Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 56

December 22, 2021 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Maui Chiefs

The following is a partial summary of various Maui Chiefs. It is taken from a summary posted by Maui Magazine. It is copied here from there.

Haho

The 12th and 13th centuries A.D. were a period of chiefly migrations to the Hawaiian Islands from central Polynesia. The migratory chiefs included Huanuikalala‘ila‘i and Paumakua-a-Huanuikalala‘ila‘i, grandfather and father, respectively, of Haho, who was presumably Maui-born.

Haho’s grandfather was an independent and warlike ruler of Hana. With his huge warfleet, he plundered the coasts of Moloka‘i and Hawai‘i Island, and was the aggressor in the earliest remembered war between Maui and Hawai‘i.

In Haho’s lifetime, Maui’s various districts were ruled by independent chiefs. Haho deserves recognition as the founder of the ‘Aha Ali‘i, Maui’s first Council of Chiefs, designed to consolidate power as “a protection of the native aristocracy against foreign pretenders.” The council lasted until Maui’s conquest by Kamehameha the Great, some five-and-a-half centuries later.

Kamaluohua

In the late 1300s, the warlike and ambitious ruling chief of the Ka‘u District of Hawai‘i Island embarked on the first recorded campaign of Hawaiian interisland conquest. His name was Kalaunuiohua—a direct ancestor of that famous conqueror from the Big Island, Kamehameha the Great.

Kalaunuiohua, his warriors and invasion fleet assaulted Maui’s defenses where Kamaluohua was principal chief and defender. Kamaluohua was defeated and taken along as prisoner, as Kalaunuiohua swept up the island chain, overcoming opposition on Moloka‘i and O‘ahu.

On Kauai, however, Kalaunuiohua met his Waterloo. He was crushingly defeated, himself taken prisoner and only much later allowed to return to Ka‘u. Freed by Kauai’s defenders, Kamaluohua returned safely to Maui.

Tradition says that while Kamaluohua ruled over the greater part of Maui, a vessel called Mamala arrived at Wailuku bearing light-colored foreigners with “bright, shining eyes”; one of several references to castaways who were in due time absorbed into the native Hawaiian population, chiefly and otherwise.

Kaka‘alaneo

In the early- to mid-1400s, two brothers at the royal court at Lele (the earlier name for Lahaina) emerged as noteworthy in Maui’s history. The elder, Kaka‘alaneo, was known for his thrift and energy. It was he who planted the groves of breadfruit trees for which Lele was celebrated for 400 years. Ka malu ‘ulu o Lele, the breadfruit preserve of Lele, offered shade and shelter, enhancing this part of a coastline known for its barren heat.

Kaka‘alaneo had a son whose mischief-making earned him everlasting fame. Kaulula‘au, whose pranks included uprooting his father’s breadfruit trees, was ingloriously banished to Lana‘i, an island haunted and tyrannized by akua ‘ino (evil spirits). By courage and craft, Kaulula‘au overpowered the vicious ghosts and mo‘o (dragons), restoring peace to the island, and regaining his father’s favor. Kaulula‘au was welcomed back to Lele a hero.

Of Kaka‘alaneo’s younger brother, Kaka‘e, little is remembered—yet his was the line of royal succession. Kaka‘e’s grandson Kawaoka‘ohele and granddaughter Kelea were the immediate forebears, respectively, of King Pi‘ilani and Queen La‘ielohelohe, of Maui’s Golden Age.

Pi‘ilani

The name of King Pi‘ilani is synonymous with the Golden Age of Maui (1500s–1700s), an era of profound accomplishments and remarkable royal personages.

To Pi‘ilani is attributed the political unification of East and West Maui, the island-encircling King’s Highway, ceremonial architecture on a grand scale (Pi‘ilanihale, the largest heiau, or temple, in the Hawaiian Islands), and Maui’s rise to political prominence—which continued for two-and-a-half centuries until invasion and conquest by Kamehameha the Great.

Of Pi‘ilani’s three royal marriages, the most significant was to his high-born first cousin La‘ielohelohe. Her father, Kalamakua, was a high chief of O‘ahu. Her mother, Kelea – a celebrated surfer who was reputed to be the most beautiful woman on Maui – was the sister of Pi‘ilani’s father. The union of Pi‘ilani and La‘ielohelohe produced four offspring, all of whom were to play consequential roles in Maui’s—and Hawai‘i’s—history.

Although King Pi‘ilani resided periodically in Hana and Wailuku, and made frequent tours throughout his kingdom to collect taxes, promote industry and enforce order, he ruled from Lahaina, where he was born and is known to have died.

