<P> Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants and was observed by Captain Hegwood upon arrival in the islands in 1841 Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a century . The sugar grown and processed in Hawaii was shipped primarily to the United States and, in smaller quantities, globally . </P> <P> Industrial sugar production started slowly in Hawaii . The first sugar mill was created on the island of Lana ʻi in 1802 by an unidentified Chinese man who returned to China in 1803 . The Old Sugar Mill, established in 1835 by Ladd & Co., is the site of the first sugar plantation . In 1836 the first 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) of sugar and molasses was shipped to the United States . The plantation town of Koloa, was established adjacent to the mill . </P> <P> By the 1840s, sugarcane plantations gained a foothold in Hawaiian agriculture . Steamships provided rapid and reliable transportation to the islands, and demand increased during the California Gold Rush . The land division law of 1848 (known as The Great Mahele) displaced Hawaiian people from their land, forming the basis for the sugarcane plantation economy . In 1850, the law was amended to allow foreign residents to buy and lease land . In 1850, when California became a state, profits declined and the number of plantations decreased to five due to the import tariff that was created . Market demand increased even further during the onset of the American Civil War which prevented Southern sugar from being shipped northward . The price of sugar rose 525% from 4 cents per pound in 1861 to 25 cents in 1864 . The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 allowed Hawaii to sell sugar to the United States without paying duties or taxes, greatly increasing plantation profits . This treaty also guaranteed that all of the resources including land, water, human labor power, capital, and technology would be thrown behind sugarcane cultivation . The 1890 McKinley Tariff Act, an effort by the United States government to decrease the competitive pricing of Hawaiian sugar, paid 2 cents per pound to mainland producers . After significant lobbying efforts, this act was repealed in 1894 . By 1890, 75% of all privately held land was owned by foreign businessmen . The plantation owners wanted the United States to annex Hawaii so that Hawaiian sugar would never again be subject to tariffs . They also wanted the United States to annex Hawaii so there could be a U.S military base on the island (Pearl Harbor). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Hawaii's Big Five </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> C. Brewer & Co . </Li> <Li> Theo H. Davies & Co . </Li> <Li> Amfac </Li> <Li> Castle & Cooke </Li> <Li> Alexander & Baldwin </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

What happened in 1875 that helped the hawaiian sugar industry grow