Hawaii | Page 101 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 24, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Who Came Next?

Significant advances in radiocarbon dating and the targeted re-dating of key Eastern Polynesian and Hawaiian sites has strongly supported and suggested that initial Polynesian discovery and colonization of the Hawaiian Islands occurred between approximately AD 1000 and 1200. (Kirch)

Who came next – the English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish …?

English

In the dawn hours of January 18, 1778, on his third expedition, British explorer Captain James Cook on the HMS Resolution and Captain Charles Clerke of the HMS Discovery first sighted and made ‘Contact’ with what Cook named the Sandwich Islands (that were later named the Hawaiian Islands.)

But, was Cook the first foreigner to find Hawaiʻi? Some suggest that Cook’s references to the Hawaiian interest in iron, and some of the iron implements noted by Cook’s crew at the time of his Contact suggest contact prior to the Englishmen Cook and his crew.

Since some of the terms for ‘iron’ also are applied to ‘foreigners,’ the indications are that the various Polynesians learned of iron, either directly through foreigners, or by means of wreckage from foreign ships. The early Polynesians were not iron producers, because, valuing the metal as they did, they apparently were unable to obtain it by smelting. (Stokes)

Japanese

There is reference to Japanese contact well before Cook’s time. Kalākaua’s ‘The Legends and Myths of Hawaii’ titled ‘Iron Knife’. It speaks of early Japanese visitors to the Islands and the Japanese captain’s sword – the time frame is about the 1300s.

“It was late in the afternoon that word had been brought to Wakalana that a strange vessel was approaching the coast. As it was high out of water and drifting broadside before the wind, it appeared to be of great size”.

“The name of the captain was Kaluiki-a-Manu; the four others were called Neleike, Malaea, Haakoa and Hika – all names of Hawaiian construction. Two of them – Neleike and Malaea – were women, the former being the sister of the captain.”

Wakalana “was charmed with the bright eyes and fair face of Neleike, the sister of the captain. He found a pleasure that was new to him in teaching her to speak his language, and almost the first use she made of [this] was to say ‘yes’ with it when he asked her to become his wife.”

“Neleike became the progenitor of a family which for generations showed the marks of her blood, and that the descendants of the others were plentiful thereafter, not only on Maui but in the neighborhood of Waimalo, on the island of Oahu.”

“The object of the rescued Japanese which attracted most attention was the sword accidentally preserved by the captain. No such terrible knife had ever before been seen or dreamed of by the natives…. The sword of Kaluiki, the ransom of a king, remained for some generations with the descendants of Kukona; but what became of it in the end tradition fails to tell.” (Kalākaua)

Japanese Junks

Japanese junks have been blown to sea, and finally stranded with their occupants upon distant islands, and have reached even the continent of America, in the 46th degree of north latitude. (Jarves)

“[M]ention is made of several Japanese vessels reported in some of the Spanish-American ports on the Pacific. In 1617 a Japanese junk belonging to Magomé, was at Acapulco.” (Brooks)

“According to the traditions of the islands, several such junks had been wrecked upon Hawaii, before the islands were discovered by Captain Cook.” (Brooks)

Hawai‘i had its share of Japanese contact, directedly in the Islands, as well as by sailors at sea. Beachcombing finds of Japanese glass balls (fishing floats,) as well as marine debris from the 2011 Japan tsunami, suggest the possibility of earlier Japan contact with the Islands (especially in the context that a Japanese fishing boat and its survivors landed in the Islands in 1832.)

Chinese

“Every junk found adrift or stranded on the coast of North America, or on the Hawaiian or adjacent islands, has on examination proved to be Japanese, and no single instance of any Chinese vessel has ever been reported, nor is any believed to have existed.” (Brooks)

Spanish

Back to the ‘iron’ reference … the first written Hawaiian word is ‘Hamaite’ – it was spoken to Captain Cook at the time he made contact with the Islands and he wrote it in his journal.

