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July 8, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Charles Titcomb

Charles Titcomb was a practical Yankee of considerable ability (born in Boston, July 24, 1803), a watchmaker by trade, who had reached the Hawaiian Islands as a sailor on the bark Lyra that was wrecked in the ‘false passage’ (apparently around Maui) in 1830.  (Damon and PCA March 31, 1883) He lived/worked at various places on Kauai.

Koloa

He initially settled at Koloa, Kauai.  At the time, “Clusters of native dwellings are scattered on the plain, but the principal village is situated a mile from the beach, at a short distance from the missionary buildings.”

“Fields of sugar cane, taro, yams, and other vegetables, bespeak a more than usual attention to agriculture. The population of Koloa, which is about three thousand, is increasing rapidly by emigrations from other districts. But the principal attractions here are the estates of Messrs. Ladd & Co. and Messrs. Peck & Titcomb, American gentlemen.”

“From Ladd and Company Messrs. Peck and Titcomb subleased about 400 acres on which, from 1836 to 1840, they conducted careful experiments in raising cotton, coffee and silk.”

“Their mulberry trees throve so that one of the little hills on their land was soon called Mauna Kilika, or Silika, as it still is on old maps. …  Beset by one difficulty after another, such as drought, blight and failure of the silkworm eggs to hatch even when taken in bottles to the mountain tops for a lower temperature, silk culture was abandoned about 1840.”

“Mr. Titcomb then transferred his equipment across the island to Hanalei to begin similar attempts there. And sugar thus remained the one active commercial enterprise in Koloa.” (Damon)

Hanalei

“In the course of time other white settlers were attracted to the fertile and well-watered region of Hanalei and Waioli, among whom the first to undertake a business venture systematically was this same Charles Titcomb of Koloa.”

“While his interests were frankly commercial, and it was of course essential that his silk worms should be fed on Sunday, as on every other day, it is not true, as has sometimes been alleged, that the missionaries of Hanalei attempted to thwart his industrial efforts.”

“The refutation of this charge is made on the indisputable authority of Mr. G. N. Wilcox, who grew up in one of the two mission homes at Waioli and knows the history of Kauai as it is known to no other living person today.”

The missionaries at Hanalei, as at Koloa, rejoiced that Hawaiians had now some means of profitable labor by which they could free themselves from the restrictions of the konohiki, or overlord. And while the missionaries regretted that a certain amount of labor was necessary on the Sabbath, it came to be regarded as an inevitable accompaniment of economic change.”

“And when on, or even perhaps before, the blighting of his mulberry trees at Koloa, Mr. Titcomb started cuttings in the Hanalei river bottom, a prodigiously rapid growth was the result, even also as ratoons.”

“Mr. Jarves states that Mr. Titcomb had obtained his lease of Hanalei river lands from the king as early as 1838. A fairly good quality and quantity of silk was soon produced, the Hawaiian women proving skilful in the art of reeling the delicate threads from the tiny cocoons, and the first export was made in 1844, but profits were too slow to warrant the necessary outlay of capital.”

“Securing berries from the Kona fields of Messrs. Hall and Cummings, Mr. Titcomb gradually replaced his mulberry orchards with coffee plants, and thus opened direct competition with his immediate neighbors.”

“Another commercial venture, somewhat farther afield, was made by Mr. Wundenberg in company with Messrs. Titcomb and Widemann late in 1848, when the three gentlemen left their families on Kauai and proceeded to join the gold rush to California. The net result seems to have been chiefly in the realm of experience, for it was not long before all three had returned to their former agricultural pursuits. …”

“In 1853 [Robert Wyllie] bought the Crown lands at Hanalei which were leased by the Rhodes Coffee Plantation, and two years later Captain Rhodes sold out his financial interest in it to Mr. Wyllie.”

“After the visit of the royal personages at Hanalei in 1860, Mr. Titcomb’s plantation became known as Emmasville and Mr. Wyllie’s as Princeville Plantation, in honor of the event. And Princeville is the name which persists to this day as the title of the estate.”

