Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Buckle, Wahinepio and Leoiki

At the end of May in 1823, Keōpūolani, Nāhiʻenaʻena and Hoapili (Keōpūolani’s husband) moved to Maui and took up residence in Lāhainā.

“The queen was desirous to have missionaries to accompany her … A meeting was called to consult whether it was expedient to establish a mission at Lahaina. The mission was determined on, and Mr. S. (Stewart) was appointed to go: he chose Mr. R. (Reverend William Richards) for his companion.”  (Betsey Stockton Journal)

At about the same time, whaling ships were calling at Hawaiʻi.  (Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands.)

At that time, whale products were in high demand; whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.

Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.   The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Japan brought many whaling ships to the Islands.  Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Starting with Cook’s arrival, his crew and later the whalers sought and received other pleasures.  The matter of sailors and Hawaiian women got more complicated in 1825, when the British whaler Daniel IV, under the command of William Buckle, made its way into Lāhainā.

Before leaving, Buckle asking that Leoiki accompany him on his cruise sent her to her chiefess, Wahinepio, with eight gold doubloons. At first hesitant, Wahinepio spoke with Buckle and then gave her OK, after he promised to bring the girl back (as well as adding two more doubloons.  (Litten)

To many it appeared Wahinepio sold Leoiki, a girl of sixteen, into slavery to Captain Buckle.  The money was later added to the treasures left by Liholiho, because no one was found willing to be its owner.  (Thrum, 1918)

As was the practice, Richards sent his daily journal to the mission headquarters (his account of the matter later appeared in the newspapers – likewise, a new policy was established, not allowing women to board the ships at anchor.)

This brought two areas of disturbance: (1) a claim of slavery, with subsequent assertions of libel and (2) a rowdy crew expecting female companionship on board ship.

Let’s address the latter, first.

Take the scene of October, 1825. A missionary and his family are alone on the Island of Maui. The British whale ship Daniel, under Captain Buckle, arrives and comes to anchor. The crew soon find that a change has taken place. Instead of the accustomed throng of native females, not an individual of the sex approaches the ship. (Dibble)

With a law in force forbidding women to visit ships, the Captain and his crew threatened to burn Mr. Richards’ house, and to kill him and his wife. The next day fifteen sailors came ashore armed with knives and pistols and waving a black flag. By order of the chiefs the mission was surrounded by two hundred armed natives. The sailors marched up the hill with threatening mien but, seeing the array of bayonets, turned around and marched right back again. (Thrum, 1918)

The first matter of slavery claims did not go unnoticed by Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III.  “After sitting silent a short time Boki read a manao of the king & his sister in which they express their intention to prevent any violent measure being taken against Mr. Richards, that they would condemn the one that should be proved to be in the wrong and justify the one that should prove to be in the right.”  (Chamberlain)

Buckle had claimed libel against Richards for publishing the slavery claims in the papers (the story was not just mentioned in the Islands, it made the continental papers, as well.)

To this Richards replied that he had not seen the communication alluded to and that he could not make oath to any newspaper declaration & moreover that he had never written or said anything which by a fair interpretation could be construed to mean that Buckle had made a purchase for the purpose of reducing to slavery.  (Chamberlain)

Supporting the ‘no sale’ situation, Leoiki (and Buckle) denied that she had been sold to Captain Buckle.  (Chamberlain)

Later, Richards addressed a conciliatory letter to Buckle stating the reasons which he sent his report to the Mission Board and that he did not authorize the publication of it and that he had never supposed that Buckle had obtained the woman for the purpose of reducing her to slavery, nor did he think that by a fair interpretation that meaning could be inferred.  (Chamberlain)

Buckle, feeling his reputation has been damaged, answered Richard’s letter declaring false the account of the purchase & of the riot & pronounces the whole to be a libel, and states if this were a civilized country where justice could be obtained he should bring him to the punishment which he deserved; and that even now he could demand that Richards retract what he had written and acknowledge his statements to be false.  (Chamberlain)

Richard Charlton, British Consul-General, noted, “Captain Buckle could not be convicted of having bought a female slave as the inmate of his cabin.”  (Bingham)  The natives say Mr. Richards is to be put to death for falsely accusing Buckle. (Chamberlain)

While the transfer of funds raised the suspicion of many that Leoiki was sold into slavery, some suggest the payment was simply the traditional payment of dowry. (While we sometimes limit the context of ‘dowry’ to the property a woman brings to a marriage; it can also mean money given by the groom to the family of the bride.)