It was made in reference to iron. Some suggest it refers to Hematite (ferric oxide – a mineral form of iron oxide – that is Hematita in Spanish.) However, others suggest ‘Hamaite’ is actually a Hawaiian expression of He maita‘i – good. (Schutz)

“There are many ways by which such people may get pieces of iron, or acquire the knowledge of the existence of such a metal, without ever having had an immediate connection with nations that use it.”

“It can hardly be doubted that it was unknown to all the inhabitants of this sea, before Magellan led the way into it; for no discoverer, immediately after his voyage, ever found any of this metal in their possession …”

“… though, in the course of our late voyages it has been observed, that the use of it was known at several islands, to which no former European ships had ever, as far as we know, found their way.” (Cook)

Spanish Galleons (1565 -1815 AD)

We know the Spanish crossed the Pacific, between the Philippines and Acapulco for 250-years. The term Manila Galleons is used to refer to the trade route between Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815. (Alchetron)

The Manila Galleons made round-trip voyages once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean from the port of Acapulco (present-day Mexico) to Manila in the Philippines which were both part of New Spain.

Kulou (‘to bow down’) (1527 AD)

“Hernando Cortez, immediately after his conquest of Mexico, fitted out an expedition on the western coast to reinforce his countrymen … [they] sailed from Zacatula, Mexico, Oct. 31, 1527.” (Alexander) Two of his ships were lost during a storm [one is said to have landed in Hawai‘i]. (Univ of Wellington)

“A well known Hawaiian tradition relates that in the reign of Keliiokaloa, son of Umi, a foreign vessel was wrecked at Keei, South Kona, Hawaii. According to the tradition, only the captain and his sister reached the shore in safety. From their kneeling on the beach and remaining a long time in that posture, the place was called Kulou (to stoop, to bow,) as it is unto this day.” (Alexander 1892)

“These strangers intermarried with the Hawaiians, and were the progenitors of certain well known families of chiefs, as for instance, that of Kaikioewa, former Governor of Kauai.“ (Alexander 1892)

Jarves expanded on the story, “In the reign of Kealiiokaloa, son of Umi, thirteen generations of kings before Cook’s arrival … a vessel, called by the natives Konaliloha, arrived at Pale, Keei, on the south side of Kealakeakua bay, Hawaii.”

“The spot where this took place, is known at the present day, by the appellation of Kulou, to bow down. The shipwrecked strangers were hospitably received, invited to the dwellings of the natives, and food placed before them.” (Jarves 1843)

Gaetano and Mapping of the Islas de Mesa (1555 AD)

“Old Spanish charts and a 1613 AD Dutch globe suggest that explorers from Spain had sighted Hawaiʻi long before Captain Cook. When Cook arrived in 1778, galleons laden with silver from the mines of Mexico and South America had been passing south of Hawaiʻi for two centuries on annual round trip voyages of 17,000 miles between Acapulco and Manila.” (Kane)

“It seems to be almost certain that one Juan Gaetano, a Spanish navigator, saw Hawaii in 1555 AD. A group of islands, the largest of which was called La Mesa, was laid down in the old Spanish charts in the same latitude as the Hawaiian Islands, but 10 degrees too far east.” (Hawaiʻi Department of Foreign Affairs, 1896)

“There are undoubted proofs of the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by the Spaniard, Juan Gaetano. This is the first known record of the islands among the civilised nations.” (Westervelt 1923)

La Perouse noted, when he briefly visited the Islands (1786,) “In the charts, at the foot of this archipelago, might be written: ‘Sandwich Islands, surveyed in 1778 by Captain Cook, who named them, anciently discovered by the Spanish navigators.’” (La Perouse, Fornander)

“By all the documents that have been examined, it is demonstrated that the discovery dates from the year 1555 and that the discoverer was Juan Gaetano or Gaytan.”

“The principal proof is an old manuscript chart, registered in these archives as anonymous, and in which the Sandwich Islands are laid down under that name, but which also contains a note declaring that he called them Islas de Mesa”. (Spanish Colonial Office letter to the Governor of the Philippines, The Friend May 1927)

“(H)e called them “Islas de Mesa” (Table Islands.) There are besides, other islands, situated in the same latitude, but 10° further east, and respectively named “La Mesa” (the table), “La Desgraciado” (the unfortunate), “Olloa,” and “Los Monges” (the Monks.)”

Gaetano passed through the northern part of the Pacific and discovered large islands which he marked upon a chart as “Los Majos.” One of the islands was named “The Unfortunate.” Three other smaller islands were called “The Monks.” (Westervelt 1923)

In 1743, English captain George Anson set sail for the Pacific to attack Spanish galleons (English and Spain were at war at the time.) Overcoming the ‘Nuestra Senora de Covadonga,’ he found a “chart of all the ocean between the Philippines and the coasts of Mexico.”

A cluster of islands were noted in mid-ocean; the island La Mesa is on the same latitude of the Island of Hawaiʻi and its southern contour resembles the southern coastline of Hawaiʻi; however, they are noted east of their actual location. (Kane)

How could the Islands be mis-mapped to the east? … Until 1744 and the development of the chronometer, determining longitude was an historic problem for navigators. Longitude (East-West) was estimated by distances a ship covered within various periods of time, estimated by the ship’s speed during each period. (Kane)

Ship speed was measured with a block of wood attached to a line with knots tied at intervals. The ‘log’ was cast from the sterns and the number of ‘knots’ run out during a certain time interval enabled the navigator to calculate his speed. However, this method doesn’t address the west-bound ocean current that would effectively place a position east of its true position. (Kane)

For more information on this, click the link:

Click to access Who-Came-Next.pdf

March 23, 2024 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Brockengespenst

And art thou nothing?
Such thou art, as when
The woodman winding
Westward up the glen
At wintry dawn, where
O’er the sheep-track’s maze
The viewless snow-mist
Weaves a glist‘ning haze,
Sees full before him,
Gliding without tread,
An image with a glory
Round its head;
The enamoured rustic
Worships its fair hues,
Nor knows he makes
The shadow he pursues!
(‘Constancy to an Ideal Object,’ Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

The Brocken is the highest peak of Northern Germany. The Brockengespenst (Brocken spectre, Specter of the Brocken) is a common phenomenon on this misty mountain, where a climber’s shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.

“This beautiful sight is rarely seen in any country, and seldom except at sunrise or sunset, during a fog or cloudy weather. For this reason, the following account of what was seen in August, 1894, on Haleakala, written by Miss Lillie A Brown, one of the ladies who witnessed it and who were accompanied with a guide, possesses great interest:”

“‘We arrived at the brink of the crater (August 20, 1894, 5pm,) just in time to witness not only a marvelously glorious sunset above the clouds, but the Specter of the Brocken as well —a wonderful phenomenon, which comparatively few have ever been privileged to behold, at least as perfect as we saw it.’”

“‘Upon our approach to the summit, we found the crater completely filled with an unbroken, sheeny, silvery, misty cloud, obliterating every physical feature, and reaching itself above the horizon to sky-clouds of the same nature, so that above and below and around us was but cloud-world.’”

“‘Directly opposite us, as we stood together on the same rock, there suddenly appeared, suspended in this cloud, a rainbow, gorgeous in color, forming a complete circle, and enclosing, as in a hanging frame, three figures, many times larger than life, which we soon discovered to be our own reflected images.’”

“‘To test the reality of the apparition, we waved our hats and handkerchiefs, and our silhouetted images waved back to us out of the centre of the gorgeous rainbow frame, our reflected motions seeming to shoot off rays of color, in effect something like that of a search light.’”

“‘Five times this phenomenon appeared and disappeared, on each successive occasion losing somewhat of its brilliancy of color. The suspended rainbow, ourselves on the crater’s edge, and the sun’s fiery ball – in our rear, were all perpendicular to the same horizontal plane.’”

“‘As the rainbow gradually faded from our vision, we turned; the sun was setting in great billowy clouds, with gorgeous masses of color above it. To our right – I can compare it only to a vast rolling Arctic plain – lay great strata of clouds as far as the eye could see …’”

“‘… so like a white frozen country that it required but a slight effort of the imagination to people it with furclad humanity, the reindeer, and the Arctic bear, or to imagine ourselves being fleetly sledged over its glistening snows.’”

“‘Above this new strange cloud world was the blue dome of heaven, making far away with the white plain, a distant elevated horizon.’”

“‘Again we turned our faces to the crater. The silvery, misty cloud had rolled partly out, giving us a glimpse of the great depth of the yawning chasm below us, several of the great blow holes, and far beyond, just for one moment, we saw the blue sea of Hawaii over the further ridge’”

“‘Then darkness enveloped the great crater in her mantle, and we groped our way down from the rocks to the overhanging cliff which was to be our shelter for the night.’” (Whitney, 1895)

Specter of the Brocken appears when a low sun is behind a person who is looking downwards into mist from a ridge or peak. The “specter” is the shadowy figure – the glow and rings are of course a glory centered directly opposite the sun at the antisolar point.

It is no more than the shadow of the person projected forward through the mist. All shadows converge towards the antisolar point where the glory also shines. (Atmospheric Optics)

Solar_glory_and_Spectre_of_the_Brocken

Brocken_Gipfelstein-summit marker

March 22, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Liholiho, Through the Eyes of William Ellis

In the words of William Ellis, Liholiho, the “king of the Sandwich Islands was the son of Tamehameha, former king, and Keopuolani … He was born in the eastern part of Hawaii, in the year 1795 or 1796.”

“The name by which he was generally known was Rihoriho, which was only a contraction of Kalaninuirihoriho, literally, the heavens great black – from Kalani, the heavens, nui, great, and rihoriho, applied to any thing burnt to blackness.”

“On public occasions, he was sometimes called Tamehameha, after his father, though names are not always hereditary. Besides these, he had a variety of other names, the most common of which was Iolani. The word lani, heaven or sky, formed a component part in the name of most chiefs of distinction.”

“The early habits of Rihoriho did not warrant any great expectations. His natural disposition was frank and humane.”

“The natives always spoke of him as good natured, except when he was under the influence of ardent spirits: his manners were perfectly free, at the same time dignified, and always agreeable to those who were about him.”

“His mind was naturally inquisitive. The questions he usually presented to foreigners were by no means trifling; and his memory was retentive.”

“His general knowledge of the world was much greater than could have been expected. I have heard him entertain a party of chiefs for hours together, with accounts of different parts of the earth …”

“… describing the extensive lakes, the mountains and mines of North and South America; the elephants and inhabitants of India; the houses, manufactures, &c. of England, with no small accuracy, considering he had never seen them.”

“He had a great thirst for knowledge, and was diligent in his studies. I recollect his remarking one day, when he opened his writing desk, that he expected more advantage from that desk, than from a fine brig belonging to him, lying at anchor opposite the house in which we were sitting.”

“Mr. Bingham and myself were his daily teachers, and have often been surprised at his unwearied perseverance. I have sat beside him at his desk sometimes from nine or ten o’clock in the morning, till nearly sunset, during which his pen has not been out of his hand more than three quarters of an hour, while he was at dinner.”

“We do not know that Christianity exerted any decisive influence on his heart. He was willing to receive the missionaries on their first arrival-availed himself of their knowledge to increase his own …”

“… and, during the latter years of his life, was decidedly favourable to their object; declared his conviction of the truth of Christianity; attended public worship himself on the Sabbath, and recommended the same to his people.”

“His moral character was not marked by that cruelty, rapacity, and insensibility to the sufferings of the people, which frequently distinguish the arbitrary chiefs of uncivilized nations.”

“He appears in general to have been kind; and, in several places on our tour, the mothers shewed us their children, and told us, that when Rihoriho passed that way, he had kissed them, – a condescension they seemed to think much of, and which they will probably remember to the end of their days.”

“But though generous in his disposition, he was addicted to intoxication; whether from natural inclination, or the influence and example of others, is not now to be determined; frequently, to my own knowledge, it has been entirely from the latter.”

“Had he in early life been privileged to associate with individuals whose conduct and principles were favourable, to virtue and religion, there is every reason to suppose his moral character with respect at least to this vice, would have been as irreproachable as his mental habits were commendable. But, alas for him,! it was quite the reverse.”

“Though not distinguished by the ardour and strength of character so conspicuous in his father, he possessed both decision and enterprise: the abolition of the national idolatry was a striking instance of the former; and his voyage to England, of the latter.”

“The motives by which he was induced to undertake that long and hazardous voyage were highly commendable. They were, a desire to see, for himself, countries of which he had heard such various and interesting accounts …”

“a wish to have a personal interview with his majesty the king of Great Britain, or the chief members of the British government, for the purpose of confirming the cession of the Sandwich Islands, and placing himself and his dominions under British protection.”

“It was also his intention to make himself acquainted with the tenor and forms of administering justice in the courts of law the principles of commerce-and other subjects which seemed important to the welfare of the islands.”

“Although the melancholy death of the king and of his queen prevented the accomplishment of these objects so fully as might have been wished, yet no unfriendly feeling is likely to be entertained by the people, as to the cause of it.”

“The account the survivors will convey to their countrymen, of the generous reception they met – the hospitable manner in which they were entertained, while they lived-the high respect paid to their remains, and other tokens of friendship, will not only prevent suspicion, but combine to confirm that attachment and confidence which they have so long felt towards England.”

“No disturbance of the general tranquillity, or change in the government, is to be apprehended from this event. Rihoriho left a younger brother, Kauikeoule, about ten years of age, who will be his successor.”

“A regency will govern during his minority, and the executive authority will probably continue to be exercised by Karaimoku, and the other chiefs with whom Rihoriho left it, when he embarked for England.”

March 21, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaipalaoa

Ka niu peʻahi kanaka o Kaipalaoa.
The man-beckoning coco palms of Kaipalaoa.

(The swaying palms that once grew at Kaipalaoa, Hilo, seemed to wave an invitation. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #1502)

Hilo is likely to have been one of the first Polynesian settlement areas on Hawai‘i Island; oral history and local legend indicate that Polynesians first settled Hilo Harbor around 1100 AD.

Early accounts of Hilo Bay describe a long black sand beach stretching along present day Bay Front from the Wailuku River to the Wailoa River.

Many heiau (temples) attested to the prosperity of Hilo. Kaipalaoa (Sea Whale) Heiau sat on the southern banks. The village at Kaipalaoa was a major trade center, where people from the northern districts met the people of the southern portions of Hilo and Puna.

Kamehameha was familiar with the Hilo district from his youth. Kaipalaoa, across the Wailuku River from Pu`u`eo was a favorite surfing area, and at least eight excellent breaks could be found from Pu‘u‘eo to Waiākea. (Yuen)

Kamehameha I began a war of conquest, winning his first major skirmish in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi.) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

Captain George Vancouver, an early European explorer who met with Kamehameha at Hilo Bay in 1794, recorded that Kamehameha was there preparing for his invasion of the neighbor islands, and that Hilo was an important center because his canoes were being built there.

Desha wrote that “It is thought that there were as many as seven mano [twenty eight thousand] people who gathered at the shore at Kaipalaoa when the ali‘i landed”. The people of Hilo had long prepared for Kamehameha’s arrival and collected a large number of hogs and a variety of plant foods, to feed the ruler and his warriors.

Kelly surmised that the people of Hilo had actually prepared for a year prior to Kamehameha’s visit and expanded their fields into the open lands behind Hilo to accommodate the increased number of people that would be present.

Kelly also speculated that many of the fishponds in Waiākea were created to feed Kamehameha, his chiefs, and craftsmen. The area at Hilo Bay that housed Kamehameha’s canoe fleets continues to be the site of canoeing, both recreational and competitive. (Rechtman)

By 1795, having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms (with the exception of Kauai).

However, after a short time, another chief entered into a power dispute with Kamehameha; his name was Nāmakehā (the brother of Kaʻiana, a chief of Kauai who had been killed in the Battle of Nuʻuanu.)

Previously, Kamehameha asked Nāmakehā (who lived in Kaʻū, Hawai‘i) for help in fighting Kalanikūpule and his Maui forces on O‘ahu, but Nāmakehā ignored the request.

