1)-J8

HAWAII HIStORY

National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings

NIIHAUV

Q KAUAI

""LlIA KUE

MOLOKAI
P A C I F I C ~~ ~WIND
MAUl
LNtAINA
LANAID ""
vAl,_'_f:,
0 C E A N HAWAIIAN

ISLANDS

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The National. Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings

Theme lOQ:

Political and Military Affairs, 1B65~1910

S p e cia 1

Study

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HAWAII HISTORY l718 - 1910

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United States Department of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, Secreta.ry

Na.tional Park Service Conrad L. Wirth~ Director

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CONTENTS

Preface • • .. .. •

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page 1

Acknowledgments • .. .. .. .. .. .. •

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A Summary of the Theme - Part I

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I The Discovery of the Islands, 1778 • .. • • • .. .. .. .. • • 1

II The Hawaiian Kingdom, 1778-1819 9

III ~he Miasionar,y Era, 1820-1854 18

IV Sugar, Whal1ng, and Cattle-Raisins,1855-1893 33

V Threats of Foreign Annexation, 1778-1887 51

VI The Hawaiian Republic and Annexation, 1875-1898. • .. .. .. 65

VII The Territory of Hawaii, 1898-1910 82

VIII Literature, Painting, and Sculpture 98

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Suggested Reading • .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. •

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Survey of Sites and Buildings - Part n

General Discussion .. .. .. .. ..

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Sites of Exceptional Value ..

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1. Cook Landing 5i te • .. .. .. • .. .. .. .. • .. .. • .. • .. .. .. .. .. 1.2~
2. Puukoho1a Heia.u .. .. • .. .. .. .. . . .. • • .. .. .. .. · 125
3. Kamakahonu (Residence of Kamebameha I;
ea. Ahuena Heiau) · .. .. .. • .. .. • .. .. • .. .. • • 128
4. Russian Fort Near Waimea • • .. · .. .. • .. .. .. .. • .. .. .. .. ~32
5. kawaiShao' Church .. • . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. • • .. .. .. .. .. .. 136
6. "'r'hi--Tbree Mission Houses, Honolulu .. • • .. .. .. .. .. • • .. 141
1. lA.ha.ina • " • .. .. " • • • • .. • • • • .. • " " • .. " " .. 147
8. Old Sugar Mill .. .. · · " .. " " • .. • .. .. .. " .. • • • • .. 159
9. Iola.ni Palace .. • " • .. • .. • • " • • • • • " " • .. " • 163
10. Pearl Harbor Naval Base. • • • • • • • .. .. .. • • " · • • 167 I

Areas in the National Park System Related

to Theme: loCi ty of Refuge N. H. P.. • .. .. • • • .. .. • " .. • .. 171

2. HaWaii Volcanoes National Park 172

3. Ha1.ea.kala. National Park ... • .. • • .. • • " " 173

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Other Sites Considered • , • • · .. " " .. • • .. • .. • .. • · • 174
A. !sIana of &waii
1. Cook MJnument • • • .. • .. .. .. • .. .. • • • • • • • .. .. • 174
2. Hik1au Heiau " • · • .. " .. .. • .. • • .. • · • • • • .. • 174
3· Hul.1hee Palace .. • " .. .. " .. .. " • • .. • " " " • • • • · 175
4. 81 te of Kapiolani~s Defiance of Pele (Halamaumau) .. • • .. 176
5. Kuamo' c Pattlefield .. • .. " • • • • • " .. • • " · • .. " 176
6. MJkua1kaua Church .. · • .. · .. .. " .. .. • " • " " • • • • 177
7. Parker Ranch " • • .. • • • " • " " .. • • • • • " .. • .. 111 I

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Otper Sites Considered (Continued)

B. Isla.nd of Kaua1

8. Gulick--Rowell House • • • • • • • • • • • • •

9. vla1011 Miss10n .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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• 179

• 179

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c. Island Of Maui

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10. 11. 12.

Alexander Home • • • • • • .. .. • • • .. • •

Ile.iley Home and l-lailuku Female Seminary.. • Laha.inaluna Technical High School .......

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Is:l.a.nd of Mo1okai

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13. Kalawao Peninsula (Hansen's Disease Settlement) ..... 184

14. Sandalwood Pit. • • • • • • • • • • • .. • • • • .. • • 185

E.