“In 1862 the Princeville plantation, following Mr. Titcomb’s lead, was converted from coffee to sugar and the face of the river valley took on a materially different aspect. Mr. Wyllie added the two ahupuaas, land divisions, of Kalihikai and Kalihiwai, to his Princeville estate, and sent to Glasgow for his sugar mill.” (Damon)

“Foremost in enterprise, Mr. Titcomb was the prime mover in introducing the Tahitian variety of cane, which for so many years was the backbone of the industry.”

“The whaling captain entrusted with the importation of this new cane chanced to make port at Lahaina, whence the samples were distributed throughout the islands. Hence the name, Lahaina cane, for that staple variety which was in reality from Tahiti.”

“[T]he coffee plantation of Mr. Titcomb at Hanalei was reported, just before the drought, as in excellent order and always a model of good management and thrift.” (Damon)

Coffee was grown successfully at Hanalei during the 1840s and 1850s until a blight caused by aphids wiped out over 100,000 coffee trees.  (Soboleski, TGI)

“In 1852 Irish potatoes constituted the largest export from the islands to California, but two years later the Hawaiian planters ‘were eating potatoes from California of better quality and less price.’”

“By the process of the survival of the fittest, sugar was becoming Hawaii’s staple product. Yet even that finally proved unsuited to the cool, wet climate of Hanalei.”

“Mr. Titcomb, in the lead as usual, sold the Emmasville Plantation of over seven hundred acres to Mr. Wyllie in 1863 and moved to Kilauea, further to the eastward on the Kauai shore. Here he bought the Kilauea land grant from the king and established himself in cattle ranching.”  (Damon)

Kilauea

“He built himself a house, which until very recently was used as the Kilauea plantation hospital; and when Mr. Widemann came to Hanalei in 1864, Mr. Titcomb secured his herd of cattle from Grove Farm.”

“Capt. Dudoit and Mr. Titcomb of Hanalei also met with considerable success at Kilauea, but the former moved his family to Honolulu in 1862.”

“These two gentlemen had become discouraged with the struggles in sugar at Princeville and were attempting the somewhat drier climate to the eastward.”

“In 1877, when Titcomb sold his Kilauea ranch to English Capt. John Ross and Edward Adams for the purpose of growing sugar cane, Kilauea Sugar Plantation was founded, with Titcomb staying on to build the plantation’s first sugar mill.” (Damon)  Kilauea Plantation closed in 1971. (Soboleski, TGI)

“Having primitive works, his whole product was for many years put into syrup, during which time ‘Titcomb’s Golden Syrup’ was the choice article of our  groceries. … Titcomb was an industrious, law-abiding citizen; a neighbor to be desired, and an affectionate husband and father.” (Daily Honolulu Press, March 24, 1883)

Titcomb married Kanikele Kamalenui in 1841; they were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters.  Kanikele died January 16, 1881; Charles died March 21, 1883.

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Place Names, Economy, Prominent People Tagged With: Kilauea, Sugar, Kauai, Hanalei, Cattle, Coffee, Charles Titcomb, Koloa, Cotton, Silk

July 7, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Owyhee, Idaho

It might seem strange that Hawaiians played a significant part in the history on Idaho and the Northwest because much of that history has been forgotten, except for a historic land marker on the western crest of Owyhee County.

“The name applied to these mountains and the whole surrounding region is an outdated spelling of the word ‘Hawaii,’” the sign reads. Owyhee is pronounced like “Hawaii” but without the “H.” (Idaho Statesman)

It started with explorer James Cook — In 1768, when Captain Cook set sail on the first of three voyages to the South Seas, he carried with him secret orders from the British Admiralty to seek ‘a Continent or Land of great extent’ and to take possession of that country ‘in the Name of the King of Great Britain’.

