Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Royal Residences and State Houses

For most of the 1800s, leaders in Washington were concerned that Hawaiʻi might become part of a European nation’s empire. During the 1830s, Britain and France entered into treaties giving them economic privileges.

In 1842, Secretary of State Daniel Webster sent a letter to Hawaiian agents in Washington affirming US interests in Hawaiʻi and opposing annexation by any other nation. He also proposed to Great Britain and France that no nation should seek special privileges or engage in further colonization of the islands.

In 1849, the United States and Hawaiʻi concluded a treaty of friendship that served as the basis of official relations between the parties.  (state-gov)

With these various interests interested in Hawaiʻi, let’s see who were the leaders at the time: Victoria was Queen of England, Jules Grévy was President of France, Chester Alan Arthur was the US President and Kalākaua was King of Hawaiʻi.  Let’s look at their respective Royal Residences/State houses (at about the time ʻIolani Palace was completed (1882.))

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace gets its name from an eighteenth-century Tory politician. John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave and Marquess of Normanby, was created Duke of Buckingham in 1703. He built Buckingham House for himself as a grand London home.

George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family home close to St James’s Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became known as the Queen’s House, and 14 of George III’s 15 children were born there.

Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, just three weeks after her accession, and in June 1838 she was the first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation.

Since then, Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

It houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family.  The Palace is also the venue for great Royal ceremonies, State visits and investitures.

The Throne Room, sometimes used during Queen Victoria’s reign for Court gatherings and as a second dancing room, is dominated by a proscenium arch supported by a pair of winged figures of ‘victory’ holding garlands above the ‘chairs of state’.

It is in the Throne Room that The Queen, on very special occasions like Jubilees, receives loyal addresses. Another use of the Throne Room has been for formal wedding photographs.

George IV’s original palace lacked a large room in which to entertain. Queen Victoria rectified that shortcoming by adding in 1853-5 what was, at the time of its construction, the largest room in London.

The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. It was King George VI who introduced the custom of the RAF fly-by at the end of Trooping the Colour, when the Royal Family appear on the balcony.

Élysée Palace

The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the name Élysée deriving from Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology.

In the early eighteenth century, the current suburb Saint-Honoré was just a plain crossed pasture and vegetable crops, and a few houses with thatched roof.  In 1718, a field here was sold to Henri-Louis de la Tour d’Auvergne, Comte d’Evreux (they built a hotel for the residence of the Count of Evreux.)

Built and decorated between 1718 and 1722, the hotel was arranged according to the principles of architecture in vogue at the time. It remains one of the best examples of the classical model, and was considered “the most beautiful lodge near Paris.”

In 1786, it was given to Louis XVI, who later sold it in 1787 to his cousin, the Duchess of Bourbon. The hotel took the name of its owner “Hotel de Bourbon.”   During the Revolution and after the arrest of the Duchess in April 1793, the Hôtel de Bourbon later took on different purposes.

Released in 1795, to support herself, the Duchess of Bourbon began to rent the ground floor of the hotel and gave permission to his tenant, a merchant named Hovyn, organize dances in the lounges and garden.  It was at this time that the hotel took its name Elysée by reference to the nearby promenade.

Later, Napoleon resided here (March 1809) until his departure for the Austrian campaign; he took possession of the Elysée in 1812, which witnessed the last hours of the Empire – he signed his abdication there. The Elysee Palace later became the residence of Tsar Alexander during the occupation of Paris by the Allies and was made available to the Duke of Wellington in November 1815.

December 12, 1848, the National Assembly by decree assigned the “Elysée National” as Residence of the President of the Republic.  The Prince-President Louis Napoleon moved there December 20, 1848.  After the fall of the Empire, the Palace resumed the name of Elysée National. The Elysée Palace remains the official residence of French presidents.

White House

George Washington, the new nation’s first President, selected the site for the White House in 1791. The cornerstone was laid in 1792 and a competition design submitted by Irish-born architect James Hoban was chosen.

After eight years of construction, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved into the unfinished house in 1800. During the War of 1812, the British set fire to the President’s House in 1814.  (Every president since John Adams has occupied the White House.)

