Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 9 Comments

Hawaiian … Banned?

Simply stated … the Hawaiian language was never banned.

That does not mean, however, that the use of the Hawaiian language did not diminish, nor that Hawaiian language speakers did not decline. But it is not correct to say the Hawaiian language was ever banned or outlawed.

Many Point to a 2022 Resolution as ‘Evidence’ that the Hawaiian Language was Banned

In 2022, the Hawai‘i legislature adopted HCR 130 and “offers this resolution as an apology to the Native Hawaiian people for the effective prohibition in Hawaii schools of the instructional use of ‘Ōlelo Hawaii from 1896 to 1986”.

Like a lot of others, the legislature overlooks some historical facts and historical context, including,

The Resolution states Act 57, Laws of the Republic of Hawaii 1896 “declared an English-only law over Hawaii’s public schools, prohibiting the use of ‘Olelo Hawaii as a medium instruction”.

  • Like many others, the legislature only referenced one part of the sentence in Act 57; the entire sentence reads, “The English language shall be the medium and basis of instruction in all public and private schools, provided that where it is desired that another language shall be taught in addition to the English language, such instruction may be authorized by the Department, either by its rules, the curriculum of the schools, or by direct order in any particular instance.”

The plain language of the law is clear and unambiguous; and, there is no statement that the Hawaiian language was banned. If a school wanted to teach Hawaiian, it could seek permission from the Department.

An example of non-English language school instruction in the Islands was the formation and upward trend of instruction in the Japanese language schools in Hawai‘i. (These were typically after school instruction.)

This claim of ‘banning the Hawaiian language’ (because of this law or for other theories) ignores what people back then believed and/or preferred.

The legislature overlooked that Kings of the Hawaiian Kingdom wanted English language instruction and the people asked for it.  By 1850, English had become the language of business, diplomacy, and, to a considerable extent, of government itself.

The legislature overlooks the downward trend in enrollment and number of Hawaiian language schools that was evident well before the enactment of the law.

  • In 1854, there were 412-Hawaiian language instruction common schools with a total enrollment of 11,782-pupils; By 1874, the number of common schools declined to 196, with only 5,522-students enrolled (71% of the overall student population.) By 1878, 61% of the students were still enrolled in Hawaiian language schools; by 1882, that figure had dropped to 33%.
  • In 1895, the year before Act 57 was implemented, there were only 3 Hawaiian language schools with only 59 students – at the same time, there were 184 English language schools with 12,557 students – 99.5% of the students were in English language schools.

According to the Alexander and Atkinson, the reason for such a decline in Hawaiian language schools was,

“the desire of the Hawaiians to have their children taught the English language. Petition after petition is constantly being received by the Board asking to have the Common Schools [i.e., those taught in Hawaiian] changed into English Schools. The result will be then in a very few years more the Common Schools will have ceased to exist.”

The legislature overlooks the existence and expansion of the Hawaiian Language Newspapers in circulation; the numerous Hawaiian language newspapers that existed well beyond Act 57 (1896) confirms the Hawaiian language was not banned.

  • Between 1834-1948, Hawaiʻi saw the publication of over 100 different Hawaiian language newspapers. Approximately 125,000 pages were published, equating to roughly 1.5 million pages of ‘ike if transferred to A4 typescript.

I agree with the legislature that “due to Act 57, many students were punished for speaking ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i at school.”  Others were punished at home.

However, those were personal family and school decisions, a choice each of them made; that was not the result of a broad ban on the language.  And, we need to consider the norms at the time related to Corporal Punishment – back then, many believed that corporal punishment was necessary to the maintenance of proper discipline, and it was common to use Corporal Punishment for disruptive and/or disrespectful behavior.

In reality, then and now, the use of force (by parents on their children and teachers on students) was an allowed and accepted practice of discipline.

Corporal Punishment was allowed under Hawaiian Kingdom law authorized by the King and Privy Council; as noted in Statute Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha III, 1846, Chapter III.

Use of force continues to be allowed under existing Hawai‘i law.  Today, in Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS)  §703-309  Use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline, or safety of others, the use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable.

This discussion is not a defense of nor support for Corporal Punishment; it is presented so readers have the correct historical context.

Simply stated … use of the Hawaiian language was never banned by law and the historical facts prove it.  This is further explained in the following.

Early Education Programs in the Islands

When Captain Cook first made contact with the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through oli (chants) and mele (songs).

Before the foreigners arrived, Hawaiians had a vocational learning system, where everyone was taught a certain skill by the kahuna. Skills taught included canoe builder, medicine men, genealogists, navigators, farmers, house builders, priests, etc.

The arrival of the first company of American missionaries 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. The missionaries established schools associated with their missions across the Islands.

Interestingly, these same early missionaries taught their lessons in Hawaiian to the Hawaiians, rather than English. The missionaries learned the Hawaiian language, and then taught the Hawaiians in their language. In part, the mission did not want to create a separate caste and portion of the community as English-speaking Hawaiians.

Kuykendall (Volume 2) helps to explain the formation/operations of the early education programs in the Islands, “[T]he American Protestant missionaries were the most potent driving force in the educational system of the kingdom; natives educated in schools founded and carried on by missionaries and missionary children constituted a great majority of the teachers in the common schools, while many missionary children became teachers in select schools.”

“All the schools in the kingdom could be divided into two main categories: (1) common schools and (2) select schools. The common schools were the free public schools maintained by the government. whose object was ‘to instruct the children of the nation in good morals, and in the rudiments of reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, and of other kindred elementary branches.’”

“They were taught in the Hawaiian language by native Hawaiian teachers and afforded the only educational opportunity available to the great majority of the children of the nation.”

“Select schools, besides being, as the term implied, of better quality than the common schools, had various special objectives: to qualify their students for positions above the level of the common laborer, to teach them the English language, to supply teachers for the public schools, to train girls to be good housewives and mothers. In most of the select schools, English was the medium of instruction and a tuition fee was charged.”

“The Missionaries have been the fathers, the builders and the supporters of education in these Islands”. (Lee, December 2, 1847, Privy Council Minutes)

As time moved forward from the mid-nineteenth-century, to the end of the nineteenth-century, and after many meetings of the Board of Education, vocational education was implemented in to the school system. (Iaukea)

King Kamehameha III also saw the importance of education for all. “Statute for the Regulation of Schools” was adopted 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”.

