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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Battle of Kalaeokaʻīlio

On April 19, 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.  The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies of British North America.

The first shot (“the shot heard round the world”) was fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington. The American militia was outnumbered and fell back; and the British regulars proceeded on to Concord.  Following this, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and it was signed by 56-members of the Congress (1776.)

The next eight years (1775-1783,) war was waging on the eastern side of the continent.  The main result was an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States (the war ended in 1873 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.)

In the Islands, over the centuries, the islands weren’t unified under single rule.  Leadership sometimes covered portions of an island, sometimes covered a whole island or groups of islands.  Island rulers, Aliʻi or Mōʻī, typically ascended to power through familial succession and warfare. In those wars, Hawaiians were killing Hawaiians; sometimes the rivalries pitted members of the same family against each other.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu (Hawaiʻi Island ruler,) from the very beginning of his reign, made repeated attempts to conquer the neighboring island of Maui.  He held portions of the Hāna district and the Kaʻuiki fort in 1775, when, in the war between Hawaiʻi and Maui, he commanded a raid in the Kaupō district.  (Thrum)

In 1775, war between Hawaiʻi and Maui broke out at Kaupō on the island of Maui; it was the first battle that the rising warrior Kamehameha took part in.

While Kalaniʻōpuʻu was at Hāna he sent his warriors to plunder the Kaupō people. Kahekili was king of Maui at that time, when Kahekili’s warriors met those of Kalaniʻōpuʻu at Kaupō, a battle developed between the two sides.

The Hawaiʻi forces at Hāna, apparently under the command of Kalaniʻōpuʻu in person, raided the Kaupō district (that still acknowledged the rule of Kahekili.) Taken by surprise and unprepared, the Kaupō people suffered great destruction of property, cruelty and loss of life at the hands of the Hawaiʻi soldiers.  (Fornander)

When Kahekili heard of this he sent two detachments of soldiers to the relief of Kaupō. A battle ensued between the Hawaiʻi and Maui forces near Kalaeokaʻīlio Point, it became known as the Battle of Kalaeokaʻīlio (“The Cape of the Dog” – also called the War of Kalaehohea.)

Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s army was routed and retreated to their fleet, near at hand, and barely a remnant escaped on board and returned to Hāna.

“Among the warriors on the Hawaiʻi side in this battle of “Kalaeokaʻīlio” the legends make honourable mention of the valour of Kekūhaupiʻo, whose fame as a warrior chief stood second to none of his time.”  (Fornander)

“Kamehameha, afterwards famous in history, (also) figured prominently in this battle as having gallantly supported Kekūhaupiʻo”.  (Thrum) Despite the courageous fighting of Kamehameha and Kekūhaupiʻo along with the other Hawai‘i Island warriors, the massive Maui army of Kahekili eventually forces the Hawai‘i Island warriors to flee the battlefield.

Kekūhaupiʻo was Kamehameha’s teacher in the ancient martial arts.  Kekūhaupiʻo was determined to give all his knowledge to his chiefly pupil, and he indeed did so.  This brought about the firm bond between Kekūhaupiʻo and the young Kamehameha.

Kamehameha became the most skillful of all the chiefs in the use of the spear. Captain George Vancouver later wrote that he once saw six spears hurled at Kamehameha all at the same time.  Kamehameha caught three with one hand as they flew at him. Two he broke by hitting them with a spear in his other hand. One he dodged.  (Williams)

Kekūhaupiʻo is arguably the one man most closely connected to Kamehameha I during Kamehameha’s formative years, while he developed his skills as a warrior, and through the early period of Kamehameha’s conquests.

