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May 4, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Gaspee Affair

The British government had a crushing debt incurred in winning the French and Indian War. It needed money, and collecting customs duties was one way of getting it.

In 1764, the British Parliament passed the Sugar Act, a tax on sugar, and the British Admiralty bought six ships ‘of Marblehead design’ to enforce it.

Among the first of these vessels was the schooner St. John, commanded by Lieutenant Hill. She arrived in 1764 and was immediately regarded as an enemy to the commerce of the Colony and her every movement watched.

Other war-ships became more or less embroiled with the Rhode Islanders, and the trouble increased as they persisted sending officers to board American ships, inspect the crew, and seize sailors from Rhode Island merchantmen.

A brig, just arrived at home after a long voyage, expected eagerly by those who had relatives and friends among her crew was stopped when in sight of land by the English war vessel Maidstone, and her entire crew seized.

In retaliation about five hundred men of Newport seized one of the Maidstone’s boats, dragged it through the streets of the town and burned it on the common in front of the court house, while a crowd, composed of the major part of the inhabitants of Newport, witnessed and applauded the deed.  The St. John and Liberty were burned.

The Gaspee, a schooner of eight guns, with Lieutenant Dudingston in command, arrived in Narragansett Bay in the spring of 1772 to carry on the work for which the St. John and the Liberty had proved ineffectual. 

By 1772 the Gaspee had become a daily nuisance in Narragansett Bay because her crew had an incentive to collect as much customs duty as possible: They shared in it.

A letter exchange began between Rhode Island’s elected Governor, Joseph Wanton, and the captain of HMS Gaspee, Lieutenant Dudingston. The earliest exchange of letters (April 6, 1772) reveals the colonists’ frustrations with Dudingston’s actions, as well as a dispute regarding whether he has the authority to operate in Narragansett Bay.

Rhode Island was fed up with the Gaspee; so much so that on May 20, 1772, Gov. Joseph Wanton wrote a letter to the British secretary of state complaining about her. He argued the Gaspee’s crew didn’t have the right to seize a quantity of rum and try the owner outside of the colony of Rhode Island. On top of that, they insulted the colonists with ‘the most abusive and contumelious language.’

Lieutenant Dudingston continued his harassment, infuriating merchants and threatening to cripple the economy. Eventually Governor Wanton appealed to the Earl of Hillsborough, England’s Secretary of State for the colonies, for assistance. However Dudingston had pushed Rhode Islanders too far.

Her captain’s persistent harassment of Rhode Island merchants led to a group of Rhode Islanders to retaliate. The attack is the first major armed act of rebellion against the British crown, and the subsequent investigation prompted the colonies to consider united action against England.

On  the morning of June 9, 1772, Hannah, a medium-sized packet boat captained by Benjamin Lindsey, began sailing north from Newport to Providence.

As expected, Lieutenant Dudingston aboard Gaspee gave chase and the two ships worked their way up Narragansett Bay. About six miles from Providence, Hannah tacked across shallow water, and Gaspee, a much larger ship, followed and ran aground.  Hannah continued on to Providence, leaving Gaspee stranded on Namquit Point.

They concluded the Gaspee would be grounded until well after midnight when the rising tide could free her and now saw a way to rid Rhode Island’s merchants of the ship commanded by the much-hated William Dudingston.

Brown ordered eight longboats delivered to Fenner’s Wharf, their oars and oarlocks muffled. He sent a drummer around town to announce the grounding of the Gaspee.  Anyone interested in destroying that troublesome vessel should go to James Sabin’s house, right next to Fenner’s Wharf.

Ephraim Bowen, about 19 years old, answered the call. He grabbed his father’s gun, powder and shot and found a crowd at Sabin’s. His friend, 18-year-old Joseph Bucklin, a tavern-keeper’s son, had arrived, too.  Later that evening, men gather at Sabin’s Tavern in Providence and plan an assault.