His Lahaina residence and the nearby fishpond Mokuhinia became identified with a mo‘o (water deity), which inhabited the cavern beneath Moku‘ula island in Mokuhinia pond. Following her death, Pi‘ilani’s daughter Kala‘aiheana was deified as Kihawahine, the divine mo‘o guarding the royal family and royal descendants.

Thus, sacred Moku‘ula became the pivotal spiritual and political focus of the highest bloodlines and the most sacred kapu for the next three centuries.

Kiha-a-Pi‘ilani

Following the demise of King Pi‘ilani, succession passed to his first-born son, Lono-a-Pi‘ilani, whose character and reputation traditions recount as avaricious, surly and abusive to all. Lono’s maltreatment of his younger brother, Kiha, drove him into exile on Hawai‘i Island, where he sought the support of his sister Pi‘ikea and her husband, King ‘Umi-a-Liloa, in deposing Lono.

‘Umi-a-Liloa summoned his chiefs and warriors and prepared to invade Maui. Landing in Hana, the invaders stormed the fortress atop Ka‘uiki Hill and eventually defeated the defenders. Lono was killed in battle, and Kiha was proclaimed king of Maui. Kiha rewarded Pi‘ikea with the gift of Hana District, which thereafter was ruled, along with Kohala District, by Chief Kumalae-nui-a-‘Umi, son of Pi‘ikea and ‘Umi-a-Liloa.

Kamalalawalu

The first-born son of Kiha-a-Pi‘ilani, Kamalalawalu succeeded his father as mo‘i (king) of Maui. His regency was highly regarded for enlightened leadership: wise government, good resource management, a genial and sumptuous royal court, peace and prosperity. No wonder Kama’s name became associated with the island in song and tradition as Maui-nui-a-Kama, Great Maui of Kama.

But Kamalalawalu’s fate ended in tragedy. Wanting to regain the Hana District his father had given to the rulers of Kohala, on Hawai‘i Island, Kamalalawalu sent his eldest son, Kauhi-a-Kama, to secretly reconnoiter the vulnerability of that coast. But Kauhi-a-Kama’s reconnaissance was grossly flawed.

Believing the region to be totally unprepared to resist invasion, Kamalalawalu launched his fleet, landed in Kohala and engaged in a disastrous battle. The best of his army perished, and Kamalalawalu was killed and sacrificed. Kauhi-a-Kama miraculously survived, returned to Maui and became its next ruler.

Ka‘ulahea II

During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Hawaiian Islands experienced a dramatic population increase; highly sophisticated and intensive aquaculture and agriculture; and an elaborate hierarchy of chiefs, priests, occupational specialists, and commoner fishermen and farmers. From mere district chiefdoms, the growing consolidation of power and authority gave rise to island and interisland kingdoms.

Intricate networks of royal kinship—with their concurrent privileges and obligations—resulted from plural and prudent political marriages. One striking example of such advantageous marital alliances is evident in the unions of Ka‘ulahea II, great-great-grandson of King Kamalalawalu.

Ka‘ulahea’s first marriage was with Kalanikauleleiaiwi, who ruled the Island of Hawai‘i with her half-brother, Keawe‘ikekahiali‘iokamoku. Their mother, Keakealaniwahine, was in her time the renowned sovereign queen of Hawai‘i.

Ka‘ulahea’s second marriage was with Papaikani‘au, his first cousin. Their son, Kekaulike, was destined to be the next king of Maui. Historians say Kekaulike “enjoyed the company of several wives and was blessed with numerous progeny.” And with his half-sister Keku‘i‘apo‘iwanui, Kekaulike fathered the next generation of Maui’s highest-born royalty, the islands-wide luminaries of the 18th century.

With his full sister Kalaniomaiheuila, Ka‘ulahea fathered a daughter who became the highest-born royal wife of King Kuali‘i of O‘ahu and the mother of that island’s next king, the notable Peleioholani.

Like royal lineages in ancient Egypt, Peru, Japan, and elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiian royalty once favored close kin marriages for the sake of bloodline purity and privilege. By the 18th century, Maui was the acknowledged political and military powerhouse, with the highest bloodlines and the most sacred royal taboos. How ironic, then, that a great-grandson of Ka‘ulahea II should be the one to bring Maui to its knees!

Kekaulike

Kekaulike, whose name means “impartiality,” was also known as Kalaninuiku‘ihonoikamoku: “the high chief who joins bays to the island.” By either name, he was a central figure in the rise to preeminence of the royal house of Maui in the 18th century.

