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David E. Stannard
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Before the Horror: The Population of Hawaii on the Eve of Western Contact

by David E. Stannard (Author)
3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
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How many people were living in Hawaii in 1778 when the first white men arrived in the islands? The conventional belief is that the number was somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000. But now, in the most factually detailed and theoretically sophisticated study of the subject ever conducted, David E Stannard contends that the true figure was 800,000 or more – – a population almost as large as part of Hawaii today. Virtually every aspect of Hawaii is nearly 2000 years of human history Will bear re-examination in light of these revolutionary demographic findings. Archaeology, demography, comparative history, ethnology, geography, even physiology, and more – – historian David Stannard draws on each to suggest a 1778 population of 800,000 souls living in an epidemiological paradise. From 800,000 to a ghostly 40,000 a little over a century later, their bodies were literally eaten alive by the white man's venereal syphilis, consumed by fires of his influenza, and gored by his tuberculosis. Such was the savage power of the invisible microbe, the silent partner of European colonization. Stannard has done a magnificent job of telling hey most grim tale – – Calvin Martin, department of history, Rutgers University Before the Horror is a work of prodigious scholarship, impressive methodology, and plain common sense that exposes most authors of low native Hawaiian population estimates as denigrators of natives, deniers and selectors of evidence, and polemicists whose figures and conclusions collapse when subjected to the objective methodological scrutiny… It's scholarship is so persuasive and sound that I wish I had written it myself -- Henry F Dobyns, Center for the history of the American Indian, the Newberry library good books do good
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  1. ISBN-10
    0824812328
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0824812324
  3. Publisher
    Univ of Hawaii Pr
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1989
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    6.25 x 0.5 x 9.25 inches
  7. Print length
    168 pages
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Univ of Hawaii Pr (January 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0824812328
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0824812324
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.5 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

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David E. Stannard

David E. Stannard

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David E. Stannard is Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii. His previous books include Death in America, Shrinking History: On Freud and the Failure of Psychohistory, The Puritan Way of Death: A Study in Religion, Culture, and Social Change, and Before the Horror: The Population of Hawaii on the Eve of Western Contact.

Customer reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars
3.2 out of 5
5 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Palaka
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting Perspective, but......
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2004
Verified Purchase
Stannard makes an argument for the Pre-Western Contact (1778) Native Hawaiian population in Hawaii reaching up to 1 million. The current total (all ethnicities)population in Hawaii is 1.2 million in 2000. He makes many logical and common sense arguments that justify his conclusions. Unfortunately, he also makes some very weak arguments. He does has some critical appraisal of his own arguments. His utilization of Schmitt and Nordyke, who are demographic authorities in Hawaii, as guest authors was very smart. However, they both basically do not agree with him so he criticizes them (they lean closer to 300-400,000) in an unprofessional manner. His criticisms seem emotional and over the top to me, and I was surprised it was not edited. Although I am open to the fact that his estimates may be right, the book is lessened academically by his crude criticisms of known authorities on the subject. If he was trying to create controversy, then he succeeded. Still, it is an enlightening historical read on the subject and the "outbursts" gave me a few chuckles.
10 people found this helpful
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Norene Hutchinson
4.0 out of 5 stars 800,000 to 1,000,000 Hawaiian residents at the time of European contact.
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
Well written and researched. Scholarly balanced . Appropriate scholaraly format .
New theories based on updated demographic information. Must read for serious students of the history of Kanaka Maoli and the results of foreign contact.
2 people found this helpful
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Gary Powell
2.0 out of 5 stars "And Then There Were None..."
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2010
Dr. David E. Stannard has taken part of the topic penned by Alan Moorhead in "Fatal Impact" and analyzed specifically the impact that foreign contact had on the people and environment of the Hawaiian Islands. In spite of the thesis-spoken language of this book (indeed it is part of a larger scholarly work), any student of Hawaiian history would do well to wade through the information and conclusions that Dr. Stannard presents.

If Dr. Stannard is correct in his projections of population sizes in Hawaii, pre-Western contact, the accidental and purposeful introduction of foreign disease wrought destruction of a scale not comprehended by most students of Pacific history. A careful read of this work is warranted and a careful reflection of his data and analysis will give the reader a more significant appreciation of Hawaii's history.
4 people found this helpful
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