Island of Oahu

15. Al1101ani Hale (or JUdiciary Building. .. • • • • • • • 185
16. American Protestant Mission School .. • • • · .. • • • .. 187
17· Hanainlmmalama. (Queen Emma. I S Summer Home). • • .. • · .. 187
18. Nuuanu Pali (Cliff). • • • • • • • • • • .. • .. • · .. .. 188
19· Our Lady of Peace Ce.thedral. .. • • • .. • • • .. .. • • • 189
20. Thomas Square . • • .. .. .. • • .. • .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. • .. 190 Sites Also Noted

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A. Island of He,waii
1. BOlldHO~ise • • • • .. • • .. • .. .. • • • • .. • • .. • 191
2. Davie D;)uglas Memorial .. • • • • • • .. .. .. • .. • .. 191
3. H.:::.okena. . .. .. • .. • .. .. .. .. .. .. • • .. .. .. • • • .. 191
4. John Young Homesite. • .. • • .. • • .. • • .. .. • • .. 191
5. Kaawal.oa .. • • • .. .. • • · • • .. • • .. · • .. .. • • 191
6. Kalab1kiola Church (The Great Stone Church). .. • • 192
7. Kemehameba Water Tunnel. .. .. • • · · • · .. • • • • 192
8. Kamelarn:~ha Ill's Birthpla.ca (Lokomaikai) • • • .. .. 192
9. Lyman Hause Memorial MUseum. .. .. • • • • .. • .. • · 193
10. Mark Twain Tree. .. .. .. • '. • • .. .. · .. · .. · • • • 193
11. Mokuolai Battlefield (Ke1ei Battlefield) · • • .. • 193
12. Napoopoo Church .. • .. .. • • • .. .. · .. • .. .. .. .. • 193
13. Old Sugar Mill a.t Waiohinu • • .. · .. • • • .. • • • 193
14. Puako Church. .. • .. .. • .. .. .. .. · • .. • • .. .. .. • 193
15. P>J.naluu .. .. .. .. • .. .. • • .. • • • .. · .. • • .. • .. 193
16. St. MLchae1's Catholl c Church. · .. • • · • • .. .. .. 193
17. ThuX'ston House · .. • · · · · .. 194
18 Wabaula Heiau • .. • • • • · .. • .. • • • • • .. .. • 194 I I I I

B.

Island of Kauai

19. Church of Koloa (White Church).

20. Prince Kubio's Birthplace ...

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B~ Island of Kauai Page
19. Church of Koloa (White Church) • · · • • •• • • • • • 194
20. Pr1nce Kubio's Birthplace. • • • • • · • · , · • ~ • 194
21. Russ1an Fort near ~e1. • ~ • • • • • ~ • · • • • 195
22. St. RapbaeV s Church (or ¥:Lesion). ~ • · • • • • • • 195
23. Wai1ua Coconut Grove • • • • • • • • • • • · • • • • 195
24. Waimea Church (Stone Church) • • • • • • · • · • • .. 195
C. Island of Maui
25. Huialoba Church · · • • • • · • • • • • • • • • • • 196
26 .. lao Valley (Kepam,iVai Eatt1efield) • • • • • • · • · 196
21· KBahumanu Church • • · · • • • • • • • • · • • • • • 196
28. Kae.huma.nu' 6 Birthplace • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 196
29. Keanae Congregational Church • • • • • • • • • • • • 196
30. Nakena • . . . . · · • • • • · · • • • · · · • • • · 196
31. 010walu Landing. • • • • • • • .. • •• • • • • • • • • 197
32. Wananalua Church. · • • • • • • • • • · • • • • • .197
D. Island of Molokai
33. Ko..lUQO.kn Congregational Church. • • ~ · • ~ • • • • 197
34. Kamehameha V's Coconut Grove · · • • • • • • • • • .197
35· Pakubiwa (Kawela) Battlefield. • • • • • • • • • • • 197
E. Island of Oahu I

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36. Court House (Old Parliament House) • • • • • • • • .198
37. Diamond Head (Leabi) • • • • • • • • • • • · • • • • 198
38. First Artesian Well • • • • • • · • · • • • · · • · 198
39. Iolani Barracks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .198
4.0. Kamehameha Ill's Summer Palace (Kanla.Kapupu • • • • 199
4.1. Kualoa Sugar Mill. 0 • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • • • • • 199
42. Punahou School • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 199
43. Robert Louis Stevenson's Grass House • • • · • · • · 199
44. Royal MLusoleum. • · • • · • • • • • · · • · · · • • 199
45. St. )\ndrel'T'S Episcopal Cathedral • · · • · · • · · • 200
46. Washington Place • · • • • • • • · · · • • • • • • • 200 Appendix I ~ Criteria for Classification • • • • .. ~" ..