Then, on December 26, 1827, the Daniel IV, under the command of Captain Buckle, left Lāhainā.  “The departure of this captain who has been the occasion of so much trouble to the mission gave us no small comfort. She sail’d in company with the Elizabeth Capt. Stewart. We were happy to see both vessels steer directly off without altering their course.”  (Chamberlain)

A meeting of the chiefs followed.  There, they agreed to close the subject.  The meeting did, however, proclaim three general laws: those against murder, adultery and theft. (Litten)

There is another tangential end to this story.  On February 5, 1826 (very much in the middle of the above timeframe,) William Wahinepio Buckle was born to Buckle and Leoiki (apparently born while they were at sea.)

The Māhele documents show that Leoiki was given five lands on three islands; she also received title to the land Captain Buckle bought for their home in downtown Honolulu: both definite indications that she was still considered an Aliʻi.  (Creed, waihona)

William Wahinepio Buckle later was a member of King Kalākaua’s Privy Council.  His daughter, Jane Kahakuwaiaoao Keakahiwalani Buckle Clark, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Liliʻuokalani.

Some of the Buckle descendants are buried in the Honolulu Catholic Cemetery on King Street. 

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Burial of Joseph Nāwahī

“For ten days or more the movements of certain parties have been subjected to very close scrutiny. Though without their knowledge they have been under careful surveillance.”

“Reports by the police are to the effect that an uprising was scheduled for Saturday night. The capture of the Executive building was not to be undertaken until very late. President Dole and his Cabinet Ministers were to be taken prisoners. At the same time the insurgents were to take possession of the Police Station.”

“At 10 o’clock Lieutenant Holi was dispatched for Joseph Nāwahī.  He was found at his home at Kapalama. He reached the station house twenty minutes later. The charge against Mr. Nāwahī was treason. He was given a cell all to himself.  No bondsman appeared on behalf of Mr Nāwahī.”  (Hawaiian Star, Dec 10, 1894)

“Born in 1842 at Kaimū, his parents named him Joseph Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. Raised by his uncle, Joseph Paʻakaula, twelve-year-old Nāwahī enrolled in Hilo Boarding School. His first teachers were Rev. David and Sarah Lyman.”

“In July 1856 Nāwahī became a seminary student at Lahainaluna, Maui and finally a scholar at the Royal School in Honolulu. His career included periods as a teacher, assistant principal, and briefly principal at Hilo Boarding School. He also chose to work as a surveyor, lawyer, and newspaper publisher.”

“Nāwahī served many years for the Kingdom government: as a representative for the people of Puna (1872–1876), then Hilo (1878–1884, 1890–1893) and as Minister of Foreign Affairs for Queen Liliʻuokalani.” (Lyman Museum)

He spent nearly three months in jail before his supporters were able to raise the money and bail him out, where it is believed he contracted tuberculosis. (Oiwi TV and Ka‘iwakīloumoku)

At the trial, “When the jury were out two hours they came out for instructions. They retired again and at 8 o’clock returned a verdict of not guilty for Nawahi …. Judge Cooper discharged Mr Nawahi and, thanking the jury for their close attention, dismissed them ….”  (The Independent. May 10, 1895)

Following his imprisonment, he founded the Hui Aloha ʻĀina political party [a patriotic group created to support Lili‘uokalani and oppose annexation] and published the newspaper Ke Aloha ʻĀina. (Lyman Museum)

He was ill; “Mr and Mrs Joseph Nawahi will leave for the coast by the Alameda. Mr Nawahi has been quite ill recently and his physician advised a sea voyage.” (The Independent, August 19, 1896)

“Joseph Nawahi, one of the ablest Hawaiian members of the Honolulu bar, died in San Francisco from consumption [Tuberculosis] on the 14th inst. [September 14, 1896]”

“He had been in failing health here for some time, and visited California in the hope that a change of climate would benefit him, but his weakened condition left him without the means to combat the disease. … His remains will be returned to Honolulu on Monday by the SS Australia. Deceased leaves a widow and two sons.  (PCA, Sept 25, 1896)

“The two native societies Aloha Aina and Kalaiaina had made arrangements with undertaker EA Williams to take charge of the remains of Joseph Nawahi on their arrival on the Australia”.

“The wharf was crowded to suffocation with some three or four thousand natives who had intended to follow the hearse after the two societies.”  (Evening Bulletin, Sep 29, 1896)

“The body was carried to the undertaking parlors of HH Williams, and about noon conveyed in a hearse drawn by four bay horses to the Nawahi’s residence at Palama where the last respects were paid to the deceased patriot by his mourning compatriots.”

