Missionaries | Page 25 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 16, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Auna

Auna was trained to the priesthood by his father, a Raiatean chief, and that as a youth he became a well-known priest, warrior and member of the Arioi Society. Like many others from the Leeward Islands he joined Pomare’s forces during the latter’s exile on Moorea, fighting in the Tahitian campaigns of 1812 and at the battle of Feipi in 1815.

After Pomare’s successful reconquest of Tahiti Auna, by now a professing Christian, returned to Moorea and attended the school at Papetoai. In 1818 he accompanied the European missionaries to Huahine, the first mission station to be established in the Leewards; baptized a year later, he became one of the first four deacons of the Huahine church.

During the visit of the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet, the deputation sent by the London Missionary Society to visit the missions in the Pacific and elsewhere, to Huahine in 1822 it was decided to send Auna and another deacon Matatore, with their wives, to preach the gospel to the Marquesans. (Maude)

Then, “the Tahitian missionary Auna … came to Hawaii with a visiting English delegation of missionaries in 1822.” (Barrere & Sahlins)

“As (Ellis) landed here with his little band of Tahitians, the wife of Auna met with her brother who is attached to the chiefs, – Jack, or Moa, of the Ship Bounty, Capt. Bligh) & who gladly introduced her and her husband to Kaahumanu, & procured for them a lodging at her house.”

“Finding them interesting and agreeable, an on acquaintance of three weeks becoming attracted to them, she & Taumuare, gave them a pressing invitation to remain here. Nor is Auna less desirous to stay but wishes that his beloved pastor Mr. (Ellis) may remain also.”

“The invitation, seconded by the other principal chiefs is extended to Mr. E. and his family — so that on the part of the government the way is perfectly open for his entrance here.” (Journal of the Sandwich Island Mission, May 9, 1822)

The American Mission saw benefit in working with Ellis and The Tahitians … “of bringing the influence of the Tahitian mission to bear with more direct and operative force upon this nation; trembling under the too great responsibility of the spiritual concerns of the whole nation, & looking with hesitating awe at the great and difficult work of translating the bible & continually casting about for help …”

“… we feel the need of just such talents and services as Brother (Ellis) is able to bring to the work, whose general views of Christian faith practice, & of missionary duty, which accord so well with ours, whose thorough acquaintance with the Tahitian tongue so nearly allied to this …”

“… & which it cost the mission almost a 20 years’ labor fully to acquire, & whose missionary experience, among the South Sea Islands’ kindred tribes, enable him to cooperate with us, with mutual satisfaction, and greatly to facilitate our acquisition of this kindred language …”

“… & the early translation of the sacred scriptures, & thus promote the usefulness, rather than supersede the labors, of all who may come to our aid from America.” (Journal of the Sandwich Island Mission, May 9, 1822)

“Auna is a chief from the Society Islands, of a tall commanding figure, placid & benignant countenance, intelligent, sober, discreet, & humbly devoted to the cause of missions; prays in his family & in the family of Kaahumanu, keeps a journal neatly written in his native language, & carefully takes & preserves sketches of the sermons he hears.”

“He was with Pomare in the battle at Tahiti in the last struggle to exterminate Christianity, witnessed the triumphs of the Lord of hosts, & the downfall & destruction of the ‘foolish Idols that Tahiti worshipped.’”

“His wife is in some respects like him as to the degree of civilization to which she has advanced -She is short, but rather above the midling stature of American females.” (Journal of the Sandwich Island Mission, May 11, 1822)

“It is a pleasure to hear this happy Christian pair converse, or sing together the songs of Zion in their native tongue, but it is pretty to see then how unitedly devoted to the work of converting this nation to Christianity.” (Journal of the Sandwich Island Mission, May 11, 1822)

“Auna, a Tahitian Raatira, who, as a teacher, had been designated to the Marquesas, was, with his wife, Auna wahine, hospitably received at Honolulu by Kaumuali‘i and Kaahumanu, and even invited to remain.”

“Auna was regarded as pious and exemplary. He was of a tall, commanding figure, placid and benignant countenance; sober, discreet, and courteous; and soon capable of imparting rudimental instruction, and making known the Christian doctrine.”

“He gave important testimony respecting the course of events at the Society and Georgian Islands. He had been with Pomare in a battle at Tahiti, in the last struggles of the heathen party there to keep off or exterminate Christianity, when the king and the Christian party, standing on the defensive …”

“… and calling on the name of the Lord of Hosts, proved triumphantly successful in resisting and repelling their attacks and maintaining his ascendency.”