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MAPS

1. Hawaiian Islands • • • • • .. .. • ... ...... i'ront,isp:teee Following Page 2. Historic Sites in the Hawaiian Islands •••••••••• 201

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FolloWing Page

Cover - Coat of Arms, Kingdom of Hawaii, Courtesy Bishop Mlseum

Cook Landing Site, ~~uth of Waimea River, 1962 • • • • • • • •• 1 H.M.S. Resolution and Discovery, 1779, Cook Landing Site • • •• 3 Puukohola Heiau, Island of Hawaii, 1819 • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 Ahuena Heiau, Island of Hawaii, 1816-17 • • • • • • • • • • • • 13 Site ot Kapiol.ani Defiance of Pele, 1962 • • • • • • • • • • • • 22

Town of Laha1na, 1962 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 27 Plan of Rus sian Fort Nea.r tla.1mea., 1885 • • • • • • • • • • • •• 53

Cook Landing 8i te • • • • • • 123

l\IuJ:tohola He1au, 1962 ••••••••••••••• • • • • • • 126 Kamakahonu (Kamehameha. Its Residence) •••••••••••••• 128 Kamakabonu (Ruins of Ahuena Heiau) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 130 Rulns of Russian Fort near Waimea, 1958 • • • • • • • • • • • • 134 Kawaiabao Church, Honolulu • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 138 American Protestant Nassion School, Honolulu • • • • • • • • • • 138 Three Mission Houses, Honolulu ••••••••••••••••• 142 The Three Mission Houses (Chamberlain House) • • • • • ••••• 144

Lahaina • Baldwin House ••••••• 0" • • • • • • • • • • • • 151

Lahaina - Old Spring House • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 152 Lahaina - Custom Rouse and Court House • • • • • • • • • • • • • 153 Lahaina - Cell Block of Old Priaon • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 153 Lahaina • Hale Aloha Church • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 155 Lahaina· U. S. Marine Hospital •••••••••••••••• 156 Lahaina - Pioneer Hotel ••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • 157 Old Sugar Nall, Koloa, Kauai • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 162 Io1a.ni Palace ••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 165

Pearl Harbor Naval Base Memorial • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 168 Cook Monument and Hikiau He1au • • • • • • • • • • • •••••• 173 Hulihee Palace • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 175 ~kuaika.ua Church, Kailua •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 176 Guli ck - Rowell House. •••••••••••••••••••• 178 Halol! MLssion Meeting House •••••••••••••••••• 119 Alexander Home • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 180

Bailey House and Wailuku Female Seminary • • • • • • • • • • • • 181 Hale Pe.' i or Printing House, La.ha1naluna • • • • • • • • • • • • 182 Sandalwood Pit, Island of Mblokai •••••••••••••••• 184 Aliiolani Hale I or Judiciary Bldg, HonolulU •• • • • • • • • • 185 Hanaiakamalatna. (Queen &Dna I 6 Summer Home). • • • • • • • • • • • 187

Nuuanu Pali (cliffs l ... A • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 189

Our Lady of Peace Ca~~edral, Honolulu. • • • • • • • • • • • • • 190

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Preface

The National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings

is a resumption of the Historic Sites Survey begun in 1937, under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. During Vlorld War II, and the emergency following, it was necessary to suspend these studies. The Survey has now been resumed as part of the National Park Service MISSION 66 Program.

The purpose of the Survey, as outlined in the Historic Sites Act, is to I1make a survey of historic and archeologic sites, buildings, and objects for the purpose of determining which possess exceptional value as commemorating or illustrating the history of the Un1 ted States. 11 In carrying out this basic directive, each site and building considered in the Survey is evaluated in terms of the Criteria for ClaSSification, which are listed in the appendix of this rellcrt.

'When completed the Survey will make recommendations

to the Director of the National Park Service and the Secretary of the Interior as to the sites of "exceptional value." This will assist the National Park Service in preparing the National Recreation Plan, including sites which may be administered by the National Park Service to fill in gaps in the historical and archeological representation within the National Park System. It will also recommend and encourage programs of historical and archeological preservation being carried out by state and local agenCies.

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This stuczy was prepa.red by Dr. John A. HUBsey, Regional Historian, Region Four Office, San Francisco. Assistance in guiding the report through to publ1cation was proVided by Charles W. Snell, Historian, al.sc of the Region Four Office.