It was rebuilt and President James Monroe moved into the building in 1817. During Monroe’s administration, the South Portico was constructed in 1824; Andrew Jackson oversaw the addition of the North Portico in 1829.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt began a major renovation of the White House, including the relocation of the president’s offices from the Second Floor of the Residence to the newly constructed temporary Executive Office Building

The Executive Office Building is now known as the West Wing.  Roosevelt’s successor, President William Howard Taft, had the Oval Office constructed within an enlarged office wing.

At various times in history, the White House has been known as the “President’s Palace,” the “President’s House” and the “Executive Mansion.” President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.

President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama.  President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.

There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases and 3 elevators.

ʻIolani Palace

When the seat of Hawaiian government was being established in Lāhainā in the 1830s, Hale Piula (iron roofed house,) a large two-story stone building, was built for Kamehameha III to serve as his royal palace.

But, by 1843, the decision was made to permanently place a palace in Honolulu; Hale Piula was then used as a courthouse, until it was destroyed by wind in 1858 – its stones were used to rebuild a courthouse on Wharf Street.

In Honolulu, Kekūanāoʻa (father of two kings, Kamehameha IV and V) was building a house for his daughter (Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.)  The original one story coral block and wooden building called Hanailoia was built in July 1844 on the grounds of the present ʻIolani Palace.

Kamehameha III built a home next door (on the western side of the present grounds, near the Kīna‘u gate, opening onto Richards Street;) he called the house “Hoihoikea,” (two authors spell it this way – it may have been spelled Hoihoiea) in honor of his restoration after the Paulet Affair of 1843. (Taylor and Judd)

“Hoihoikea” was a large, old-fashioned, livable cottage erected on the grounds a little to the west and mauka side of the old Palace.  This served as home to Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V: the Palace being used principally for state purposes. (Taylor)

The palace building was named Hale Ali‘i meaning (House of the Chiefs.)  Kamehameha V changed its name to ʻIolani Palace in honor of his late brother and predecessor.  (ʻIo is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and lani denotes heavenly, royal or exalted.)

The cornerstone for ʻIolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879; construction was completed in 1882.  In December of that year, King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani took up residence in their new home.

The first floor consists of the public reception areas – the Grand Hall, State Dining Room, Blue Room and the Throne Room.  The second floor consists of the private suites – the King’s and Queen’s suites, Music Room, King’s Library, and the Imprisonment Room, where Queen Lili‘uokalani was held under house arrest for eight months in 1895.

Halekoa – ʻIolani Barracks – was completed in 1871 to house the Royal Guard.  It was constructed with 4,000 coral blocks and contains an open courtyard surrounded by rooms once used by the guards as a mess hall, kitchen, dispensary, berth room and lockup.  (In 1965, the structure was moved, stone by stone, to its present location to make room for the Hawaiʻi State Capitol.)

Kanaʻina Building – Old Archives – was built in 1906 and was the first building in the US erected solely for the custody and preservation of public archive materials.
 
The Palace area was originally enclosed by an eight-foot high coral block wall with wooden gates.  Following the Wilcox Rebellion in 1889, it was lowered to 3’6″.  In 1891, it was topped with the present painted iron fence.

After the overthrow of the monarchy, `Iolani Palace became the government headquarters for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory and State of Hawai‘i.  The palace was used for nearly three-quarters of a century as a government capitol building.

Government offices vacated the Palace in 1969 and moved to the newly constructed capitol building on land adjacent to the Palace grounds.

It’s interesting to note that the first electric lighting was installed in the White House in 1891 – after ʻIolani Palace (1886.)  (Contrary to urban legend that it also pre-dated the British palace, Buckingham Palace had electricity prior to ʻIolani Palace (It was first installed in the Ball Room in 1883, and between 1883 and 1887 electricity was extended throughout Buckingham Palace.)

Some suggest ʻIolani Palace had telephones before the White House, too.  However, the White House had a phone in 1879 (President Rutherford B. Hayes’ telephone number was “1”.)  “By the fall of 1881 telephone instruments and electric bells were in place in the (ʻIolani) Palace.”  (The Pacific Commercial, September 24, 1881)

Buckingham Palace beat them both. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot living in Boston, demonstrated his telephone to Queen Victoria who ordered a line from Osbourne House in the Isle of Wight to Buckingham Palace in London.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

by Peter T Young 5 Comments

FBI

OK, this is for real.  (And I wasn’t sure when/if this day would really arrive.)

