hispanic influences are worth highlighting. When the first Puerto Ricans landed, it seemed to be difficult for the natives to adjust to Spanish words and names. As such, they often modified the names of these immigrants to some that they knew already -- Portuguese names. It was thus not uncommon for Puerto Ricans to begin their stay be being force to fit into someone else's place.

Secondly, even in books written much later, such as McDermott's People and Cultures of Hawaii (1980), the differences are readily evident. The authors identify the Portuguese influx as a unique and readily identifiable period of impact -- one worthy of its own chapter. The Puerto Ricans received no such attention. Instead, they are often simply recognized as being hard to find because they so easily take on double or even triple ethnic identities in full celebration of their local and true ancestry (Baker, 2002:195). This again is remarkably distinct from how other Puerto Ricans live their heritages in the U.S. today, which definitely suggests something good or distinct about what it means to be wanted or not from the beginning.