After completion, the study was presented to the Consulting Committee for the National. Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. The Committee consists of Dr. Hal.do G. Leland, Director of the American Council of Learned Soe1et1es; Dr. S. K. Stevens, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Dr. Louis B. vlright, Folger-Shakespearean Library; Mr. Earl H. Reed, American Institute of Architects;

Dr. Richard H. Howland, Head Cura.tor, Civil History, Smithsonian Institution; Mr. Eric Gugl.erJ American Scenic and Historical. Preservation Society; Dr. J. O. Brew, Committee tor the Recovery

of Archeological Remains; Mr. Frederick Johnson, Robert S. Pea.body Foundation for American Archeology; Hr. Robert Garvey, Jr., Executive Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Dr_ Ralph H. Gabriel, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus, Ya1e University, and Professor of American StUdies,. American University ..

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The over...a,ll Survey, as well as the theme study which follows, is under the general direction of John O.

Littleton, Chief, National Survey of Historic Sites and

Buildings, who works under the general supervision of Herbert E. Kahler, Chief, Division of History and Arche-

ology, of the National Park Service.

Conrad L. vlirth Director

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The worl~ of the National Survey profits from the experience and knowledge of a considerable number of persons and organizations. Assistance from the follovdng people in Hawaii is gratefully aclmowledged:

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Mr. Russell A. Apple, Superintendent, City of Refuge National

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H1storical Parkj HI's. Dorothy B. Barrere, Associate in Hawaiian

Culture, Bernice P. Bishop tiuseum; Miss Agnes C. Conrad, Archivist,

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State Archives, Honolul.uj Mr. Richard C. Dunlap, Director, Division

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of State Parks ; Mr. Albert Duval, District Forester, Island of I(D.ua.i,

State Division of Forestry; Dr. Kenneth P. Emory, Chairman Department

of Anthropology, Bernice P. Bishop Museum; }'1r. Robert Gahran, Adult

Librarian, Kauai Publi c Library, Lihui j Commander H. J. Gimpel J

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Public Information Officer, Pearl Harbor; HI's. Thelma H. Hadley,

Librarian, Liht~i) I~auai; Ha.wa.ii VisitOl'S Dureau, Honolulu; Chief Par!:

_--- ~, ••• , •• ~- _ -- •.• ~'C"'_'

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Naturalis .... ~light Hamilton and the naturalist. staff, Ha:va.ii Volca.noes Na"~iona.l Parl~; Hr. Fred T. Johnston, Superirrt.enden"c, Harrah Volcanoes National Parl:; I.1r. F'rank P. Lonwal'di) Director, State Planning Office; HI's. Josephine K. Hec1eiros, Hana , Island of Ha.uij Mr. Edward Ie.Robinson, Branch ManaGer, Fil~st National Banlc of JIava1i, Haimes., Kauaf ; 1'1rs. Roy II. Savage, President, Ma1.U Historical Society; Uri IIerbel~t C. Shipman,

lIilo; Hr. Ro'oert O. Thompson, Honolulu; I\liss HarGaret Titconib, Librarian, Bernice P. Dishop l,fu.sellill.

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The cover was prepared by the \iestern Huseum Laboratory,

National Parl .. Service, San Franciscoj and the mapsby the Division

of Recreation Resource Planning, Region Four Office, San Francisco.

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Chapter I

"An Island Made Its Appearance"

Fer days there had been signs of land in the vast sea whel'e maps showed no land to be. Birds and turtles were seen with tantalizing frequency_ The crevs of the British exploring vessels Resolution and Discovery J ploughing their way under the command of Captain James Cook ~rom the Society Is1ands toward the Northwest Coast of America, sharply watched the empty expanse ahead. Then, noted one log of' the voyage" at dawn on January 18, 1778, "an island made

its appearance. II

The landfall later proved to be the purple-green mountains of Oahu. Soon a second island was Sighted to the northward, and toward it) because of the prevailing winds, the vessels shaped their course. The next day they coasted the eastern shore at: this isle, which was Kaua.i.

AD. questions about the new land being inhabited were dispelled when canoes put out from shore and closely approached the ships. Captain Cook ,·ras delighted to find that the natives spote a language almost identical vdth that used in Tahiti, and soon pigs) fish, and sweet potatoes 'fere being transferred from the canoes in trade for bits of iron, for which the natives showed a keen desire.

This exchange , said Cook, demonstrated that "t.hey had some notion of bartering. II It also ended, for all time> the :i.nd.ependent d.eve.1opJ'o ment of a Havaiian culture.

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Mouth of Waimea River, Kauai, where Captain Cook first landed on the Hawaiian Islands, 1778.