Words cannot adequately express the joy, satisfaction, pride that I can, once again, call myself FBI (From Big Island).

Our house is finished in Volcano and the moving in/nesting is almost complete; I have registered it as our principal home; and changed my voter registration to the Volcano address.

I grew up on Kāneʻohe Bay Drive and, later, have been living and/or back-and-forth to the Big Island since the early 60s.

As kids, our family used to load up the jeep and trailer on the barge and camp on different Islands during the summers.

After a while, we kept going back to the Big Island. (I remember being literally the only people at Hapuna Beach as we camped over a weekend (no one else for the whole weekend – you don’t see that anymore.))

Then, on one of those trips, our father drove us all up mauka.  We got out in the overgrowth, and he said we are going to build a house there.

Our family had a macadamia/coffee farm in Kahalu‘u/Keauhou Mauka (it was the first left after the dip, up Donkey Mill Road).

Later, I was a UH Mānoa December graduate; in January, I moved back to Kona and then to Waimea (another previous Big Island home (as an HPA boarder)).

The job with DLNR took me back to O‘ahu, where we lived since the beginning of this year.  (After DLNR, a lot of my work was based on Hawai‘i Island, so I was always going back and forth – sometimes for the day, occasionally overnight.)

The circumstances are now in place and the timing is right for us to return and call Hawai‘i Island our home.

Volcano has always been special to me.  As kids, whenever there was an eruption, the family would fly over from O‘ahu to watch.

I remember seeing the Kilauea Iki eruption that formed what is now the large cinder cone and Devastation Trail; likewise, the Kapoho eruption and many more.

I remember, as a kid, sitting in the Volcano House with Uncle George (George Lycurgus) at the fireplace and/or starring out at Kilauea and Halema‘uma‘u.

It always feels right to be in Volcano.

(I planned my first major business on cocktail napkins at the Volcano House Bar over one of the many weekend stays.)

Anyway, we are back.

We’ll be going back and forth between Volcano and Fort Collins (one Winter shoveling 20-inches of snow and Summers with 100+ degree Fort Collins’ weather were enough for me).

It is great to get back to the Big Island.

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The “Sweet” Road

At the turn of the century (going into the 1900s) road repairs were in the news. A lot.  A good indication was “Kamaaina’s” July 20, 1912 letter to the Star-Bulletin editor,

“Just once in the last sixteen years have repairs been made on Kalakaua avenue. All other roads and public thoroughfares in Honolulu; have received attention, but apparently this one has been forgotten.”

“Certainly the neglect Is not due to the fact that Kalakaua avenue does not need it nor to the failure of residents and property owners to protest; the dust is so heavy that on windy days the homes nearby are almost untenable, and in wet weather portions of this road are almost impassable.’ (Star-Bulletin, July 20, 1912)

Before we go on, we should address some of the terms used in the day:

Asphalt – a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel bonded with a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum or coal tar and coal-tar pitch

Bitulithic – essentially, the maximum aggregate size was 75 mm ranging down to dust. The concept was to produce a mix which could use a more “fluid” binder than used for sheet asphalt.

Bitumen – a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum distillation

Concrete – created using a concrete mix of cement, coarse aggregate, sand, and water.

Macadam – angular aggregate over a well-compacted subgrade; maximum aggregate sizes was that “no stone larger than will enter a man’s mouth should go into a road” – coal tar added as binder

Warrenite – a thin, approximately 25 mm thick layer of sheet asphalt placed on top of the hot, uncompacted Bitulithic

Road work was delayed … different people preferred different solutions, and once decisions were made, they were challenged.

The February 7, 1911 Hawaiian Star editorial expressed the community’s frustration, “Road Making – The art of road-making here does not seem to have profited much by experience.”

“For years this administration or that has tried its hand, but if permanent records of methods and results were kept they do not appear to have made an impression.”

“Each road superintendent, as he comes along, tries a new scheme which may, as was the case with the last paving of King street, simply repeat past errors.”

