Hawaii's Big Five

The Hawaii Big Five was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., American Factors (now Amfac) and Theo H. Davies & Co.. The extent of the power that the Big Five had was considered by some as equivalent to an oligarchy.

Hawaii's Big Five in Days of Infamy
Despite having an elected government, every resident in Hawaii knew that the Big Five practically ran the Hawaiian islands even though they didn't administrate them directly.

After the conquest of Hawaii by the Japanese it quickly apparent that the islands would need to grow their own food, so all the pineapple and square cane were uprooted and rice patties planted in their place. As the residents of Hawaii watched this event unfold, they often wondered how the Big Five would react to this; but quickly realised that they really couldn't do anything with the Japanese in charge.