Beginning of Essay
Until statehood, Hawaii was ruled economically by a consortium of corporations known as the "Big Five": C. Brewer and Co., sugar, ranching, and chemicals, founded in 1826; Theo. H. Davies & Co., sugar, investments, insurance, and transportation, founded in 1845; A ....

Middle of Essay
.... The Big Five were made up of the islands' oldest and most well-established haole families; all included bloodlines from Hawaii's own nobility and ali'i. They looked among themselves for suitable husbands and wives, so breaking in from the outside even through marriage was hardly possible. The only time they were successfully challenged prior to statehood was when Sears, Roebuck and Co. opened a store on Oahu. Closing ranks, the Big Five decreed that their steamships would not carry Sears's freight. When Sears threatened to buy its own steamship line, the Big Five relented. In the end, statehood, and more to the point, tourism, broke their olig ....