While each of his three journeys had its own aim and yielded its own discoveries, it was this confidential agenda that would transform the way Europeans viewed the Pacific Ocean and its lands.

Cook’s third and final voyage (1776-1779) of discovery was an attempt to locate a North-West Passage, an ice-free sea route which linked the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.  Cook commanded the Resolution while Charles Clerke commanded Discovery.  (State Library, New South Wales)

After leaving Christmas Island, they headed north, then, “having fine weather, and a gentle breeze at east, and east-south-east, till we got into the latitude of 7° 45′ N. and the longitude of 205″ E., where we had one calm day.”

“This was succeeded by a north-east by east, and east-north-east wind. At first it blew faint, but freshened as we advanced to the north.”

“We continued to see birds every day, of the sorts last mentioned; sometimes in greater numbers than others; and between the latitude of 10° and 11° we saw several turtle. All these are looked upon as signs of the vicinity of land.”

“However, we discovered none till day-break, in the morning of the 18th [January 1778], when an island made its appearance, bearing northeast by east; and, soon after, we saw more land bearing north, and entirely detached from the former.”  His two ships were kept at bay by the weather until the next day when they approached Kauai’s southeast coast.

On the afternoon of January 19, native Hawaiians in canoes paddled out to meet Cook’s ships, and so began Hawai’i’s contact with Westerners.  The first Hawaiians to greet Cook were from the Kōloa south shore.

The Hawaiians traded fish and sweet potatoes for pieces of iron and brass that were lowered down from Cook’s ships to the Hawaiians’ canoes.

The Islands “were named by Captain Cook the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the Earl of Sandwich, under whose administration he had enriched geography with so many splendid and important discoveries.” (Captain King’s Journal; Kerr)

Hawaiian lives changed with sudden and lasting impact, when western contact changed the course of history for Hawai’i.

At the time of 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, Lanai and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and at (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Throughout their stay, the ships were supplied with fresh provisions which were paid for mainly with iron, much of it in the form of long iron daggers made by the ships’ blacksmiths on the pattern of the wooden pāhoa used by the Hawaiians.  After a month’s stay, Cook got under sail again to resume his exploration of the Northern Pacific.

In March 1778, Cook’s Journal noted, “At four in the afternoon we saw the land, which, at six, extended from north-east half east, to south-east by south, about eight leagues distant. In this situation we tacked and sounded ; but a line of a hundred and sixty fathoms did not reach the ground. I stood off till midnight, then stood in again ; and at half past six, we were within three leagues of the land …”

Moving along what we now call the Oregon coast, “Each extreme of the land that was now before us, seemed to shoot out into a point. The northern one was the same which we had first seen on the 7th ; and on that account I called it Cape Perpetua, It lies in the latitude of 44° 6′ N., and in the longitude of 235° 52′ E.”

“The southern extreme before us, I named Cape Gregory,  Its latitude is 43° 80′, and its longitude 235° 57’ E. It is a remarkable point ; the land of it rising almost directly from the sea to a tolerable height, while that on each side of it is low.”

“I continued standing off till one in the afternoon. Then I tacked, and stood in, hoping to have the wind off from the land in the night. But in this I was mistaken ; for at five o’clock it began to veer to the west and south west; which obliged me, once more, to stand out to sea. …”

“I continued to stand to the north with a fine breeze at west, and west north-west, till near seven o’clock in the evening, when I tacked to wait for day-light.”

“At this time we were in forty-eight fathoms’ water, and about four leagues from the land, which extended from north to south east half east, and a small round hill, which had the appearance of being an island, bore north three quarters east, distant six or seven leagues, as I guessed ; it appears to be of a tolerable height, and was but just to be seen from the deck.”

“Between this island or rock, and the northern extreme of the land, there appeared to be a small opening, which flattered us with the hopes of finding an harbour. These hopes lessened as we drew nearer ; and, at last, we had some reason to think, that the opening was closed by low land. On this account I called the point of land to the north of it Cape Flattery.”