Kekaulike had six known wives and was “blessed with numerous progeny,” including 11 high-born offspring. Though most of his reign as paramount ruler of Maui was characterized by peace and prosperity, he sowed the seeds of war when he invaded and plundered the domain of his brother-in-law, Alapa‘inui, king of Hawai‘i Island, who successfully repulsed the invading force.

Soon after, on his deathbed, Kekaulike named as his successor his second-born son, Kamehamehanui (not to be confused with his famous namesake of Hawai‘i Island), whose mother was of higher rank than that of Kekaulike’s first-born son, Kauhi‘aimoku.

Kauhi‘aimoku beseeched his cousin Peleioholani, king of O‘ahu and Kauai, to help him wrest the throne from Kamehamehanui. But Kamehamehanui was under the protection of their uncle Alapa‘inui, who brought his forces to Maui for the inevitable showdown between the adversarial brothers.

The year was 1738, and the confrontation, one of the bloodiest in Maui’s history, came to be known as Ke Koko o Na Moku: the Blood of the Islands. The two sides joined battle, retreated, rallied and slaughtered up and down Maui’s west coast.

The greatest carnage occurred in the vicinity of Ka‘anapali, where, to this day, heaps of human bones and skulls lie buried in the sand. The loss of life became so intolerable that the two kings, themselves brothers-in-law, met on the battlefield and made peace.

After Kauhi‘aimoku was captured and killed by order of Alapa‘inui, Kamehamehanui ruled Maui until his passing 27 years later. His younger brother, the fierce and fearsome Kahekili, then assumed power and went on to create an interisland empire that lasted until his death in 1794.

Kahekili

Kahekili, meaning “thunder,” is a short form for Kane-hekili, “Kane, god of thunder.” The son of Kekaulike and Keku‘i‘apo‘iwanui, Kahekili tattooed half his body black, perhaps to suggest thunder and lightning. He was destined to live up to his name.

His sister Kalolanui married Kalani‘opu‘u, paramount chief of Hawai‘i. A direct descendant of Pi‘ilani through Pi‘ikea, Kalani‘opu‘u wrested Hana District from Alapa‘inui and his son Keawe‘opala. Kahekili recovered Ka‘uiki Hill and Hana District in 1781, and later extended his chiefdom to O‘ahu and Moloka‘i by defeating his nephew Kahahana.

Kahekili married Kauwahine of Kaupo, with whom he had sons Kalanikupule and Koalaukani, and daughters Kalilikauoha and Kalola. After Kamehameha the Great’s success against Kalanikupule at the Battle of ‘Iao, Kahekili’s two sons joined their father at his Waikiki residence, where he died in 1794.

Kahekili may have been the biological father of Kamehameha the Great. A mighty warrior king, he created an empire that included all but Hawai‘i Island. Fate and prophecies decreed that Kahekili’s unclaimed and rivalrous son would soon conquer his father’s empire and emerge as the most significant Hawaiian leader of all time.

Kalanikupule

Eldest son and successor to Kahekili, Kalanikupule was a popular and affable ruler, but his career and his life ended when he was 35.

As heir apparent to the mighty political mastermind Kahekili, Kalanikupule found himself at war with his father’s younger brother, King Ka‘eokulani of Kauai, and then pitted against the powerful war machine of Kamehameha the Great. His struggles climaxed in the fateful rout known as the Battle of Nu‘uanu in April 1795. (All here is from a summary by Maui Magazine) The image is Gathering of Chiefs by Brook Parker.

December 21, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1821

Napoleon I, French Napoléon Bonaparte, original Italian Napoleone Buonaparte, byname the Corsican or the Little Corporal, French byname Le Corse or Le Petit Caporal, (born August 15, 1769, Ajaccio, Corsica—died May 5, 1821, St. Helena Island), French general, first consul (1799–1804), and emperor of the French (1804–1814/15), one of the most celebrated personages in the history of the West.

He revolutionized military organization and training; sponsored the Napoleonic Code, the prototype of later civil-law codes; reorganized education; and established the long-lived Concordat with the papacy. (Britannica)

After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire.

After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances.

However, after a disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon abdicated the throne two years later and was exiled to the island of Elba.

In 1815, he briefly returned to power in his Hundred Days campaign. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, he abdicated once again and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena. (History-com)

Napoleon Bonaparte died (apparently of stomach cancer) at 5:49pm on May 5, 1821, at Longwood on the island of Saint Helena.

Napoleon’s rise and prominence in power was concurrent with George Washington, and … Kamehameha.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

The first president of the United States, George Washington, serving from 1789 to 1797, is often referred to as the Father of Our Country.

