Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Maritime Massachusetts Meets a Man from the Islands

Captain John Smith, in 1614, was the first Englishman to examine the Massachusetts coast, and to give it that name. Shortly thereafter (1620,) the Plymouth Colony arrived. “The Pilgrim fathers sailed with high hopes and a burning faith, but with few preparations and no clear idea of how to make a living on the Atlantic coast.” “Massachusetts went to sea, then, not of choice, but of necessity.” “Off the roaring breakers of Cape Horn, in the vast spaces of the Pacific, on savage coasts and islands, and in the teeming marts of the Far East, the intrepid shipmasters and adventurous youth of New England were reclaiming their salt sea heritage. “

One bright summer afternoon in 1790 saw the close of a great adventure. On August 9, Boston town heard a salute of thirteen guns down-harbor. The ship Columbia, Captain Robert Gray, with the first American ensign to girdle the globe snapping at her peak, was greeting the Castle after an absence of three years. … A rumor ran through the narrow streets that a native of ‘Owyhee’ – a Sandwich-Islander – was on board; and before the day was out, curious Boston was gratified with a sight of him, marching after Captain Gray to call on Governor Hancock.” “A vigorous trade with the native chiefs in this fragrant commodity (sandalwood) was started by Boston fur-traders in ‘the Islands’; leading to more Hawaiian visits to New England”.

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Hunnewell and the Missionaries

“The name … James Hunnewell was early associated with the commercial interests of these Islands, and his long and useful life was marked by such constant goodwill to my kingdom, that I shall always cherish his memory with sincere regard.” (Kamehameha V to Hunnewell’s son; Thrum) Hunnewell first came to the Islands aboard the ‘Packet’ in October 1816.

After trading sandalwood in China and then back to the northeast, Hunnewell returned to the Islands in 1820 on the ‘Thaddeus,’ “This was the memorable voyage when we carried out the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.” He stayed … “it was urged by some of the chiefs that knew me on my previous voyage that I should remain instead of a stranger to trade with them.” (Hunnewell) Kekela, born at Mokuleʻia, Waialua, Oʻahu was a beneficiary of Hunnewell’s generosity; Kekela took his name, James.

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1800s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1800s – horses arrive, sandalwood economy and Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia sails to New England. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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Early Recognition of Importance of Hawai‘i to US Trade

“The importance of the Sandwich Islands to the commerce of the United States, which visits these seas, is, perhaps, more than has been estimated by individuals, or our government been made acquainted with. … The annual, if not semi-annual, visit of one of our ships of war to these islands, is conceived to be necessary; and would, no doubt, be attended with the best advantages, affording to our commerce, in these seas, protection, assistance, and security.”

“For this station, a sloop of war would be sufficient for every purpose required; and, if so arranged as to visit these islands in the months of March, April, and May, and again in October and November … The very knowledge that a ship of war would semi-annually be at the Sandwich Islands, would be of infinite service to our commerce in general, which enters the waters of the North Pacific ocean.”

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Chinatown

The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska that were sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain and other Chinese goods (which were then sold in Europe and the US.)

In the mid-1840s, following defeat by Britain in the first Opium War, a series of natural catastrophes occurred across China resulting in famine, peasant uprisings and rebellions. Many Chinese left; some came to the Islands. Honolulu’s Chinatown was established during the 1840s and 1850s, in an area along Honolulu Harbor. It is reportedly the oldest Chinese quarter in the US.