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April 8, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Power of Attorney

In college, William Richards was a member of the Mills Theological Society and also of the Philotechnian Literary Society, of which he was, for a time, president. He was a superior student, graduating with Phi Beta Kappa rank. At Commencement, he had a Philosophical Oration, the subject of his address being “The Nature and Effects of Dew.”

After graduating in 1819, Richards pursued his theological studies at Andover. In February, 1822, the ABCFM having planned to reinforce the mission at the Hawaiian Islands, Richards offered himself for that service and was accepted.

He was ordained in New Haven, Connecticut, on September 12 of the same year; on October 30, 1822, Richards married Clarissa, daughter of Levi Lyman, of Northampton, Massachusetts. On November 19, he, with his wife, joined the Second Company of American Protestant missionaries to Hawai‘i; they arrived in the Islands on April 27, 1823.

In the spring of 1838, the king and chiefs, who felt the need of reform in their government, asked Mr. Richards to become their teacher, chaplain and interpreter. With the consent of the ABCFM, he accepted this position and resigned his appointment as missionary and then spent his time urging the improvement of the political system.

He prepared a book No Ke Kalaiaina, based on Wyland’s, Elements of Political Economy. This book and Richards interaction with the king and chiefs helped shape the initial Hawaiʻi Constitution (1840).

In 1842, the delegation of Richards, Ha‘alilio and Sir George Simpson traveled to the US, France and Britain seeking recognition and diplomatic ties for Hawai‘i.

Kamehameha III issued a ‘Letter of Credence’ and power of attorney granting to Richards, “though a citizen of the United States of America”, “full and complete powers and perfect right to transact all and every kind of business whatsoever …”

“… for and in my stead and on my account, as fully and as perfectly in all respects and particulars, as I in my own proper person might or could do.” (Kamehameha III)

The Letter of Credence states, in part, “Kamehameha III., King of all the Hawaiian Islands, to Her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great and good friend,”

“We have made choice of Sir George Simpson, Knight, Timoteo Haalilio, our private secretary, and member of the House of Nobles and Rev. William Richards, as our Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to your Majesty.”

“They are especially charged in relation to certain important objects which have been introduced in letters written by us to your worthy predecessor, and more to your Majesty.”

“The Rev. Mr. Richards is perfectly acquainted with most of the facts mentioned in those letters, and knows all our views and feelings and wishes in relation to them.”

“They are all well informed of the relative interests of the two countries and of our sincere desire to cultivate and strengthen the friendship and good feeling which has existed between us …”

“… and from a knowledge of their probity, fidelity and good conduct, we have entire confidence that they will render themselves acceptable to your Majesty by their persevering endeavors to preserve and advance the interests and happiness of both nations.”

“We therefore request your Majesty to receive them favorably and to give full credence to whatever they shall say on the part of our kingdom, and most of all when they shall assure you of our friendship as* wishes for the prosperity of your Majesty and your Majesty’s subjects.” ((Kamehameha III and Kekauluohi (Premier), April 8, 1842)

The accompanying power of attorney, “Know All Men By These Presents, that I, Kamehameha III., King of all the Hawaiian Islands, have constituted, ordained and made, and in my stead and place put, William Richards, a citizen of the United States …”

“… and by these presents do constitute, ordain and make, and in my stead and place put the said William Richards, to be my true and lawful attorney, for me and in my name and stead to ask, demand, levy, require, recover and receive of and from all and every person or persons whomsoever the same shall and may concern …”

“… all sums of money, debts, goods, wares, merchandize, effects and things whatsoever and wheresoever they shall and may be found due, owing, payable, belonging and coming unto me, the constituent, by any ways and means whatsoever.”

“And moreover, for the well being of my Government, and for divers other good causes and considerations, I have appointed, and by these presents do appoint, the said William Richards, who, though a citizen of the United States of America …”

“…is now in the employ of my Government, my special agent for the purpose of negotiating within the United States of America, Europe, or any other place he may visit, a loan for and in behalf of my Government, to any amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars …”

“… in such a manner as in his judgment shall best subserve my interest, hereby authorizing him to execute such bonds or obligations as may be necessary therefor, and hereby pledge the full faith and credit of my Government for the approval of all acts of my said agent, and for the payment of the loan at the time and place which shall be stipulated by my said agent.”