The Law People Cite Does Not Ban Hawaiian – No Other Law Banned the Hawaiian Language

Many point to Act 57, Sec. 30 of the 1896 Laws of the Republic of Hawai‘i as the justification for their claim that Hawaiian was banned. That law states:

“The English language shall be the medium and basis of instruction in all public and private schools, provided that where it is desired that another language shall be taught in addition to the English language, such instruction may be authorized by the Department, either by its rules, the curriculum of the schools, or by direct order in any particular instance. Any schools that shall not conform to the provisions of this section shall not be recognized by the Department.”

Some suggest that the law passed by the Provisional Government that required English language instruction was “an intentional effort to strip language and culture from Native Hawaiians and other groups that came here. But it was more harmful to Hawaiians because Hawaiian had been the primary language for centuries.” (Star Advertiser article)

Statements like this ignore the facts. A simple review of the law shows that the language was not banned.

The plain language of the law is clear and unambiguous.

There is no statement in that that the Hawaiian language was banned. While it did say that “English language shall be the medium and basis of instruction,” the very next words in the same sentence of the law says, “provided that where it is desired that another language shall be taught in addition to the English language, such instruction may be authorized by the Department.” So, if a school wanted to teach Hawaiian, it could seek permission from the Department.

Growth in the Japanese Language Schools

An example of non-English language school instruction in the Islands was the formation and upward trend of instruction in the Japanese language schools in Hawai‘i.  (These were typically after school instruction; however, they were schools providing instruction in another language, other than English.)

In 1898 (well after the law was passed mandating English as the medium and basis for instruction), Rev. Okumura wanted to create educational opportunities for children of Japanese immigrants and requested the Ministry of Education in Japan to help provide Japanese language textbooks.

These textbooks were identical to the ones used in Japan and had been used by many schools. The number of schools expanded to a total of 134 by 1915.

Kings of the Hawaiian Kingdom Wanted English Language Instruction; the People Asked For It

This claim of ‘banning the Hawaiian language’ (because of this law or for other theories) ignores what people back then believed and/or preferred.

English was taught in Select Schools; that program was not funded by the government. As early as 1851, it was noted (Richard Armstrong, Minister of Public Education to the Hawaiian Legislature), that,

“What seems to be most needed now, is provision for the instruction of the interesting and increasing numbers of white and half-caste children in the several white settlements on the Islands; but more especially in Honolulu: and for natives who wish to acquire the English language.” (emphasis added)

Kuykendall (Volume 1) notes that the people wanted their children to be taught in English; in 1853, Armstrong wrote,

“On my tours around the Islands, I have found parents everywhere, even on the remote island of Niihau, most anxious to have their children taught the English language; and the reason they generally gave was a most sound and intelligent one, that without it – they will, by-and-by be nothing, and the white man everything.” (emphasis added)

Interest and motivation for Native Hawaiians to learn English had the attention of Kamehameha III. At the opening of the 1854 legislative session, King Kamehameha III gave the following remarks (in part),

“I have ordered my Minister of Public Instruction to submit to you, at length, the important subject of the education of my people, as the surest means of elevating them in the scale of morals, and of usefulness to themselves and the State.”

“There is a growing desire among my native subjects, that their children should acquire a knowledge of the English language, and considering the universality of that language in all the transactions of business, such a desire is very natural.” (emphasis added)

Accordingly, the legislature passed An Act for the Encouragement and Support for English Schools for Hawaiian Youth, July 20, 1854.

At the opening of the 1855 legislative session, King Kamehameha IV gave the following remarks (in part), saying,

“To foster education and widen every channel that leads to knowledge, is one of our most imperative duties. … It is of the highest importance, in my opinion, that education in the English language should become more general, for it is my firm conviction that unless my subjects become educated in this tongue, their hope of intellectual progress, and of meeting the foreigners on terms of equality, is a vain one.” (emphasis added)

At the opening of the 1856 legislative session, King Kamehameha IV gave the following remarks (in part),

“It is particularly gratifying to know that instruction in the English language is prosecuted with so much success among my native subjects. I recommend you to make as liberal a provision for the support of this class of schools as the state of my Treasury will admit.” (emphasis added)

At the opening of the 1860 legislative session, King Kamehameha IV gave the following remarks (in part),

“The all-important subject of Education now occupies the public mind with more than usual interest, and I particularly recommend to your favorable notice the suggestions of the President of the Board of Education, with reference to substituting English for Hawaiian schools, in so far as may be practicable, and also in relation to the granting of Government aid towards independent schools for the education and moral training of females.” (emphasis added)

At the opening of the 1862 legislative session, King Kamehameha IV gave the following remarks (in part),

“The importance of substituting English for Hawaiian schools I have already earnestly recommended, and in again bringing the subject to your attention, I would touch upon a matter which I think of equal importance, and that is in raising the standard of elementary education in the Common Schools.” (emphasis added)

Wist, in A Century of Public Education noted,

“Native youths, and to some extent their parents, saw the economic advantages in a knowledge of English. Kamehameha IV and later monarchs favored the change. Thus gradually there were accumulating numerous forces in favor of the dominance of English.” (emphasis added)

Enrollment Declines in Hawaiian Language Schools

Another issue people overlook was the obvious downward trend in enrollment and number of schools that taught in the Hawaiian language that was evident well before the enactment of the 1896 law.

Al Schutz, in The Voices of Eden, notes that School Attendance records clearly show the downward trend of student enrollment in Hawaiian language schools and the increases in enrollment for English language schools. That trend started well before the 1896 law. The following is a copy of Schutz’s table 16.1 (p. 352)

As noted by Schutz, “The figures in table 16.1 are corroborated by statistics from a different source, an article on the history of education in Hawai’i (Alexander and Atkinson 1888): in 1878, the schools that taught in Hawaiian contained 61.8% of the total school population, but in 1888, only 15.7%.

In the year the law that mandated English as the medium of instruction (1896), the number of Hawaiian language schools had dropped to only 3 schools and 59 students in Hawaiian language schools. In contrast, the year the law was adopted, the number of English language schools had grown to 184 schools and over 12,500 students – 99.5% of the total school enrollment in the year the law was passed was in English language schools.