“It lies in the latitude of 48° 15′ north, and in the longitude of 235° 3′ east. There is a round hill of a moderate height over it ; and all the land upon this part of the coast is of a moderate and pretty equal height, well covered with wood, and hau a very pleasant and fertile appearance.”

“It is in this very latitude where we now were, that geographers have placed the pretended strait of Juan de Fuca. We saw nothing like it ; nor is there the least probability that ever any such thing existed. …” (Cook’s Journal, March 1778)

Cook had created a pathway, and expeditions that followed his maps stopped on the islands, often picking up Hawaiians as crew, before heading north.

It was the British-and Canadian-run fur-trapping industry that brought many Hawaiians to Idaho in the first half of the 19th century. They became mainstays for the expeditions that Hudson’s Bay and North West companies trappers Donald Mackenzie, Peter Skene Ogden and David Thompson led through present-day Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana and British Columbia.  (Idaho Statesman)

Three of the Hawaiians (“Owyhees”) joined Donald MacKenzie’s Snake expedition, which went out annually into the Snake country for the North West Company – a Montreal organization of Canadian fur traders.

Unluckily, those three Owyhees left the main party during the winter of 1819-1820; they set out to explore the then unknown terrain of what since has been called the Owyhee River and mountains, and have not been heard from since. Because of their disappearance, the British fur trappers started to call the region “Owyhee,” and the name stuck. (Idaho State Historical Society)

Just at the time the Owyhees disappeared into the Owyhee country, American missionaries came to the Sandwich Islands and worked out an alphabet for the native language in order to print the Bible and other missionary literature.  In the alphabet they adopted, the word “Owyhee” turned out to be “Hawaii.”

But in Idaho, the older form survived.

Many of the fur traders’ Idaho place names were lost in later years, but some – including “Owyhee” for a mountain range and river – were retained. That may result in part from the fact that Owyhees remained active in the Idaho fur trade right down to the last years of its decline.

As late as 1850, Fort Boise (located on the Snake River just below the mouth of the Owyhee) was staffed by James Craggie and fourteen Owyhees. When the Owyhee mines were discovered in 1863, the name still was in use, and the mines brought permanent settlement which preserved the name ever since that time. (Idaho State Historical Society)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Fur Trade, Traders, Owyhee, Idaho

July 5, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bayonet Constitution

“A conspiracy against the peace of the Hawaiian Kingdom had been taking shape since early spring.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height with David Kalākaua on the throne. But some of the businessmen were distrustful of him.

“So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the “missionary” stores, formed a distinct political party, called the “down-town” party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

“Kalākaua valued the commercial and industrial prosperity of his kingdom highly. … He freely gave his personal efforts to the securing of a reciprocity treaty with the United States, and sought the co-operation of that great and powerful nation, because he was persuaded it would enrich, or benefit, not one class, but, in a greater or less degree, all his subjects.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

The Hawaiian League (aka Committee of Thirteen, Committee of Public Safety and Annexation Club) were unhappy with the rule of Kalākaua and used threats to force the king to adopt a new constitution.

With firearms in hand, in 1887 members of the Hawaiian League presented King Kalākaua with a new constitution. Kalākaua signed the constitution under threat of use of force. (hawaiibar-org)

The opposition used the threat of violence to force the Kalākaua to accept a new constitution that stripped the monarchy of executive powers and replaced the cabinet with members of the businessmen’s party.  (archives-gov)

The Hawaiian League came into control of the Honolulu Rifles (made of about 200 armed men.)  In June 1887, the Hawaiian League used the Rifles to force King Kalākaua to enact a new Constitution.  (Kukendall)

As a result, the new constitution earned the nickname, The Bayonet Constitution.

On July 1, Kalākaua asked his entire cabinet to resign.