Outnumbered and overpowered, after this severe repulse, Kalaniʻōpuʻu went back to Hawaiʻi and made preparations for a revengeful invasion. This occupied a whole year.  (Thrum)

Kalaniʻōpuʻu promised revenge and, in 1776, he again went to battle against Kahekili. This battle (known as the Battle of Sand Hills or Ahalau Ka Piʻipiʻi O Kakaniluʻa) was recorded as one of the most bloody. Unfortunately, Kalaniʻōpuʻu was not aware of the alliance between Kahekili and the O‘ahu warriors under Kahahana, the young O‘ahu chief; Kalaniʻōpuʻu lost again.

Although often defeated, Kalaniʻōpuʻu managed to hold the famous fort of Kaʻuiki in Hāna for more than twenty years.  (Alexander)  At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779,) Kalaniʻōpuʻu was the chief reigning over the Island of Hawaiʻi and Hāna, Maui.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu returned to Hawaiʻi and met with Cook on January 26, 1779, exchanging gifts, including an ʻahuʻula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (ceremonial feather helmet.)   Cook also received pieces of kapa, feathers, hogs and vegetables.

In return, Cook gave Kalaniʻōpuʻu a linen shirt and a sword; later on, Cook gave other presents to Kalaniʻōpuʻu, among which one of the journals mentions “a complete Tool Chest.”

After the departure of the Resolution and Discovery, Kalaniʻōpuʻu left the bay and passed to Kaʻū, the southern district of Hawaiʻi, having in his charge the young Kaʻahumanu. (Bingham)  Kalaniʻōpuʻu died in 1782; Kahekili died in 1794.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Blue Men

“Captain James Cook, who had been sent into the Pacific on a voyage of exploration by the King of England, discovered several islands which he named in honor of the Earl of Sandwich.”

“He later sailed northward and in March of the next year sighted the American coast in the neighborhood of the present Yaquina Bay. He thus became the first to make a contact between the Oregon country and Hawaii.”

“Cook was followed within a few years by vessels that engaged in trading furs from the Indians along the northwest coast of America which they sold in China. The captains of such ships were quick to learn the value of the Hawaiian Islands as a resting place and provisioning station.”

“Their custom was to stop there on the northward voyage, spend a season in trade, return to the islands for the winter, and afterwards sail back to the American coast to complete their cargo of furs before going to Canton.  (Clark)

“King Kamehameha, claiming the throne in 1810 after an internal power struggle, attempted to forge a united kingdom out of competing groups.. He decided upon. an outward-looking policy to cushion his country against foreigners by absorbing the European’s economy and Christianity.”

“The heart of this policy was to send out young men to learn western techniques and values through practical experience.  One place they migrated to was the Oregon Country, where Hawaiians had been in the crews of merchant vessels as early as 1788.”  (Dodds)

When the Americans entered the fur trade of the Pacific in 1788 they, like the British, stopped at the Hawaiian Islands.  (Clark)  The Hawaiians soon became a vital labor supply in the fur trade.  (Dodds)

“Loyal and docile, asking only food and clothing for compensation, the Hawaiians on one occasion saved Donald McKenzie from a surprise attack at Fort Walla Walla at the hands of his discontented Indian trappers.”

“The Hudson’s Bay Company and Nathaniel Wyeth also found the Kanakas most valuable as laborers, canoe men, sailors, gardeners, herders, and domestic servants, among other pursuits.”

“The missionaries, too, admired the islanders. The Methodists used them as blacksmiths, farm laborers, and kitchen help, and the Lees at one time proposed to import Hawaiian Christians as missionaries to their countrymen.”

“At the Whitman mission the Kanakas were also well received; and they worked in a variety of pursuits.  Both Methodist and American board workers found the Kanakas to be in an respects preferable to their Indian charges.”

“The Indians, in missionary eyes, were slow in emulating American agriculture and domestic science, but the Hawaiians were adaptable and hard working.” (Dodds)

In the nineteenth century the Hawaiians were known as Kanakas or ‘Blue Men.’  One theory for the ‘Blue Men’ name  is because of traditional tattooing, which appears blue in color. (Rogers)  Others suggest it was because they turned that color in the winter drizzles of the Pacific Northwest.  (Dodds)

The growing population of Hawaiian into the Oregon Country resulted in growing concerns.  Then, in 1845, the Oregon legislature addressed a bill designed to reduce the flow – it was called the Sandwich Islander Tax.