“Mrs Nawahi, the widow, brought her husband’s body from San Francisco to his island home and was received at the wharf by her grief-stricken sons and relatives.”

“The casket containing the remains was wrapped in a Hawaiian flag and numerous floral offerings were sent to the house during the day.”

“The remains will be sent to Hilo tomorrow afternoon by the steamer Hawaii for interment, after the services have been held at 12:30 pm at the homestead.”  (The Independent, Sep 29, 1896)

“Excitement ran high in [Hilo] when a telephone message from Purser Beckley of the Kinau, sent from Kawaihae early Wednesday morning last, announced that the body of the late Joseph Nawahi would arrive here on the steamer Hawaii, to leave Honolulu on that same day.”

“The mere fact that the arrival of the Hawaii was a matter of conjecture, due to the large amount of freight for Lahaina and other way ports, increased the excitement to a still higher pitch, so that when a telephone message was received from Mahukona Thursday afternoon that the Hawaii had reached that port, Hilo was in a perfect whirlwind.”

“From Puna, Puneo, Wainaku, Papaikou, from Onamea and other small places near Hilo, there was a steady inpouring of natives, dressed in either white or black.”

“Between 7 and 8 o’clock Friday morning, minute bells from Hilo Church announced that the Hawaii had come in sight, and a little later your reporter saw her drop anchor in Hilo bay, somewhat further toward the Puna side than usual.”

“As the Hawaii gave one long whistle, there appeared moving slowly out from Wailoa river four large double canoes manned by sturdy natives. Between each of the two were platforms for the coffin and the people who accompanied the body.”

“The head canoe was manned by natives grown old in the art of canoeing, and the top of the platform was covered with a heavy black pall.”

“As the procession of these four canoes, each with a Hawaiian flag at half mast, approached closer and closer to the steamer, the decks of the latter seemed to be all animation, and in a short time preparations were completed for putting the body off.”

“Just as the funeral canoe had reached the side and as the body was being lifted over, the steamer Hawaii, hitherto pointing directly toward Hilo, swerved around slowly and pointed to ward Waiakea, this, although being due to natural causes, striking the natives as something in the realm of the supernatural.”

“As soon as the body had been taken aboard, one lone bomb boomed out from the direction of Waiakea, and the canoe and procession of boats started away from the side of the vessel, the Hawaii swerving still further around and pointing toward Puna.”

“Long before the procession reached Waiakea, the beach near by, the jutting rocks, the bridge and every position of vantage was occupied by people, the greatest number of whom were natives.”

“The rays of the morning sun shone brightly upon the procession and upon the funeral canoe, whither all eyes were directed.”

“The appearance of this catamaran around the turn was the signal for a burst of wailing on the part of the native women, something that has never failed to strike the hearts of foreigners with a feeling of awe.”

“In a short time the funeral canoe had reached the Hilo side of Wailoa river, and the natives who had guided the corpse of Nawahi to land now stepped into the shallow water to complete their mission by lifting it off the platform and placing it upon the open funeral carriage that had been provided by the natives of Waiakea.”

“In the wagonette immediately behind the funeral carriage were Mrs. Joseph Nawahi, widow of the deceased, with Rev. Stephen L. Desha at her side, Albert and Alexander Nawahi, her two sons, Miss E. K. Nawahi, an adopted niece; Miss Simeona, another niece; Mrs. Aoe Like. Miss Anna. Mrs. Alapai and joe Kaiana.”

“When the remains had been set in Haili Church in front of the pulpit, watchers were assigned, and then came a steady inpouring of visitors to pay their last respects and bringing with them floral offerings to show their aloha for Nawahi.”

“Two o’clock Sunday afternoon found Haili Church crowded to the doors with people present to hear the services previous to burial. The front part of the old native church was a mass of flowers, in the right hand corner was a great bunch of greens of various kinds across the center of which was pinned the word ‘Aloha,’ done in marigolds.”

“Then came the sermon of Rev SL Desha in Hawaiian, abounding in richness of language and aptness of illustration, that held the attention of the audience closely.  Then came the funeral procession to the graveyard, in which nearly a thousand people took part.”

“The services at the grave in the [Homelani] cemetery were very simple, and in very short time the remains of Joseph Nawahi were laid to rest in the ground and covered with the loving floral tributes of his many friends.”

“Even after the Hawaiian patriot’s death, the political struggle against annexation only intensified. The women’s chapter of the Hui Aloha ʻĀina, founded by his wife Emma Nāwahī, circulated the Kūʻē Petitions across the islands and held numerous rallies and meetings in support of their cause.”