N. P. S. Photograph, 1961

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On January 20 Cool~ tOWld a suitable anchorage for his ships

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Off the village of Waimea, and boats l'lere soon sent ashore for

tresh water. Cool: landed at this hospitable spot, on one occasion

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making a short excursion up the valley to observe the houses,

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gardens, and temples of the inhabitants. "These people are scanty in their cloathing} II he noted in his journeJ..1 Other

members of the crews also had their eyes on the charms of the

Hal'ra.iian women because, despite their commander's strict orders

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that there was to be no contact with the temales, the sailors

left behind' theI'U t.he Gift of venereal disease.

The ships remained only two weeks at K.auai and the neighboring

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island of Niihau, and then they sailed away for the coast of North

America. Cook named 1l1s discovery the Sandwich Islands after the

Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty.

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Ai'ter Cool~ r s departure, wol~d of h1s visit spread throughout

the inhabited islands of the Hawaiian chain. The circumstances

of his coming corresponded roughly ,nth ancient Hawaiian traditions

about the god Lana, and the natives concluded that he was an in':'

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carnation of that deity. Thus, .Then the ~olution and Discovery returned to the islands during November, 1778, after their visit

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to the Northwest Coast, Cook was everywhere accorded the honors of

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& god, as, indeed, had been the case during his first visit. The

vessels s1".irled Ha.a! and finally, d\U'ing January, 1779 J came to

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James Cook, The lli..'Plorations of ca~p_ta-:::i_n_J,;..,.am"",!·:-e_s--=,="",,_==-_

Pacific as Told blSelect10ns of TrlS-O;inP Journals edited' by A. Grenfell Price (}.ie1bourne) Australia,

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anchor at Kealakelcua. Bay on the Kona Coast of Ha.waii.

The purpose of this second visit was to ex.p~ore the islands

and to refit the ships for another voyage to northern latitudes.

With the friendly cooperation of the natives, the vessels were

ready for sea again in ~ess than three weeks. By that time the Ha~miians were somemlat appalled at the enormous amount of proVisions required by the British, and they apparently were relieved when the

ships sailed northvrard up the Kana Coast. But a sudden storm damaged the Resol~~ion, and both vessels returned to Kealakekua Bay. The Hawaiians were still hospitable, but there was increasing thievery

of objects from the Ships.

Finally) the Discovery's cutter was stolen, and on February 14, 1779, Captain Cook went ashore to take the native king hostage for

its return. A sharp, brief, and alsmost aCCidental skirmish resulted. Cook, "che grea.test explorer of his age.,l and four marines died under

the clubs, stones, daggers, and spears of the Ha1·l8.iians. As usual

under such circumstances J the surviving Europeans chastised the

natives in punishment. Parts of Cook's body were recovered, and the Ships ' sailed off, never to return.

Shortly before his death, Cook recorded his judgment that his

discovery c£ the Hawaiian Islands seemed "in many respects to be the most important • • • made by Europeans throughout • • • the Pacific area."2 Although the perspective of time has not susta.ined

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Cook, ~. ~., xa,v,

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H.M.S. Resolution and D'iscovery at Kealakekua Bay, Island of Hawaii, 1779, as drawn by a Cook Expedition artist.

Qmrtesy B~'nltc P. B!5h.cP Mllsellm

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this opinion -- certainly the change brought to the rest of the world was relatively minor -- there ia no doubt that the discovery was momentous for the Hawaiian Islands. Hi therto J during centuries of nearly complete isolation, the pattern of Ha\miian social and cultural life had evolved gradually and primarily from internal

forces. Henceforth, economic and social change was rapid and vas moved primarily by external forces. As one Ba~>'aiian historian bitterly 'Wl'ote: liThe seeds that he planted here have sprouted, grown, and become the parents of others that have caused the decrease of the native population.lll

Cook's last voyage had another result of great consequence for Hawaii. On the way home, sailors of his expedition found that

sea otter skins gathered on the Northwest Coast of America brought temptingly high prices in the markets of China. Merchants and ship captains saw the possibilities for profits, and in due time, allowing for the wars than in progress and other difficulties, a brisk trade gre\i up between Canton and the American coast. The British were first in the field, but soon the newly independent Americans discovered the beauties and the fabulous returns of a triangular trade between Boston, the Northwest, Canton, and back to Boston; and they eventually obtained a vil~ua1 monopoly of the bUSiness.

The first vessel known to have visited the islands after Cook vas a small British brig on its l-ffi.y to China with a cargo c£ furs

in 1785. From that time the Sandwich Islands became known as a convenient place to break the long tranS-Pacific voyage, to obtain supplies, Ol~ to spend the winter when the weather was too boisterous

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Samuel 1.1. Kamalca.u" Rulinf.i Chiefs of Hawaii {Honolulu, 196J...),101,.