The intent was later disclosed, “For the taxation of the Sandwich Islanders, employed almost exclusively as servants and laborers, by the HB Company, and intended merely to annoy and embarass the gentlemen in charge of the said company.”  (Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1909)

However, on October 15, 1862, Oregon Governor Addison C Gibbs approved the law that had passed the House of Representations (October 8, 1862) and Senate (October 13, 1862) that stated:

“Employers of Hawaiian labor were taxed three dollars for those islanders already residents and five dollars for those who were to be introduced in the future.  After the organic law of 1848 created the territory of Oregon, Kanakas on several occasions applied for American citizenship.”  (Dodds)

“The final blow came in the passage of the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850, which gave to the emigrants 160 to 320 acres of free land (depending on their time of arrival), but which … excluded from its term blacks and Hawaiians, although not part-Indians.”

“After this rebuff most of the Kanakas returned to the Islands. more fortunate than other ethnic minorities, who had no place to go. In the end, in spite of the Hawaiians efforts to accommodate, racism had conquered assimilation.”  (Dodds)

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 8 Comments

The end of … “You’ve got mail!”

These Posts will continue (at least for a while) … the excerpts and full posts are and will continue to be at: www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.

However, the subscriptions and email notifications through MailChimp will end, soon.  This will not necessarily be a weaning process, more like cold turkey.

In the past, I have been charged varying amounts from MailChimp to send the email notification of the daily posts.  Prior to when I stopped (after 8 ½-years of posting), I paid between $20 and $40 per month.  That was fine.

When I recently restarted, the fee from MailChimp was a little over $50 per month.  Again, doable.

However, the challenge with my present subscription with MailChimp is that it covers 30,000 emails per month.  If I exceed that, it is an additional $10 per every additional 300 emails.

I have almost email 1,500 subscribers (and its growing daily); for a 30-day month, that is 45,000 emails per month.

For the past few weeks I have been reaching out to MailChimp trying to get something like my prior subscription rate – based on the number of subscribers, not the total number of emails.

To allow for more emails per month, the next level of service from MailChimp costs almost $300 per month. 

I do not have a reasonable resolution.

At one time, I considered monetizing these posts.  However, over the years it became clear to me that the goal was never about making money, it was about learning about the place that I live and sharing what I learn.

So, I am not going to charge – that is counter-productive and flies in the face of the whole intent.  I am also not going to ask for ‘donations’ – that is the same thing (so don’t send any money).

I concluded that I need to cancel the email subscription component of this process and cancel my relationship with MailChimp.

Nothing else really changes.

The excerpts and full posts are at: www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.  New posts are programed for publication at 12:01 am (HST) each day.

If you want to keep seeing daily historical posts from me, you will need to change your habit and go to that website (and not rely on the email reminder).

In addition, excerpts and links to the full posts are on:

The auto-posting to these other sites is not fail-safe.  Just this morning, both Facebook and LinkedIn did not get the message.  So, I manually posted there.

Again, if you really want to see these, the most assured way to get the latest is going to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.

If you are not used to going directly to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com, it is really simple:

  • Once you click the link, you will get to the home page.  The three most recent posts are there – on the left is today’s post, the middle is yesterday’s and the right has the post from day before.
  • Every day, the new post will fill the left position and the others will shift to the right.
  • The site has the ability to look at prior posts – go to “Archive” – and from there you see older posts and/or you can do a word search, depending on what you want to look for.

Over the years, I have seen that the Facebook algorithms support those that engage in the posts.

If you occasionally Like, Comment or otherwise engage, you are more likely to see future posts.  Those that simply read and move on have been known to have future posts not show up in their feed.