“One of these meetings was held at the Salvation Army hall in Hilo, one week after the Republic of Hawaiʻi ratified a treaty of annexation with the United States. … Emma Nāwahī addressed the crowd of over 300 people, saying in part:”

“‘[W]e Hawaiians… have no power unless we stand together. The United States is just; a land of liberty. The people there are the friends, the great friends of the weak.’”

“‘Let us tell them—let us show them that as they love their country and would suffer much before giving it up, so do we love our country, our Hawaiʻi, and pray that they do not take it from us… In this petition, which we offer for your signature today, you, women of Hawaiʻi, have a chance to speak your mind.’”

“An account of the meeting, along with an accompanying picture, was published in the San Francisco Call (coincidentally, the same city where Joseph passed away). During a time of political turbulence matched only by Kamehameha’s unification of the archipelago, Hilo once again proved itself to be a place of powerful political action (San Francisco Call, 1897).”  (HHF Story Map)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maui No Ka Oi

Several have asked about historical information on Lahaina and West Maui. Here is a repeat of something I posted a while ago – its focus is on West Maui.

West Maui was considered a ‘window to the world’ because this area has seen the comings and goings of rival chiefs, kings, missionaries, whalers, government officials, the military, sugar and pineapple plantation owners, early labor immigrants, celebrities and travelers for centuries.

This ‘window’ is a metaphor. As a ‘window to the world,’ the stories of West Maui give a bigger perspective of the world, than we would otherwise have, and helps us to expand our view and broaden our understanding of the world.

History tells us much about a community – what it is and where it has come from. West Maui has a rich history dating back to the times of: Pre-contact Hawaiʻi; Hawaiian Monarchy; American Protestant Missionaries; Whaling industry; Sugar and Pineapple Plantations; and Evolution of the West Maui Community.

Each successive passage of an era has added to the cultural richness of the community. And through the tireless efforts of numerous organizations and individuals in the community, much has been done to preserve the historic character of West Maui town and to restore historic sites.

The island of Maui is divided into twelve moku; Kāʻanapali, Lāhainā, Wailuku, Hāmākuapoko, Hāmākualoa, Koʻolau, Hāna, Kīpahulu, Kaupō, Kahikinui, Honuaʻula and Kula. Two of these, Kāʻanapali and Lāhainā make up West Maui.

Probably there is no portion of our Valley Isle, around which gathers so much historic value as West Maui. It was the former capital and favorite residence of kings and chiefs.

After serving for centuries as Royal Center to ruling chiefs, West Maui was selected by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to be the seat of government; here the first Hawaiian constitution was drafted and the first legislature was convened.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands. Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai’i.

Although Honolulu was originally the port most favored by the whalers, West Maui often surpassed it in the number of recorded visits, particularly from about 1840 to 1855.

Lāhainā Roads, also called the Lāhainā Roadstead is a channel between the islands of Maui and Lānai (and to a lesser extent, Molokai and Kahoʻolawe) making it a sheltered anchorage.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between the continent and Japan whaling grounds brought many whaling ships to the Islands. Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Between the 1820s and the 1860s, the Lāhainā Roadstead was the principal anchorage of the American Pacific whaling fleet. One reason why so many whalers preferred West Maui to other ports was that by anchoring in a roadstead from half a mile to a mile from shore they could control their crews better than when in a harbor.

Another factor to affect the change, growth and social structure of West Maui was the arrival of the first missionaries in the islands during 1820.

The first missionaries to be established at Lāhainā, the Rev. CS Stewart and the Rev. William Richards, arrived in 1823. They came at the request of Queen Mother Keōpūolani, who moved to live in Lāhainā that year.

The great event of 1823 was the death of Keōpūolani at Lāhainā. Within an hour before “joining the Great Majority” she had been baptized as a Christian, an occurrence which proved a great stimulus to increasing the influence of the missionaries. King Kaumuali’i of Kauai, at his special request, was buried beside Keōpūolani in 1824. (NPS)

In 1831, classes at the new Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna (later known as Lahainaluna (Upper Lahaina)) began. The school was established by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents” (training preachers and teachers.) It is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River.

Per the requests of the chiefs, the American Protestant missionaries began teaching the makaʻāinana (commoners.) Literacy levels exploded.

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown – overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not been much above 50 percent.

Centuries ago, the early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully.