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on the coasts of Oregon and Alaska. As a Crel'lman on a. later ex-gloring expedition noted, "Uhat a. happy discovery these islands were! What ,",ould the American fur trade be" lrithout these to winter at and get every refresmnent~l

In a very few years ships from many different countries, not only

fur traders but exploring vessels and gene~al traders, were f~ocking to the sparkling "Waters of Hawaii and anchoring oft a Score of' villages. Several unfortunate clashes occurred between the foreigners

and the Hawaiians, but on the 'Ithole intercourse between the newcomer-s and the natives was friendly and profitable to both. ~le natives 600n became rucre sophisticated in their trading and demanded higher prices.

Firearms of all types and aJ.nmuni.tion '1vere much desired by the cllie:fs and became an important factor in increasing the slaughter during the

frequent and hitter civil wars. As for the Visiting sailors J it lllUst

be admitted that alone with the fresh water, sl1eet potatoes} and pork of Hawaii they eagerly anticipa.ted the island vomen , Hany early

visitors have testified that nowhere in the Pacific were female

charms so freely offered.

With such temptations before them it was not long before some

of the seafaring visitors deserted their comrades and made new homes

ashore. The first Itnown foreign resident was a raving Irish surgeon, Jolm l'.lackay, '1'ho settled on the Island of rIal18.i! in 1787. During

that same year at least t"10 adventurous Hs.vra1ians, one a woman, joined

.tradinG Ships and sailed away for distant lands, the first of a long

line of lIauaiian seamen who were to roam the wol~ld.

-----------

1

Ralph S. ICuyltendaJ.l and A. Grove Day J liawaii: ilJ.Iistog (New Yorl:.,

1948" 30.

5

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The numoer of foreigners 11 vine in lla11B.ii grew steadily. By 1819 there probably were about 200 in the islands. Most of them were runa\IaY sailors,. mainly "vagabonds 11 of the lowest type. Before long there vere even a few escaped prisoners from the Australian penal colony lurldns in the back country. Othel~s -- a few .. _ were men of education; some possessed a good store of practical Jmoll1edge and common sense; and, in all classes,. there "rere men of cnarecber ,

The u;eful men uere in much demand by the chiefs as instructors in war, as advisors, and as managers of estates. Such men "rere held in high esteem, and ,rel"e showered ~1i th lands, wives, and pr1 vileges. It ",as noted, however, that very few of the foreigners, even the

best of them, made any real effort to educate the natives or to teach them to cope with the intricacies of Uestern culture. In fact, instances are recorded of Europea.ns delib'e14ately l'efusing to instruct the Hawaiians in the new technology. They were afraid that to do

~o would reduce the need for their services and lose them their favored places.

The foreign residents at first uere largely Europeans and Americans, but by 1794 there were Chinese living at Kealakekua.. IIe.waii 1 S role as a melting pot of ra.ces got off to an early start. But children of mixed blood were only one of the problems which the foreign contacts brought to Hawaii, problems with which the natives were ill eq_uipped to cope. In addition to venereal diseases, the newcomers brought such scourges as sma.llpox} measles J and whooping c6Ugll. Having developed no irrmlUllity to these afflictions and not ImOw:i.ng hOlT to treat them, the Ha\-l8.iians succumbed, by the thousands.

6

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Host of the foreigners, whether casuaj, Visitors or permanent residents"

"rere a. rough :lot, "rho had IIhunS their consciences on cape Horn.1I They did not hesitate to debauch the natives for their own pleasure

or profit. In particular, dist1lled liCluor proved irresistable to

the Ha.~rn.iians, and accounts of the extent of dl-unltennesB and aJ.coholism ~ng the natives almost defy belief.

Not all of the nell importations were harmful. The introduction of E\L.-opean domestic a.nimals began wi th Cool~JI and by 1803 the

islanders possessed Goats, sheep, cattle, and hozaes , Nany new plants, pal~icularly fruits and vegetables, were eagerly adopted by the Hawaiians, aJ.though along "rlth the importations came such

pests as fleas and moBquitoes. Nanj' introductions, useful else-

where in the i1Orld, ran wild in the new environment and became pests ~

The balance ofmture was quickly upset.

