SS HELIOPOLIS THE FIRST IMMIGRATION OF ANDALUSIANS TO HAWAI‘I (1907)

SS HELIOPOLIS THE FIRST IMMIGRATION OF ANDALUSIANS TO HAWAI‘I (1907)

In 1907, approximately 8,000 Spaniards, mostly from Andalucía, in the south of Spain, emigrate to Hawai‘i, an archipelago located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Extreme poverty and lack of future prospects had sparked the need to migrate to such a remote place; however, it would be an exodus that would fail to reap the desired rewards. This is a story steeped in the lost tides of history that brings to light the events surrounding the voyage of the SS Heliopolis. With more than two thousand emigrants from Andalucía, it was the only one of the six ships that departed from the Spanish port of Málaga bound for Honolulu. Promises of good wages and land in Hawai‘i became disillusioning realities, which led to a second migration, this time to California. The struggle and the daily adversities suffered by those who had the courage to cross two oceans to look for a better future are reflected in this manuscript. With this work, the author respectfully pays tribute to all emigrants and their descendants. These were Spaniards who never forgot their roots.