It was not until 1823 that several members of the West Maui Mission Station began to process sugar from native sugarcanes for their tables. By the 1840s, efforts were underway in West Maui to develop a means for making sugar as a commodity.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for a contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

It is not likely anyone then foresaw the impact this would have on the cultural and social structure of the islands. The sugar industry is at the center of Hawaiʻi’s modern diversity of races and ethnic cultures. Of the nearly 385,000-workers that came, many thousands stayed to become a part of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic mix. Hawai‘i continues to be one of the most culturally-diverse and racially-integrated places.

Pioneer Mill Company was one of the earliest plantations to use a steam tramway for transporting harvested cane from the fields to the mill. Cane from about 1000‐acres was flumed directly to the mill cane carrier with the rest coming to the mill by rail. (The Sugar Cane Train is a remnant of that system.)

In 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry.

By 1862, the whaling industry was in a definite and permanent decline. The effect of West Maui was striking. Prosperity ended, prices fell, cattle and crops were a drag on the market, and ship chandleries and retail stores began to wither.

Historically Maui’s second largest industry, pineapple cultivation has also played a large role in forming Maui’s modern day landscape. The pineapple industry began on Maui in 1890 with Dwight D. Baldwin’s Haiku Fruit and Packing Company on the northeast side of the island.

West Maui’s roots in the historic pineapple industry began in 1912, when of Honolua Ranch manager, David Fleming began growing pineapple there; almost overnight the pineapple industry boomed.

The ranch was soon renamed Baldwin Packers; at one time they were the largest producer of private label pineapple and pineapple juice in the nation.

One of the first hotels in West Maui was the Pioneer Hotel – founded in 1901. George Freeland arrived in the Lāhainā roadstead on a ship that had just come from a long voyage through the south seas; he noted a need for a hotel.

It remained the only place for visitors to stay on Maui’s west side until the early-1960s. Tourism exploded; West Maui is a full-fledged tourist destination second only to Waikīkī.

Lāhainā’s Front Street, offering an incredible oceanfront setting, people of diverse cultures, architecture and incredible stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, was recognized as one of the American Planning Association’s 2011 “Great Streets in America.”

The following link is to a larger discussion on West Maui – it was prepared a few years ago, before the fires.

Click HERE to view/download for more information on West Maui’s place in the Islands and world.

To see and read about the many structures that were lost in the Lahaina fire, I encourage you to download an App developed by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation that was put together as a ‘Walking Tour’ through Lahaina (you will see images and information on the pre-fire structures):

https://lahainarestoration.org/lahaina-historic-trail/

The tragic fire in Lahaina destroyed many of the physical structures of the community. Some of the historic buildings may be rebuilt; something else will take the place of others.

But the fires did not take away the memory we share of this area. Do what you can to help those that have been impacted and share your memories of West Maui and Lahaina.  Maui No Ka Oi (Maui is the best).

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Olowalu-Petroglyphs
Olowalu-Petroglyphs
Bathing scene, Lahaina, Maui, watercolor, by James Gay Sawkins-1855
Bathing scene, Lahaina, Maui, watercolor, by James Gay Sawkins-1855
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Whale-ships at Lahaina-(vintagehawaii)-1848
Whale-ships at Lahaina-(vintagehawaii)-1848
Edward_T._Perkins,_Rear_View_of_Lahaina,_1854
Edward_T._Perkins,_Rear_View_of_Lahaina,_1854
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Pioneer Mill
Pioneer Mill
McGregor_Point-Norwegian-Monument
McGregor_Point-Norwegian-Monument
Lahaina_from_offshore_in-1885
Lahaina_from_offshore_in-1885
Lahaina_Boat_Landing
Lahaina_Boat_Landing
Lahaina,_West_Maui,_Sandwich_Islands2,_watercolor_and_pencil,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Lahaina,_West_Maui,_Sandwich_Islands2,_watercolor_and_pencil,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Lahaina,_Maui,_c._1831
Lahaina,_Maui,_c._1831
Lahaina, Front Street 1942
Lahaina, Front Street 1942
Lahaina Tunnel Dedication (1951)
Lahaina Tunnel Dedication (1951)
Lahaina Roads
Lahaina Roads
Lahaina Harbor before harbor perimeter retaining wall built-ca 1940
Lahaina Harbor before harbor perimeter retaining wall built-ca 1940
Lahaina Courthouse-fronting beach-(now Lahaina Small Boat Harbor)
Lahaina Courthouse-fronting beach-(now Lahaina Small Boat Harbor)
Banyan Tree located in courthouse square in the center of Lahaina
Banyan Tree located in courthouse square in the center of Lahaina
Baldwin Packers Cannery (kapalua)
Baldwin Packers Cannery (kapalua)
1837 Map of the Islands; made by students at Lahainaluna School (Mission Houses)
1837 Map of the Islands; made by students at Lahainaluna School (Mission Houses)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Walter Murray Gibson

