Ukulele History as a History of Woods
The history of the ukulele is quite literally a history of woods. The ukulele was introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants in the 1880s . They brought a Portuguese instrument called the machete to the island, and the Hawaiians renamed it the "ukulele" which literally translates to "jumping flea." There are several theories about the name, and my personal favorite is that "ukulele" was a nickname for an English officer who himself resembled a jumping flea, and also played the machete. But the ukuleles that people got to know and love in the 20th century were different from the Portuguese machetes played by Officer Jumping-Flea. The machetes often had softwood tops, such as pine or spruce , like guitars. Those soft woods grew on the Portuguese island of Madeira, but Hawaii's tropical ecosystem is different. Hawaii is home to many hardwoods, including koa, a tree in the acacia family. This wood was abundant in Hawaii at the time, and it is