He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783.

After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to the emerging American political ideology of republicanism. Washington was elected as the first president in 1789, and re-elected 1792.

Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation, in 1787, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution.

Kamehameha I (ca. 1758 – May 8, 1819)

Kamehameha was initially known as Paiʻea, which means “hard-shelled crab;” Kamehameha means “The Lonely One.” Raised in the royal court of his uncle, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, Kamehameha achieved prominence in 1782, upon Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death.

While the kingship was inherited by Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s son Kiwalaʻo, Kamehameha was given the prominent position of guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.

In 1785, Kamehameha married Ka‘ahumanu, the daughter of one of his most trusted advisors. In 1790, he attained control of Hawai‘i Island, then he successfully invaded the Islands of Maui, Lāna‘i, Molokai and O‘ahu, by 1795.

Ultimately, in 1810, Kauai’s Kaumuali‘i decided to peacefully yield and unite with Kamehameha and join the rest of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

Kamehameha instituted the Kānāwai Māmalahoe, the Law of the Splintered Paddle. The law, “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety,” is enshrined in the state constitution, Article 9, Section 10, and has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants.

In the Islands …

1821 Wood Frame House

The wood-framed Mission House, built in 1821, was one of the first wood-framed buildings built in Hawai‘i. The frame house stands on the grounds of the Hawaiian Mission Houses, near Kawaiahaʻo Church on the makai side of King Street.

It is the oldest wood frame structure and the oldest intact Western structure still standing in the Hawaiian Islands.

The timbers of Maine white pine were cut and fitted in Boston in 1819 and came around the Horn on the brig Thaddeus with the first mission company in April 1820, arriving first in Kona. The frame of the house arrived in Honolulu on Christmas morning of that year on board the ship Tartar.

Since the lumber for this New England plan type was actually pre-cut prior to shipment, it could also be considered in a broad sense a very early example of prefabrication.

Architecturally, it has a simple and straight-forward design; the relatively low ceilings, and basement are strong evidence of its New England concept, foreign to the temperate climate of Honolulu.

The Frame House was used as a communal home by many missionary families who shared it with island visitors and boarders. It served as a residence for various missionaries, including Hiram Bingham, Gerrit Parmele Judd and Elisha Loomis.

Today the frame house is maintained by the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society as a memorial to the early missionary effort in the Hawaiian Islands.

Liholiho Moves Royal Center from Kailua-Kona to Honolulu

Early in 1821, Liholiho moved his court from Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i Island to Honolulu. The royal siblings, Kauikeaouli and Nahiʻenaʻena, together with their mother, Keōpūolani and her husband Hoapili, journeyed with the chiefs to Oʻahu.

As was traditional, one of the first acts of the new mōʻī was to make a royal progression around Oʻahu to visit the people. Lilholiho’s selected route took him from Honolulu through the Koʻolau region to Waialua to “enjoy the fat mullet of Ukoʻa and to catch aholehole fish” and then by way of “Kaʻena point to Waiʻanae and then to Honolulu.” He then went to Kauai (McGregor and MacKenzie)

Liholiho Buys Cleopatra’s Barge for 1-million Pounds of Sandalwood

In the central Pacific, practically every vessel that visited the North Pacific in the closing years of the 18th century stopped at Hawai‘i for provisions and recreation; then, the opening years of the 19th century saw the sandalwood business became a recognized branch of trade.

Sandalwood, geography and fresh provisions made the Islands a vital link in a closely articulated trade route between Boston, the Northwest Coast and Canton, China.

At the same time, the Hawaiian demand for American goods was rapidly increasing, owing to the improved standards of living. The central location of the Hawaiian Islands brought many traders, and then whalers, to the Islands.

For a while, sandalwood was a medium of exchange in the Islands.

A boat named Cleopatra’s Barge arrived at Lāhainā, Maui, on November 6, 1820; the very next day Liholiho (Kamehameha II) was welcomed aboard along with some family members and attendants.

Liholiho’s father Kamehameha had loved foreign ships; over time he had collected a sizable ﬂeet of Western vessels, which, with guns and training by the foreigners, were a major asset in unifying and maintaining his kingdom across the islands.

Liholiho inherited his father’s love of ships; one of his childhood companions remembered seeing Liholiho frequently sailing a boat model “like a real man-of-war” on a pond and also recalled that their favorite boyhood pastime was drawing ships in the sand at the beach.

Just ten days after his ﬁrst visit to the ship, Liholiho purchased Cleopatra’s Barge and her cargo for 1.07-million pounds of sandalwood, worth $80,000 at the time.