Walter Murray Gibson was born at sea, the son of English emigrants, en route to the United States (March 6, 1822.)  His early years were spent in New York, New Jersey and South Carolina; and his youthful imagination was kindled into a flame of romantic ambition by tales of the East Indies.  (Kuykendall)

While still a young man, he had been imprisoned by the Dutch in Java for more than a year, found guilty of plotting to stir up a rebellion against their rule. From that time in 1850-51 he had carried a dream of becoming the savior of the island races of Oceania, of gaining power to rescue them from the misrule of their white masters.  (Adler – Kamins)

In 1861, he came to Hawaiʻi after joining the Mormon Church the year before; he was to serve as a missionary and envoy of the Mormon Church to the peoples of the Pacific Ocean.  He landed in Lānaʻi and eventually created the title “Chief President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Islands of the Sea.”  He more regularly went by the name Kipikona.

The experience with the Church was relatively short-lived; in 1864, he was excommunicated for selling priesthood offices, defrauding the Hawaiian members and misusing his ecclesiastical authority (in part, he was using church funds to buy land in his name.)

By the 1870s, Gibson focused his interests in ranching in the area called Koele, situated in a sheltered valley in the uplands of Kamoku Ahupuaʻa. As the ranch operation was developed, Koele was transformed from an area of traditional residency and sustainable agriculture to the ranch headquarters.  (Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center)

Herds of sheep were managed from Koele, and during shipping season, wool and mutton for the meat markets in Honolulu, were shipped from the coastal village of Awalua, at the northern end of the island. (Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center)

In 1872, Gibson moved from Lānaʻi to Lāhainā and then to Honolulu.

He established a small bilingual newspaper, Ka Nuhou (News,) and wrote, edited and ran it for 14-months (1873-1874.)   It grew in circulation to about 5,000, double the size of any other Hawaiian language periodical to and for the Hawaiian people.  Its slogan was – Hawaiʻi for the Hawaiians.

Not everyone enjoyed its content.  “The Nuhou is scurrilous and diverting, and appears ‘run’ with a special object, which I have not as yet succeeded in unraveling from its pungent but not always intelligible pages.”  (Isabella Bird)

He denounced, as enemies of the kingdom, those who favored ceding Pearl Harbor to the US as an inducement to enter into the reciprocity treaty with Hawaiʻi so eagerly sought by the sugar planters to gain access to the American market.  (Adler – Kamins)

He used the newspaper to support, first, Lunalilo, then, King Kalākaua in their election campaigns.

Following that, he ran for political office and served in the House of Representatives, representing Maui (the only haole in the 27-member Legislative Assembly – 1878-1882.)

He made his way to become as Finance Committee Chairman and under his leadership allocations of public funds showed his concern for the national pride of Hawaiians: $500 to Henri Berger, leader of the Hawaiian Band, for composing the music for Hawaii Ponoʻi, the new national anthem; $10,000 for a bronze statue of Kamehameha I; and $50,000 to begin construction of a new ʻIolani Palace, to house King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani, and all their successors. (Adler – Kamins)

Public service did not stop there.  He was later Member of Privy Council and Board of Health (1880, Health President 1882;) Commissioner of Crown Lands (1882;) Board of Education, President (1883;) Attorney General (1883;) House of Nobles (1882-1886;) Secretary of War & Navy (1886;) Premier and Minister of the Interior (1886) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1882-1887.)

In his new capacities, Gibson’s first notable accomplishment was his development of a new monetary system for the island nation.  The new money was printed in San Francisco and the bills featured Kalākaua.  This was followed by the creation of a postal system; Gibson himself designed and printed the postage stamps for the Hawaiian kingdom.  (Lowe)

Then, the good times ended.  “A conspiracy against the peace of the Hawaiian Kingdom had been taking shape since early spring.”  (Liliʻuokalani)  In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height as David Kalākaua was elected to the throne. But the businessmen were distrustful of him.

