Death in Hawai'i: the Epidemics of 1848 - 1849

A SUCCESSION OF DEADLY EPIDEMICS struck the Hawaiian Islands during the last four months of 1848 and the early part of 1849. Measles, whooping cough, dysentery, and influenza raged across the kingdom. An estimated 10,000 persons died from these causes, more than one-tenth of the population. In total mortality, the combined 18481849 epidemic toll was one of the most devastating in Island history. Curiously, many historians have paid relatively little attention to these tragic events.