On January 4, 1821, King Liholiho took formal possession of Cleopatra’s Barge, appointing his personal secretary, Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Rives, as temporary captain.

Liholiho then renamed the yacht ‘Ha‘aheo O Hawai‘i’ (Pride of Hawaiʻi.)

December 18, 2021 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Nuʻuanu

In 1872, some referred to it as “Missionary Street,” although the Missionary Period had ended about 10-years earlier (the Missionary Period was from 1820 – 1863.)

You might more accurately call it the home of the elite, and that is not limited to folks of the Caucasian persuasion – both Kauikeaouli and Emma had summer residences here and included in the list of successful business people who called it home were the Afongs and others.

But you can’t help concluding the strong demand to live there based on early descriptions – even Realtors, today, would be envious of the descriptors Ellis used in 1831: “The scenery is romantic and delightful.”

“Across this plain, immediately opposite the harbour of Honoruru, lies the valley of Anuanu (Nuʻuanu,) leading to a pass in the mountains, called by the natives Ka Pari (Pali,) the precipice, which is well worth the attention of every intelligent foreigner visiting Oahu.” (Ellis, 1831)

“The mouth of the valley, which opens immediately behind the town of Honoruru, is a complete garden, carefully kept by its respective proprietors in a state of high cultivation; and the ground, being irrigated by the water from a river that winds rapidly down the valley, is remarkably productive.” (Ellis, 1831)

Over sixty years later (1897,) Stoddard keeps the demand momentum going by adding, “The way lies through shady avenues, between residences that stand in the midst of broad lawns and among foliage of the most brilliant description. An infinite variety of palms and tropical plants, with leaves of enormous circumference, diversify the landscape.”

Today, the descriptors of the past hold true – and the place is high in the demand (and price,) just as it was nearly two centuries ago.

So, who were some of the people who called this place home?

As noted, an early resident of Nuʻuanu was Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III. Consistent with tradition, his home had a name, Kaniakapūpū (sound or song of the land snail;) it was located back up into the valley at Luakaha.

Ruins today, the structure, modeled on an Irish stone cottage, was completed in 1845 and is reportedly built on top or in the vicinity of an ancient heiau. It was a simple cottage, a square with four straight walls.

Another royal, Queen Emma, had a “mountain” home, Hānaiakamālama (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon,)) now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace. In 1857, she inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I.

The ‘Summer Palace’ was modeled in the Greek Revival style. It has a formal plan arrangement, wide central hall, high ceilings and floor-length hinged, in-swinging shuttered casement window. The Daughters of Hawaiʻi saved it from demolition and it is now operated as a museum and open to the public (a nominal admission fee is charged.)

On the private side, the following are only a few of the several notable residences (existing, or long gone,) in Nuʻuanu Valley.

A notable home is the “Walker Estate;” one of the few intact estates that were built in the upper Nuʻuanu Valley before and after the turn of the century (built in 1905,) it is a two story wood frame structure of Classical Revival style. (NPS)

The home on the 5.7-acre estate was initially built for the Rodiek family, a leading businessman in Honolulu. Due to war time pressures on the family, who were German citizens, the home was sold in 1918 to Wilcox who lived there into the 1930s, when it was taken over by Henry Alexander Walker, president and chairman of the Board of Amfac (one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five businesses.)

The grounds were originally used for orchards and vegetables, although the Japanese garden was put in shortly after the house was built and is thought to be the oldest formal Japanese garden in Hawaiʻi, the stones, lamps and images specially brought from Japan for it. (NPS)

Another notable home is former Governor George Carter’s “Lihiwai” (water’s edge.) In the late-1920s, Carter built his 26,000-square feet home; it is reportedly “the largest and finest private residence ever constructed in Hawaiʻi (with the exception of ʻIolani Palace.)” (NPS)

The entire building is built of shaped bluestone set in concrete and steel reinforced cement, and all the perimeter walls are 2 – 3-feet thick with the exception of the end walls, which are 6-feet thick. It is constructed entirely of bluestone, concrete, steel, copper, bronze and teak.

Originally, the building was connected to two smaller structures — by a breezeway on the eastern side and by the porte-cochere on the western side (these structures were separated in 1957.) The property was originally 10-acres, but portions were subdivided and sold in 1945 after the death of Helen Strong Carter. Today, the property includes the original house on a little over 1-acre. (The home is undergoing restoration.)

A home long gone, but we are repeatedly reminded of it in on-the-air marketing for senior living in Nuʻuanu, is “Craigside.” This was the home of Theophilus Harris Davies. Not only was Davies’ firm, Theo H Davies, one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five, he personally served as guardian to Princess Kaʻiulani while she was studying in England (Davies had another home there – “Sundown.”)