“Yet there ought, by this time, to be a definite formula for street building, not to be lightly departed from, which would assure the most suitable rock, the most satisfactory binding material and a uniform cost per yard for construction of plain work, sources of supply and aspects of topography being equal, at all times.”

“During the regime of H. E. Cooper in the Public Works office two ways of road-making were tried on Kalakaua avenue, the plan was to judge between the two. The highway has had a long test; and in its worst spots the road is better than some that have been built since by other plans.”

“The question that occurs is, have the original plans been saved; is all the necessary data in hand; and if Kalakaua avenue were rebuilt would the lessons already learned from the Cooper experiment be applied? The Star does not say they wouldn’t be. But if they were not, the fact would not cause, surprise. . .”

“‘Observer,’ an intelligent writer on this subject in the morning paper says: ‘Our lava rock is poor material for road-making. It soon turns into mud or blows away as dust. Coral makes an admirable road for wet or dry weather.’”

“If this is a fact, why wasn’t lava rock thrown out for coral long ago? Yet it is being used right along as if experience taught nothing.  Is this good business policy?” (Hawaiian Star, February 7, 1911)

The October 30, 1904 Pacific Commercial Advertiser editorial called for experimentation, “Local Street Paving. The smoothness of a macadamized road in Honolulu wears off in about a year and if there is much travel or rain the road needs to be repaired or rebuilt in three years. Obviously this is a bad showing.”

“Macadam of the right sort should hold its form for seven or eight years unless disturbed meanwhile by the laying of pipes; but the trouble in Honolulu is that our road-building material, friable volcanic rock, is not adapted to wear and tear. If we had granite to break up, our highways would not create such an endless bill of costs.”

“A trial is about to be made of asphalt on one of the business streets, a substance which may keep its smoothness of surface better than macadam, but which is a radiator of heat. On a warm day the asphaltum surface of the Naval docks is almost unbearable.”

“In Washington the streets, which are paved with this material, affect the thermometers all along the way. Still if asphaltum highways prove durable and therefore less expensive than macadam …”

“… the public here may not complain of the higher temperature. It is an offset also for solar discomfort to have the springy, rubber-like feeling of asphalt under one’s carriage wheels.”

“A good plan, in experimenting with our streets, would be to try several pavements in a distance, on one highway, of a few blocks. Then any casual tax payer could tell how the same volume of travel affects different building materials.”

“If it ever comes to that, the Advertiser hopes the pavements of Sydney, N. S. W., will have, consideration. Some years ago the United States Consul General there reported that noiseless pavement; laid a decade before on the Sydney street of heaviest traffic had shown no signs of deterioration.”

“This pavement had pounded and rolled rock at the bottom, with one foot lengths of eucalyptus trunks on end between curb and curb, the spaces or crevices between each trunk length being filled with gravel and concrete and the top presenting a smooth surface of asphalt which protected the wood from rain. It was found that the eucalyptus grew harder with the years.”

“As eucalyptus is readily procurable here some experiments with it might not come amiss.” (Commercial Pacific Advertiser, October 30. 1904)

In addition to eucalyptus, there were thought of Ohia block paving, “That bitullthic paving for King street will be decided upon by, the Board of Supervisors tonight looked like a foregone conclusion this morning.”

“The road committee, It Is under stood, will report unanimously In favor of J. A Gilman’s bid for paving King street with bitulithic, and although some of the Supervisors are rather inclined in favor ohia wood block paving, they will probably not carry out the opposition tonight in the face of a majority for bitulithic.”

“Supervisors Murray and McCleilan are said to favor giving ohia block paving a fair try-out in Honolulu. The others believe that as the bitulithic paving bid was by far the lowest, it should be adopted.” (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1911)

Edward Scott in ‘Saga’, recalls one of the alternatives that didn’t work – he called it “Honolulu’s Sweetest Memory – ‘Molasses Streets,’”

“Shortly after the turn of the century, W ‘Willie’ Wall, city engineer of Honolulu, hit upon the idea of paving King Street and Kalakaua Avenue with a mixture of bagasse, (cane refuse from sugar making), crushed lava, and beach sand.”

“Willie went to work immediately and laid down a large section of thoroughfare, attracting head-scratching engineers and flies to what would become Honolulu’s ‘sweetest memory.’”