“And my said agent and attorney is hereby further endowed with full and complete powers and perfect right to transact all and every kind of business whatsoever, for and in my stead and on my account, as fully and as perfectly in all respects and particulars, as I in my own proper person might or could do.”

“And he is furthermore authorized to sign my name and affix my seal of state, with which he is entrusted, to any and all documents and papers that may be required in the execution of his agency.”

“And he, the said William Richards, is hereby authorized and empowered to revoke, reclaim and nullify and render void, any and every power and document heretofore given under my hand, which I in my own proper person could revoke, nullify and render void …”

“…hereby giving and granting unto my said attorney and agent full and whole strength, power and authority in and about the premises, and to take and use all means and process in law for effecting the same, and of recoveries and receipts thereof in my name to make, seal and execute due acquittance and discharge …”

“… and for the premises to appear, and the person of me the constituent to represent before any governor, judges, justices, officers and ministers of the law whatsoever, in any court of justice, and there on my behalf to answer, defend and reply unto all actions, causes, matters and things whatsoever, relating to the premises.”

“Also to submit any matters in dispute to arbitration or otherwise; with full power to make and substitute one or more attornies under my said attorney, and the same at pleasure to revoke; and generally to say, do, act, transact, determine, accomplish and finish all matters and things whatsoever on all subjects …”

“… as fully, amply and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as I the constituent, if present, ought or might personally, although the matter should require more special authority than is herein comprised …”

“… I the constituent ratifying, allowing and holding firm and valid, all and whatsoever my said attorney or his substitutes shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue of these presents.” (Kamehameha III and Kekauluohi (Premier), April 8, 1842)

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William_Richards
William_Richards

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Timothy Haalilio, William Richards, American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, George Simpson, Power of Attorney, Hawaii, Missionaries

April 7, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hui Lei Mamo

Hawaiʻi’s last King, Kalākaua, has been referred to as a Renaissance man. Concerned about the loss of native Hawaiian culture and traditions, Kalākaua encouraged the transcription of Hawaiian oral traditions, and supported the revival of and public performances of the hula.

He advocated a renewed sense of pride in such things as Hawaiian mythology, medicine, chant and hula. Ancient Hawaiians had no written language, but chant and hula served to record such things as genealogy, mythology, history and religion.

While seeking to revive many elements of Hawaiian culture that were slipping away, the King also promoted the advancement of modern sciences, art and literature.

He is remembered as the “Merrie Monarch” because he was a patron of culture and arts, and enjoyed socializing and entertaining.

All of Kalakaua’s dancers were kept on retainer and were given a place to live on the palace grounds. These dancers, musicians, and chanters were all compensated for performing. Dancing the hula for entertainment was their source of income. (Tong)

Kalākaua believed his nation and people would prosper with cultural rebirth and brought hula teachers from the countryside and neighboring islands to his court. At his 1883 coronation and 1886 50th birthday jubilee, Kalākaua’s dancers performed publicly on palace grounds for about two weeks on each occasion. (Imada)

“Kalākaua always had dancers in his court dancing for his pleasure…. There were parties for his guests from the mainland on their way to Australia with dancers as well. They weren’t only for his friends, but for everyone in Honolulu.” (Kupahu; Tong)

Through chanted poetry and bodily movements, these hula performers celebrated the births and achievements of ali‘i, recorded the genealogies of high chiefs, and relayed Hawaiian epics. Hula was also embedded in a culture of sexual arousal.