Likewise, just up the hill, was the Paty house “Buena Vista;” it’s now gone and part of the Wyllie Street interchange with Pali Highway. (Look for the parallel palms in the yard of the immediately-makai ‘Community Church of Honolulu.’ They used to line the Paty driveway, with the house off to the left (mauka.)

During the Spanish American War, the military took over Buena Vista and turned it into the Nuʻuanu Valley Military Hospital (also known as “Buena Vista Hospital.”)

Just mauka of Buena Vista (now also part of the Wyllie-Nuʻuanu interchange) was Robert Crichton Wyllie’ “Rosebank.” Wyllie first worked as acting British Consul. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, in 1845, King Kamehameha III appointed him the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Kamehameha IV reappointed all the ministers who were in office when Kamehameha III died, including Robert C Wyllie as Minister of Foreign Relations (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1844 until his death in 1865.) Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Finally, a home of a missionary, Dr. Gerrit Parmele Judd, “Sweet Home” was located at the intersection of Nuʻuanu and Judd. Judd was in the 3rd company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1828 until his death in 1873.) After serving the mission for 15-years, Judd was translator and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the House of Nobles and Privy Council, and Minister of Finance under Kamehameha III.

Wife Laura Judd once noted, “we were supposed to be rich,” but insisted they had never been so poor, being obliged to borrow money to pay for carpenters and masons. (Scott, Saga) The house was torn down in 1911 and the property became part of what is now Oʻahu Cemetery.

December 14, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Attempt at Annexation

“In 1854, the total population of 80,000 comprised 70,000 Kanakas and 10,000 foreigners, the latter of whom were chiefly Americans and subjects of Great Britain.”

The first endeavor for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States was made in 1854, the second year of President
Pierce’s administration. The time was singularly opportune.”

“The Islands had, during the reign of Liholiho, second of the Kamehameha line of kings, been virtually under protection of the British crown. King Liholiho … died, and was succeeded by Kamehameha III.”

“During his reign, a British admiral took possession of Honolulu, the capital, and forced claim to the kingdom in the name of Great Britain. (1843) … The independence of Hawaii was recognized by the United States and Great Britain, and Kamehameha was maintained as King.”

“President Pierce appointed David L. Gregg of Illinois as American Commissioner in Hawaii, and when he was installed in office, the war between Russia and the allied powers of Europe, led by England and France, was declared.”

“Gregg had become very popular with the Hawaiian court and the native chiefs and nobles. The annexation of the Islands was soon projected.”

“The commerce was chiefly American and British. Of the total shipping more than 500 vessels were American whalers, and about 200, merchant ships. Honolulu, on the island of Oahu; Lahaina, on Maui; Hilo, on Hawaii, and two harbors on Atauai, were the principal ports, the first three particularly for whalers, mostly on the Arctic cruise.”

“The total product of sugar was less than 1,000,000 pounds; of coffee only about 50,000 pounds per annum, grown on Atauai, 100 miles westward of Oahu, which was the main sugar and coffee producing island of the group.”

“Maui produced small crops of wheat and potatoes; Hawaii, merely a few cattle, a little wool and tropical fruits; on Oahu there was barely anything produced. Fish and poi constituted the chief food of the natives.”

“The crown was not by inheritance; the Kings appointed their successors as they chose. Alexander … had been named by King Kamehameha as his successor.”

“The British Consul – General was General Miller, an old British warrior and M. Perrin, the French Consul-General. The Privy Consul was an important body appointed by the King, with the Cabinet ministers, to whom was submitted all questions of a native and foreign nature.”

“The negotiations for annexation to the United States began in the summer of 1854, at Honolulu. The project was vehemently opposed by the English residents who were formidable in numbers and influence, and by nearly all the American merchants and others interested in whaling.”

“As matters stood, the U. S. Consul had control of the American shipping business. He fixed the price of whale oil, settled the disputes of masters and sailors, attended to the discharge and shipping of sailors, etc.”

“Lawyers were not employed in such cases, and costs of courts were escaped. It was simpler, cheaper, more expeditious and satisfactory to merchants and shipmasters, than to be troubled with procedure of the courts of law.”

“Annexation, it was argued, would bring lawyers and costly court proceedings, interfere with the whaling traffic and drive it from the kingdom. Therefore annexation was antagonized.”

“During the fall of 1854, there were in the harbor of Honolulu, awaiting the issue of the negotiations, the American war vessels, Portsmouth, Captain Dornin; the St. Mary, Commander Bailey; and a store ship, Commander Boyle.”