“So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the “missionary” stores, formed a distinct political party, called the “down-town” party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

The Hawaiian League (aka Committee of Thirteen, Committee of Public Safety & Annexation Club) were unhappy with the rule of Kalākaua and used threats to force the king to adopt a new constitution.  The Hawaiian League came into control of the Honolulu Rifles (made of about 200 armed men.)  The Hawaiian League used the Rifles to force King Kalākaua to enact the Bayonet Constitution.  (Kukendall)

On July 1, Kalākaua asked his entire cabinet to resign.  Gibson, a strong and vocal supporter of the King was also an early target.  He was captured by the Honolulu Rifles and almost lynched; instead, he was banished from the Islands.

He left Honolulu on July 12, 1887 on the sugar freighter JD Spreckels and arriving in San Francisco on August 6, 1887.  He spent the following five months in and out of St Mary’s Hospital and died January 21, 1888 of tuberculosis of the lungs.

When his body was returned to Honolulu, he lay in state and thousands lined up to view his remains through a windowed coffin.  “The place has been thronged with visitors, many of whom were natives, who expressed a kindly aloha for the departed Premier.”  (Daily Bulletin, February 18, 1888)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Captain George Vancouver

George Vancouver was born on June 22, 1757 at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, the youngest of five children of John Jasper Vancouver (collector of customs) and his wife Bridget.

At about age 15, Vancouver joined the navy and spent seven years under Captain James Cook on Cook’s second (1772-74) and third (1776-80) voyages of discovery (the latter was when Cook commanded the first European exploring expedition to visit the Hawaiian Islands.)

The story of Cook’s death at Kealakekua Bay, on February 14, 1779, has been often described, but the small part played by midshipman George Vancouver is not widely known.

The day before Cook’s death, for the second time in one day, a Hawaiian took some tools from the Discovery and escaped in a canoe.  Thomas Edgar, master of the Discovery, and midshipman Vancouver were part of the chase to retrieve the stolen tools –  a scuffle later occurred, which included Edgar marooned on a rock close to shore.

As Edgar later reported the incident in his journal: “I not being able to swim had got upon a small rock up to my knees in water, when a man came up with a broken Oar, and most certainly would have knock’d me off the rock, into the water, if Mr. Vancover, the Midshipman, had not at that Inst Step’d out of the Pinnace, between the Indian & me, & receiv’d the Blowe, which took him on the side, and knock’d him down.”  (Speakman, HJH)

That same night the cutter itself was taken, setting off the events which culminated in Cook’s death on the beach.  The following day, Vancouver was again involved in momentous events when Lieutenant King chose him to accompany the armed party ashore to recover Cook’s body.  (Speakman, HJH)

In 1791, Captain George Vancouver entered the Pacific a dozen years later in command of the second British exploring expedition.  (HJH)

In the introduction to Vancouver’s journals of his voyage to the Pacific, his brother John wrote, “that from the age of thirteen, his whole life to the commencement of this expedition, (to the Pacific) has been devoted to constant employment in His Majesty’s naval service.”

Vancouver visited Hawaiʻi three times, in 1792, 1793 and 1794. He completed the charting of the Islands begun by Cook and William Bligh.

On the first trip, Vancouver’s ships “Discovery” and “Chatham” first rounded the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, and traveled to Tahiti, via Australia and New Zealand, and then sailed north to the Hawaiian Islands.

Arriving off South Point, on March 1, 1792, the Discovery and the Chatham sailed close to the western coast of the island of Hawaiʻi.  Later, leaving Kawaihae Bay, Vancouver’s ships made their way past Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokai and Lānʻi, to Oʻahu, anchoring off Waikīkī – they later made their way to Kauai.

It is clear from Vancouver’s Journal and other accounts of events in Hawaiʻi in 1792, that neither Vancouver nor the Hawaiian chiefs were completely confident of the good will of each other.  On Hawaiʻi, he had found that the people refused to trade except for arms and ammunition, which Vancouver refused to agree to, and on Kauai he was alarmed by tales of Hawaiian hostility. (Speakman, HJH)

Vancouver was also concerned about the apparent drop in the Hawaiian population since his earlier visit with Captain Cook.  Waikīkī was “thinly inhabited, and many [houses] appeared to be entirely abandoned.”  On Kauai, the village of Waimea had been “reduced at least two-thirds of its size, since the years 1778 and 1779.”  (Speakman, HJH)

Vancouver did not seem to have been conscious of disease among the Hawaiian people, but he was aware of the arms trade and interisland warfare and attributed the decrease in the population to the deplorable sale of arms by avaricious European traders to “ambitious and enterprizing chieftains.”  (Vancouver, Speakman, HJH)  He later left Hawaiʻi and sailed to survey the Northwest coast of the American continent.