“This concoction rolled out smoothly and all went well until the first heavy rain, which melted Wall’s ‘rock candy’ roadway turning it into a sticky quagmire.”

“Here was a sidewalk superintendent’s Utopia as owners of vehicles found that the gluey mess stuck like hardening cement. Dozens of suggestions were made. Undaunted, Wall called for more crushed lava.”

“When the rainy season set in again, Kalakaua Avenue once more turned into a syrupy tide, the aromatic flow oozing down the gutters until it merged in a swirling mess covering the duck and taro ponds off McCully Street.”

“Until his dying day ‘Willie’ Wall maintained that, given time, he could have made his molasses streets work. True or not the experiment, in retrospect, remains the city’s sweetest and stickiest memory.” (Scott, Saga, 413)

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Fifteen Days in the Islands

In January, 1778, Captain Cook was travelling from Christmas Island (“As we kept our Christmas here, I called this discovery Christmas Island” (Cook,)) heading across the north Pacific to the Oregon coast of North America, he wasn’t looking for Hawai‘i.

“On the 2d of January, at day-break, we weighed anchor (at Christmas Island,) and resumed our course to the north; having fine weather, and a gentle breeze at east, and east-south-east …”

“We continued to see birds every day … sometimes in greater numbers than others; and between the latitude of 10° and 11% we saw several turtle.”

“All these are looked upon us signs of the vicinity of land.”

“However, we discovered none till day-break, in the morning of the 18th, when an island made its appearance, bearing northeast by east (O‘ahu;) and, soon after, we saw more land bearing north (Kauai,) and entirely detached from the former. Both had the appearance of being high land.”

“On the 19th, at sunrise, the island first seen, bore east several leagues distant. This being directly to windward, which prevented our getting near it, I stood for the other, which we could reach; and not long after discovered a third island (Ni‘ihau) in the direction of west north-west, as far distant as land could be seen.”

“We had now a fine breeze at east by north; and I steered for the east end of the second island ; which at noon extended from north, half east, to west northwest, a quarter west, the nearest part being about two leagues distant.”

“At this time, we were in some doubt whether or no the land before us was inhabited; but this doubt was soon cleared up, by seeing some canoes coming off from the shore, toward the ships.”

“I immediately brought-to, to give them time to join us.” … Contact.

“They had from three to six men each; and, on their approach, we were agreeably surprised to find, that they spoke the language of Otaheite, and of the other islands we had lately visited. It required but very little address, to get them to come alongside ; but no intreaties could prevail upon any of them to come on board.”

“I tied some brass medals to a rope, and gave them to those in one of the canoes, who, in return, tied some small mackerel to the rope as an equivalent.”

“This was repeated; and some small nails, or bits of iron, which they valued more than any other article, were given them. For these they exchanged more fish, and a sweet potatoe; a sure sign that they had some notion of bartering; or, at least, of returning one present for another.”

“Seeing no signs of an anchoring place at this eastern extreme of the island, I bore away to leeward, and ranged along the south east side, at the distance of half a league from the shore.”

“As soon as we made sail, the canoes left us; but others came off, as we proceeded along the coast, bringing with them roasting pigs, and some very fine potatoes, which they exchanged, as the others had done, for whatever was offered to them.”

“Several small pigs were purchased for a sixpenny nail; so that we again found ourselves in a land of plenty; and just at the time when the turtle, which we had so fortunately procured at Christmas Island, were nearly expended.”

For the next 15-days, Cook and his crew effectively took the time to barter for provisions – water and food.

“The very instant I leaped on shore, the collected body of the natives all fell flat upon their faces, and remained in that very humble posture, till, by expressive signs, I prevailed upon them to rise.”

“They then brought a great many small pigs, which they presented to me, with plantain-trees, using much the same ceremonies that we had seen practised, on such occasions, at the Society and other islands …”

“… and a long prayer being spoken by a single person, in which others of the assembly sometimes joined. I expressed my acceptance of their proffered friendship, by giving them, in return, such presents as I had brought with me from the ship for that purpose.”

“As soon as we landed, a trade was set on foot for hogs and potatoes, which the people of the island gave us in exchange for nails and pieces of iron, formed into something like chisels.”