“The US steam ships, Mississippi and Susquehaima, Captains Lee and Buchanan, direct from Commodore Perry’s Japan expedition, also put in there homeward bound. The British frigate Triucomalee, Captain Houston, and the French warship, Eurydice, and another, were likewise in the harbor.”

“Commissioner Gregg vigorously prosecuted his efforts for annexation. He called to his aid several of the native chiefs, John Young, Minister Wyllie, Chief Justice Lee, Mr. Judd, formerly a missionary and Minister of Finance of the Kingdom – the most potential resident of the Islands – and several of the nobles and representatives.”

“The old King was disposed to annexation, but declined to consent to it unless his own appointed successor, Prince Alexander, assented.”

“During 1850, Alexander and his elder brother, Prince Lot, had visited the Atlantic States under the guardianship of Minister Judd, on their way to Europe. They were both of dark complexion.”

“At Pittsburg the two were ejected from a hotel dining room table, on account of their color … Proud and high-spirited, they were enraged at the humiliating affront and bore it in recollection.”

“In 1854, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was U. S. Senator. He was against the annexation scheme and had written to a prominent missionary in the Islands to warn the King and natives that on annexation they would be considered as negroes, and that the ruling people of the United States held that negroes should be made slaves.”

“The letter bitterly impressed Alexander and Lot and had powerful effect upon many of the native chiefs. But the generous individual annuities offered in the terms of the treaty presented by Commissioner Gregg, had, on the other hand, great weight.”

“During life the King was to receive $50,000 a year; the Queen, $18,000; Prince Alexander, $10,000, and to succeed to the $50,000 on the death of the King; Prince Lot, his father, the Princess Victoria, and John Young and Chief Pakee, each $8,000 a year; other chiefs and prominent government officers, sums varying from $10,000 to $3,000.”

“Late in the fall the brig Zenobia arrived from Petropaulovski with intelligence of the British repulse at that place, and from California came report of the allied reverses in the Crimea, which much depressed the English and French in Honolulu, and disastrously affected their antagonism to annexation.”

“At length, late in November, Alexander expressed his willingness to agree to the treaty of annexation. The King was first to affix his signature, Alexander was to sign in succession, and the Cabinet was then to complete the convention, to await only the ratification of the President and Senate of the United States.”

“The King appointed Tuesday, December 12th, for the signing of the treaty, to be done at the palace. Meantime a commission of the surgeons of the British frigate, and others in Honolulu, had held an official examination of Consul-General Miller and declared him to be of infirm body and unsound mind, owing to advanced age and incurable disability.”

“It proved another favorable incident to annexation, and the matter was finally considered as definitely determined. Only the ceremony of signing the treaty remained.”

“Dr. Rooke, an English surgeon resident in Honolulu, and father of Miss Emma Rooke, the fiancée of Prince Alexander, protested against the annexation in vain. Miss Emma had reluctantly yielded her assent to the treaty, and she was included in the list of annuitants.” (All here is from O’Meara.)

The Annexation Treaty was never finalized, “The signatures were yet wanting; His Majesty more determined and impatient than ever, when he was taken suddenly ill, and died in three weeks (December 15, 1854.)” (Judd)

As Mr Severance truly said, “His partiality to Americans has always been strong, and it will be universally conceded that by his death they have lost a faithful and honorable friend.”

His adopted son and heir, Alexander Liholiho, was immediately proclaimed king, under the title of Kamehameha IV. Soon afterwards he expressed his wish that the negotiations that had been begun with Mr Gregg should be broken off, which was done. (Alexander)

“The hope of annexation had departed on the death of the old King, as it was Alexander’s chief ambition to be an absolute monarch. Soon afterwards he made Emma Rooke his Queen.”

“The dead project of American annexation has never been resuscitated from the United States Government point of vantage.” (O’Meara.)

Photo_of_Kamehameha_III_(PP-97-7-003)-1853

December 7, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1st Big Ships into Pearl Harbor

Over the years, the face of Pearl Harbor has changed dramatically. When the first Westerner, British seafarer Captain James Cook, came to the islands in 1778, a coral reef barred the entrance of the place known as Wai Momi, making it unsuitable as a port for deep-draft shipping. At that time, nearby Honolulu Harbor was an infinitely more hospitable destination.

It wasn’t until 1826 that the US Navy had its first contact with the Hawaiian Islands, when the schooner USS Dolphin sailed into port. After that, it took more than 13 years for the Navy to begin to recognize the potential of Pearl Harbor.