The Constitution of 1887 was a revision of the constitution of 1864, just as the latter was a revision of the constitution of 1852. In the revision, the main objects sought were to take from the king the greater part of the power exercised by him under the constitution of 1864 and to make him in effect a ceremonial figure somewhat like the sovereign of Great Britain.  (ksbe-edu)

The Bayonet Constitution greatly curtailed the monarch’s power, making him a mere figurehead; it placed executive power in the hands of a cabinet whose members could no longer be dismissed by the monarch but only by the legislature; it provided for election of the House of Nobles, formerly appointed by  the monarch.  (hawaiibar-org)

As to voting rights, it extended the vote to non-citizen, foreign residents of European and American background (Asians were excluded), thereby ending Native Hawaiian majority rule in the legislature. And it required that voters and candidates for the legislature meet high property ownership or income requirements.  (hawaiibar-org)

This requirement excluded two-thirds of the formerly eligible Native Hawaiians from voting. For those who could still vote, they first had to swear allegiance to the Bayonet Constitution.  (hawaiibar-org)

“… the King asked the Diplomatic Representatives present to name a Cabinet for him which they declined to do, provided   Mr Green was allowed to do so for himself.”

“The following is the Cabinet selected by Mr Green, which has been approved by the King and they have entered upon their official duties: WL Green, Minister of Finance and Premier; Godfrey Brown, Minister of Foreign Affairs; LA Thurston, Minister of the Interior; and CV Ashford, Attorney General” (the Hawaiian Gazette, July 5, 1887)

Kalākaua signed the document July 6, 1887, despite arguments over the scope of the changes. It created a constitutional monarchy like that of the United Kingdom.

In addition, it placed the executive power, as a practical matter, in the hands of a cabinet appointed by the king but responsible to the legislature; changed the character of the legislature by making the nobles as well as the representatives elective, by redefining the qualifications of nobles, representatives and electors; and made it less easy for the king to exercise a personal influence over members of the legislature.  (ksbe-edu)

The king’s authority as commander-in-chief of the military forces was modified by a new clause providing that “no military or naval force shall be organized except by the authority of the Legislature.”

LA Thurston touched briefly on this subject in his account of the Revolution of 1887: “An allegation has been made that the 1887 constitution was not legally enacted … Unquestionably the constitution was not in accordance with law; neither was the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Both were revolutionary documents, which had to be forcibly effected and forcibly maintained.”  (kuykendall)

On July 30, 1889, Robert William Wilcox led a rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 had left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

By the evening, Wilcox became a prisoner and charged with high treason by the government.  He was tried for treason, but acquitted by the jury.

Two years later, Kalākaua retired to Waikīkī.  His health began to fail by 1890 and under the advice of his physician he traveled to San Francisco, where he was given a warm welcome. “A title was a title, and (the Americans) enjoyed him as a personality.” (Tabrah))

Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891, at the age 54, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  Kalākaua, Hawaiʻi’s last King, is said to have uttered his last words: “Tell my people I tried.”

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, King Kalakaua, Hawaiian Constitution, Wilcox Rebellion, Committee of Safety, Bayonet Constitution, Honolulu Rifles, Wilcox

July 3, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Royal Guard

Prior to becoming a US territory, Hawaiʻi’s modern army consisted of a royal household guard and militia units.

By the 1860s, the Hawaiian military had been reduced to the Royal Guard, a unit assigned to guard the sovereign.  They were also known as the Household Guard, Household Troops, Queen’s Guard, King’s Own and Queen’s Own – they guarded the king and queen and the treasury and participated in state occasions.

The organization was quartered in ʻIolani Barracks (Halekoa.) (Built in 1871 (before the Palace,) the Barracks was located on a site now occupied by the State Capitol behind ʻIolani Palace across Hotel Street, formerly Palace Walk.  In 1965, the coral block building was dismantled piece-by-piece and reassembled on the Palace grounds.)

The Guard was an elite group of 60-men from which the King’s body guards were drawn, with a heritage which extended far back into Hawaiʻi’s history.