“Having witnessed the success of the Gospel among those of his countrymen who had received it, and the downfall of the foolish gods that Tahiti worshipped, and having, with many others, shouted the triumphs of Jehovah there …”

“… he was now willing to devote himself, for a time, to the business of acquainting the Hawaiians with what he knew, so far as he could make their language available. For this purpose he and his wife, who was a help-meet, tarried a year before they returned home.” (Bingham)

“Auna, the Tahitian chief, led the exercises of the afternoon, before embarking on board the Waverley to return to the Society Islands, on account of the health of his wife. He is a noble example of the power of the Gospel on the heart and character of a pagan.”

“His wife is a very handsome woman; and in her general appearance and manners remarkably like one of the most polished females I ever saw.” (Stewart)

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Sketch of Auna’s house in Honolulu

November 13, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Missionaries to Government Service

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

A few of the missionaries left the mission and ultimately worked for the Hawaiian Government; for the most part, they left the mission because the King asked for their assistance working directly for the Kingdom. These included William Richards, Gerritt P Judd, Lorrin Andrews and Richard Armstrong.

William Richards

On October 30, 1822, William Richards married Clarissa, daughter of Levi Lyman, of Northampton, Massachusetts. On November 19, he, with his wife, joined the Second Company of American Protestant missionaries to Hawai‘i. After five months at sea they reached Honolulu on Sunday, April 27, 1823.

In May 1823, Richards and others escorted Keōpūolani (wife of Kamehameha I and mother of King Kamehameha II & III) and her husband Hoapili to Lahaina and set up the Lahaina Mission Station there.

In 1837, after fourteen years of labor, he made a visit to the US, accompanied by his wife and the six oldest children. The health of himself and his wife made such a change desirable, and he wished to provide for the education of his children there. On his return to his post in the spring of 1838, the king and chiefs, asked Richards to work directly with them.

Richards translated Dr Francis Wayland’s ‘Elements of Political Economy’ into Hawaiian and organized discussions with the Chiefs on constitutional governance. Richards was instrumental in helping to transform Hawai‘i into a modern constitutional state with a bill of rights (1839) and a constitution (1840.)

In 1842 he went abroad with Timoteo Haʻalilio as a diplomat seeking British, French and US acknowledgment of Hawaiian independence. William Richards later became the Minister of Public Instruction in 1846, an office which gave him a seat in the King’s Privy Council. and worked with the legislature to make education a legal mandate.

As a member of the Cabinet, he had a larger influence with the young king, probably, than any other persons. In addition to the discharge of the ordinary duties of a Cabinet officer, he preached regularly at the palace on Sunday evening.

On July 18, 1847, while he was at the palace he was suddenly attacked by illness which was brought on by overwork and which led to his of death (November 7, 1847 – at the age of 54.) “Perhaps no man has ever shared more largely in the affections of the Hawaiian people than did Mr. Richards.”

Gerritt P Judd

Judd was a medical missionary, part of the Third Company of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM.) Dr. Judd was sent to replace Dr. Abraham Blatchely, who, because of poor health, had left Hawaiʻi the previous year.

Judd had originally come to the islands to serve as the missionary physician, intending to treat native Hawaiians for the growing number of diseases introduced by foreigners. He immersed himself in the Hawaiian community, becoming a fluent speaker of Hawaiian.

By letter dated May 15, 1842, Kamehameha III and Kekauluohi stated, “Salutations to you, GP Judd. You have been appointed Translator and Recorder for the Government, and for your support and that of your family, we consent that you be paid out of the Government money seven hundred and sixty dollars per annum, to commence from this day.”

As chairman of the treasury board Judd not only organized a system, he also helped to pay off a large public indebtedness and placed the government on a firm financial footing. In November 1843, Judd was appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs, with the full responsibility of dealing with the foreign representatives. He was succeeded by Mr. RC Wyllie, in March 1845, and was then appointed minister of the interior.

In 1846, Judd was transferred from the post of minister of the interior to that of minister of finance (which he held until 1853, when by resignation, he terminated his service with the government.)

In 1852, Judd served with Chief Justice Lee and Judge John Ii on a commission to draft a new constitution. He wrote the first medical book in the Hawaiian language. Later, Judd formed the first Medical School in the Islands (the school had a Hawaiians-only admissions policy.) Judd participated in a pivotal role in Medicine, Finance, Law, Sovereignty, Land Tenure and Governance in the Islands. Gerrit P Judd died in Honolulu on July 12, 1873.

Lorrin Andrews

In November of 1827, Andrews and his wife of three months, Mary Ann, set sail for the Sandwich Islands in the Third Company of missionaries sent to Hawaii by the ABCFM; after a long and unpleasant journey, the party arrived in Maui in March of 1828. Lorrin Andrews became the assistant to Rev. William Richards at Lāhainā and began teaching.