During a routine survey of the area in 1840, an enterprising naval officer determined that the deep inner harbor could be accessed by completely removing the obstructing reef.

Despite gaining exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor in 1887, the US did not make any attempt to take advantage of their claim on this strategic estuary until well after the turn of the century.

It wasn’t until the capture of Manila during the Spanish-American War, when the US needed to establish a permanent way station in the Pacific to maintain control of the Philippines.

Then, for the first time, the American government began to understand the strategic importance of O‘ahu. Annexation soon followed, but even then, little was done to fortify the area or capitalize on the vast potential of Pearl Harbor.

Finally, beginning in 1902, the entry channel was dredged, deepened, and widened to clear an opening at the entrance of the Harbor. Congress did not officially create a naval base at Pearl Harbor until 1908. (NPS)

“Cutting the channel through the reef that has for so many years closed Pearl Harbor to navigation, is a task so quietly and withal so speedily done, that half the people of Honolulu have come to think of the great work in that section of the island as a part of the day’s routine.”

“What effect this new harbor will have on the future events of the world no one can exactly forecast. But we do know that this harbor will be a pivotal point about which great incidents of the world’s history will revolve.”

“Pearl Harbor will be the assembling place for great fleets of warships. Let us hope that never during the present century will these fleets be called upon to go forth to battle, but whether they do or not, may they at all times be the barrier of protection for an ever-increasing American influence and an ever-expanding American commerce carried in American merchant ships.” (Evening Bulletin, December 14, 1911)

“Upon the completion of the dredging operations of Pearl Harbor bar, December 14, 1911, an official entry into the lochs was made by Rear Admiral Thomas in the flagship California, Captain Harlow, and the occasion of joyful recognition of the important event, the end of a great work.” (Thrum, 1912)

On board the California on December 14, 1911 was the first and last President of the Republic of Hawaii Sanford Dole, and Queen Lili‘uokalani the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. (Neuman)

“The Queen is delighted over the prospect of a trip on the flagship and is looking forward with deep interest to seeing the waterway really open to the navigation of big ships of war, for it was during the reign of her brother, King Kalākaua, that the cession of Pearl Harbor to the United States was made by treaty.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 13, 1911; Van Dyke)

“Queen Lili‘uokalani, accompanied by, Colonel ʻIaukea, Mrs ʻIaukea and Mr and Mrs ED Tenney, arrived shortly after 9 o’clock. Her Majesty looked well and seemed to take an eager interest in the proceedings. She was met at the head of the gangway by Admiral Thomas, who graciously took the aged hand and assisted her on to the deck of the warship.”

“The queen was led to a seat, and then the officers of the man-of-war and the guests were presented to her. The queen chatted of the trip about to be taken and contrasted it with some she had made to Pearl Harbor many years ago.” (Hawaiian Star, December 14, 1911)

Also along for the ride was Sun Fo, eldest son of Sun Yat-Sen – who eventually lead the revolution in China which ended two-thousand years of imperial rule. Sun Yat-Sen would be elected the first President of the Republic of China two weeks later on December 29. (Neuman)

The USS California transited the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor and effectively opened the historic port to the world. The ship that took center stage on that morning should not be confused with the battleship California, or BB-44, which found herself on Battleship Row in 1941.

This California was an armored-cruiser weighing in at about 14,000 tons and laden with eight, six and three-inch guns. Her entrance into Pearl Harbor was historic because she was the first large warship to enter the harbor following extensive dredging of the channel. (Neuman)

From the early days of the 20th century, it was clear that Japan was taking her place as a world power. This shift led the US to move a significant portion of her naval forces to the Pacific. Pearl Harbor was a focal point of the transition, becoming the home port for much of the Pacific Fleet.

And so the pieces of this historic puzzle came together. In a matter of time, the very action taken to protect America from this potential threat would be the thing that made her vulnerable to it.

Throughout its history, Pearl Harbor has been revered as a place of great value. In the beginning, it physically yielded sustenance for the Hawaiian people. Later, it empowered America to conquer her enemies. (NPS)

Japan’s method of declaring war on the US was a four-wave air attack on installations in Hawaiʻi on the morning of December 7, 1941. It was executed in what amounted to five phases.

Phase I: Combined torpedo and dive bomber attack lasting from 7:55 am to 8:25 am; Phase II: Lull in attacks lasting from 8:25 am to 8:40 am; Phase III: Horizontal bomber attacks between 8:45 am to 9:15 am; Phase IV: Dive bomber attacks between 9:15 am and 9:45 am and Phase V: General attack. Raid completed at 9:45. (Maj Gen Green)