Such items of Eur0pean manufacture as guns, tools, cloth, and household utenSils made life easier for the natives, who had lived

in a stone-age cultUl~e. But trade ~dth the foreigners was, at

•

best, upsetting to the old ways of life.. Settlelilents shifted from

traditional locations to the harbors convenient for shipping. The

common people ver-e forced to produce not onl.y for themselves but also for the traders. This increased burden became particularly hea.vy after about 1812 \-Then the sandahrood tl4ade -- started as early as 1790 -- began to emerge as a major industry. The trade soon be-

came e. royal monopoly and ''l8.S therefore somewhat controlled, tut nevertheless thousands of lte.wa.11Ons were sent to the mountains to cut the fragrant trees for the marlret in China, forcing neglect of

the usual domestic economy.

7

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Although visitors still continued to report that the Hal-m.iians

I

were a happy, carefree, generous people, all of these changes had

cumulat1 ve and deadly effects. The most obvious was a rap1d decline

in population. It is believed that there were 300,000 native Hawaiians

I

at the time of Coolt' s discovery. By 1820 there remained only about 135,000; by 1850 there \Tere onl.ymout 85,000; and 1n 1890 the number had fallen to 40,000.

I I I

This drop in population was accompanied by what has been termed 1

"a mass psychological deterioration.H The natives were overwhelmed

by the nell culture and came to distrust their old way of life. An

apathy, often extending even to loss of the desire to live, took

hold of large groups of the people, further lessening the chances of

I

adapting to the new ways •. Scepticism was everyvhe re , paving the way

I I

for the end of the old social order. Truly, the first Hawaiian who accepted one of Captain Cook's trinkets in 1718 had opened a Pandora's

Box of horrors for his people.

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I

1

Gerri t P. Judd IV ~ Hawaii: An Informal. H1stOl:'X (Nevi Yo:ck_t

1961), 38. . w

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8

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I I

I I

CHAPTER II

If Philosophers are Most Mistaken"

I.

From time 1 mmemorial. the Hawaiians had 11 ved under a. poll tical

organization which approached feudalism. There vere no tribes, but there were kings and chiefs Who controlled the land and parcelled it

out to their followers. Many chiefs were el1gibl.e by bigh blood

lines to be rulers of large districts, of entire islands, or even of several islands; and thus those of ambition and ability

were free to attempt enlarsement of their domains through agreements

or torce. There was a constant shirting of' loyalties between chiefs and kings; and kingdoms were perpetually expanding and then being

broken up.

The situation was one which led to frequent wars, orten marked

by large expeditions of conquest, both by land and sea. This warfare, together with such dangerous sports as sledding and high diVing,

often resulted in short careers for the!!!!. or Chiefs, and it imposed a cruel burden on the commoners J who had to follow their

chief to battle to retain their plots of land. Hawaiian wars were

not mere formall ties, ending after a few token deaths. They were serious and bloody affairs in which the losers were frequently annihi-

lated to the last man. Prisoners almost 1nvariab~y were killed, and

conquered lands were ravaged, with s1aughter of noncombat·ants". - men,

women, and even children.

9

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When Cook revealed the islands to the Western world in 1778- 1779, they ... rere divided into four kingdoms; Hawai! and a part of

Maul; Maui and its dependent islands; oahu; and Kaua! and Niihe.u.

As fa.r as the future of the Ha.wai1an group was concerned, the most important of these "\-TaS Ratiaii, under the rule of a leading chief

named Kal.an1opuu. Even in Cook I s day, "hile Kalaniopuu, though old, was at the height of his power, the king r s nephew, a stra.pping young chief from lCohala named Ka.m.ehameha, "¥l&S demonstrating leadership

in both peace and war.

In 1782 Kalaniopuu died, and his eldest son, Ki ... mlao, succeeded him as ruler of .all Hawaii. But K1wala.o was under the domination

of the chief's of RUo, and when the customary land redistribution

was made by the nev king, the Hilo alii received the lion's share.

--

Five dissatisfied ~.of the Kona district, with Kamehameha as their

leader, had banded together to protect their interests, and they

were soon a.t war wi tb KblB.lao. The king was defea.ted a.nd killed on the field at Mokuobai. Hawaiian tradition says that Kamehameha at once realized that this victory "was but the beginning of an em;pire.1t1

For the time being, however, the 8.lubi tious Kamehameha bad to be

content with the districts of !Cohala, Kona, and Bamakus} 't-fhich to .. gether formed one of the three kingdoms into uhieh the island of

Hawaii was next divided. Then followed a decade of intermittent Civil war during which Kamehameha fought undecisively with the

rulers of the other t ... ro kingdoms on the island and harassed Maui and oahu. In the spring ot 1790 he launched eo ma.jor ca.mp.aign of

1

Ke.mal~u, R~1ng Chiefs of Hawaii" 123.