According to the Alexander and Atkinson, the reason for such a decline in Hawaiian language schools was,

“the desire of the Hawaiians to have their children taught the English language. Petition after petition is constantly being received by the Board asking to have the Common Schools [i.e., those taught in Hawaiian] changed into English Schools. The result will be then in a very few years more the Common Schools will have ceased to exist. (emphasis added)

It is very likely that the change to English only in instruction was at least in part a business decision; but nobody suggests that – they fall back to the colonialism and race-based claims.

However, the attendance data is clear, enrollment (and the number of school) in Hawaiian language schools had been in decline for many years and were almost gone at the time the law that mandated English as the medium of instruction was passed.

The Existence and Expansion of the Hawaiian Language Newspapers (1834 – 1948) Confirms the Hawaiian Language Was Not Banned

The proliferation of Hawaiian language newspapers, well after the so-called ‘ban,’ verifies that Hawaiian was not banned and was part of society. Of note, “Between 1834-1948, Hawaiʻi saw the publication of over 100 different Hawaiian language newspapers.” (Lorenzo-Elarco)

The University of Hawai‘i prepared a brief chronicle on the Hawai‘i newspapers,

The first newspaper printed in Hawaii was a student newspaper, Ka Lama Hawaii (The Hawaiian Luminary), produced Feb. 14, 1834 at Lahainaluna on Maui. It was written in Hawaiian, as were many of the early Island newspapers. …

The longest running of these papers was Ke Aloha Aina, begun in 1895 by Joseph and Emma Nawahi. Joseph Nawahi was a journalist – statesman who severed in the first Territorial legislatures. After his death, Emma Nawahi edited the paper through its last issues in 1920.

A summary prepared by J. Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco titled ‘He Hōʻiliʻili Hawaiʻi: A Brief History of Hawaiian Language Newspapers’ confirms the existence and continuation of Hawaiian language newspapers that went well beyond the effective date of the law that many claim ‘banned’ the use of the Hawaiian language.

That summary states,

Between 1834-1948, Hawaiʻi saw the publication of over 100 different Hawaiian language newspapers. Approximately 125,000 pages were published, equating to roughly 1.5 million pages of ‘ike if transferred to A4 typescript.

Another summary by Joan Hori, Hawaiian Collections curator at Hamilton Library, University of Hawai‘i noted,

Ka Hoku o ka Pakipika (started in September [1861]), edited by David Kalākaua, was followed by Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in October. This latter newspaper was to become the longest lasting Hawaiian language newspaper, published monthly in October, November, and December of 1861, and weekly thereafter until December 29, 1927. In the course of its history it would absorb a number of rival newspapers. According to Helen Chapin the editors of Kuokoa …

John Reinecke writes, ‘The Kuokoa (1861 to 1927) in particular was for the long while a journal of opinion as well as information and afforded an outlet for the literary and didactic ambitions of Hawaiians.’ (Hori, Hamilton Library, UH)

Corporal Punishment

As noted, there are many reports of families not letting children speak Hawaiian – those were personal family decisions, a choice each of them made; that was not the result of a broad ban on the language. Likewise, people report they or their family members were beaten for speaking Hawaiian in school.

The following is not a defense of nor support for Corporal Punishment; it is presented so readers have the correct historical context.

In order to understand his position, we need to look at the historical context of corporal punishment. Why is this important?

It is important because the claims the people were beaten for speaking Hawaiian give the impression that Corporal Punishment at home and in the schools was beyond the norm and was an unacceptable form of discipline.

Calling it out gives the impression that this form of discipline was overly aggressive and punitive, beyond the standard of the day. Doing so gives a false impression of what was the norm/acceptable at the time.

In reality, then and now, the use of force (by parents on their children and teachers on students) was an allowed and accepted practice of discipline.

Corporal Punishment was allowed under Hawaiian Kingdom law authorized by the King and Privy Council; as noted in Statute Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha III, 1846, Chapter III. Of the Public and Private Schools:

“Section XV. It shall be lawful for any licensed teacher in actual employment in any sub-division of any of said districts to administer correctional punishment to the pupils of his school when, in his judgment, necessary, and the teacher so acting shall not be in any way amenable therefor:”

Use of force continues to be allowed under existing Hawai‘i law.

Today, in Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) §703-309 Use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline, or safety of others. the use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable.

That commentary within the Hawai‘i State laws goes on to state,

“The section is substantially in accord with preexisting Hawaii law. Hawaii law permits parents “to chastise [their children] moderately for their good.” Under prior law, any corporal punishment was permitted if reasonable. To the extent that Hawaii case law suggests that the parents have uncontrolled discretion to discipline their children, the Code represents a change.”

“Similarly, teachers have had authority under Hawaii case and statutory law to use force to maintain discipline in the schools. The punishment must have been reasonable, and the teachers’ discretion was considered less extensive than that of parents.”

This was not unique to Hawai‘i.

A 2016 book abstract of Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy by Elizabeth Gershoff and Sarah Font states, “School corporal punishment is currently legal in 19 states, and over 160,000 children in these states are subject to corporal punishment in schools each year.”

There are men alive today (in the Islands and on the continent) who, when students, made their own paddles in shop class – and, when discipline at school was necessary, carried that paddle to the principal’s office for a paddling.

Other stories of Corporal Punishment by Nuns in Catholic Schools, as well as teachers in other schools, are notorious.

This discussion is not a defense of nor support for Corporal Punishment; it is presented so readers have the correct historical context.

(I realize this is already long, but the following link provides additional information showing that the Hawaiian language was not banned:)

Click to access Hawaiian-Language-Was-Never-Banned.pdf

Simply stated … use of the Hawaiian language was never banned.

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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Hawaiian-English Schools Number and Attendance

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawaiaha‘o Church

Prior to the missionaries arriving in the islands, the flat plain just south of the village of Honolulu was a barren, windswept dust bowl – little more than a desert.  However, in the midst of this sun-parched land there was an oasis, a spring whose waters were reserved exclusively for the land’s high chiefs and chiefesses.
 
One such noble who frequented this pool was the chiefess Ha‘o. Eventually these waters, and the surrounding land, came to be known as Ka Wai a Ha‘o – the freshwater pool of Ha‘o.
 