On that moonless night, more than 100 Sons of Liberty silently rowed out in a line of longboats to the Gaspee;

Dudingston leaned over the starboard gunwale in his white shirt and demanded, “Who goes there?”

Capt. Abraham Whipple replied, ‘I want to come on board.’

The return was, ‘Stand off, you can’t come on board.’

On which Capt. Whipple roared out, ‘I am the sheriff of the County of Kent; I am come for the commander of this vessel, and have him I will, dead or alive. Men, spring to your oars!’

Joseph Bucklin, standing on the main seat of the longboat, realized he had a shot at Dudingston.

“Ephe, reach me your gun and I can kill that fellow,’ he said to Ephraim Bowen. Bucklin then fired at Lt. William Dudingston, hitting him in the arm and lower abdomen. He exclaimed, “I have killed the rascal.” (Dudingston fell back, but was only wounded.)

Today, Rhode Islanders celebrate that shot as the ‘First Shot of the Revolutionary War.’

Soon after all the party were ordered to depart, leaving one boat for the leaders of the expedition, who soon set the vessel on fire and consumed her to the water’s edge.

The following morning, Sessions learned of the attack and began an investigation, taking testimony from two of the Gaspee crew.

On June 12, 1772, Governor Wanton issued a proclamation offering a reward to anyone who can offer information regarding the Gaspee burning.

In August 1772, with the investigation making little progress, King George III issued a proclamation offering rewards of up to £1000 to anyone who can supply the names of those responsible for the destruction of the ship and the injury to its commanding officer.

He names five officials from different colonies to carry out his orders. They are known as the Gaspee Commission.

With his proclamation, King George III also sends instructions for the Gaspee Commissioners. They include a command to send any accused attackers to England for trial.

From September 1772 to June 22, 1773, the Commission conducts its investigation, issuing warrants and taking testimony from Gaspee crew and people believed to have knowledge of the attack.

After ten months, the Commissioners end their investigation. In their final report to King George III, they explain that due to contradictory evidence and coerced testimony, they are unable to name any of the perpetrators of the crime.

The burning of the Gaspee is celebrated in Rhode Island as an important early strike against the tyranny of the crown. However it was the King’s threat to try the accused in England, rather than on native soil by a jury of their peers, that had the most lasting effect.

Soon after, understanding that the colonies’ many grievances are best addressed with a “unity of action,” a meeting of deputies from every colony is proposed. These deputies become the First Continental Congress.

Click the following link to a general summary about the Gaspee Affair:

Click to access Gaspee-Affair.pdf

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: American Revolution Tagged With: America250, Gaspee Affair, Gaspee, American Revolution

May 3, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Waipuhia

Huli ae au e nana ia Waipuhia, ua moni ia kona mau huna wai e ka makani ; me he lauoho kalole la i luhe i ka makani, i kiaweawe makalii i ka lau o ke kawelu, ka puaki i ka pua o ka ahihi o Malailua. (Kamakau, Ka Nūpepa Kū‘oko‘a, July 13, 1865)

I turned and looked at Waipuhia; its fine droplets of water were being absorbed by the wind. Like straight hair drooping in the wind, it streamed finely down the leaves of the kawelu grass and gathered on the blossoms of the ‘āhihi of Malailua.  (Kamakau; Cultural Surveys)

A story is told in the legend of two children who lived on two hills, one in Nuʻuanu and one in Kalihi.

The boy would visit his playmate on the neighboring hill.

When the girl’s godmother, who was the mist of the valley, saw how happy this made the girl, she enveloped the boy in a mist so he could not leave and return home.

The boy’s parents thought that the boy was dead and went on with their lives.

However, the parents angered the “Lady of the Ferns” a goddess of Kalihi Pass, when they collected lehua, sacred to this goddess, for their lei and forgot to make an offering.

The goddess summoned a horrendous storm to strike the family on its hill.

The cries of his family woke the boy from his spell and he tried to return home, but the lady created a great wind that picked him up and killed him. When the boy did not return, the girl began to weep.

