The Origins of the Ukulele

And how the Portuguese arrived in Hawaii

John Philip Sousa in Hawaii in 1901 with the Hawaiian Band, most of whose members, like Sousa, are Portuguese. Image in Public Domain {PD-US}

The Portuguese people have a vast history of emigration. The pursuit of freedom and a more prosperous life, avoiding conscription or escaping political persecution led lots of people to migrate during the 20th century. Around 2 million Portuguese live in France. 14,5% of Luxembourg residents are Portuguese. If you live in Houston, Chicago or D.C., you might have walked into a Nando’s.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, one of the preferred destinations for Portuguese migrants was Hawaii, to work on sugar plantations. The promise of a flyer handed by an engagement person said that far, far away there was a new life waiting for them on those remote islands, but they had to decide on that same day, for the boat was on the way.

Sketch of the clipper SS Ravenscrag from an 1898 edition of the San Francisco Call — this ship in 1879 delivered 419 Portuguese immigrants to the Hawaiian Islands. Image in Public Domain {PD-US}

They’d travel in the cargo hold of a shipping boat. 1500 passengers, for more than a 100 days. At the time, they still had to sail across the Atlantic, through the Magellan Strait, and cross almost all of the Pacific.

Crappy travelling conditions meant many people died along the way. Many birth certificates were also passed along the way. By the 1930’s, the…