In 1820, the first missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i, and found themselves well-accepted by royalty as well as the general populace.  They were granted land at Kawaiaha‘o for the purpose of establishing their residence and church.
 
The missionaries, less the group left on the Big Island, landed at Honolulu on April 19, 1820.  Four days later, Hiram Bingham, the leader of the group, preached the first formal Protestant sermon in the islands.  Initial services were in thatched structures.  Later, a more permanent church was built.
 
The church, constructed between 1836 and 1842, was in the New England style of the Hawaiian missionary and has been restored and altered several times since first erected.  The “Kauikeaouli clock,” donated by King Kamehameha III in 1850, still tolls the hours to this day.
 
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).
 
Within its walls the kingdom’s royalty prayed, sang hymns, were married, christened their children and finally laid in state.  As the state church, it was the scene of many celebrated events associated with the Hawaiian Kingdom – inaugurations, funerals, weddings, thanksgiving ceremonies.
 
The “Stone Church,” as it came to be known, is in fact not built of stone, but of giant slabs of coral hewn from ocean reefs.  These slabs had to be quarried from under water; each weighed more than 1,000 pounds.  Natives dove 10 to 20 feet to hand-chisel these pieces from the reef, then raised them to the surface, loaded some 14,000 of the slabs into canoes and ferried them to shore.
 
Following five years of construction, The Stone Church was ready for dedication ceremonies on July 21, 1842.  The grounds of Kawaiaha‘o overflowed with 4,000 to 5,000 faithful worshippers.  King Kamehameha III, who contributed generously to the fund to build the church, attended the service.
 
Kawaiaha‘o Church was designed and founded by its first pastor, Hiram Bingham, my great-great-great grandfather.  Hiram left the islands on August 3, 1840 and never saw the completed church.  Kawaiaha‘o Church is listed on the state and national registers of historic sites.
 
Fast forward to 1925 … the church building was completely reconstructed from 1925-27, when all structural wood was replaced with reinforced concrete and steel and interior redesigned. (The original interior of the church did not have the concrete you see today, it was wood.)
 
All interior wood was termite infested. All wood was removed leaving only the coral walls standing and the building was rebuilt from the basement up. The auditorium was restored to its full length, the galleries were widened and extended.
 
Concrete pillars provided an aisle effect within. The reconstruction attempted to return the building to its original New England simplicity.
 
The pulpit, with furniture made from salvaged ohia slabs and kauila logs, was designed with wide steps leading up to it and a simple cross on the wall behind.
 
The original arched windows on either side of the pulpit and the crescent opening above the cross were retained. New, insect-proof redwood seats were installed, and the old royal pews were closed to visitors.
 
The roof was covered with imported slates, put on with copper nails. The outer walls were spray-coated with a cement plaster to preserve the coral blocks from damage by birds pecking at them.
 
Inside, a new organ, funded in part by C. Brewer and Co. to commemorate their 100th anniversary, replaced the 1901 instrument.
 
To complete the new setting, the grounds were replanted – little had been done since Lunalilo’s time, except in 1899 when A. S. Cleghorn pulled down the high wall, dug an artesian well, planted a lawn, and set out the line of royal palms mauka of the building as memorial to his daughter, Princess Kaiulani.
 
A fountain pool was built with some coral block to commemorate the old spring at King and South Streets which had given the land, and the church, its name: Ka wai a Hao – the water of Hao.

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Surfing Gives Life and Interest to the Scenery

Did the Missionaries Really Stop Surfing in Hawaiʻi?

Open any book or read any article about surfing in Hawaiʻi and invariably there is a definitive statement that the missionaries “banned” and/or “abolished” surfing in Hawaiʻi.

OK, I am not being overly sensitive, here (being a descendent of Hiram Bingham, the leader of the first missionary group to Hawaiʻi;) actually, I believed the premise in the first line for a long time.

However, in taking a closer look into the matter, I am coming to a different conclusion.

First of all, the missionaries were guests in the Hawaiian Kingdom; they didn’t have the power to ban or abolish anything – that was the prerogative of the King and Chiefs.

Anyway, I agree; the missionaries despised the fact that Hawaiians typically surfed in the nude.  They also didn’t like the commingling between the sexes.

So, before we go on, we need to agree, the issue at hand is surfing – not nudity and interactions between the sexes.  In keeping this discussion on the sport and not sexuality, let’s see what the missionaries had to say about surfing.

I first looked to see what my great-great-great-grandfather, Hiram Bingham, had to say.  He wrote a book, A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands, about his experiences in Hawaiʻi.

I word-searched “surf” (figuring I could get all word variations on the subject.)  Here is what Bingham had to say about surfing (Bingham was leader of the 1st Company of missionaries to Hawaiʻi, arriving in 1820 – these are his words:)

“(T)hey resorted to the favorite amusement of all classes – sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations. In this exercise, they generally avail themselves of the surf-board, an instrument manufactured by themselves for the purpose.”   (Bingham – page 136)

“The inhabitants of these islands, both male and female, are distinguished by their fondness for the water, their powers of diving and swimming, and the dexterity and ease with which they manage themselves, their surf-boards and canoes, in that element.”  (Bingham – pages 136-137)

“The adoption of our costume greatly diminishes their practice of swimming and sporting in the surf, for it is less convenient to wear it in the water than the native girdle, and less decorous and safe to lay it entirely off on every occasion they find for a plunge or swim or surf-board race.”  (Bingham – page 137)

“The decline or discontinuance of the use of the surf-board, as civilization advances, may be accounted for by the increase of modesty, industry or religion, without supposing, as some have affected to believe, that missionaries caused oppressive enactments against it.  These considerations are in part applicable to many other amusements. Indeed, the purchase of foreign vessels, at this time, required attention to the collecting and delivering of 450,000 Ibs. of sandal-wood, which those who were waiting for it might naturally suppose would, for a time, supersede their amusements.” (Bingham – page 137)

Most people cite the first sentence in the above paragraph as admission by Bingham that the missionaries were the cause, but fail to quote the rest of the paragraph.  In the remaining sentences of the same paragraph Bingham notes that with the growing demand to harvest sandalwood, there is less time for the Hawaiians to attend to their “amusements,” including surfing.  These later words change the context of the prior.