“… lo! Her tears were wafted into the air. They rose in a silvery mist, and to this day the maiden weeps and the mist of her tears rises to caress the spirit voice of her youthful love.”  (Raphaelson; Cultural Surveys)

Waipuhia (blown water,) near the mauka boundary of Nuʻuanu Valley, are more commonly called the “Upside Down Waterfalls.”

At normal times (with typical tradewinds,) the falls only appear after a rain, and the water from the falls never reaches the base of the cliff; it is “blown” up by the winds and “in midair, it suddenly changes its course and rises upward to a cloud of mist”.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Nuuanu, Waipuhia, Upside Down Waterfalls

May 2, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Minoru Inaba

Minoru Inaba, the third of nine children, was born on February 20, 1904, in Holualoa, Kana. His parents, Hatsuyo and Zentaro Inaba, were immigrants.

“I think they came here during the latter part of the 1890s. Mother came to Kona with my father – that is, Kitao – and my stepfather came from Papaikou to Kana. He was one of the contract laborers in Papaikou.”

“My father was Zentaro Inaba. That’s my stepfather. My mother was Hatsuyo Inaba. Her maiden name was Hatsuyo Miyamoto. Now, my real father, when I was very young, left for the Mainland. And subsequent to that, my [step]father came to Kona and married my mother. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know my real father. Ever since my childhood, my father was Zentaro Inaba.”

There were nine of us. Seven boys and two girls. The oldest in my family is my sister. She’s Mrs. Ikeda. Then came Albert. By the way, he was the first principal of Japanese extraction in the state. At that time, of course, it was a territory. He became principal of the Honaunau School. Then he moved to Molokai. During his latter years, he became principal of the Molokai High and Elementary School.”

“Then, I’m the third in the family. Below me there are six. Now, right below me is my sister Fukumi. She was teaching at Pahala. … Then comes Yoshio, who’s an engineer. He served, at one time, for the county as a county engineer under Jimmy Kealoha, who was at that time the executive officer of the County of Hawaii. Now, the office is called the mayor’s office.”

“Then comes Norman Inaba. He’s in business in Honolulu. He has a industrial loan company and also a realty business. Then, next comes Goro, who is now at Holualoa. He has a service station and runs the hotel that mother and father built back in 1926.  Then comes Futoshi. He’s in contracting in Hilo. Then, next comes Jimmy Inaba, who’s an auditor.”

Minoru’s parents “built that hotel – Kona Hotel – in 1926. So, they were running the hotel. … Father used to cook, and mother used to clean the rooms and so on. And they had a girl there that did the rooms. Mother did the laundry and things like that. And father did the cooking.”

“Who were the people who used to stay at the hotel? … Oh, most of them were salesmen … Travelling salesmen. Then, we’d have tourists come in once in a while. Because, at that time, the only hotels were the Kona Inn and Manago Hotel in Kona. And, of course, my folks’ hotel.”

“I guess his cooking ability was the reason they opened the hotel. The hotel food was western and Father was quite a cook. He always served soup which was well liked by the customers … beef soup.”  (Minoru Inaba, Social History)

Minoru attended English and Japanese-language school in Holualoa. In 1925, he was one of five students in Konawaena High School’s first graduating class. During his youth, he was active in kenbu (Japanese interpretive dances performed with the aid of a sword), baseball and football.

He worked on the family coffee farm, “there was no other industry in Kona except coffee farming, and the sugar plantation, for a while. And of course, ranching, they had from way back. There was no tourism. No other businesses except coffee farming in Kona.”

“We picked coffee during the day, and then in the late afternoon, grind the coffee so that it could be dried the following morning. In those days, we used to have a coffee platform. We’d spread the coffee out on the platform, and if it looked like rain, we had to push the coffee up to the edge of the platform and cover it with galvanized iron.”

“Then, later on, somebody thought of an idea where the platform would be covered by a moving contraption, where you could move the whole roof on a track. When it rained, you just push it back. When it was sunny, you’d push it out so that the coffee would dry.”