In 1873, King Lunalilo became ill and was convalescing and regaining temporarily part of his lost strength at Waikīkī.  At that time, the Guards mutinied – not against the King, but rather, unanimously against their drill master Captain Joseph Jajczay, a Hungarian.

Shortly after, at the request of the king, a delegation of three of the mutineers went out to see him at Waikīkī; he told them they must submit to orders and trust to his clemency.  The mutineers obeyed his order to stack arms, but they stayed in the barracks, instead of going to their homes as they were expected to do.

While some reports suggest the mutiny was triggered because the drill-master was very strict and planned to punish some of the men for a breach of duty, other reports suggest otherwise.

One report noted, “During the reign of Lunalilo a mutiny occurred among the Household Guard which was then occupying the old stone barracks now used by the United States Army Quarter Masters Department. The men mutinied over the kind of poi being issued to them as rations and defied the authority of the king to make them obey orders until new poi was given them.”   (The Independent, March 13, 1902)

“Two companies of volunteers, the Honolulu Rifles and the Hawaiian Calvary, some forth men in all, were called out but were given nothing to do beyond serving as a rather ineffectual guard for parts of two days.”  (Kuykendall)

After further negotiation, the mutineers obeyed the king’s order. Lunalilo then issued a decree disbanding the Household Troops and the kingdom was thus left without any regular organized military force.

But Lunalilo died a year later, and the newly-elected king, Kalākaua, restored the army, and named it the Household Guard.  (It was reported Kalākaua sympathized and sided with the mutineers and advised and instigated them.)

In 1893, the Provisional government disbanded the guards and used the Barracks for munitions storage.

It is unclear how many soldiers made up the Hawaiian army.  Some suggest the 60 Household Guards was the total strength.

Kuykendall put the Hawaiian army at 272; this is consistent with the Blount report that noted an affidavit by Nowlein, commander of the palace troops that put its strength at 272 (with an additional local police force of 224.)

The memory and legacy of the Royal Guard lives on through two venues.  In 1916, the US Army’s 32nd Regiment was first organized on Oʻahu.  At its activation, it was known as “The Queen’s Own” Regiment, a title bestowed by the last queen of Hawaiʻi, Liliʻuokalani.

In addition, the Royal Guard of the Hawaiʻi National Guard is an Air National Guard ceremonial unit which re-enacts the royal bodyguards of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

The unit, created in 1962, is made up of Hawaiian resident Hawaii Air National Guardsmen, who are either full Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian ancestry. The current unit is ceremonial unit only and serves the Governor for official State functions and other public functions.

The unit is structured in the same way as the original organization. The governing body, or “Na Koa Hoomalu Kini O Ka Moi” (King’s Body Guards), is composed of five men elected by the general membership. The five men, in turn, select the “Kapena Moku” (Commander of Troops).

The impact of the re-creation of the Royal Guard on the community was best described by Hawaiʻi’s Governor, John A. Burns when he said, “The traditions of the past are, to me, means by which we gain strength to meet the trials of the present and the future.”  (ngef-org)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Iolani Palace, Royal Guard, Hawaii

July 2, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh’s Visit to the Islands

Prince Alfred, the fourth child and second son of Queen Victoria and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the Prince Consort, was born at Windsor Castle and was second in the line of succession behind his elder brother, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.

Alfred was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle on 6 September 1844. He was given the names Alfred Ernest Albert, although was always known to the family as “Affie”.

Alfred expressed a wish to join the navy and in accordance with this he passed the entrance examination in August 1858, and was appointed as midshipman in HMS Euryalus at the age of fourteen.

On the abdication of King Otto of Greece, in 1862, Prince Alfred was selected to succeed him, but the British government blocked plans for him to ascend the Greek throne, largely due to the fact that the Queen strongly opposed the idea.

He therefore remained in the navy, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on February 24. 1863, serving under Count Gleichen on HMS Racoon, and captain on February 23, 1866, being then appointed to the command of the frigate HMS Galatea.