In 1831, the General Meeting of the ABCFM recognized the need for an institution of higher education to train native teachers and other workers to assist in their missionary efforts, resulting in the establishment of the Lahainaluna Seminary.

The seminary was literally built from the ground up by its founding group of twenty-five scholars and Lorrin Andrews became its first principal. In 1834, Andrews had established a printing operation onsite at Lahainaluna. Ultimately, printing was done in Hale Pa‘i (which still stands today.) Lorrin Andrews is credited as the man most responsible for the development of engraving done at Lahianaluna.

Andrews wrote ‘A Vocabulary of Words in the Hawaiian Language.’ “At a general meeting of the Mission in June, 1834, it was voted, ‘That Mr. Andrews prepare a Vocabulary of the Hawaiian Language.

Andrews left the mission in 1842. He left the mission as a matter of conscience because the board in New England had accepted funds from slave owners. Also, in part, it was due to his concern for education of his children.

“On September 19, 1845, Governor Kekūanāo’a appointed former missionary Lorrin Andrews to be judge of foreign cases. Andrews had taught at the mission school at Lahainaluna and was an accomplished scholar of the Hawaiian language. He was not trained in law but was a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary.”

“His role in the courts was to initiate internal procedural uniformity. He began by issuing a “Lex Forti” containing twenty-one rules of practice. Although there were only three lawyers at this time practicing besides Attorney General John Ricord, who undoubtedly drafted the rules, this was the beginning of the internal regulation of the courts. Andrews handled his duties carefully and quietly and did not become notorious or a subject of diplomatic correspondence.”

Richard Armstrong

Richard Armstrong was with the Fifth Company of missionaries; they arrived on May 17, 1832. Armstrong was stationed for a year at the mission in Marquesas Islands; he then replaced the Reverend Green as pastor of Kaʻahumanu Church (Wailuku) in 1836, supervised the construction of two stone meeting houses one at Haiku, and the other at Wailuku. Reverend Green returned to replace Armstrong in 1840.

Between 1836 and 1842, Kawaiahaʻo Church was constructed. Revered as the Protestant “mother church” and often called “the Westminster Abbey of Hawai‘i” this structure is an outgrowth of the original Mission Church founded in Boston and is the first foreign church on O‘ahu (1820.)

Kawaiahaʻo Church was designed and founded by its first pastor, Hiram Bingham. Bingham left the islands on August 3, 1840 and never saw the completed church. Reverend Richard Armstrong replaced Bingham as pastor of Kawaiahaʻo.

Armstrong was pastor of Kawaiahaʻo Church from 1840 to 1848. In 1848 Armstrong left the mission and became Minister of Public Instruction on June 7, 1848, following the death of William Richards. Armstrong was to serve the government for the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Privy Council and the House of Nobles and acted as the royal chaplain.

He set up the Board of Education under the kingdom in 1855 and was its president until his death. Armstrong is 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. To this day, Hawaiʻi is the only state to have a completely-centralized State public school system.

Armstrong helped bring better textbooks, qualified teachers and better school buildings. Students were taught in Hawaiian how to read, write, math, geography, singing and to be “God-fearing” citizens. (By 1863, three years after Armstrong’s death, the missionaries stopped being a part of Hawaiʻi’s education system.)

Above text is a summary – Click HERE for more information

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November 10, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bass Viol

The Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries landed at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820. There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity in this first company.

(King Kaumuali‘i sent his son Humehume (George Prince) to America to be educated. Humehume, and Thomas Hopu, William Kanui and John Honoliʻi were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School that came with the missionaries in 1820.)

“While the question of our settlement was pending, we invited and received the royal family on board the brig to dine. They came off in their double canoe, with waving kahilis and a retinue of attendants. His majesty, according to the taste of the time, having a malo or narrow girdle around his waist, a green silken scarf over his shoulder”.

“Happy to show civilities to this company, at our own table, we placed the king at the head of it, and implored the blessing of the King of kings, upon our food, and on the interview. All assembled on the quarter-deck of the Thaddeus; and the mission family with the aid of a bass-viol, played by George P Kaumuali‘i, and of the voices of the captain and officers, sang hymns of praise.”

(The bass viol (sometimes called the ‘church bass’) is similar to the cello, and is played while seated with the stringed instrument is between the legs.) (In what circumstances he acquired this large instrument and learned to play it is not documented. (Spoehr))

“Apparently pleased with this exercise, and with their interview with the strangers, our royal visitors gave us a friendly parting aloha, and returned with favorable impressions of the singular group of newcomers, who were seeking among them an abode in their isolated territories.”