“You know, when you in the seventh grade like that, to carry one bag of coffee was quite a chore. And load three bags on a donkey and come up the trail. When it rain, the donkey would slip on the trail, fall. Had to unload the coffee, get the donkey up, load it again. I know, many times, I used to cry.” (Minoru Inaba)

Until 1925, Minoru took on many jobs – helping on the family coffee farm, doing canefield work, driving a taxi and school bus, working at a sisal mill, working at the telephone exchange, and doing postal work at Holualoa.

Later, Minoru attended the University of Hawaii, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1929. In subsequent years, he served as teacher, counselor, coach and vice-principal. He retired in 1968.

“As time went on, I think there’s been a change. It’s vastly different from what it is today than what it was before. As I said, I think, back when I was counselor, they respected law and order more than they do now. They had little more respect for teachers and the elders.”

“But I wouldn’t say that of every youngster today, but I’m speaking in general terms, now. You don’t have that kind of respect that the early youngsters had for their teachers and their elders today.” (Inaba)

Inaba’s 38 years as a teacher, coach, and vice principal at Konawaena High School from the 1920s made him a respected figure. “He had the respect of two generations. He taught fathers and children,” said Kona rancher and former County Councilman Sherwood Greenwell. (Thompson)

“(A)fter having been with the Department of Education for 38 years, I thought maybe I was due for a good rest and do the things that I wanted to do like fishing, things like this. But it didn’t turn out that way.”

“After I retired, in fact, the year that I retired, people approached me, the community people, and asked me if I would not run for elected office.”

“Not having had any experience, I said definitely no, I’m not interested in running for office but upon so many people coming to my home and insisting I run, I finally decided to run and in 1968 I ran for the office of representative from our district (and served for 10-years).” (Inaba, Social History of Kona)

“What Inaba had done as an educator to build individuals, he did for Kona’s physical facilities as a legislator. Inaba obtained money for a new Kona Hospital, to expand Honokohau Harbor, to drill a new water well, making a community water system possible.”

“I can remember the days (before the well) when we all had water tanks in Kona,” said Marnie Herkes of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce. Inaba brought money to his district “unfailingly,” Greenwell said. (Thompson) Inaba died June 6, 2002.

Here’s a link to a Kona Historical Society video that includes Minoru Inaba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE2bnqVB_Q0

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Prominent People, Schools Tagged With: Hawaii, Kona, Konawaena, Minoru Inaba

April 30, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nationality

Nativity relates to the time, place and circumstances of a person’s birth.

According to the US Census, “Nativity status refers to whether a person is native or foreign born. The native-born population includes anyone who was a citizen or national at birth.”

People “who were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a US Island Area (US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,) or abroad of a citizen parent or parents, are defined as native.”

‘Citizenship’ refers to the legal relation between a person and a state, as recognized in international law. This status is often also referred to as ‘nationality’ (‘citizenship’ and ‘nationality’ are generally used as synonyms.)

‘Nationality’ means the legal bond between a person and a State and does not indicate the person’s ethnic origin.  Everyone has the right to a nationality.  (European Convention on Nationality)

At one time, jus sanguinis (right of blood) was the sole means of determining nationality in Asia and Europe (where it is still widespread in Central and Eastern Europe.) An individual belonged to a family, a tribe or a people, not to a territory. It was a basic tenet of Roman law.

Jus soli (right of the soil), also known as birthright citizenship, is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognized to any individual born in the territory of the related state.

At times, exceptions limit citizenship, typically when a child was born to a parent in the diplomatic or consular service of another state, on a mission to the state in question or a child born to enemy forces engaged in hostile occupation of the country’s territory.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, nation-states commonly divided themselves between those granting nationality on the grounds of jus soli and those granting it on the grounds of jus sanguinis.  (princeton-edu)

Countries that have acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness will grant nationality to otherwise stateless persons who were born on their territory, or on a ship or plane flagged by the country.