I am sorry about dropping this email service; I hope you understand.

Thanks,

Peter.

PS.  Again, if you want to continue to read the daily posts, I encourage you to go directly to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com (after 12:01 am (HST) each day for the latest post).

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sinking of the Two Carthaginians

The Wandia was built in Denmark in 1921 as a three-masted schooner.  Captain Peterson used her to haul general cargo in the Baltic for some 30 years.  She then had a few years of service as a commercial fishing boat in Iceland, and later hauled cargo in Central America.

In 1964, Robert Tucker Thompson (‘Tucker’) flew to Costa Rica to deliver a yacht back to Newport Beach. Sailing up the coast of Central America, there were stories of a Baltic trading schooner that was just ahead.

“Wandia” was anchored in Acapulco; when Tucker arrived, he was interested in the boat and the owner was considering selling. … Several months later, the ship arrived in San Diego and the deal was done. (Tucker’s father worked as a film processor in the movie industry.)

Then the ship needed to go to work. Tucker sent letters and photos to all the film studios. A film of James Michener’s 1959 book “Hawaii” was about to be made by Mirisch. The studio had one ship, but also needed a whaling ship.  Tucker and the production entered into a purchase/re-purchase agreement.

Re-rigging took place in San Pedro harbor (LA) in a rushed ‘Hollywood‘ manner – dismantling and building taking place almost simultaneously. The “Wandia” was then named the “Carthaginian” (the name James Michener gave the whaling boat in his novel).  (Tucker)

“In addition to changed rigging, the Carthaginian also had the special equipment necessary to a whaling career installed. Such things as the small boats used to harpoon whales …”

“… as well as lookout hoops for sighting their quarry, equipment for removing blubber, and many other items, were added. At the same time, the entire hull was completely checked and repairs or replacements effected.”  (McConkey)

The original script eliminated the arrival of the New England missionaries in Hawaii, a key element of the original story, but include Rev. Abner Hale and his wife, Jerusha (Max Von Sydow and Julie Andrews), a missionary couple.

An October 24, 1964 news conference in Honolulu announced the production would be filmed in Hawaii.  Filming for the movie began February 22, 1965, about as far from the islands as one can be: 150 miles above the Arctic Circle, off Bodo, Norway.  In the spring, filming moved to New England.  (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

On June 9, 1965, filming began on Oahu at an Army facility at Makua.  Most of the production crew stayed at the brand-new Ilikai Hotel; the lead actors rented homes on Diamond Head Road and Kahala Avenue.

The Mirisch Corp. brought 168 people from Hollywood to Hawaii for filming and hired 200 local technicians and 700 local residents as extras. Ten locals were cast to portray missionaries, among them Bette Midler, a 1963 Radford High School graduate.

The theme song of “Hawaii” eventually was altered to become the longtime KGMB jingle, “One of the good things about Hawaii … is wonderful … KGMB.”

A combination of wind, rain, sun, sand, dirt and military helicopters buzzing above delayed production an extra month at Makua.

Filming concluded on Oahu on November 10, 1965. (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

When filming finished and the movie company no longer needed the ship, the re-purchase option was executed. Tucker and family moved aboard and took on crew for a trip around the Islands and to California, with plans for a South Pacific cruise.

While anchored off Lahaina, Larry Windley, director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, urged the members to consider purchasing the ship for a museum; by the time the ship reached Hilo, representatives had arrived there with a proposal ready for signing, to take effect when the South Pacific cruise had finished.

“Carthaginian” continued on to the west coast.  Then, arrangements were made for the voyage of the “Carthaginian” to the Marquesas, Society Islands and Hawaii.  (Tucker)

“The first Carthaginian owned and operated by the restoration foundation as a floating museum since 1966 when it was purchased for $75,000, had been rigged out to represent a three-masted bark, similar to the type that brought the early missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.”

