Newspapers published in Portuguese in Hawaii, 1885 to 1927

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The Portuguese newspapers in Hawai‘i were general weekly publications, largely in Portuguese, though there were sometimes items in English. In addition, there were numerous advertisements, letters from readers, verse compositions describing events of the day, and special announcements. Selections from Portuguese literature were also published in some of the papers. The editors of these papers were representative leaders of the Portuguese community.

In 2012, the George Mason Fund, through the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, awarded the Hawaiian Historical Society a $25,000 challenge grant to be used for a project to preserve the Society’s valuable newspapers in the collection. These papers, which date from 1834 to around 1930, include the only known copies of Portuguese-language and some Hawaiian-English–language newspapers. The first focus is the Portuguese-language newspapers. The goal of the project is to create a good microfilm copy for preservation; a searchable digital copy that is freely accessible; and the best possible preservation for the original papers.

The nine initial newspapers were published in Hawai‘i from 1885 to 1927 and include one English and Portuguese newspaper and one English and Hawaiian newspaper. The surviving newspapers comprise 1,463 issues containing 5,852 pages.

  • O Luso Hawaiiano (four-page Honolulu weekly, Portuguese, some English). August 1885 to December 1890
  • Aurora Hawaiiana [Hawaiian Dawn] (four-page Honolulu weekly, Portuguese) August 1889 to March 1891
  • A Uniao Lusitana Hawaiiana (four-page Honolulu weekly, Portuguese). March 1892 to February 1896
  • A Sentinella [Sentinel] (Honolulu weekly, Portuguese, some English).1892 to 1896, but only three issues survive: April to September 1892
  • O Luso (four-page Honolulu weekly, Portuguese and English). The longest-running Portuguese-language paper, with the largest circulation. February 1896 to October 1897, October 1910 to Jan. 1920
  • A Setta [Arrow] (Hilo weekly, Portuguese, some English). Ran from 1903 to 1921, but only six issues survive. 1905, 1906, 1908, 1920
  • O Popular (four-page Honolulu weekly, Portuguese, some English). July 1911 to January 1913
  • O Facho [The Torch] (four-page Hilo weekly, Portuguese). Ran from 1906 to 1927, but only one issue survives: February 2, 1927

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