Here is a bit of poetic support Bingham shows for the sport, “On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf, the peaceful river, with verdant banks, the bold cliff, and forest covered mountains, the level and fertile vale, the pleasant shade-trees, the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze; birds flitting, chirping, and singing among them, goats grazing and bleating, and their kids frisking on the rocky cliff, the natives at their work, carrying burdens, or sailing up and down the river, or along the sea-shore, in their canoes, propelled by their polished paddles that glitter in the sun-beam, or by a small sail well trimmed, or riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges, as they hasten to the sandy shore, all give life and interest to the scenery.”  (Bingham – pages 217-218)

Likewise, I did a word search for “surf” in the Levi Chamberlain journals and found the following (Chamberlain was the mission quartermaster in the 1830s:)

“The situation of Waititi (Waikīkī) is pleasant, & enjoys the shade of a large number of cocoanut & kou trees. The kou has large spreading branches & affords a very beautiful shade. There is a considerable extension of beach and when the surf comes in high the natives amuse themselves in riding on the surf-board.”  (Chamberlain – Vol 2, page 18)

“The Chiefs amused themselves by playing on surfboards in the heart of Lahaina.”  (Chamberlain – Vol 5, page 36)

Another set of Journals, belonging to Amos S. Cooke, also notes references to surfing (Cooke was in the 8th Company of missionaries arriving in 1837:)

“After dinner Auhea went with me, & the boys to bathe in the sea, & I tried riding on the surf.  To day I have felt quite lame from it.”  (Cooke – Vol 6, page 237)  (Missionaries and their children also surfed.)

“This evening I have been reading to the smaller children from “Rollo at Play”–“The Freshet”. The older children are still reading “Robinson Crusoe”. Since school the boys have been to Waikiki to swim in the surf & on surf boards. They reached home at 7 o’clk. Last evening they went to Diamond Point – & did not return till 7 1/2 o’clock.”  (Cooke – Vol 7, page 385)

“After dinner about three o’clock we went to bathe & to play in the surf.  After we returned from this we paid a visit to the church which has lately been repaired with a new belfry & roof.” (Cooke – Vol 8, page 120)

James J Jarvis, in 1847, notes “Sliding down steep hills, on a smooth board, was a common amusement; but no sport afforded more delight than bathing in the surf. Young and old high and low, of both sexes, engaged in it, and in no other way could they show greater dexterity in their aquatic exercises. Multitudes could be seen when the surf was highest, pushing boldly seaward, with their surf-board in advance, diving beneath the huge combers,  as they broke in succession over them, until they reached the outer line of breakers; then laying flat upon their boards, using their arms and legs as guides, they boldly mounted the loftiest, and, borne upon its crest, rushed with the speed of a race-horse towards the shore; from being dashed upon which, seemed to a spectator impossible to be avoided.” (Jarvis – page 39)

In 1851, the Reverend Henry T. Cheever observed surfing at Lāhaina, Maui and wrote about it in his book, Life in the Hawaiian Islands, The Heart of the Pacific As it Was and Is, “It is highly amusing to a stranger to go out to the south part of this town, some day when the sea is rolling in heavily over the reef, and to observe there the evolutions and rapid career of a company of surf-players. The sport (of surfing) is so attractive and full of wild excitement to the Hawaiians, and withal so healthy, that I cannot but hope it will be many years before civilization shall look it out of countenance, or make it disreputable to indulge in this manly, though it be dangerous, exercise.”  (Cheever – pages 41-42)

Even Mark Twain notes surfing during his visit in 1866, “In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing. Each heathen would paddle three or four hundred yards out to sea, (taking a short board with him), then face the shore and wait for a particularly prodigious billow to come along; at the right moment he would fling his board upon its foamy crest and himself upon the board, and here he would come whizzing by like a bombshell!  It did not seem that a lightning express train could shoot along at a more hair-lifting speed.  I tried surf-bathing once, subsequently, but made a failure of it.  I got the board placed right, and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself.–The board struck the shore in three quarters of a second, without any cargo, and I struck the bottom about the same time, with a couple of barrels of water in me..”  (Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1880)

Obviously, surfing was never “banned” or “abolished” in Hawaiʻi.

These words from prominent missionaries and other observers note on-going surfing throughout the decades the missionaries were in Hawaiʻi (1820 – 1863.)

Likewise, their comments sound supportive of surfing, at least they were comfortable with it and they admired the Hawaiians for their surfing prowess (they are certainly not in opposition to its continued practice) – and Bingham seems to acknowledge that he realizes others may believe the missionaries curtailed/stopped it.

So, Bingham, who was in Hawaiʻi from 1820 to 1841, makes surprisingly favorable remarks by noting that Hawaiians were “sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations”.  Likewise, Chamberlain notes they “amuse themselves in riding on the surf-board.”

Missionary Amos Cooke, who arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1837 – and was later appointed by King Kamehameha III to teach the young royalty in the Chief’s Childrens’ School – surfed himself (with his sons) and enjoyed going to the beach in the afternoon.

In the late-1840s, Jarvis notes, “Multitudes could be seen when the surf was highest, pushing boldly seaward, with their surf-board in advance”.

In the 1850s, Reverend Cheever notes, surfing “is so attractive and full of wild excitement to the Hawaiians, and withal so healthy”.

In the mid-1860s Mark Twain notes, the Hawaiians were “amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing. Each heathen would paddle three or four hundred yards out to sea, (taking a short board with him), then face the shore and wait for a particularly prodigious billow to come along; at the right moment he would fling his board upon its foamy crest and himself upon the board, and here he would come whizzing by like a bombshell!”

Throughout the decades, Hawaiians continued to surf and, if anything, the missionaries and others at least appreciated surfing (although they vehemently opposed nudity – likewise, today, nudity is frowned upon.)

And, using Cooke as an example, it is clear some of the missionaries and their families also surfed.