Citizenship is a multidimensional concept that means membership in a specific nation-state and the formal rights and obligations that this membership entails. Citizenship can also be understood as a status and an identity.

One of the earliest laws in Hawaiʻi dealt with citizenship; it was part of King Kamehameha III’s Statute Laws 1845-1846.  The Chapter for that law was headed: “Of Subjects and Foreigners” and the specific Article was labeled “Aliens, Denizens and Natives.”

Section III. All persons born within the jurisdiction of this kingdom, whether of alien foreigners, of naturalized or of native parents, and all persons born abroad of a parent native of this kingdom, and afterwards coming to reside in this, shall be deemed to owe native allegiance to His Majesty. All such persons shall be amenable to the laws of this kingdom as native subjects.  All persons born abroad of foreign parents, shall, unless duly naturalized, as in this article prescribed, be deemed aliens, and treated as such, pursuant to the laws.  (Ka Huli Ao Digital Archives – Punawaiola-org)

Hawaiʻi followed the Anglo-American common law rule of “jus soli” (without any stated exception;) those born in the country and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens.  Subsequent interpretation of the laws and practices affirmed who were Hawaiian citizens and what rights and obligations they possessed.

In 1850, HW Whitney, born in Hawaiʻi of foreign parents, asked the Minister of the Interior, John Young II, about his status. The question was referred to Asher B Bates, legal adviser to the Government, who replied that, “not only the Hawaiian Statutes but the Law of Nations, grant to an individual born under the Sovereignty of this Kingdom, an inalienable right, to all of the rights and privileges of a subject.”  (Hanifin)

In 1856, the Kingdom’s Supreme Court decided Naone v. Thurston, recognizing that persons born in Hawaiʻi of foreign parents were Hawaiian subjects.

On January 21, 1868, the Minister of the Interior for the Hawaiian Kingdom, His Excellency Ferdinand Hutchison, stated the criteria for Hawaiian nationality:

“In the judgment of His Majesty’s Government, no one acquires citizenship in this Kingdom unless he is born here, or born abroad of Hawaiian parents (either native or naturalized,) during their temporary absence from the kingdom, or unless having been the subject of another power, he becomes a subject of this kingdom by taking the oath of allegiance.”

Subsequent laws through the Republic, Territory and State provide that “All persons born or naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, and subject to the jurisdiction of the Republic, are citizens thereof.”

Why is this discussion important?

There is a movement in the Islands to restore a nation.  That nation was created with the help of a lot of people, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian.  That nation’s laws and actions stated those born in the islands were citizens of the nation – whether from Hawaiian or non-Hawaiian parents.  Others became naturalized citizens.

Why is the discussion for restoration of the nation limited to native Hawaiians, when there were many citizens of other ethnicities who belonged to the nation at the time of the overthrow?

A nation was overthrown – not a race.

However, in the recent nation building exercise, first there was Kau Inoa (registration of Native Hawaiians in Hawaiʻi and abroad who will be a part of the new Hawaiian nation and receive benefits provided by the new government) and later Kanaʻiolowalu (registration on an Official Roll and joining together to rebuild a Hawaiian nation.)

The 1890 Hawaiʻi Census (the latest prior to the overthrow) noted 89,990 people in the Islands (40,622 Native and Half-castes; 7,495 Hawaiian born, Foreign; and 41,873 Foreign Born.)  This only counted citizens present in the Islands at the time; it did not include citizens living elsewhere.

Nationality (and a nation) is not about race or ethnicity – it is about citizenship in a country.  Hawaiʻi citizenship was/is made up of a variety of races.

A lot of non-Hawaiians were born in the Islands, or are descendants of people who were born in the Islands.  By laws and practice, they are Hawaiian citizens.

All Hawaiian citizens lost their nation … Hawaiian citizens with their varying ethnicities. Why aren’t all citizens included in the discussion and process of nation restoration?