“On the 7th, several of the brethren and sisters visited the king and chiefs, endeavoring to make their acquaintance and secure their confidence. On the 8th, we felt it necessary to ask of the king that a part of our mission might disembark at Kailua, and the rest at Honolulu, believing that it would be far better than for us all to leave the king, and go to Oahu, or for all to remain with him at Kailua, which he was proposing to leave ere long.” (Hiram Bingham)

“On the succeeding Sabbath, a similar opportunity occurred, when the songs of Zion, with the presence of Zion’s King, drew tears from a veteran resident, a self-expatriated American, who had not heard them before for twenty years, and who had a native wife, and a family of sons and daughters around him there, now to be taught the things of the world to come.”

“In these sacred songs, George P Kaumualii assisted both by his voice and the bass-viol. They appeared attractive to native ears, as well as to the naturalized foreigner, who had seen better days.” (Bingham)

“April 23 (1820) Sabbath. To day, for the first time, we have public worship on land. A considerable audience of European and American residents, masters and other officers of vessels, chiefs, sailors, and common natives assembled, in and about the house occupied by Mr. Bingham, to hear the sound of the gospel, for the first time on these long neglected heathen shores.”

“The discourse was from Luke ii. 10. ‘Fear not; fur behold I bring yon good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.’ The theme, the scene, the opening prospect, the dawning light of a brighter day, the incipient songs of Zion, conspire to animate out hearts, and to awaken an unusual joy in our soul …”

“… while we listened to the language of the messenger from heaven, and seemed to be favoured with the special presence of Him, who was born in the city of David, a Saviour, even Christ the Lord.”

“Our singing, aided by the bass viol, on which G. P. Tamoree (Prince George Kaumuali‘i) played, was pleasing to the natives, and will probably have a salutary influence in winning them to approve and to engage in Christian worship.” (Journal of the Mission, Missionary Herald, May, 1821)

“This George Tamoree (Kaumuali‘i,) a son of Tamoree (Kaumuali‘i,) king of Atooi (Kauai,) was for some time at the Foreign Mission School at Cornwall, Connecticut (he was one of the founding students, (Chappell,)) and went out with the first missionaries that sailed to the Sandwich Islands.”

“All the religion, however, which he ever appears to have possessed, consisted in his being able to play well on a bass viol.”

“The father of George, we are told by the missionaries, was much pleased with the return of his son, and said “he must know a great deal, in order to play so skilfully.” (The Reformer, January 1, 1826)

After the Thaddeus departed, George remained in Kailua-Kona and took Betty Davis, the half-Hawaiian daughter of Isaac Davis, as his wife, or his “rib” as he described her. In a short time they rejoined the missionary party in Honolulu, having obtained passage on the ship Neo.

George, his “rib,” and his bass viol then embarked on the Thaddeus for Kauai. Samuel Ruggles and Samuel Whitney escorted him home to his father. The Thaddeus anchored at Waimea, Kauai, opposite the fort on May 3, 1820. George kept himself concealed in the cabin until he was sure of his welcome.

The affecting, tender reunion with his father has been amply recorded. Kaumualii rewarded the missionaries and Captain Blanchard well. He supplied the Thaddeus with 50 large hogs and generous amounts of yams, coconuts, sugar cane, and other items. To the mission in Honolulu he sent mats, oranges, pineapples, and one pig to Bingham and one to Chamberlain. For George’s passage, he gave Captain Blanchard sandalwood.

In late July, Ruggles and Whitney with their wives and young Nathan Chamberlain returned to Kauai to establish the mission. (Spoehr)

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October 28, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aliʻi Letters Kalanimōku to Hiram Bingham October 28, 1826

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

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

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

In this letter, Kalaimoku (Kalanimōku) writes to Rev. Hiram Bingham dismissing the blame placed on the missionaries for other foreigners’ misconduct. He encourages their goodness and their teachings and professes his own faith in God.

Kālaimoku, also known as Kalanimōku and William Pitt Kalanimōku, was a trusted advisor of Kamehameha I. During the travels of Liholiho and Kamāmalu to Great Britain, he co-ruled with Kaʻahumanu, maintaining a leadership role during the first reigning years of the new king, Liholiho’s younger brother, Kauikeaouli.

In part, the letter notes:

“Honolulu, Oahu October 28, 1826”

“Greetings to you, Mr. Bingham,”

“Here is my message to all of you, our missionary teachers. I am telling you that I do not see your wrongdoing. If I should see you to be wrong, I would tell you all.”