In 1886, the same year of his jubilee, Kalākaua assembled Hui Lei Mamo, a group of eight Hawaiian women and girls under the age of 20. Hui Lei Mamo was a ‘glee club’; it performed acculturated hula performance as well as choral music. (Imada)

As a member of the royal family and the reigning monarch of Hawai‘i, King Kalākaua had the rightful authority to dictate when the hula would be performed. (Tong)

While Kalākaua’s older court dancers performed pre-contact forms of hula with indigenous instrumentation and chanting, the young women of Hui Lei Mamo performed only the hula ku‘i, ‘the modern hula’.

An acculturated dance that developed in the king’s cosmopolitan court, hula ku‘i merged Western music and instruments with traditional hula steps. It is suggested that Kalākaua himself was the inventor of this hybrid genre …

“[The king] took some steps out of the old-fashioned [hula] and put them into the modern [hula] with guitar. He was the first one to start this.” (Kapahu; Imada)

Performed in Hawaiian language and accompanied by guitar and ’ukulele, this hula utilized polka or waltz tempos, couplet verses and a vamp that separated the verses.

Every Thursday afternoon from 2 to 5 pm, Kalākaua invited friends and out-of-town guests to Healani, his boathouse in Honolulu Harbor, where his younger court dancers performed hula ku‘i. (Imada)

When Kalākaua died in 1891, the dancers no longer had a place in court. Nevertheless, they continued to benefit directly from Kalākaua’s cultural renaissance through training in hula ‘schools’.

Called hālau hula or pā hula, these schools became gendered institutions through which a critical subset of Hawaiian women received rigorous training in performance, history, religion and protocol.

Namake‘elua (who is sometimes recorded as Nama-elua), a hula teacher Kalākaua summoned for his jubilee, had decided to remain in Honolulu instead of returning to his home on the island of Kaua‘i.

The handful of students undertook training in hula genres associated with Indigenous pre-European contact traditions, very different from the hula ku‘i of the court. (Imada)

Four women entered the hālau hula. Three of them were Hui Lei Mamo dancers. Their intensive training commenced in 1892, with the young women taking residence in the teacher’s home.

For about six weeks, the dancers were kapu (sacred or consecrated). They dedicated themselves to the goddess Laka, the patron of hula, and erected a hula kuahu (altar), imploring Laka to give them knowledge.

They danced for about six hours a day, taking swims in the ocean and meals in between practices. The repertoire was ‘very religious’. Hula practice was a part of a sacred realm and governed by strict rules, because hula performances manifested the gods’ and ali‘i’s mana (sacred power) and rank.

On the day of the ‘ūniki (ritual graduation), graduates of other hula schools came to watch the four women dance. Only after undergoing ‘ūniki were they released from sacredness and became noa (free). The following day, they celebrated their release with a feast and public performance for friends and family.

In 1893, some of these dancers went to the Chicago World’s Fair as part of the Midway Plaisance, a street of themed villages from around the world. The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair was the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World.

The Midway Plaisance was inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, where the French government and prominent anthropologists turned representations of the French colonies into ethnological villages featuring people from Africa and Asia. (Tong)

The performers who went abroad directly benefited from King David Kalākaua’s national revival of hula and traditional cultural arts during his reign from 1872 to 1891. (The image is believed to be the members of Hui Kei Mamo.)

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Lei_Mamo_Singing_Girls_(PP-32-8-014)
Lei_Mamo_Singing_Girls_(PP-32-8-014)

Filed Under: Economy, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Kalakaua, Hula, King Kalakaua, Merrie Monarch, Hui Lei Mamo, Hawaii

April 6, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aliʻi Letters John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, John Papa ‘Ī‘ī writes to Mr. and Mrs. Amos Cooke to inform them of their arrival in Lahaina with the boys from the Chiefs’ Children’s School and tells of their activities there.

John Papa ʻĪʻī began his service in the royal court when he served as an attendant to Liholiho, Kamehameha II. Īʻī later became a trusted advisor and chief in the court of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III and continued to serve the sovereigns of Hawaiʻi until his death in 1870. At the time of this letter, he is escorting the boys from the Chiefs’ Children’s School as they travel in Lahaina.