“We met with no obstruction in watering; on the contrary, the natives assisted our men in rolling the casks to and from the pool; and readily performed whatever we ‘required.”

Cook was concerned about his men infecting the Hawaiian women with venereal disease, “(The women) would as readily have favoured us with their company on board as the men; but I wished to prevent all connection, which might, too probably, convey an irreparable injury to themselves, and through their means, to the whole nation.”

“Another necessary precaution was taken, by strictly enjoining, that no person, known to be capable of propagating the infection, should be sent upon duty out of the ships … I had been equally attentive to the same object, when I first visited the Friendly Islands; yet I afterward found, with real concern, that I had not succeeded.”

“(A)bout seven o’clock in the evening the anchor of the Resolution started, and she drove off the bank. As we had a whole cable out, it was some time before the anchor was at the bows; and then we had the launch to hoist up alongside, before we could make sail.”

“By this unlucky accident, we found ourselves, at daybreak next morning, three leagues to the leeward of our last station; and foreseeing that it would require more time to recover it than I chose to spend, I made the signal for the Discovery to weigh and join us.”

“This was done about noon; and we immediately stood away to the northward, in prosecution of our voyage.”

“Thus, after spending more time about these islands than was necessary to have answered all our purposes, we were obliged to leave them before we had completed our water and got from them such a quantity of refreshments as their inhabitants were both able and willing to have supplied us with.”

“But, as it was, our ship procured from them provisions, sufficient for three weeks at least; and Captain Clerke, more fortunate than us, got of their vegetable productions, a supply that lasted his people upward of two months.” The Discovery and Resolution left Hawai‘i on February 2, 1778.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

An Inland View of Atooi-Webber
An Inland View of Atooi-Webber

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1836

Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 following 11 years of conflict. With independence achieved, Mexico struggled to find its own independent identity, first establishing a monarchy then a constitutional republic.

The need to protect the northern frontier prompted the government to establish colonization laws that allowed colonists into Texas. Large groups of people moved to Texas, with the attraction of land and an opportunity to start over.

People, such as Stephen F. Austin, helped to facilitate the arrival of immigrants to Texas by ways of colonies and land grants. Many of these colonists, along with the native population, enjoyed a semi-autonomous way of life far from the capital in Mexico.

This autonomy would be challenged with the election of Antonio López de Santa Anna as president in 1833. His political views would change from federalism to centralism causing Mexico to fall into a civil war and Texas to seek its own independence.

On October 2, 1835, the Texas Revolution began as tension boiled over and shots were fired in the town of Gonzales. The Texans fired a shot at the Mexican Army, leading to the start of the Texas Revolution. The Mexican Army realized they were outnumbered and retreated.

An army of Texan volunteers arrived in Mexican-occupied San Antonio de Bexár in late October, and began to lay siege to the town as a result of the Battle of Gonzales.

By mid-October, the volunteers had amassed to over 400, with individuals such as James Bowie, James Fannin, and Juan Seguin arriving on the outskirts of town. These men were under the command of Stephen F. Austin.

On October 28, 1835, as the Texan Army lay siege to San Antonio, a group of Texans and the Mexican Army clashed, at Mission Concepción. During the skirmish, Bowie and Fannin led a group of Texans to victory over a detachment of 275 Mexican Army troops led by General Martín Perfecto de Cos. Once again the Mexican Army was defeated.

On November 26, 1835, the Texan Army once again defeated the Mexican Army in the Grass Fight.  Later, General Santa Anna’s Army were marching north towards Texas, unbeknownst to the Texans. Their plan was to take back the town of Bexár and end the Texas Revolution once and for all.

Established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero, what is now referred to as the Alamo was a religious outpost of the Spanish empire. The mission was founded as a Spanish foothold in a territory that Spain rarely entered, with the intent to convert indigenous peoples to Catholicism and instruct them to become Spanish citizens.

Beginning in the early 1800s, Spanish military troops were stationed in the abandoned chapel of the former mission. Because it stood in a grove of cottonwood trees, the soldiers called their new fort “El Alamo” after the Spanish word for cottonwood and in honor of Alamo de Parras, their hometown in Mexico.

