Being in the middle of the Pacific, and unknown to the western world at the beginning of the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, folks in Hawai‘i may not feel connected to the American Revolution and its history.
July 4, 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence, it is interesting/appropriate to analyze, evaluate, and compare the similar/different circumstances, context, and text of …
… America’s Declaration of Independence (1776) with the Hawaiian Kingdom’s Declaration of Rights (1839) and subsequent Hawai‘i Constitution (1840 – that has the 1839 Declaration of Rights as its Preamble).
The following are only some of the kinds of comparisons that you might consider, under the theme of similarities and differences in the circumstances, context, and text of these documents:
• In America, the people forced the change; in Hawai‘i, the King and Chiefs initiated the change.
• In America, the changes were made through revolution and war (with thousands of lives lost, lasting over 8 years (1775-1783)); in Hawai‘i, the changes came through voluntary and peaceful recognition of ‘rights’ (that was bloodless, with immediate change).
• Each country’s ‘Declaration’ has similar references to the Creator and God:
o America’s Declaration of Independence (1776): “all men are … endowed by their Creator”;
o Hawai‘i’s Declaration of Rights (1839): “God hath made of one blood all nations of men”.
• Each ‘Declaration’ has similar statements of equality:
o America’s Declaration of Independence (1776): “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”;
o Hawai‘i’s Declaration of Rights (1839): “God … has given alike to every man and every chief of correct deportment … protecting alike, both the people and the chiefs of all these islands”.
• Each ‘Declaration’ has similar statements of individual rights:
o America’s Declaration of Independence (1776): “all men are … endowed … with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”;
o Hawai‘i’s Declaration of Rights (1839): “These are some of the rights … life, limb, liberty, freedom from oppression; the earnings of his hands and the productions of his mind”.
• Each country has a similar transition in how the people were viewed and treated, from being strictly subjects of a King to citizens of a country with established rights in written documents and laws.
• Each has similar governance mechanism/documentation that allowed each to join the family of nations (with a written Constitution), with Hawai‘i’s happening only 13-years from having a written language (with the standardized Hawaiian written alphabet approved on July 14, 1826).
Making these comparisons of ‘Declarations’ (with notably similar context and text) will help link Hawai‘i to the American Revolution during the 250th anniversary year of the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence.
Another Similarity is that Each was at War
Another interesting comparison/similarity is that Hawai‘i was at war at the same time as the American Revolutionary War. At the period of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms:
(1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.
“At that time Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai was disposed to assist him in these enterprises.”
“The occupation of the Hana district of Maui by the kings of Hawaii had been the cause of many stubborn conflicts between the chivalry of the two islands, and when Captain Cook first landed on Hawaii …”
“… he found the king of that island [Kalaniʻōpuʻu] absent on another warlike expedition to Maui, intent upon avenging his defeat of two years before, when his famous brigade of eight hundred nobles was hewn in pieces.” (Kalākaua)
Kamakahelei was the “queen of Kauai and Niihau, and her husband was a younger brother to Kahekili, while she was related to the royal family of Hawaii. Thus, it will be seen, the reigning families of the several islands of the group were all related to each other, as well by marriage as by blood.”
“So had it been for many generations. But their wars with each other were none the less vindictive because of their kinship, or attended with less of barbarity in their hours of triumph.” (Kalākaua)
“Whether we contemplate the horrors or the glories of the rude warfare which wasted the nation, we are not to confine our views to the struggles of armed combatants – the wounds, the reproaches, and various evils inflicted on one another…”
“… but the burden of sustaining such armies deserves attention, and the indescribable misery of the unarmed and unresisting of the vanquished party or tribe, pursued and crushed, till all danger of further resistance disappeared, must not be forgotten.” (Bingham)
“Before the conquest of Kamehameha, the several islands were ruled by independent kings, who were frequently at war with each other, but more often with their own subjects. As one chief acquired sufficient strength, he disputed the title of the reigning prince.”
“If successful, his chance of permanent power was quite as precarious as that of his predecessor. In some instances the title established by force of arms remained in the same family for several generations, disturbed, however, by frequent rebellions … war being a chief occupation …” (Jarves)
“It is supposed that some six thousand of the followers of this chieftain (Kamehameha,) and twice that number of his opposers, fell in battle during his career, and by famine and distress occasioned by his wars and devastations from 1780 to 1796.” (Bingham)
“However the greatest loss of life according to early writers was not from the battles, but from the starvation of the vanquished and consequential sickness due to destruction of food sources and supplies – a recognized part of Hawaiian warfare.” (Bingham)
Vancouver was appalled by the impoverished circumstances of the people and the barren and uncultivated appearance of their lands.
“The deplorable condition to which they had been reduced by an eleven years war” and the advent of “the half famished trading vessels” convinced him that he should pursue his peace negotiations for “the general happiness, of the inhabitants of all the islands.” (Vancouver, Voyage 2)
Then, a final battle of conquest took place on Oʻahu. Kamehameha landed his fleet and disembarked his army on Oʻahu, extending from Waialae to Waikiki. … he marched up the Nuʻuanu valley, where Kalanikūpule had posted his forces. (Fornander)
At Puiwa the hostile forces met, and for a while the victory was hotly contested; but the superiority of Kamehameha’s artillery, the number of his guns, and the better practice of his soldiers …
… soon turned the day in his favour, and the defeat of the Oahu forces became an accelerated rout and a promiscuous slaughter. (Fornander) Estimates for losses in the battle of Nuʻuanu (1795) ranged up to 10,000. (Schmitt)
In the American Revolutionary War, an estimated 6,800 Americans were killed in action, 6,100 wounded, and upwards of 20,000 were taken prisoner. Historians believe that at least an additional 17,000 deaths were the result of disease, including about 8,000–12,000 who died while prisoners of war.
Unreliable data places the total casualties for British regulars fighting in the Revolutionary War around 24,000 men. This total number includes battlefield deaths and injuries, deaths from disease, men taken prisoner, and those who remained missing. Approximately 1,200 Hessian soldiers were killed, 6,354 died of disease and another 5,500 deserted and settled in America afterward. (Battlefield)
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