Of course, not everyone tolerated or supported surfing.  Sarah Joiner Lyman notes in her book, “Sarah Joiner Lyman of Hawaii–her own story,” “You have probably heard that playing on the surf board was a favourite amusement in ancient times. It is too much practised at the present day, and is the source of much iniquity, inasmuch as it leads to intercourse with the sexes without discrimination. Today a man died on his surf board. He was seen to fall from it, but has not yet been found. I hope this will be a warning to others, and that many will be induced to leave this foolish amusement.”  (Lyman – pages 63-63 – (John Clark))

“No Ka Molowa. Ua ’kaka loa ka molowa. Eia kekahi, o ka lilo loa o na kanaka i ka heenalu a me na wahine a me na keiki i ka lelekawa i ka mio.”  (Ke Kumu Hawaii – January 31, 1838 – page 70 – (John Clark))

“Laziness. It is clear that they were lazy. The men would spend all their time surfing, and the women and children would spend all their time jumping and diving into the ocean.”

“No Ka Palaka. No ka palaka mai ka molowa, ka nanea, ka lealea, ka paani, ka heenalu,ka lelekawa, ka mio, ka heeholua, ka lelekowali; ka hoolele lupe, kela mea keia mea o ka palaka, oia ka mole o keia mau hewa he nui wale.”  (Ke Kumu Hawaii – January 31, 1838 – page 70 – (John Clark))

“Indifference. Indifference is the source of laziness, relaxation, enjoyment, play, surfing, cliff jumping, diving, sledding, swinging, kite flying, and all kinds of indifferent activities; indifference is the root of these many vices.”

Let’s look some more – could something else be a cause for the apparent reduction of surfers in the water?  What about affects the socio-economic and demographic changes may have had on the peoples’ opportunity to surf?

Remember, in 1819, prior to the arrival of the missionaries, Liholiho abolished the kapu system.  This effectively also cancelled the annual Makahiki celebrations and the athletic contests and games associated with them.

Likewise, the Chiefs were distracted by new Western goods and were directing the commoners to work at various tasks that took time away from other activities, including surfing.

Between 1805 and 1830, the common people were displaced from much of their traditional duties (farming and fishing) and labor was diverted to harvesting sandalwood.

Between 1819 and 1859, whaling was the economic mainstay in the Islands.  Ships re-provisioned in Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiians grew the crops for these needs: fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, cattle, white potatoes and sugar.

With the start of a successful sugar plantation in 1835, Hawai‘i’s economy turned toward sugar and saw tremendous expansion in the decades between 1860 and 1880.

From the time of contact (1778,) Hawaiians were transitioning from a subsistence economy to a market economy and the people were being employed to work at various industries.  (Even today’s surfers prefer to surf all the time, but in many cases obligations at work means you can’t surf all the time.)

In light of the demands these industries have in distracting people away from their recreational pursuits, let’s look at the Hawaiian population changes.

Since contact in 1778, the Hawaiian population declined rapidly after exposure to a host of diseases for which they had no immunity.  In addition, many Hawaiians moved away or worked overseas.

The Hawaiian population in 1778 is estimated to have been approximately 300,000 (estimates vary; some as high as 800,000 to 1,000,000; but many writers suggest the 300,000 estimate – a higher 1778 estimate more dramatically illustrates the change in population.)

Whatever the ‘contact’ starting point, by 1860 the Islands’ population drastically declined to approximately 69,800.  Fewer people overall means fewer people in the water and out surfing.

My immediate reaction in reading what the missionaries and others had to say is that the purported banning and/or opposition to surfing may be more urban legend, than fact.

It is easy to blame the missionaries, but there doesn’t seem to be basis to do so.

Rather, I tend to agree with what my relative, missionary Hiram Bingham, had to say (rather poetically, to my surprise,) “On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf … the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze … the natives … riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges … give life and interest to the scenery.”

Surf’s up – let’s go surfing!

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

James Kahuhu

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.)  There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM in this first company.

These included two Ordained Preachers, Hiram Bingham and his wife Sybil and Asa Thurston and his wife Lucy; two Teachers, Mr. Samuel Whitney and his wife Mercy and Samuel Ruggles and his wife Mary; a Doctor, Thomas Holman and his wife Lucia; a Printer, Elisha Loomis and his wife Maria; and a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain, his wife and five children.

By the time the Pioneer Company arrived, Kamehameha I had died and the centuries-old kapu system had been abolished; through the actions of King Kamehameha II (Liholiho,) with encouragement by former Queens Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother,) the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs.

One of the first things the missionaries did was begin to learn the Hawaiian language and create an alphabet for a written format of the language.   Their emphasis was on teaching and preaching.

The first mission station was at Kailua-Kona, where they first landed in the Islands, then the residence of the King (Liholiho, Kamehameha II;) Asa and Lucy Thurston manned the mission, there.

Liholiho was Asa Thurston’s first pupil. His orders were that “none should be taught to read except those of high rank, those to whom he gave special permission, and the wives and children of white men.”

James Kahuhu and John ʻlʻi were two of his favorite courtiers, whom he placed under Mr. Thurston’s instruction in order that he might judge whether the new learning was going to be of any value.  (Alexander, The Friend, December 1902)

In 1820, Missionary Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, “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.’”

“To do his part to distinguish and make them respectable scholars, he dressed them in a civilized manner. They daily came forth from the king, entered the presence of their teacher, clad in white, while his majesty and court continued to sit in their girdles.”

“Although thus distinguished from their fellows, in all the beauty and strength of ripening manhood, with what humility they drank in instruction from the lips of their teacher, even as the dry earth drinks in water!”

“After an absence of some months, the king returned, and called at our dwelling to hear the two young men, his favorites, read. He was delighted with their improvement, and shook Mr. Thurston most cordially by the hand – pressed it between both his own – then kissed it.” (Lucy Thurston)

Kahuhu was among the earliest of those associated with the chiefs to learn both spoken and written words. Kahuhu then became a teacher to the chiefs.

In April or May 1821, the King and the chiefs gathered in Honolulu and selected teachers to assist Mr Bingham.  James Kahuhu, John ʻĪʻi, Haʻalilio, Prince Kauikeaouli were among those who learned English.  (Kamakau)

On October 7, 1829, it seems that Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) set up a legislative body and council of state when he prepared a definite and authoritative declaration to foreigners and each of them signed it.  (Frear – HHS)  Kahuhu was one of the participants.

