Cattle for Cash

Hawaii's wild cattle population needed to be controlled for safety reasons, but the arrival of bullock hunters and Mexican vaquero also happened to coincide with an economic opportunity. In the early 1830s, trade in sandalwood slowed down as island forests became depleted. At about the same time, whaling ships hunting in the north Pacific began wintering in Hawaiian waters. Ships reprovisioning in Hawai`i ports provided a market for salt beef in addition to hides and tallow. With the economic nudge of the whaling industry, ranching became a commercial enterprise worth pursuing.

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