The image shows an unnamed Passport, symbolic of nationality (irrespective of a person’s race.)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaiian Citizenship

April 29, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mākao

Macao, also spelled Macau, is one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, the other is Hong Kong.

Macao lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong to the east, bordered by Guangdong Province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.

Macao was the gateway for all Americans going to China to trade legally.  It was the first stop upon arriving in China and the last stop before returning home.  Macao became the center for agents arranging American trade.  (Hao, Wang)

Shortly after the arrival of Captain James Cook and his crews in 1778, the Chinese found their way to Hawaiʻi.  Some suggest Cook’s crew gave information about the “Sandwich Islands” when they stopped in Macao in December 1779, near the end of the third voyage.

In 1788, British Captain John Meares commanded two vessels, the Iphigenia and the Felice, with crews of Europeans and 50-Chinese.  Shortly thereafter, in 1790, the American schooner Eleanora, with Simon Metcalf as master, reached Maui from Macao using a crew of 10-Americans and 45-Chinese.  (Nordyke & Lee)

Crewmen from China were employed as cooks, carpenters and artisans, and Chinese businessmen sailed as passengers to America. Some of these men disembarked in Hawai’i and remained as new settlers.

The growth of the Sandalwood trade with the Chinese market (where mainland merchants brought cotton, cloth and other goods for trade with the Hawaiians for their sandalwood – who would then trade the sandalwood in China) opened the eyes and doors to Hawaiʻi.

Macao links to Kamehameha I and Hawaiʻi’s first flag.  Hawaiʻi was gradually pulled into the international trading networks, and it was not long before it was discovered that sandalwood there sold well in China. Large qualities of that wood were consumed in China each year for the making of incense.  (Hao, Wang)

A few years after Kamehameha consolidated his rule over the Islands, vessels engaged in trade with Manila and Macao started to arrive (whose captains assured Kamehameha and the chiefs that the fragrant sandalwood was of great value, and was much in demand in Macao and all other parts of China.)

Therefore, Kamehameha quickly commanded that the mountains of Oʻahu be searched for it, and on being found and brought in it was declared by the foreigners that Hawaii possessed the fragrant wood.

Traders took the sandalwood to Canton and Macao, and brought back various kinds of cloth prints, cotton, mixed piece goods and clothing.  (Kamakau, Thrum)

“The King, wanting a ship to sail to China to sell Sandalwood, searched along with John Young, Isaac Davis, and Captain Alexander Adams of Kalihi, who is still living, for a Flag for the ship. It was a man-o-war, called the Forrester, carrying sixteen guns. Kamehameha I owned the ship.”    (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, January 1, 1862)

“When the Flag was completed, the ship sailed to Macao. The Flag was puzzled over, and was not accepted as a National Flag. The ship was charged exorbitantly for harbor fees, the Sandalwood was sold for a loss, and the ship returned to Hawaiʻi.”

“The King learned of this loss, and he said that a tax should be placed on the harbor of Honolulu like those of foreign lands. That is when duty was first charged for the harbor.  (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, January 1, 1862)

Hawaiʻi has further links to Macao – an ahupuaʻa in Koʻolauloa on Oʻahu is named such – however, it’s spelled Mākao.

Ships traveling from China to Hawaiʻi often sailed out of Macao near Canton, and the name was associated with the former Chinese farming community.  Chinese farmers lived and grew rice there.  (Ulukau)

The earliest written account found was recorded in 1828 by Levi Chamberlain, who journeyed around the island of O‘ahu to inspect the newly forming school system in the Kingdom. Chamberlain noted:

“… I commenced the examination of the schools belonging to Punaluʻu & the two adjoining districts, three in number; which occupied the whole of the forenoon. At one o’ clock pm we were ready to set forward.”

“The first place at which we stopped was Kaluanui, where was a small school which we examined. Here the burdens of our baggage-carriers were increased by the present of a baked pig, some potatoes & taro.”