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; Kaʻahumanu; Gov. Adams Kuakini; Manuia; Kekūanāoʻa; Hinau; ʻAikanaka; Paki; Kīnaʻu; John ʻIʻi 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.”

The Hawaiʻi State Archives is the repository of significant historic documents for Hawaiʻi; reportedly, the oldest Hawaiian language document in its possession is a letter written by James Kahuhu.

Writing to Chief John Adams Kuakini, Kahuhu’s letter was partially in English and partially Hawaiian (at that time, Kuakini was learning both English and written Hawaiian.)

Below is a transcription of Kahuhu’s letter.  (HSA)

Oahu. Makaliʻi 12, 1822.
Kawaiahaʻo.
My Dear Chief Mr. John Adams Kuakini. I love you very much. This is my communication to you. Continue praying to Jehovah our God. Keep the Sabbath which is God’s holy day. Persevere in your learning the good Gospel of Jehovah. By and by perhaps we shall know the good word of Jesus Christ. Then we shall know the good word of God.

A few begin to understand the good word of God. I am very pleased with the good word of God which has been brought here to enlighten this dark land. Who will save our souls and take them up to heaven, the place of eternal life. I am presently teaching Nahiʻenaʻena. I am teaching seven of them. Nahienaena, Kauikeaouli, Halekiʻi, Ulumāheihei Waipa, Ulumāheihei a Kapalahaole, Nakapuai and Noaʻawa are the students I am teaching. I may have more in the future. You must obey your good teacher, Hopu. Persevere with him and don’t give up.

Keliʻiahonui has learned to write quite well, he sent a letter to Oahu. Tell Hopu that Keliʻiahonui misses him. The King is learning to write from Mr. Bingham. Kalanimōku, Kīnaʻu and Kekauōnohi are learning to write Hawaiian. Mr. Thurston is their teacher. Here is another word to you, if you see Kalapauwahiole tell him to come to Oahu as I would like very much for him to come to Oahu.
James Kahuhu

(Makaliʻi was the name of a month: December on Hawai‘i, April on Moloka’i, October on Oʻahu.  (Malo))

The image shows the first page of the Kahuhu letter to Kuakini (HSA.) 

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

1819

The Era of Good Feelings began with a burst of nationalistic fervor. The economic program adopted by Congress, including a national bank and a protective tariff, reflected the growing feeling of national unity.

The Supreme Court promoted the spirit of nationalism by establishing the principle of federal supremacy. Industrialization and improvements in transportation also added to the sense of national unity by contributing to the nation’s economic strength and independence and by linking the West and the East together.

But this same period also witnessed the emergence of growing factional divisions in politics, including a deepening sectional split between the North and South.

A severe economic depression between 1819 and 1822 provoked bitter division over questions of banking and tariffs. Geographic expansion exposed latent tensions over the morality of slavery and the balance of economic power. (University of Houston, Digital History)

The Panic of 1819 and the accompanying Banking Crisis of 1819 were economic crises in the US that some historians refer to it as the first Great Depression. 

The growth in trade that followed the War of 1812 came to an abrupt halt. Unemployment mounted, banks failed, mortgages were foreclosed, and agricultural prices fell by half. Investment in western lands collapsed.

The panic was frightening in its scope and impact. In New York State, property values fell from $315 million in 1818 to $256 million in 1820. In Richmond, Virginia, property values fell by half. In Pennsylvania, land values plunged from $150 an acre in 1815 to $35 in 1819. In Philadelphia, 1,808 individuals were committed to debtors’ prison. In Boston, the figure was 3,500.

For the first time in American history, the problem of urban poverty commanded public attention. In New York in 1819, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism counted 8,000 paupers out of a population of 120,000.

Fifty thousand people were unemployed or irregularly employed in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one foreign observer estimated that half a million people were jobless nationwide.

The downswing spread like a plague across the country. In Cincinnati, bankruptcy sales occurred almost daily. In Lexington, Kentucky, factories worth half a million dollars were idle. Matthew Carey, a Philadelphia economist, estimated that 3 million people, one-third of the nation’s population, were adversely affected by the panic.

In 1820, John C. Calhoun (later to become US Vice President) commented: “There has been within these two years an immense revolution of fortunes in every part of the Union; enormous numbers of persons utterly ruined; multitudes in deep distress.”

The Panic of 1819 and the Banking Crisis left many people destitute. People lost their land due to their inability to pay off their mortgages. United States factory owners also had a difficult time competing with earlier established factories in Europe.

The United States did not fully recover from the Banking Crisis and the Panic of 1819 until the mid-1820s. These economic problems contributed immensely to the rise of Andrew Jackson.  (Ohio History Central)

In the Islands …

The ʻaikapu is a belief in which males and females are separated in the act of eating; males being laʻa or ‘sacred,’ and females haumia or ‘defiling’ (by virtue of menstruation.)

Since, in this context, eating is for men a sacrifice to the male akua (god) Lono, it must be done apart from anything defiling, especially women.  Thus, men prepared the food in separate ovens, one for the men and another for the women, and built separate eating houses for each.

The kahuna suggested that the new ʻaikapu religion should also require that four nights of each lunar month be set aside for special worship of the four major male akua, Ku, Lono, Kane and Kanaloa. On these nights it was kapu for men to sleep with their wahine.  Moreover, they should be at the heiau (temple) services on these nights.

Under ʻaikapu, certain foods, because of their male symbolism, also are forbidden to women, including pig, coconuts, bananas, and some red fish.  (Kameʻeleihiwa)

“The custom of the tabu upon free eating was kept up because in old days it was believed that the ruler who did not proclaim the tabu had not long to rule. If he attempted to continue the practice of free eating he was quickly disinherited.”

“The tabu of the chief and the eating tabu were different in character. The eating tabu belonged to the tabus of the gods; it was forbidden by the god and held sacred by all. It was this tabu that gave the chiefs their high station.”  (Kamakau)

If a woman was clearly detected in the act of eating any of these things, as well as a number of other articles that were tabu, which I have not enumerated, she was put to death.  (Malo)  (Sometimes surrogates paid the penalty.)

But there were times ʻaikapu prohibitions were not invoked and women were free to eat with men, as well as enjoy the forbidden food – ʻainoa (to eat freely, without regarding the kapu.)

“In old days the period of mourning at the death of a ruling chief who had been greatly beloved was a time of license. The women were allowed to enter the heiau, to eat bananas, coconuts and pork, and to climb over the sacred places.”  (Kamakau)

“Free eating followed the death of the ruling chief; after the period of mourning was over the new ruler placed the land under a new tabu following old lines.  (Kamakau)

Following the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, Liholiho assented and became ruling chief with the title Kamehameha II and Kaʻahumanu, co-ruler with the title kuhina nui.

Kaʻahumanu, made a plea for religious tolerance, saying:  “If you wish to continue to observe (Kamehameha’s) laws, it is well and we will not molest you. But as for me and my people we intend to be free from the tabus.”

“We intend that the husband’s food and the wife’s food shall be cooked in the same oven and that they shall be permitted to eat out of the same calabash. We intend to eat pork and bananas and coconuts. If you think differently you are at liberty to do so; but for me and my people we are resolved to be free. Let us henceforth disregard tabu.”

Keōpūolani, another of Kamehameha I’s wives, was the highest ranking chief of the ruling family in the kingdom during her lifetime.  She was a niʻaupiʻo chief, and looked upon as divine; her kapu, equal to those of the gods.  (Mookini)  Giving up the ʻaikapu (and with it the kapu system) meant her traditional power and rank would be lost.

Never-the-less, symbolically to her son, Liholiho, the new King of the Islands, she put her hand to her mouth as a sign for free eating.  Then she ate with Kauikeaouli, and it was through her influence that the eating tabu was freed.  Liholiho permitted this, but refrained from any violation of the kapu himself.  (Kuykendall)

Keōpūolani ate coconuts which were tabu to women and took food with the men, saying, “He who guarded the god is dead, and it is right that we should eat together freely.”  (Kamakau)

The ʻainoa following Kamehameha’s death continued and the ʻaikapu was not put into place – effectively ending the centuries-old kapu system.

Coming of the American Protestant Missionaries – 1819

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) from the northeast United States, set sail from Boston on the Thaddeus for Hawai‘i.

The Prudential Committee of the ABCFM in giving instructions to the pioneers of 1819 said: “Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. …”

“Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high. You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.”  (The Friend)

“Oct. 23, 1819. – This day by the good providence of God, I have embarked on board the brig Thaddeus (Blanchard master) for the Sandwich Islands to spread the gospel of Christ among the heathens.” (The term ‘heathen’ (without the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God) was a term in use at the time (200-years ago.))

“At 8 oclock took breakfast with the good Mr. Homer; at 11, gave the parting hand toward our dear friends on shore, & came on board accompanied by the Prudential Com. Mr. and Mrs. Dwight and some others.” (Samuel Whitney)

“That day week (the 23d), a great crowd of friends, acquaintances, and strangers, gathered on Long Wharf, for farewell religious exercises. The assembly united in singing the hymn, ‘Blest be the tie that binds.’”

“Dr. Worcester, in fervent prayer, commended the band to the God of missions; and Thomas Hopoo made a closing address. The two ordained brethren, assisted by an intimate friend, & then with perfect composure sang the lines, ‘When shall we all meet again?’”

“A fourteen-oared barge, politely offered by the commanding officer of the ‘Independence’ 74, was in waiting; the members of the mission took leave of their weeping friends, and were soon on board the brig ‘Thaddeus,’ Capt. Blanchard, which presently weighed anchor, dropped down the harbor, and the next day, with favoring tide and breeze, put out to sea. (Thompson)

After 164-days at sea, on April 4, 1820, the Thaddeus arrived and anchored at Kailua-Kona on the Island of Hawaiʻi.  Hawai‘i’s “Plymouth Rock” is about where the Kailua pier is today.

By the time the Pioneer Company arrived, Kamehameha I had died and the centuries-old kapu system had been abolished; through the actions of King Kamehameha II (Liholiho,) with encouragement by former Queens Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother,) the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”), about 184-men and women in twelve Companies from New England served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

Collaboration between the Hawaiians and the American Protestant missionaries resulted in the

  • Introduction of Christianity;
  • Development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
  • Promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
  • Combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine; and
  • Evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing)

First Whalers to Hawai‘i – 1819

Edmond Gardner, captain of the New Bedford whaler Balaena (also called Balena,) and Elisha Folger, captain of the Nantucket whaler Equator, made history in 1819 when they became the first American whalers to visit the Sandwich Islands (Hawai‘i.)

“I had one man complaining with scurvy and fearing I might have more had made up my mind to go to the Sandwich Islands. I had prepared my ship with all light sails when I met the Equator.”

“I informed him of my intention. He thought it was too late to go off there and get in time on the West Coast of Mexico. I informed Folger what my determination was.”

“I gave orders in the morning to put the ship on a WSW course putting on all sail. In a short time after the morning, I discovered he was following. We made the best of our way to the Sandwich Islands where we arrived in six-teen days, had a pleasant passage to the Islands and arrived at Hawaii 19th 9 Mo 1819.“ (Gardner Journal)

A year later, Captain Joseph Allen discovered large concentrations of sperm whales off the coast of Japan. His find was widely publicized in New England, setting off an exodus of whalers to this area.

These ships might have sought provisions in Japan, except that Japanese ports were closed to foreign ships. So when Captain Allen befriended the missionaries at Honolulu and Lahaina, he helped establish these areas as the major ports of call for whalers.  (NPS)

“The importance of the Sandwich Islands to the commerce of the United States, which visits these seas, is, perhaps, more than has been estimated by individuals, or our government been made acquainted with.”

“To our whale fishery on the coast of Japan they are indispensably necessary: hither those employed in this business repair in the months of April and May, to recruit their crews, refresh and adjust their ships; they then proceed to Japan, and return in the months of October and November.”

“The importance of the Sandwich Islands to the commerce of the United States, which visits these seas, is, perhaps, more than has been estimated by individuals, or our government been made acquainted with.”

“To our whale fishery on the coast of Japan they are indispensably necessary: hither those employed in this business repair in the months of April and May, to recruit their crews, refresh and adjust their ships; they then proceed to Japan, and return in the months of October and November.”    (John Coffin Jones Jr, US Consulate, Sandwich Islands, October 30th, 1829)

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