Mr. Amos Starr Cooke was a missionary with the eighth company. He and his wife, Juliette Montague Cooke, ran the Chiefs’ Children’s School. Sarai, the wife of John Papa ‘Ī‘ī at the time of this letter, assisted at the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

In part, the letter notes:

“Luaehu, April 6, 1843”

“Greetings to the two of you, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, and to the girls and Sarai,”

“We landed here in Lahaina yesterday, Wednesday, at four in the afternoon. Because of the fair winds, the boys did not suffer; Lota was the only boy weak from vomiting, and recovery was quick upon reaching the shore.”

“The men’s strong paddling was one of the reasons for arriving quickly. From morning time on they paddled that day until we neared our anchorage. All the canoes were already at hand and took all of us, the boys, Dr. Judd and Kekūanāoʻa.”

“We saw Auhea and Kuakini, who both give their greetings to the two of you and all the girls. The king has not reached during these days; he is in Wailuku and may or may not arrive tomorrow. This Sabbath day is up to me, and the work begins.”

“We slept here in Luaehu last night along with Dr. Judd, and he and I talked with Auhea about how we should go inland, and for Judd to stay with her; and that seems to be what was decided. Auhea and I went up there this morning to put things in order and the boys came up too.”

“By 10 am, all of us, the boys and Dr. Judd, mounted horses, and we rode to Lahainaluna for the presentation. We returned in the evening before dinner. “

“Dr. Judd went to Mr. Baldwin’s place for the foreigner’s meeting to abolish liquor. At nine, he returned. At that meeting, there were twenty foreigners as well as the officer of the ship. They are liquor abolitionists. …”

“Many whaling ships are anchored here these days. There are perhaps thirty ships anchored, and the rest are coming, according to what we saw of the ships between yesterday and today.”

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation (scroll down):
https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/9c5073d1f4378c8887d761505e16a8d7.pdf

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-1
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-1
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-2
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-2
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-3
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-3
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-cover
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-cover

Filed Under: Prominent People, Schools, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Amos Cooke, John Papa Ii, Chiefs Letters, Alii Letters Collection

April 4, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Missionary Sewing Circle

Kalākua (also Kaheiheimālie) (c. 1778–1842) was daughter of Keʻeaumoku (a chief from Hawaiʻi Island) and Nāmahana, from the royal family on Maui. She was described as physically being ‘tall and gigantic,’ like her siblings. (Bingham)

“Kalākua, a widow of Kamehameha … asked (the missionary women) to make a gown for her in fashion like their own.” (Bingham) “(She) was told that it was the Lord’s day, and that they would make it tomorrow.” (April 2, 1820, Thaddeus Journal)

The next day, the first Hawaiian sewing circle was held on the decks of the Thaddeus, “Kalākua brought a web of white cambric to have a dress made for herself in the fashion of our ladies, and was very particular in her wish to have it finished while sailing along the western side of the island, before reaching the king.”

“Monday morning April 3d (1820,) the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in the Hawaiian realm. Kalākua was directress. She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on mats, on the deck of the Thaddeus.”

“The dress was made in the fashion of 1819. The length of the skirt accorded with Brigham Young’s rule to his Mormon damsels, – have it come down to the tops of the shoes. But in the queen’s case, where the shoes were wanting, the bare feet cropped out very prominently.” (Lucy Thurston, part of the Pioneer Company)

Later, another ‘sewing circle’ was presented by some of the early missionary descendants. But first, some background …

About 30-years after the first sewing circle (June 5, 1832), the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society (HMCS) was formed. At the time, “there were no places of entertainment, for social enjoyments or organized mission work, or any society for the missionary children, no uplifting influences at their disposal.”