“Leaving this place we walked on to Mākao a place so named from the town of Macao in Canton, as the head man told me, on account of its being a place where much tapa is made.”  (Chamberlain, HHS)

“Canton & the Chinese empire is by the natives called Mākao, for this reason: Vessels which arrive here from Canton usually anchor at Macao and there take in their cargo which is sent down from Canton.”

“As the ships are commonly spoken of as having come from Macao, the natives, therefore, from the facility with which they can pronounce the word, it being similar to one which they have in their own language, have given the name of Macao to the whole country.” (Chamberlain, HHS)

As trade expanded, Hawaiians went to Macao and Canton, and Chinese went to Hawaiʻi and the US from Macao, which impacted both places. Hawaiʻi became a major provisioning depot for ships sailing the Pacific, as well as a source of sandalwood to market in China.

By the 1830s, American missionaries were active in both Hawaiʻi and Macao.  Macao, Hawaiʻi and Sino-American trade were so intertwined to each other that a change in one could have a corresponding affect on the others.  (Hao, Wang)

By the mid-1850s, the Chinese population in Koʻolauloa was growing, and many of the landowners and lessees leased their lands to Chinese for portions of their lo‘i kalo and kula, on which rice could be planted and irrigated. Between the 1870s to 1900, rice was the primary product of the land, followed by kalo.  (Maly)

In the late-1890s, Mākao was owned by Dr Albert B Carter (land in Mākao was previously owned by WC Lane.)  Carter had “retired from active practice as a physician and occupies nearly all of his time in practical scientific agriculture and systematic research.”

“… On his little plantation – it consists altogether of some five or six hundred acres of good, fertile land – the doctor raises almost everything imaginable ….”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 17, 1900)

“There are enough papaias (papayas) grown in Mākao to supply Honolulu steadily.  This refreshing fruit or vegetable is eaten as a melon, boiled as a squash, cooked into pies, fried into fritters, stewed into jam or preserved as sweet or sour pickles.  What the doctor’s family cannot devour proves a most fattening food for the porkers.” (Hawaiian Gazette, July 17, 1900)

When Carter’s wife died in 1903, Supreme Court Records (1908) note that about 45-acres of rice land (under lease to Wing Chong Wai Co,) 105-acres of kula and mountain land mauka of the rice land and about 26-acres known as the homestead at Mākao were in her estate.

“Mākao with its long low buildings and grove of cocoanuts, (is) the place looking as though it were going rapidly to rack and ruin. Here it was that Dr. Carter, scholar, dreamer and experimentalist, made his home until overtaken with the affliction which necessitated his movement elsewhere.”

“He sunk a fortune in Mākao and watched the complicated network of his schemes raveled and finally blown away by the gusts of fate.”  (Hawaiian Star, December 4, 1909)

“Adjacent to Mākao is Hauʻula, considered by many to be the prettiest spot on the Island of Oʻahu. Here are the government homesteads, peopled by happy families of Hawaiians, here are the famous falls of Kaliwaʻa, and here is as fine bathing as can be found In the Territory.”  (Hawaiian Star, December 4, 1909)

“The extension of the railway from Kahuku to Kahana has helped the district wonderfully. New houses are springing up, old ones have been repaired and houses long deserted are again peopled by families who forsook the country for town and who have come back to the land again.”

“There is a very good store at Hauʻula today and visitors can be put up very comfortably and at a reasonable rate by Mr Aubrey, the station agent and proprietor of the store.”  (Hawaiian Star, December 4, 1909)

DBEDT GIS data notes Mākao ahupuaʻa (and another small ahupuaʻa Kapaka) is a sliver between Hauʻula (N) and Kaluanui (S.) (Today, a Mormon Church is in the center of the coastal area of the Mākao ahupuaʻa – Hauʻula Elementary School is just to the north of Mākao.)

The image shows the Mākao ahupuaʻa in Koʻolauloa (Google Earth)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Place Names, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Koolauloa, Hauula, Kaluanui, Makao

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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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