What did plantation owners in Hawaii want to do?

Answer 1

Hawaiian plantations were in operation beginning in the 1800s, and some continued through the mid-1900s; the main product was sugarcane, but there were also pineapple plantations. The plantation owners wanted to be in total control of the production, as their goal was to make bigger profits. These owners were few in number (five powerful families dominated the sugarcane plantations), but they were very influential in Hawaii's politics and were able to negotiate favorable arrangements that kept prices high and wages low.

The plantation owners imported mostly foreign workers, since it was believed that foreigners would do the work cheaply. But many of the foreigners (who came from China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines) found that plantation work was hard and they were treated like slaves or indentured servants. What is ironic is that the majority of the plantation owners came from missionary families, yet when they became successful in business, they often did not treat their workers fairly, which led to problems many years later.