On May 24, 1866, Alfred was created Duke of Edinburgh and Earl of Ulster and Earl of Kent by his mother Queen Victoria.  (English Monarchs)

“In the year 1869 the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred of England, arrived in the harbor of Honolulu [on July 21], being in command of Her Britannic Majesty’s ship-of-war Galatea. As soon as the king learned of the duke’s presence he made special preparations for his reception …”

“… and for his better accommodation on shore he assigned for his use the residence of the late Kekuanaoa, who died in November of the preceding year.” (Liliʻuokalani)

A “large number of Hawaiians men, women and children amounting to some thousands, visited H. B. H. the Duke of Edinburgh, each bringing a present, in accordance with an ancient custom among the people called hookupu.”

“Many of the presents were of value, while others were only valuable as showing the good feeling of the donors towards His Majesty’s Guest.” (Hawaiian Gazette. August 4, 1869)

“I gave a grand luau at my Waikiki residence, to which were invited all those connected with the government, indeed, all the first families of the city, whether of native or foreign birth. …”

“Major JH Wodehouse, so long the ambassador of Great Britain at Honolulu, had just arrived with Mrs. Wodehouse; and they were of the invited guests, the prince specially inviting them to drive out to my house with him. I suppose the feast would be styled a breakfast in other lands, for it was to begin at eleven o’clock in the forenoon.”

“The sailor-prince mounted the driver’s box of the carriage, and taking the reins from that official, showed himself an expert in the management of horses. … Kalama, widow of Kamehameha III, drove out to Waikiki in her own carriage of state”.  (Liliʻuokalani)

“The drivers of these carriages wore the royal feather shoulder-capes, and the footmen were also clad in like royal fashion. It was considered one of the grandest occasions in the history of those days, and all passed off as becoming the high birth and commanding position of our visitor.”

“The guests were received with every mark of courtesy by my husband and myself, as well as by His Majesty Kamehameha V, who was one of the first arrivals.”

“When the prince entered, he was met by two very pretty Hawaiian ladies, who advanced and, according to the custom of our country, decorated him with leis or long pliable wreaths of flowers suspended from the neck.” (Liliʻuokalani)

“As Mrs. Bush, considered one of the most beautiful women in the Hawaiian Islands, advanced, and proceeded to tie the Bowery garland about the neck of the prince, he seemed perhaps a bit confused at the novel custom …”

“… but, submitting with the easy grace of a gentleman, he appeared to be excessively pleased with the flowers and with the expression of friendly welcome conveyed to him by the act.”

“Balls, picnics, and parties followed this day of enjoyment; and the prince gave an entertainment in return at his own house, which was attended by my husband and myself, and by most of the distinguished persons in the city.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“The day of departure for the Galatea arrived; and the prince called on me to express the pleasure he had taken during his visit, and the regrets he felt at leaving us.”

“On this occasion he presented me with an armlet emblematic of his profession; it was of solid gold, a massively wrought chain made after the pattern of a ship’s cable, with anchor as a pendant.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“On Monday last, the Galatea sailed for Japan. The Duke of Edinburgh was accompanied to the wharf by His Majesty, attended by his Staff. The parting between His Majesty and the Duke was most cordial.”

“Large numbers of people had assembled on the wharf to see the Duke embark, and as he stepped into his barge, many rushed forward with wreaths, bouquets and flowers, throwing them into the barge and over the Duke, until His Royal Highness was quite covered.” (Hawaiian Gazette. August 4, 1869)

“We have met once since those days, at the Queen’s Jubilee, during my visit to London in 1887. Our past acquaintance was cordially recognized by the prince, who was then my escort on a state occasion, my nearest neighbor on the other hand being the present Emperor of Germany.” (Lili‘uokalani)

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Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Liliuokalani, Queen Victoria, Duke of Edinburgh, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Alfred, Earl of Ulster, Earl of Kent

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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