Big Five (Hawaii)

Hawaii's Big Five

The Big Five (Hawaiian: Nā Hui Nui ʻElima) was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century, and leaned heavily toward the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., Theo H. Davies & Co., and American Factors (now Amfac).[1] The extent of the power that the Big Five had was considered by some as equivalent to an oligarchy. Attorney General of Hawaii Edmund Pearson Dole, referring to the Big Five, said in 1903: "There is a government in this Territory which is centralized to an extent unknown in the United States, and probably almost as centralized as it was in France under Louis XIV."[2]

  1. ^ Lyn Danninger (September 29, 2002). "Isle institutions' economic impact endures". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2008-06-28. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  2. ^ Maenette Kapeʻahiokalani Padeken Ah Nee-Benham; Ronald H. Heck (1998). Culture and educational policy in Hawaiʻi: the silencing of native voices. Psychology Press. p. 137. ISBN 0-8058-2704-8.