“The family rules were strict. Native prayer meetings at five o’clock in the morning and long Sunday services, mostly in Hawaiian, were the only change the poor children had, and the formation of the HMCS was a beautiful and wise undertaking. It has done its work faithfully and well.” (Cooke; HMCS, 1900)

Then in 1900, the HMCS membership was asked, “What is the future of the Society?” Outgoing HMCS president, AF Cooke noted, “Having fulfilled its original design, let us now form a new society with broader aim …”

“… and with a more extended scope for membership, and plan to become a historical centre for all missionary efforts in the wide Pacific. … A historical or commemorative society offering occasion for missionary intelligence and personal reminiscences of the lives of our fathers and mothers …”

“…would give to us and to our children and to the Christian world, a most valuable record and much history might be preserved that would otherwise remain unknown.” (Cooke; HMCS, 1900)

The Society acquired the 1821 Mission House in 1907 and later the coral block Chamberlain house. The making of a museum was underway (and remains under HMCS control to today).

A House warming was given here on April 4th, 1908. The officers of the Society and others received the Cousins and their friends in the old historic reception room where royalty was entertained in the long ago, and where, no doubt, every missionary to these sunny islands has gathered in consultation and knelt in prayer.

Many guests went up the winding stairs to the chambers above, out to the stone kitchen and down to the cellar dining and store rooms before going through to the makai lawn where chairs were arranged for the audience.

A dramatic performance of an old-time missionary sewing circle, supposedly held during the General Meeting of 1840, was presented.

“Our Cousin James A. (Judd) Wilder has with a most sympathetic hand, woven together various incidents and anecdotes from unwritten missionary history, into a brief drama of one scene, apologies need be made for any anachronisms as to pretense to be more than a composite picture.”

“The missionary mothers are represented by grand and great-grand-daughters, and the old-time dress will enhance family resemblances and are sure to be pleasing to those who remember dear faces gone.” (HMCS Annual Report, 1908)

“The acting was good and the whole scene very realistic. The play was given at the rear of the Old Mission Home, between that and the vine-clad coral kitchen, and the audience were seated on the lawn.”

“A platform was built in front of the stage, between trees and draped with flags, ferns and ilima wreaths, on which sat the guests of honor, Queen Lili‘uokalani, Gov. Pinkham, Admiral Moore and General Macomb.” (HMCS Annual Report, 1912)

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'OLD MISSION HOUSE' (LOC)-photo ca 1907
‘OLD MISSION HOUSE’ (LOC)-photo ca 1907

Filed Under: Prominent People, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Liliuokalani, Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Pinkham, Kalakua, Lucius Eugene Pinkham, Sewing Circle

April 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Torpedoed

The world was entering war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary’s throne, and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated on June 28, 1914.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Then, Germany, Russia, France and United Kingdom entered the fray; US President Woodrow Wilson announced the US would remain neutral.

US neutrality lasted until April 1, 1917, when the armed merchant ship Aztec was sunk off the northwest coast of France by U-boat 46 under the command of Leo Hillebrand.

“There are five Hawaiian boys thought to have been killed along with 16 Americans when the American steamer the Aztec was sunk.”

“This ship was sunk outside of the seas of France by the German submarine without being given prior time for the captain and his sailors to prepare themselves on the previous Sabbath.”

“Amongst the Americans who are thought to have died are some sailors of the navy which the government placed aboard the ship …. These are the first sailors of the navy to become victims of the Prussians …”

The Hawaiian boys killed on the Aztec by the Germans were: Julian R Macomber, Honolulu; Charles Pinapolo, Honolulu; Ekila Kaoki, Hawai‘i Island; Tato Davis, Hawai‘i Island and HK Price, Hawai‘i Island. (Aloha Aina, April 6, 1917)

Charles Nakao was one of the survivors – he wrote a letter that was published in the Star Bulletin, May 9, 1917. The text of that follows:

“Brooklyn, New York, April 26, 1917. … Dear Sir: I, Chas. Nakao, was one of the members of the crew of the S. S. Aztec which was the first American vessel armed with two three-inch guns.”

“Number of crew was 49, including 12 navy gunners and an officer of the U. S. S. Dolphin. We sailed from New York March 18, 1917, and were torpedoed by a submarine April 1, 1917, Sunday night, at 9:30 o’clock, off the coast of France.”

“It was very stormy weather, the seas were about 30 feet in height and the current from English channel was running about 7 miles an hour. “It were dark hail storm and were impossible to launch any lifeboat over the weather side.”

