Reciprocity Treaty of 1875

Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, free-trade agreement between the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom that guaranteed a duty-free market for Hawaiian sugar in exchange for special economic privileges for the United States that were denied to other countries. The treaty increased Hawaii’s economic dependence on the United States and also strengthened American political and strategic influence in Hawaii, which helped establish the groundwork for the Hawaiian Islands’ eventual annexation by the U.S. in 1898. Throughout...