How did economic factors influence political developments during the annexation of Hawaii?

• A. American business interests in sugar and pineapple plantations pushed for annexation to secure favorable trade conditions.
• B. Economic factors were largely ignored, and annexation was driven solely by military strategy.
• C. The annexation was primarily motivated by the discovery of oil reserves in Hawaii.
• D. Hawaiian monarchs used economic prosperity to resist annexation by the United States.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Identify the key economic factors involved in the annexation of Hawaii, focusing on the role of American business interests, particularly in sugar and pineapple plantations.
2. Step 2: Understand how these economic interests created incentives for the United States to pursue annexation, such as securing favorable trade conditions and avoiding tariffs on Hawaiian goods.
3. Step 3: Analyze the political developments that followed, including how American businessmen influenced local politics and pressured the U.S. government to annex Hawaii.
4. Step 4: Contrast the economic motivations with other possible explanations, such as military strategy or natural resource discovery, to see which factors were most significant.
5. Step 5: Conclude that economic factors, especially the desire to protect and expand American agricultural business interests, were a primary driver behind the political move to annex Hawaii.