“Seven of the crew got excited and try to launch the boat No. 2, which were on the weather side they were all smashed between the life boat and the ship side one of the boys were from Honolulu, Ekela Kaohi, the other were Chinese boy from Puna Pahoa Henry Look.”

“No. 3 boat there were Hail Rice of Honolulu, Chas. Pumoku, Julian Makama of Honolulu, one from Tahiti Islands, John Davis. I were on board the No. 1 boat which I suppose to be the gunners’ boat.”

“There were 19 of the crew on board. The vessel had sunk within 15 minutes it took 9 minutes because we were away from the ship side.”

“After we were probably about 100 yards away some one gave four long blasts. Nobody knows how it happened. After four hours and a half in lifeboats on the high seas and hail storms and rain and darkness we were sighted by a French patrol boat.”

“We had signaled to the boat with flashlights. They got full speed away from us. The second one had passed by and we lighted a torch and they came and picked us up.”

“The temperature of the water was 40 degrees and I didn’t have any shoes or hat on. I was frozen and could hardly speak for about two hours after we got picked up.”

“It was 1:30 o’clock in the early Monday morning and we had looked around for about 18 hours for the other boat. There were know sign whatsoever.”

“So we landed at Brest, France, the American consul came and met us at the dock and over 6 hundred Frenchmen were treated fine.”

“I got warm and were send to Brest hospital. From Brest we were send to Bourdeaux, France, about 48 hours ride train.”

“We got on board the S. S. La Tourine, the French passenger boat from Bourdeaux, and we got back to New York safe.”

“I remain yours truly, CHAS. NAKAO, Waiakea, Hilo, Hawaii.”

“If any of boys’ family wants to get any information about the clothes or anything else please sent me your address and I will try my best to send it over. This is my address: Chas. Nakao, 324-32th street, Brooklyn, New York.”

“P. S.—Thanking our Queen for her kindly remembrance to us boys off the ill-fated S. S. Aztec. Yours sincerely, CN” (Charles Nakao, and summarized in the Kuokoa of Iune 1, 1917)

“Colonel ʻIaukea had told Lili‘uokalani of the sinking of the Aztec, resulting in the death of five Hawaiian sailors, and asked her if on that account she would like to raise the American flag over her home.”

“She replied, most emphatically: ‘Yes. Have you a flag?’ When he said, ‘No’ an army officer who happened to be present offered to procure one. On its arrival the Queen went into the yard to watch the ceremony of raising the Stars and Stripes for the first time over Washington Place.” (Kihapi‘ilani; Ola o Hawaii, June 21, 1917)

“For the first time in its long and picturesque history, Washington Place, home of Queen Liliʻuokalani, was decorated today with an American flag.”

“It was the occasion of the visit of the legislators to pay their respects to the aged queen and in view of the extraordinary crisis in international affairs and the prospect of patriotic war action by congress …”

“… the queen allowed the flag to be flown in honor of the government which years ago was responsible for her loss of a monarchy.” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 3, 1917) (Reportedly, the American flag continued to fly over Washington Place.)

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson appeared before Congress to deliver his historic war message and asked for a declaration of war against Germany.

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SS Aztec
SS Aztec
Aztec-torpedoed-1917
Aztec-torpedoed-1917
Liliuokalani_outside_Washington_Place_with_Captain_Nowlein
Liliuokalani_outside_Washington_Place_with_Captain_Nowlein
Exterior_of_Washington_Place_with_guards,_old_photograph
Exterior_of_Washington_Place_with_guards,_old_photograph
Exterior_of_Washington_Place_with_guards,_old_photograph
Exterior_of_Washington_Place_with_guards,_old_photograph
Washington_Place,_Honolulu,_Hawaii,_1899
Washington_Place,_Honolulu,_Hawaii,_1899

Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Military Tagged With: Hawaii, Liliuokalani, Queen Liliuokalani, Washington Place, WWI, Aztec, Charles Nakao

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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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Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

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