A few years later, tragedy struck; the Carthaginian “sank in April 1972 after it was caught on a reef in the Lahaina channel while being sailed to Honolulu for an annual dry-dock checkup.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

“Efforts to save her were given up when it was discovered that the ship had a 12-foot hole in its hull and a broken keel. … the 51-year-old- ship will be towed out to sea where it will be sunk.”  Star Bulletin, April 4, 1972)

“Efforts to find a replacement for the vessel were begun immediately.  The search lasted several months and involved a hunt in shipyards around the world until the discovery of what was considered the perfect replacement.”

“The new Carthaginian, a 52-year old cargo ship named the Komet was found in Trollhatten, Sweden and purchased by the foundation for $25,000.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

Carthaginian II was a 97-foot steel-hulled sailing boat that was converted into a replica whaling ship and floating museum to replace the popular Carthaginian tourist attraction.

A big point was made that she was exactly the same size as the ‘Thaddeus,’ the brig that brought the first missionaries to Hawaii from Boston. Visitors were invited to imagine what it must have been like for the missionaries, tossing across the waves for many months crammed inside her.

The boat was built in 1920 in Kiel, Germany at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard and was once run as a two-master. Later the boat was converted to diesel power and in the Baltic Sea used as a freighter for cement.

She was renamed Carthaginian II and restored over several years.  Masts made of spruce, a deck of eucalyptus, and other details for a whaling supply ship of the 19th century were installed.

Upon completion of the renovations, the Carthaginian II served as a floating museum in Lahaina Harbor from 1978 to 2001.  (Atlantis Artificial Reef FEA)

But age caught up with her, finally. It was decided that refurbishing the old ship was cost-prohibitive and, anyway, she would probably not survive being towed to Oahu for the repairs. Meanwhile, she was becoming a potential safety hazard sitting in the harbor. (Maui 24/7)

In 2003, the Lahaina Restoration Society asked Atlantis Submarine Maui, a tour company featuring underwater ocean tours, for help in exploring whether she could be used as an artificial reef off the Lahaina coast. The company, which had been offering submarine tours off Lahaina since 1991, agreed. (Maui 24/7)

After permitting, then came the sinking of Carthaginian II … In 2005, the boat was towed half a mile away from the coast and sunk to create an artificial reef, and now stands at a water depth of about 100-feet and also serves as a destination for diving expeditions.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Half Full or Half Empty?

I heard this decades ago; it moved me then, and it moves me whenever I think of it. I thought now is a good time to share it with others.

As we look to the future and address our challenges, let’s first address the proverbial question:

Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

For some, the involved, the optimistic, the problem solvers, the glass is half-full.

We also realize there are others who will see the glass as half-empty.

Yet, there are a few who will see the glass 100% full: some air, some water and a sparkle of light.

Air, water and light.

Air:
In old Hawai‘i, the air of your breath – “Ha” – symbolized life, your breath of life. “Ha” is your spirit, your heritage.

Water:
In Hawai‘i and essentially in all cultures – water meant life and growth. In Hawai‘i – “Wai” – fresh water; a life force – it meant abundance and wealth.

Light:
Light symbolizes the creator – “I” – Supreme.

Ha – wai – i … the place of life’s breath with abundant life-giving waters of the Creator.

The world is changing; let’s work together and change it for the better.

The challenge is to improve people’s lives, without compromising Hawai‘i’s special economic, social, cultural or environmental qualities.

There are many challenges ahead, problems to solve, issues to address and opportunities to explore.

Let’s work together and continue to make Hawai‘i a great place to live.

If the answers were easy we wouldn’t be here.

We need to work together, stay informed and share what we learn.

Keep in context another important Hawaiian term – Aloha.

Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell.

Aloha means love, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation, regards; sweetheart, lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, compassionate, charitable, lovable; to love, be fond of; to show kindness, mercy, charity …

Aloha means mutual regard and affection – and extends warmth, generosity and caring … with no obligation in return.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC