Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawaihae

Kamehameha had granted Kawaihae Komohana ahupua‘a (present Kawaihae 1) to Kalanimōku, his “prime minister;” Kawaihae Hikina (present Kawaihae 2) was one of several ahupuaʻa on Hawai‘i and other islands allocated to John Young by Kamehameha.

Kamehameha had a house here.  Following his death and the succession of Liholiho to rule as Kamehameha II, Kawaihae served as the initial Royal Center for Liholiho, who sought consolidation of his forces and consecration of his leadership role, there.  (Kelly)

Then, as now, the area was relatively barren and people typically lived near the shore, not up the hill.   As noted in 1832, by missionary Lorenzo Lyons in his journal, “about as desolate a place as I have ever seen, nothing but barrenness, with here and there a native hut”.

The area is also generally referenced as Pelekane, which means ‘British,’ possibly named after the Young and Isaac Davis families that lived there (when Davis died in 1810, his friend and co-advisor to Kamehameha, John Young, looked after Davis’ children.)

These were not the only high-ranking people associated with Kawaihae during the first decades of the 19th century. Kamāmalu, daughter of Kamehameha and Kaheiheimālie was born at Pelekane (ca 1802.)

She would later become the wife of her half-brother Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) the son of Kamehameha and the high chiefess Keōpūolani (Kamāmalu died of measles in London with Liholiho in 1825.)  Some suggest Queen Emma (granddaughter of John Young) was also born here.

Over time, Kawaihae and Waimea (up the hill) developed a synergistic relationship.  The area was a canoe landing area, whether for commerce or combat.  (This is where Maui’s chief Kamalālāwalu landed in his assault against Lonoikamakahiki’s Hawaiʻi forces (Lono won.)  But Kawaihae’s presence was really focused on commerce as a landing site.

Archibald Menzies, reporting on Vancouver’s third layover at Kawaihae Bay in March 1793 after leaving Kealakekua Bay, recorded that Young and Davis had accompanied “us thither (i.e. to Kawaihae) on purpose to make presents of hogs and vegetables…from their plantations, which lay near this part of the island…”  (Menzies, Cultural Surveys)

Young built a storehouse in his family compound.  During the sandalwood trade, Young supervised royal warehouses that were the central depository for the wood brought in from the surrounding district.

William Ellis, in 1831 wrote, “Before daylight on the 22d, we were roused by vast multitudes of people passing through the district from Waimea with sandalwood, which had been cut in the adjacent mountains for Karaimoku (Kalanimōku,) by the people of Waimea, and which the people of Kohala, as far as the north point …”

“… had been ordered to bring down to his storehouse on the beach, for the purpose of its being shipped to Oahu.  There were between two and three thousand men, carrying each from one to six pieces of sandalwood, according to their size and weight.”

Another early foreign visitor to Kawaihae was Frenchman, Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet, in 1819; he met Liholiho here.  Following closely in the wake of Freycinet’s visit of 1819 were the American missionaries, who stopped first at Kawaihae on April 1, 1820 (before heading down to Kailua-Kona.) They were met by Kalanimōku and his wives and two of Kamehameha’s widows (Kalākua and Namahana.)

During subsequent decades, other missionaries visiting Hawai‘i Island would record their impressions of the life and landscape of the 19th-century Kawaihae region. According to Rev. William Ellis, who, along with other missionaries, stopped at Kawaihae in 1823, the village in the early 1820s contained one hundred houses.

Ellis noted the same salt pans mentioned by Archibald Menzies in 1793 and described the salt-making operations he witnessed:  “The natives of this district manufacture large quantities of salt, by evaporating the sea water. We saw a number of their pans, in the disposition of which they display great ingenuity.”

“(T)he Sandwich Islanders eat (salt) very freely with their food, and use much in preserving their fish. … The surplus … they dispose of to vessels touching at the islands, or export to the Russian settlements on the north-west coast of America, where it is in great demand for curing fish, &c.” (Ellis)

The salt also came in handy with the region’s supplying whalers with fresh and salt beef that called to the Islands, as well as the later Gold Rushers of America.  Here is where Samuel Parker (of the later Parker Ranch fame) started out as a cattle hunter to fill those needs.

Increasing demand for meat, hides and tallow prompted Kuakini, governor of Hawai‘i Island, to establish a residence (and corrals) at Waimea in 1830. After having difficulty traversing the rocky trail from Waimea to Kawaihae, he “wisely sentenced forty persons guilty of violating the seventh commandment (committing adultery”) to construct a road connecting the two.

About this time, 2-wheeled Mexican ox carts started to appear; they were used to transport the meat and other goods between Waimea and Kawaihae (lots of white and sweet potatoes were grown in Waimea for export to California during the Gold Rush.)

As the area continued to grow and develop, most of the residential and commercial buildings that comprised Kawaihae Town continued to be located close to the shoreline of the bay; the uplands of the Kawaihae region remained undeveloped pasture land.  (Cultural Surveys)

The WWII years brought dramatic change.  The vast isolated plains of Waimea were viewed as an ideal location for a troop training center and in the spring of 1942 an army recruit camp was built there. The recruits were followed by the Second and Fifth Marine Divisions that recuperated and trained at Waimea. At its height, the Waimea camp (later dubbed Camp Tarawa,) consisting of tents and Quonset huts set on thousands of acres, housed up to 40,000 men.

Troops were shipped in and out through Kawaihae. At the southern end of the bay, in Kawaihae 2, amphibious landing exercises were conducted and military emplacements were set up in the area of Puʻukohola Heiau.

The war in the Pacific had been over less than a year when on April 1, 1946, an earthquake off the Aleutian Islands caused a tsunami that devastated the Hawaiian Islands.  Although no lives were lost at Kawaihae, its effects wiped out commercial fishing activity there and it was reported that the tsunami “…was the beginning of the end for the Kawaihae Fishing Village. People left.”  (Cultural Surveys)

By the 1950s, the need for improved harbor facilities at Kawaihae was apparent. The old landing had been destroyed in the 1946 tsunami and the one built in 1937 had proven unsafe in high seas. The Kawaihae Deep-Draft Harbor project was authorized by the US Congress in 1950 and finally dedicated on October 5, 1959.

The harbor’s construction was hailed as an “economic shot in the arm,” for sugar planters in the Kohala region of the island would no longer have to ship their crops overland to Hilo or to Kailua-Kona. The harbor would serve military needs as well. The Army was about to acquire a 100,000-acre training site nearby and could unload supplies at Kawaihae Harbor.  (Cultural Surveys)

On August 17, 1972, the US Congress authorized the designation of Puʻukohola Heiau as a National Historic Site. This site also encompasses Mailekini Heiau; Hale O Kapuni Heiau (a submerged “shark” heiau;) Pōhaku o Alapaʻi ku palupalu mano (a stone on the beach where chief Alapaʻi leaned against while watching sharks circling around offerings placed at the submerged heiau;) Pelekane (Kamehameha’s Kawaihae residence) and the site of John Young’s house.

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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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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hānaiakamalama

In the mid-1880s, EP Adams was marketing for sale ‘Hānaiakamalama,’ “formerly occupied by WL Green, Esq, as a private residence”.

But this isn’t just *any* house; Hānaiakamalama, also known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace, was the ‘mountain’ home of Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV. (Its name is Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon) – it is also the name for the Southern Cross.)

“It was a delightful country home for Queen Emma and many a happy reunion of the family took place there. The last I remember was a great reception given to the Duke of Edinburgh when he was here in the Galatea in 1869.”

“It was one of the most memorable of the luaus for which Hawai‘i nei has obtained a worldwide reputation.” (Girvin, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 18, 1906)

It was through this land that Kamehameha the Great marched during what would become the Battle of the Nuʻuanu in April 1795.

Coincidently, Kamehameha was aided by foreigners, including John Young, Queen Emma’s grandfather, who provided the cannons and tactical know-how used in the battle. (Rivera)

The house was originally constructed by John George Lewis in 1848. John Young II (Keoni Ana) bought it in 1850 and named the home “Hānaiakamalama” (after a favorite family homestead in Kawaihae.) (Rivera) Queen Emma inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, in 1857.

Queen Emma was born Emma Naʻea in Honolulu on January 2, 1836, the daughter of a British aristocratic woman and a Hawaiian high chief.

She became the hānai child of Dr and Mrs TC and Grace Rooke, her mother’s sister, who had no children of their own. Emma grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter ‘with a perfect English accent.’

OK, back to the home …

A notice in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser (November 11, 1890) noted that the government Water Works department purchased Hānaiakamalama for $8,000.

It was acquired “for the special purpose of a site for establishing (water system) filter beds, and a distributing reservoir for the city, which was looked upon then as one of the much-needed public works recognized, as a public necessity by the then administration.”

“The scheme then under consideration and practically settled upon was part of the plans in connection with the storage reservoir above Luakaha, for the increased capacity of the Nuʻuanu system.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 30, 1906)

The water works plan waned and thoughts of a park at the site were considered; there was, reportedly, a proposal to tear down the house and put in a baseball diamond.

However, “Governor Carter has expressed his disapproval of the retention of the Queen Emma property in Upper Nuʻuanu valley for park purposes in a letter to the secretary of the Improvement Club in that district, which passed resolutions urging that that be done.”

“I beg to say that I do not approve of the setting aside as a public park of the Hānaiakamalama premises, for the following reasons: First. Public parks are for the relief of thickly populated districts, where the congestion is such that the residents do not have breathing spaces … “

“… Second. The taxpayers are contributing at present about all they can stand and this is not sufficient to properly take care of all those areas that are already parked.” (Carter, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 6, 1906)

On May 12, 1906, The Pacific Commercial Advertiser noticed, “there will be sold at Public Auction … the following certain portions of land situate in the District of Kona, Island of Oahu, TH: … The land known as ‘Hānaiakamalama’ or the ‘Queen Emma Place’ (upset price of $10,000, possession given September 1, 1906.)”

Hānaiakamalama was saved from demolition by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi.

(Daughters of Hawai‘i was founded in 1903 and is made up of women members who are directly descended from a person who lived in Hawai‘i prior to 1880. Their purpose is “to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawai‘i and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.”)

Then, the newspaper announced, “Rules and regulations bearing on Hānaiakamalama, the Nuʻuanu home of the late Queen Emma, were adopted at a meeting on Wednesday of the Daughters of Hawai‘i, which society now has charge of the home. The rules are as follows:”

“1. The object of Hānaiakamalama is to preserve articles formerly owned by the late Queen Emma and such other articles of historic interest as may be given the Daughters of Hawaii for safe keeping.”

“2. The building shall be open to visitors daily from 9 to 12 in the morning and from 2 to 4 in the after noon, excepting Sunday and other days that may be designated.”

“3. The house can only be used as a meeting place for the Daughters of Hawai‘i and cannot be engaged for any other purpose.”

“4. A fees of 25 cents will be charged all visitors, members excepted.”

“5. Visitors are requested not to handle or deface any article in the building.” (Honolulu Star Bulletin, October 19, 1916)

In addition to Hānaiakamalama, the Daughters own and maintain Kamehameha III’s birth site at Keauhou Bay, Kona. Through an agreement with the State of Hawaiʻi, the Daughters use and maintain Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island.

Hānaiakamalama is open to the public with self – and docent-guided tours, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat 10 am – 3:30 pm; closed Sun, Mon, Wed & major holidays; Admission fees vary ($16-Kamaaina adult docent-led).

(When you are there, look over the patio to the right (as you face the entrance); you will hear and see a portion of the Paki auwai that fed the Queen’s kalo just downhill of the patio. See the attached map.)

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Queen_Emma_Summer_Palace_(Hanaiakamalama) 1875
Queen_Emma_Summer_Palace_(Hanaiakamalama) circa 1890
Queen_Emma_Summer_Palace-front
Queen_Emma
Keoni_Ana_and_niece_Emma
Royal cabinet-a wedding gift from Prince Albert of England and Queen Victoria to Emma and Alexander
Queen_Emma_Summer_Palace_Parlor
Parlor of Hānaiakamālama — the Summer Palace of Queen Emma
Silver christening vessel
Royal cabinet-a wedding gift from Prince Albert of England and Queen Victoria to Emma and Alexander
Fire Truck
Trousers and coat
Fire Outfit
Hanaiakamalama – Queen Emma Summer Palace
Paki Auwai-Boy Scouts-below-600
Queen_Emma_Summer_Palace-Kalo_Patches-Auwai-Nuuanu-Paki_Auwai-Reg1002 (1877) (por)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aliʻi and the Haole

Aliʻi made friends with many of the haole (white foreigners) who stopped at or ended up living in the Islands.  The Aliʻi appointed many to positions of leadership in the Kingdom.  Here is a summary on a handful of them.

Isaac Davis and John Young arrived in Hawai‘i at the same time (1790 – on different boats) and they served Kamehameha I as co-advisors.  Because of their knowledge of European warfare, they trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons, and fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

Davis became one of the highest chiefs under Kamehameha and the King appointed Davis Governor of Oʻahu during the early-1800s.  He was also one of Kamehameha’s closest friends.

An observer noted in 1798 that, “On leaving Davis the king embraced him and cried like a child. Davis said he always did when he left him, for he was always apprehensive that he might leave him, although he had promised him he would never do it without giving him previous notice.”

When Captain George Vancouver visited Hawai‘i Island in 1793, he observed that both Young and Davis “are in his (Kamehameha’s) most perfect confidence, attend him in all his excursions of business or pleasure, or expeditions of war or enterprise; and are in the habit of daily experiencing from him the greatest respect, and the highest degree of esteem and regard.”

Vancouver also had a warm reception from Kamehameha.  He noted in his Journal, “He (Kamehameha) instantly ascended the side of the ship, and taking hold of my hand, demanded, if we were sincerely his friends? To this I answered in the affirmative; he then said, that 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 that 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.”

In 1819, Young was one of the few present at the death of Kamehameha I. He then actively assisted Kamehameha II (Liholiho) in retaining his authority over the various factions that arose at his succession to the throne. Young was married twice; his hānai granddaughter was Queen Emma. Young was also present for the ending of the kapu system in 1819 and, a few months later, advised the new king to allow the first Protestant missionaries to settle in the Islands.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the northeast United States set sail on the Thaddeus for Hawai‘i.  Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period,”) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1820, missionary Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, Liholiho’s desire to learn, “The king (Liholiho, Kamehameha II) brought two young men to Mr. Thurston, and said: “Teach these, my favorites, (John Papa) ʻĪʻi and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.”

On October 7, 1829, King Kamehameha III issued a Proclamation “respecting the treatment of Foreigners within his Territories.”  It was prepared in the name of the King and the Chiefs in Council:  Kauikeaouli, the King; Gov. Boki; Kaahumanu; Gov. Adams Kuakini; Manuia; Kekuanaoa; Hinau; Aikanaka; Paki; Kinaʻu; John Īʻi and James Kahuhu.

In part, he states, “The Laws of my Country prohibit murder, theft, adultery, fornication, retailing ardent spirits at houses for selling spirits, amusements on the Sabbath Day, gambling and betting on the Sabbath Day, and at all times.  If any man shall transgress any of these Laws, he is liable to the penalty, – the same for every Foreigner and for the People of these Islands: whoever shall violate these Laws shall be punished.”

It continues with, “This is our communication to you all, ye parents from the Countries whence originate the winds; have compassion on a Nation of little Children, very small and young, who are yet in mental darkness; and help us to do right and follow with us, that which will be for the best good of this our Country.”

In 1829, Kaʻahumanu wanted to give Hiram and Sybil Bingham a gift of land and consulted Hoapili. Hoapili suggested Kapunahou (although he had already given it to Liliha (his daughter.)) The decision was made over the objection from Liliha; however Hoapili confirmed the gift. It was considered to be a gift from Kaʻahumanu, Kuhina Nui or Queen Regent at that time.

King Kamehameha III founded the Chief’s Children’s School in 1839.  The school’s main goal was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.  The King selected missionaries Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and Juliette Montague Cooke (1812-1896) to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

In a letter requesting the Cookes to teach and Judd to care for the children, King Kamehameha II wrote, “Greetings to you all, Teachers – Where are you, all you teachers? We ask Mr. Cooke to be teacher for our royal children. He is the teacher of our royal children and Dr. Judd is the one to take care of the royal children because we two hold Dr. Judd as necessary for the children and also in certain difficulties between us and you all.”

In this school, the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855 were educated, including: Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV;) Emma Naʻea Rooke (Queen Emma;) Lot Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V;) William Lunalilo (King Lunalilo;) Bernice Pauahi (Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop founder of Kamehameha Schools;) David Kalākaua (King Kalākaua) and Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

King Kamehameha III asked missionary William Richards (who had previously been asked to serve as Queen Keōpūolani’s religious teacher) to become an advisor to the King as instructor in law, political economy and the administration of affairs generally.

Richards gave classes to King Kamehameha III and his Chiefs on the Western ideas of rule of law and economics.  Richards became advisor in the drafting of the first written constitution of the Kingdom in 1840. In 1842 Richards became an envoy to Britain and the US to help negotiate treaties on behalf of Hawaiʻi.

King Kamehameha III initiated and implemented Hawaiʻi’s first constitution (1840) (one of five constitutions governing the Islands – and then, later, governance as part of the United States.)  Of his own free will he granted the Constitution of 1840, it introduced the innovation of representatives chosen by the people (rather than as previously solely selected by the Aliʻi.)  This gave the common people a share in the government’s actual political power for the first time.

Kamehameha III called for a highly-organized educational system; the Constitution of 1840 helped Hawaiʻi public schools become reorganized.  The King selected missionary Richard Armstrong to oversee the system.  Armstrong was later known as the “the father of American education in Hawaiʻi.”  The government-sponsored education system in Hawaiʻi is the longest running public school system west of the Mississippi River.

In May 1842, Kamehameha III asked Gerrit P Judd to accept an appointment as “translator and recorder for the government,” and as a member of the “treasury board,” with instructions to aid Oʻahu’s Governor Kekūanāoʻa in the transaction of business with foreigners.  In November, 1843, Judd was appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs, with the full responsibility of dealing with the foreign representatives.

Robert Crichton Wyllie came to the Islands in 1844 and first worked as acting British Consul. During this time he compiled in-depth reports on the conditions in the islands. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, on March 26, 1845, King Kamehameha III appointed him the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The foundation of the Archives of Hawaiʻi today are based almost entirely upon the vast, voluminous collections of letters and documents prepared and stored away by Wyllie.  Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Over the decades, the Hawaiian Kings and Queen appointed white foreigners to Cabinet and Privy Council positions; Kingdom Finance Ministers; Kingdom Foreign Ministers; Kingdom Interior Ministers and Kingdom Attorneys General.  Several haole are buried at Mauna Ala, including: Young, Wyllie, Rooke (adopted father of Queen Emma) and Lee (Chief Justice of Supreme Court.)

A few of the royalty married white spouses; notably, Princess Bernice Pauahi married Charles R Bishop, Queen Liliʻuokalani married John Dominis and Princess Miriam Likelike (sister of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliuokalani) married Archibald Scott Cleghorn (their daughter is Princess Kaʻiulani.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Isaac Ridler

“[T]he maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast of America had its origin in the accidental discovery by Captain Cook’s sailors that the furs which they had obtained at Nootka in exchange for the veriest trifles were of great value in the eyes of the Chinese. Naturally the earliest of these traders came from India and China.”

“In September of [1788] appeared at Nootka a new flag – that of the United States of America. This first American venture consisted of the Columbia and the Washington, commanded by captains Gray and Kendrick.”  (Howay)

“The Columbia, after remaining at Nootka until October, 1789, carried furs to Canton, exchanged them for teas, completed the circumnavigation of the earth, and in August, 1790, her return was celebrated at Boston with much enthusiasm.”

Back in the Islands, “In 1787, or less than ten years after the death of Cook, the Irish ship’s surgeon John Mackey, formerly in the East India Company’s service, was landed in Hawai’i from the Imperial Eagle, en route to China, at his own request.”

“Within a year he had been joined by three deserters – Ridler, carpenter’s mate of the Columbia; Thomas; and a youth named Samuel Hitchcock …”

“… while by 1790 the Hawaiian beachcombers numbered 10, including John Young, kidnapped at Kealakekua, and Isaac Davis, spared at the cutting off of the Fair American, both of whom were destined to leave their mark on Hawaiian history.”  (Maude)

Isaac Ridler was Carpenter’s Mate on the Columbia and was left in the fall of 1788 to collect sandalwood.

Ridler was a ‘Beachcomer’ in the Islands – beachcombers were typically a motley crew of castaways, deserters, traders and escaped convicts.  (Maude))

“Beachcomber is a word of American coinage. Primarily, it is applied to a long wave rolling in from the ocean, and from this it has come to be applied to those whose occupation it is to pick up, as pirates or wreckers, whatever these long waves wash in to them.”

“Nothing comes amiss to the so-called beachcomber; he is outside of civilization – is indeed a waif and stray not only on the ocean of life, but on the broad South Pacific, and he is certainly not above picking up those chance crumbs of the world around him which may be washed within the circle of his operations.”

“If the average British colonist and capitalist has not since his boyhood’s days, when he may have dipped into Cook’s Voyages, given a thought to the islands of the great South Sea, other white men have; and these pioneers of the Pacific are chiefly of their own stock – English or American.” (Chambers, 1881)

“In the majority of cases, the beachcomber has been a seafaring man, who has become weary of a life of hard work, with but scant remuneration, on board of Whalers or trading craft; and having landed from his vessel on one of the Pacific islands, and becoming domesticated among the natives”.

“While it is true that their intellect is of a low order, and that they know little or nothing of ordinary morality, as we understand it, it yet must be borne in mind that the race of half-castes thus produced is likely to form a prominent factor in the future civilisation of Polynesia.” (Chambers, 1881)

“Historically beachcombing is as old as European contact itself, for the first beachcombers came from Magellan’s own Trinidad, deserting at one of the northern Marianas.”

“(N)ot more than a handful of Europeans settled in the islands, either voluntarily or as castaways, in all the two and a half centuries of the age of discovery, which may be said to have lasted roughly to the founding of New South Wales.”

“Desertion was attempted, of course; even Cook, on his last voyage, had difficulty in recovering a midshipman and two others who deserted at Raiatea, and he recorded that they were ‘not the only persons in the ships who wished to end their days at these favourite islands.’”  (Maude)

In his four years in the Islands, Ridler “was what he termed one of Tommahommahaw’s (Kamehameha’s) runners, who boarded all vessels to windward merely to discover their strength and give information to the King.”

“Other American vessels had recently stopped at the Sandwich Islands, and had not been favorably impressed with the character of the natives. In the latter part of 1789 the Eleanor, an American armed trading vessel, commanded by Captain Metcalf, of New York, stopped en route to China.”

“Natives stole a small boat in order to get nails and iron, and Metcalf, a few days later, took revenge by firing into a crowd, who had come in canoes to trade, and killed many innocent persons.”

“The Fair American, commanded by Metcalf, after having been detained at Nootka, arrived a few days later, and was captured by natives, who proceeded to kill all on board except Isaac Davis.”

“The latter’s life was saved by interposition of one Ridler, the carpenter’s mate of the Columbia, who had remained at Hawaii.”

Ridler “said a small schooner named the Fair American was taken by the natives of Owhyhee (Hawaii). This schooner was tender to the Eleanora, Captain Metcalf, of New York, and commanded by his son, whom the natives killed with 3 seamen.”

“One (Isaac Davis) they threw overboard, but after beating and bruising him in a most shocking manner, they took him into one of the canoes and lashed him in with his face downwards, where Ridler found him, and interceded to save his life, in which he succeeded.” (Ingraham

“The natives were preparing 26,000 canoes to attack Captain Metcalf’s brig, a few miles away, while pretending to be trading, but the Americans on the island exaggerated the power of Metcalf’s guns and obtained permission of the king to send a letter requesting the captain to depart, but not stating what had occurred.” (Callahan)

“When Kamehameha learned of the taking of the schooner, he feared retaliation. So, when Captain Metcalf stood off shore, Kamehameha placed a taboo with penalty of death upon the sailing of any canoe. He hoped, by so doing, to keep Metcalf ignorant of the theft of the Fair American.”

“This taboo accounts for the closed houses. John Young knowing nothing of the system of the taboo, was unaware of the situation.”  (Kelley)

“Six months later, Captain Douglas, in the schooner Grace, arrived, and sent a letter requesting the delivery of the whites that remained, but failed to get them. He left Young and James Cox in care of the king to oversee the collection of sandalwood for the China market.” (Callahan)

“When Kamehameha met John Young and Isaac Davis, he took them home with him to his own houses, showing them the greatness kindness. Isaac Davis’ wounds were given careful attention. He was blind for several months, but eventually recovered his sight.”

“It is said many times that John Young and Isaac Davis were prisoners on Hawaii. They were not prisoners, although a careful watch was kept that they did not leave the islands.”

“The Captain of an incoming ship, learning that the two Englishmen were stranded on Hawaii, sent a letter ashore offering them passage. The chief, Kaiana, who was especially jealous of the friendship of Kamehameha for the two men, volunteered to take them out to the vessel in his own canoe.”

“But Kamehameha, knowing the secret desire of the chief, perhaps to destroy them. persuaded them not to go. It was with this background that John Young and Isaac Davis began their lives in the Sandwich Islands.” (Kelley)

Following the events of 1790 with the Eleanora and Fair American, “Davis and John Young … finally became chiefs, and instructed natives in the use of firearms.”

“In 1791 Captain Joseph Ingraham in the brig Hope, while cruising off Maui, was hailed by a double canoe in which were three white men, besides natives. These men were dressed in malos (loin cloths), being otherwise naked.”

“They were so tanned that they resembled the natives. They told Captain Ingraham that they had deserted Kamehameha, who had maltreated them, after the arrival at Kailua of the boatswain of the Eleanora.”

“These men were [Isaac] Ridler, James Cox and John Young (an American, not the boatswain of the Eleanora).”  (Cartwright)

Ridler joined Ingraham in October, 1791 and accompanied him back to New England on the same voyage. (The image shows the Columbia.)

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