Kamehameha, on Oʻahu at the time, returned to his home island of Hawaiʻi with the bulk of his army to suppress the rebellion. The battle took place at Kaipalaoa, Hilo. Kamehameha defeated Nāmakehā.

This was the final battle fought by Kamehameha to unite the archipelago. (Kamehameha negotiated a settlement with King Kaumualiʻi for the control of Kauai and Niʻihau, in 1810.)

Although Kamehameha’s warriors had won the battle over Nāmakehā, they then turned their rage upon the villages and families of the vanquished. It was about the same time and place of the Nāmakehā Rebellion that Kamehameha decreed Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (The Law of the Splintered Paddle.)

When Liholiho was born at Hilo in November 1797, he was immediately taken from his mother and given to the guardianship of Kaahumanu. (Sinclair) The first-born child of Keōpūolani and Kamehameha, his piko was ceremonially cut at Kaipalaoa, at the heiau of the same name. (Correa)

Stokes included descriptions of Kaipalaoa heiau as: “Probably located just west of Isabelle Point. The native name of this point is Kaipalaoa”. (Scheffel)

Kaipalaoa Point is now known as Cocoanut Point. “The native name of [Isabelle Point] is Kaipalaoa.” (Stokes) Isabel and Kaipalaoa points are separated by only about three hundred feet. (Hawaiian Place Names)

“The site of Kai-palaoa Heiau was on the land of Kai-palaoa, and lay just seaward, and a little toward Wai-anuenue St, from the site of the Hilo Armory at the upper end of the short street from the shore to Ke-awe St, and on the side toward the river a little below the bridge to Pu-u-eo, near the Library.”

“The Armory site was formerly occupied by the royal residence of King Ka-mehameha I, which was named Ka-hale-‘ilio-‘ole – The House Without Rats (or, commoners).” (Kekahuna)

Kaipalaoa heiau is “Near armory site, Hilo; of pookanaka class; the heiau at which Umi’s life was threatened, and the place where Kamehameha is said to have proclaimed his Māmalahoe law (Law of the Splintered Paddle). Destroyed in the time of Kuakini’s governorship of Hawaii.” (Hawaiian Place Names)

Between 1863 and 1890 a landing wharf and US Coast Guard lighthouse were built at the foot of Waiānuenue Avenue. Passengers and freight were transported to steamers anchored in the bay. (HHF & Cultural Surveys)

By 1870, three heiau in Hilo – Kaipalaoa, Kanowa/Kanoa, and Honokawailani – were described as already being “ruins”. Lydgate describes the Hilo bay front area as it looked in 1873:

“The sea at that time came right up to the bank edge of Front street, so that in heavy weather the spray blew more or less up into the street. Along Front street tall coconut trees of great age towered up over the street.”

“From the foot of Church street extending along the beach it was open country, with the exception of one Hawaiian home, one canoe-builder’s workshop – or halau, as it is called by the Hawaiians – and a tumbled down little blacksmith shop some distance farther on.” (Hawaii County)

March 20, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Rupert’s Land

The Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648) was one of the longest conflicts in European history; the primary cause of war was the actions of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II in forcing the Protestants into Catholicism. Prince Frederick, a Calvinist, sided with the Protestants and became King of Bohemia and lived in Hiradcany Castle in the Rhine.

Frederick’s wife was Princess Elizabeth, the older sister of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. They had a son Prince Rupert. The family was forced into exile; following Frederick’s death (1632), Elizabeth sent Rupert to England (in 1635). He later became the first head of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in what is now Canada.

In 1670, King Charles II of England granted a royal charter to create the Hudson’s Bay Company, under the governorship of the king’s cousin Prince Rupert of the Rhine. According to the Charter, the HBC received rights to:

“The sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson’s Streights …”

“together with all the Lands, Countries and Territories, upon the Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Streights, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks and Sounds, aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State …”

“and that the said Land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our Plantations or Colonies in America, called Rupert’s Land.”

The Royal Charter of 1670 granted “the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay” exclusive trading rights over the entire Hudson Bay drainage system.