Santa Anna’s Army began to arrive in San Antonio de Bexár on February 23, 1836.  Their arrival prompted members of the Texan Army to enter the Alamo, which was by now heavily fortified.   The Alamo had 18 serviceable cannons and approximately 150 men at the start of the siege.

On February 24, 1836, with the garrison surrounded and the Texan Army at the Alamo outnumbered, one of the most famous letters in American history was written by William B. Travis.

It was addressed, “To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World.”  This letter was a passionate plea for aid for the Alamo garrison.  He ended the letter “Victory or Death” – the only outcome this battle could have.

On March 1, 1836, 32 men from the town of Gonzales arrived to aid the Alamo. This brought the number of defenders up to almost 200 men.  On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. 

On March 3, 1836, courier James Butler Bonham arrived at the Alamo with word from Robert Williamson informing Travis help was on the way.  Unfortunately it would not arrive in time.

On March 5, 1836, Santa Anna held a council of war, setting forth this plan for a four pronged attack of the garrison. At dawn on March 6, 1836, the 13th day of the siege, the Battle of the Alamo commenced.

Fighting lasted roughly 90 minutes, and by daybreak all the Defenders had perished, including a former congressman from Tennessee, David Crockett. The loss of the garrison was felt all over Texas, and even the world.

The Defenders were from many different countries, including some Defenders who were native-born Mexicans. Following the battle, Santa Anna ordered the Defender’s remains burned.  (TheAlamo)

From March to May, Mexican forces once again occupied the Alamo. For the Texans, the Battle of the Alamo became a symbol of heroic resistance and a rallying cry in their struggle for independence.

On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston and some 800 Texans defeated Santa Anna’s Mexican force of 1,500 men at San Jacinto (near the site of present-day Houston), shouting “Remember the Alamo!” as they attacked.

The victory ensured the success of Texan independence: Santa Anna, who had been taken prisoner, came to terms with Houston to end the war.  (History)

At this same time, in the Islands …

First Commercial Sugar

The first commercially‐viable sugar plantation, Ladd and Co., was started in the Islands at Kōloa on Kauai. On July 29, 1835, Ladd & Company obtained a 50‐year lease on nearly 1,000‐acres of land and established a plantation and mill site in Kōloa.

It was to change the face of Kauai (and Hawai‘i) forever, launching an entire economy, lifestyle and practice of mono-cropping that lasted for over a century. A tribute to this venture is found at the Kōloa Sugar Memorial in Old Kōloa Town.

On September 7, 1835, the Diana arrived 92 days from Canton via Bonin Islands. … Brig full of miscellaneous cargo … the principal of the balance to the Chinamen in French’s employ….”

“There were in the brig four Chinese sugar manufacturers with a stone mill and 400 to 600 pots for cloying and 5 cast Iron boilers. They are under control of Atti (Ahtai who was employed by William French) and hopefully can be obtained on fair terms.”  (William Hooper, Ladd & Company; Kai)

Hilo Boarding School Founded

Reverend David Belden Lyman (1803-1884) and his wife, Sarah Joiner Lyman (1806-1885,) arrived in Hawaii in 1832, members of the fifth company of missionaries sent to the Islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and were assigned the mission in Hilo.

In 1835, they constructed the Hilo Boarding School as part of an overall system of schools (with a girls boarding school in Wailuku and boarding at Lahainaluna.)  The Mission then established ‘feeder schools’ that would transmit to their students’ fundamental reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, and religious training, before admission to the Lahainaluna.

On January 6, 1835 “our children’s school commenced, eighty children present, sixty knew their letters. A number of the more forward children are employed as monitors to assist the less forward. (ie advanced)” (Sarah Lyman)

In October 1836, two thatch houses were constructed near Lyman’s house and on October 3 the school opened with eight boarders, but the number soon increased to twelve.

The school was operated to an extent on a manual labor program and the boys cultivated the land to produce their own food. (The boys’ ages ranged from seven to fourteen.)

More than one-third of the boys who had attended the school eventually became teachers in the common schools of the kingdom. In 1850 the Minister of Public Instruction, Richard Armstrong, reported that Hilo Boarding School “is one of our most important schools. It is the very life and soul of our common school on that large island.”