On his second trip in February 1793, the “Discovery” and “Chatham” first circled and surveyed the Island Hawaiʻi.  From a meeting he had with Kamehameha, he noted in his Journal, that he was “agreeably surprised in finding that his riper years had softened that stern ferocity, which his younger days had exhibited, and had changed his general deportment to an address characteristic of an open, cheerful, and sensible mind; combined with great generosity, and goodness of disposition.” (Vancouver, 1798)

He also met John Young and Kaʻahumanu, noting, “the kindness and fond attention, with which on all occasions (Kamehameha and Kaʻahumanu) … seemed to regard each other.”  Vancouver was delighted at “the decorum and general conduct of this royal party. … They seemed to be particularly cautious to avoid giving the least cause for offence….”  (Vancouver, 1798)

When Kamehameha came aboard the ship, taking Vancouver’s hand, he “demanded, if we were sincerely his friends”, to which Vancouver answered in the affirmative.  Kamehameha then said “he understood we belonged to King George, and asked if he was likewise his friend.  On receiving a satisfactory answer to this question, he declared the he was our firm good friend; and according to the custom of the country, in testimony of the sincerity of our declarations we saluted by touching noses.”  (Vancouver, 1798)

In the exchange of gifts, after that, Kamehameha presented four feathered helmets and other items, Vancouver gave Kamehameha the remaining livestock on board, “five cows, two ewes and a ram.”

The farewell between the British and the Hawaiians was emotional, but both understood that Vancouver would be returning the following winter. Just before Vancouver left Kawaihae on March 9, 1793, he gave Isaac Davis and John Young a letter testifying that “Tamaah Maah, with the generality of the Chiefs, and the whole of the lower order of People, have conducted themselves toward us with the strictest honest, civility and friendly attention.” (Speakman, HJH)

On the third trip to the islands, arriving in early-January 1794, Vancouver brought three ships, “Discovery,” “Chatham” and “Daedalus.”  They headed to Hilo.

Here, he met Kamehameha and Vancouver noted Kamehameha was “with his usual confidence and cheerful disposition. It was impossible to mistake the happiness he expressed on seeing us again which seemed to be greatly increased by his meeting us at this, his most favorite part of the island.”  (Vancouver 1801)

Shortly after, Kamehameha assembled the principal chiefs from all over the island for a meeting at Kealakekua.  There they had a serious discussion of cession.   A treaty was discussed that afforded British protection of Hawaiians from unscrupulous traders and predatory foreign powers.  It would be achieved through the cession of the Island of Hawaiʻi to Great Britain.

“Tamaahmaah opened the business in a speech, which he delivered with great moderation and equal firmness.  He explained the reasons that had induced him to offer the island to the protection of Great Britain; and recounted the numerous advantages that himself, the chiefs, and the people, were likely to derive by the surrender they were about to make.”  (Vancouver, 1801)

The chiefs stated clearly that this cession was not to alter their religion, economy, or government, and that Kamehameha, the chiefs and priests “were to continue as usual to officiate with the same authority as before in their respective stations ….”

“(T)he king repeated his former proposition, which was now unanimously approved of, and the whole party declared their consent by saying, that they were no longer ‘Tanata no Owhyhee,’ the people of Owhyhee; but ‘Tananta no Britannee,’ the people of Britain.”  (Vancouver, 1801)

To commemorate the event, an inscription on copper was made stating, “On the 25th of February, 1794, Tamaahmaah, king of Owhyhee, in council with the principal chiefs of the island, assembled on board His Britannic Majesty’s sloop Discovery in Karakakooa bay, in the presence of George Vancouver, commander of the said sloop; Lieutenant Peter Puget, commander of his said Majesty’s armed tender the Chatham; and the other officers of the Discovery; after due consideration, unanimously ceded the said island of Owhyhee to His Britannic Majesty, and acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Great Britain.”  (Vancouver, 1801)

Vancouver then noted in his Journal, “Thus concluded the ceremonies of ceding the island of Owhyhee to the British crown; but whether this addition to the empire will ever be of any importance of Great Britain, or whether the surrender of the island will ever be attended with any additional happiness to its people, time alone must determine.”  (Vancouver, 1801)

The British government did not receive a copy of the “cession” until after Vancouver’s return to England a year later, and then the British parliament never acted on it. The British ship and men expected by the Hawaiians never arrived, and Kamehameha and his chiefs resumed the wars against Maui and the other islands until, in 1810, Kamehameha was King not only of Hawai’i but of all the islands of the Hawaiian chain.  (Speakman, HJH)

Captain George Vancouver died on May 10, 1798 at the age of 40.

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