“No, you should all just be good.”

“Give us literacy and we will teach it; and give us the word of God, and we will heed it.”

“Our women are restricted, for we have learned the word of God.”

“Then foreigners come, doing damage to our land, foreigners of America and Britain.”

“Do not be angry, for it is we who are to blame for you being faulted, and not you foreigners.”

“Here is my message according to the words of Jehovah. I have given my heart to God and my body and my spirit. I have devoted myself to the church for Jesus Christ.”

“Have a look at my message, Mr. Bingham and company, and if you see it and wish to send my message to America, to our chief, that is up to you.”

“Greetings to our chief in America. Regards to him. From Kalaimoku”

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation (scroll down):

https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/48a090b14ab39c3e64644c9a03b6b1dd.pdf

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

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

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

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

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William Pitt Kalanimoku (c. 1768–1827) was a military and civil leader of the Kingdom of Hawaii-Pellion

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October 27, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“… your people must all read and write …”

“If you wish to have me for your friend, you and your people must all read and write. If you do not attend to instruction, I shall not be your friend.” (King George of England to Boki, 1824)

Boki asked him whether preachers are good men, and the King said, “Yes, and they are men to make others good. I always have some of them by me; for chiefs are not wise like them.”

“We in England were once like the people in your islands; but this kind of teachers came and taught our fathers, and now you see what we are.” (ABCFM Annual Report, 1826)

The exchange was at the sad time of when Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and his Queen Kamāmalu died in England. Boki was with them at the time; Liholiho and Kamāmalu died without ever getting to meet King George IV. Boki returned May 6, 1825.

Learning to read and write had already been on Liholiho’s mind, well before he travelled to England. 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) Ii and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.’”

Hawaiian was a spoken language, but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs. The planning for the formal written Hawaiian language in the early part of the nineteenth century was started by the Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaii, starting in 1820.

The missionaries selected a 12-letter alphabet for the written Hawaiian language, using five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and seven consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p and w).

The missionaries established schools associated with their missions across the Islands. This marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy. The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of Chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

“Throughout the islands, the schools prospered; though, from the system pursued … At Lahaina, 922 pupils were present at one examination, of whom 500 could read, and 300 had read all the books in the language. At Honolulu, 600 pupils were examined in April.”

“As early as February, about 40 schools were known to be in operation on Hawaii, and the number was greatly increased during the year. In October, 16,000 copies of elementary lessons had been given out, and it was supposed that there were nearly that number of learners on the islands.”

“The people were not allowed to wait in ignorance for accomplished teachers. Everywhere the chiefs selected the most forward scholars, and sent them out to teach others. Such of these teachers as were conveniently situated for that purpose, were formed into classes for further instruction.” (Tracy, 1840)

By 1831, in just eleven years from the first arrival of the missionaries, Hawaiians had built over 1,100-schoolhouses. This covered every district throughout the eight major islands and serviced an estimated 53,000-students. (Laimana)

The proliferation of schoolhouses was augmented by the missionaries printing of 140,000-copies of the pī¬ʻāpā (elementary Hawaiian spelling book) by 1829 and the staffing of the schools with 1,000-plus Hawaiian teachers. (Laimana)

The word pīʻāpā is said to have been derived from the method of teaching Hawaiians to begin the alphabet “b, a, ba.” The Hawaiians pronounced “b” like “p” and said “pī ʻā pā.” (Pukui)

By 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians (at the time was 78 percent) had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. By way of comparison, it is significant that overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not risen much above 50 percent. (Laimana)

In 1839, King Kamehameha III called for the formation of the Chiefs’ Children’s School (Royal School.) The main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking Chiefs’ children and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom. The King asked missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

The King also saw the importance of education for all. “Statute for the Regulation of Schools” was passed by the King and chiefs on October 15, 1840.

Its preamble stated, “The basis on which the Kingdom rests is wisdom and knowledge. Peace and prosperity cannot prevail in the land, unless the people are taught in letters and in that which constitutes prosperity. If the children are not taught, ignorance must be perpetual, and children of the chiefs cannot prosper, nor any other children”.

This legislation mandated compulsory attendance for all children ages four to fourteen. Any village that had fifteen or more school-age children was required to provide a school for their students. The creation of the Common Schools (where the 3-Rs were taught) marks the beginning of the government’s involvement in education in Hawaiʻi.

By 1853, nearly three-fourths of the native Hawaiian population over the age of sixteen years were literate in their own language. The short time span within which native Hawaiians achieved literacy is remarkable in light of the overall low literacy rates of the United States at that time. (Lucas)

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.

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