Anthony Allen

Anthony D. Allen was born a slave on the German Flats, in New York, in 1774. In 1800, he made a flight for freedom from Schenectady, NY, and made his way to Boston.  He spent the next few years a free man  sailing across the globe – Boston, France, Haiti, Havana China, Northwest US and eventually, in 1811, Hawaiʻi.

By 1820, Allen owned a dozen houses, “within the enclosure were his dwelling, eating and cooking houses, with many more for a numerous train of dependents. There was also a well, a garden containing principally squashes, and in one part, a sheepfold in which was one cow, several sheep, and three hundred goats.”  (Sybil Bingham Journal)

Allen may have operated the first commercial dairy in Hawaiʻi. In addition to his farming, Allen provided overnight accommodations – one of the earliest known hotel uses in Waikīkī.

Allen’s six-acres and home were about two miles from downtown at Pawaʻa, between what we now call Waikīkī and Mānoa at what is now the corner of Punahou and King Streets.  This is where Washington Intermediate School is now situated.  Allen, the former slave, died of a stroke on December 31, 1835, leaving behind a considerable fortune to his children.

Sandwich Island Gazette and Journal of Commerce

In 1836, two years after Hawaiian language newspapers took hold, the Sandwich Island Gazette and Journal of Commerce, the first English language paper (and the oldest West of the Rocky Mountains) was born.

It was aimed at the foreigners living in Hawai‘i. It was the first newspaper to contain advertising. It published old news from world newspapers, local shipping notices, and contributions from its readers. It advocated freedom of the press, discussed the declining native population, and supported freedom of religion for Roman Catholics in Hawai‘i.

Sybil Bingham Plants Night-blooming Cereus at Punahou

In 1836, Sybil Bingham (wife of Protestant missionary leader Hiram Bingham) planted a night-blooming cereus hedge from a few branches of the vine she received from a traveler from Mexico.  Today, that famed cacti, known as Panini o Kapunahou, continues to cover the Punahou walls; it was noted to have “world-wide reputation and interest”.  (The Friend)

In addition, the main part of the Kapunahou property was planted with sugarcane by Sybil, with the aid of the female church-members; the plan was to support his family from the profits of the cane field, selling the cane to the sugar mills, one of which was in Honolulu.

Royal Hawaiian Band Formed

In 1836, King Kamehameha III created the “King’s Band.” The band, presently called the “Royal Hawaiian Band,” continues to entertain audiences in Hawaii and around the world today.

Queen Emma is Born

Emma Naʻea Rooke was born January 2, 1836, the daughter of High Chief George Naʻea and High Chiefess Fanny Kekelaokalani Young and hānai to by her childless maternal aunt, chiefess Grace Kamaʻikuʻi Young Rooke, and her husband, Dr. Thomas CB Rooke.

On June 19, 1856, Emma married Alexander Liholiho and became Queen Emma.  They had one child Prince Albert.  In 1859, King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma founded Queen’s Hospital.

Fifteen of the Highest Ranking Chiefs Ask the Missionaries to Send More Teachers

On August 23, 1836, King Kamehameha III and 14 of the highest ranking chiefs in the Islands wrote a letter to the American missionaries asking that more American teachers be sent by the missionaries to the Islands.

The chiefs noted, “If you agree and send these teachers when we will protect them when they arrive, provide the necessities to make their professions viable and give our support those needed endeavours.”

In response, shortly after, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) sent the largest company of missionaries to the Islands, that included a large number of teachers. The Eighth Company left Boston December 14, 1836 and arrived at Honolulu, April 9, 1837 on the Mary Frasier from Boston.

King Kalākaua is Born

David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua was born in Honolulu to High Chief Kahana Kapaʻahea and the High Chiefess Analea Keohokālole, on November 16, 1836.

Per the custom of the times, he was hānai (adopted) by the chiefess Haʻaheo Kaniu, who took him to Maui, where the court of King Kamehameha III was located. When Kalākaua was four, he returned to Oʻahu to begin his education at the Royal School (it was started in 1839).

Kalākaua became king in 1874. Under Kalākaua’s direction, the cornerstone for ʻIolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879.  Construction was completed in 1882; in December of that year Kalākaua moved into his palace with his wife, Queen Kapi’olani, the granddaughter of King Kaumuali’i of Kauai.  He died on January 20, 1891.

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