This territory was vast, and the Crown had little knowledge of the land or the people calling it home. According to the Royal Charter, the land was “unoccupied”, or not “actually possessed by any of our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State.”

Rupert’s Land (aka Prince Rupert’s Land) was a vast territory of northern wilderness. It represented a third of what is now Canada. At the time, King Charles II had no idea that this encompassed about 1.5-million square miles.

In terms of modern geo-political boundaries, Rupert’s Land covered northern Quebec, northern Ontario, much of the three prairie provinces, and most of southern Nunavut. It also included parts of Montana, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota.

For HBC, Rupert’s Land provided an entry point into the fur trade, and although the Charter outlined a clear purpose for the land and its resources, its boundaries were ambiguously defined.

Expanding HBC’s geographical network and understanding of the land relied on Indigenous local knowledge and alliances. Exploring and mapping the region was motivated by economic and political goals, especially as HBC was confronted by other commercial enterprises challenging its claim to exclusive trading rights within the territory. (HBC Heritage)

The royal charter did not apply to any parts of Rupert’s Land “actually possessed” by “any other Christian Prince or State,” but made no mention of the many First Nations who actually held sovereignty within the territory.

At the time, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s actual claim to the land was limited to small sites for trading posts and safe passage between those posts. (University of Winnipeg)

From 1670 (to 1870), it was the exclusive commercial domain of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the primary trapping grounds of the fur trade.

The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of beavers, sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the US.

Needing supplies in their journey, the traders soon realized they could economically barter for provisions in Hawai‘i; for instance any type of iron, a common nail, chisel or knife, could fetch far more fresh fruit meat and water than a large sum of money would in other ports.

A triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China and the Hawaiian Islands to Britain and the United States (especially New England).

Then, on July 1, 1867, a federation of colonies in British North America – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario – joined together to become the Dominion of Canada. Under the British North America Act, 1867, the Queen remained head of state, represented nationally in Canada by the Governor General and in each province by a Lieutenant Governor.

The British North America Act provided the constitutional framework for Canada’s current federal system by defining broad areas of federal and provincial jurisdiction. Such national matters as defense, postal service, criminal law, and banks are under federal authority. Education, health, and natural resources are primarily among the provinces’ responsibilities.

On March 30, 1867, just one day after the British North America Act received Royal Assent in London, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. With the American purchase of Alaska (Americans had just paid Russia $7.2 million for Alaska), Canadians were looking for other properties to expand the Republic and eyed the territory.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Sir John A MacDonald, was anxious to gain control of Rupert’s Land. He wanted it to be annexed to the new Dominion of Canada to prevent its annexation by the US.

In his mind, if he was successful, he could expand the Dominion both North and West. Canada saw Rupert’s Land as the natural extension of its new nation which included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.

George Brown, editor of The Globe and a Father of Confederation, described it as “the vast and fertile territory which is our birthright – and which no power on earth can prevent us occupying.”

The prophecy in the country’s motto, “He shall have Dominion from sea to sea” (Psalm 72:8), would be fulfilled. He would also strengthen Canada’s presence in North America next to the United States. (Christian Roots Canada)

The once powerful Hudson’s Bay Company controlled the area. But the British fur trade giant had been in decline for years and it was preparing to sell Rupert’s Land.

On March 20, 1869, the Hudson’s Bay Company, under pressure from Great Britain, sold Rupert’s Land to the Government of Canada for $1.5 million. The sale involved roughly a quarter of the continent; it is the largest real estate transaction (by land area) in the country’s history.

The purchase of Rupert’s Land transformed Canada geographically. It changed from a modest country in the northeast of the continent into an expansive one that reached across North America. Rupert’s Land was eventually divided among Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Today, Prince Rupert’s name remains a part of Canadian geography. He is the namesake of the city of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the Prince Rupert neighborhood in northwest Edmonton and Quebec’s Rupert River, which drains into Rupert Bay on James Bay. (Information here is from Canadian Encyclopedia, Canada’s History, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hudson’s Bay Company and Legislative Assembly of BC.))