10

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conquest which began on Maui. His forces pushed the Mau1 defenders into the gorge of Iso behind Wailuku, and so great was the slaughter

that the bodies of the dead blocked the atremn. After this victory,

he pushed on to Lanat, and Molokai. Meanwhile, his chief rival 00

Hawaii, Keoua, who i'i'M· Kp.l'JJE!hameha I a cousin and king of Kau and part

or Puna, took admnt?<~8 of: the The Lonely One I S absence to invade Kohala. Kamehameha l';.;l"r, :forced to forego his (I.reams of empire for the time being and retiurned to defend his landS on Ealmii.

Kamehameha had been told by a famous soothsayer of Kaual that if'

he wished to rule aJ.l the Island of Ha ... 1B.i1 he must erect a nev

heie.u, or temp.le, to the ,,-mr god at Puukohola, near Kawaihae.

This task was now undertal~en at a vast expense of labor and a liberal sacrifice of human offerings. Then, by one or those strange turns of

Hawaiian poll tics 1ffiich are difficult to understand, Keoua was persuaded to go to Kawa.i.ha~ to make peace with his cousin. As he stepped ashore from his canoe one day in the summer of 1791 he was

basely murdered by one of Kamehameha.' chiefs J and his body was

carried. up ·the hill to the new hei.au, tllll the smoke from the sacrificial alta.r vanished all oppOSition to the control by Kamehameha of the Big Island. III

Ka.mehameha now demonstrated the wisdom and character which were his true strengths. For the next few years he a.voided war and de ... voted his efforts to organizing his government and building up the

resources of his kingdom. Capta.in George Vancouver, who had met Kamehameha during Coolers voyage, visited the islands aga.i.n during

1

Kuykendall and my, !lawai!:. A History, 25.

11

•

Puukohola Heiau, near Kawaihae, island of Hawaii, scene of the sacrifice of Keoua, as viewed in 1819 by a member of the de

Freycinet Expedition, 1819. CourLesy Bes-niee P. Bishop Mu"euru

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1792, 1793, and 1794. He found the king a changed man, the lfstern

ferocity" of his younger days softened and modified by 11great 1

generosity, and goodness of disposition. II Like many other chiefs,

Ka.mebameha had ear~y recognized that Hestern technology could be

useful in his ztse tc power. He vigorously acquired firearms, anununi-

tion, and even ships to assist him in his campaigns, and be recruited

foreigners to operate the new weapons,

Two of these advisors were of particular importance. Kamehe.meha.

had forcibly detained Isaac Cox and John Young from American vessels

during 1790. Through kindly treatment be won their loyalty, and

they both became influential chiefs. They vere relatively uneducated,

but they were men of natural ability and good character and exercised

a beneficial effect upon the ldng. But Kamehameha did not let the

foreigners rule him. He remained the master and they the servants.

By 1794 tbe ruleJ.~s of Haui and oahu 'V1ere fighting each other,

thus weakening even the victor. Kamehameha sensed that the moment had

come to continue his bid for supreme :r?Oirer. Quicluy overrunning Haui,

he landed a large and well e~u1pped force at Waikiki on oahu during

the spring or SUli1lller of 1795. The Oahu defenders chose to make their

final stand in the liuue.nu Valley behind Honolulu. They could not re ~

sist the artillery of the invaders and gave "lS.y, many being ruthlessly

driven over the cliff, Nuuanu Pall, at the hea.d of the valley.

This victory in 1795 marks the traditional ascension of Kamehameha

to rule ove~ all the islands. Actually, he still did not control

Kauai and Niihauj and a combination of circumstances prevented him

1

Ra.1ph S. Kuykendall, The He \1811an Kingdom • • • 1778 -1854

(Honolulu, 1957), 39.

12

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

from invading those isles, though he several times organized Ueets

fo-r the purpose. Foreigners, anxious to &roid interrupt10n of trade, were instrumental. in arranging a settlement. In 181.0 Kaumuali1, the

king of Kauai, recognized Kamehameba as his ruler" and Hawaii was at last unified into s. single kingdom.

The rise of Kamebameba during the critical. period of initial. COIl'"

tact with t..festern ci vilizat10n is one of the outstand1ng events of Hawaiian history. His skill in dealing with the foreigners and

the firmness with which he organized his rule over all the islands undoubtedly were instrumental. in preventing Hawaii from following so

many other Pacific islands into European empires. The momentum gained during his reign belped carry his kingdom through a century of inde-

pendence.

Tbe years folloldng 1795 were ones of peace. Kemehameha placed strong governors over the islands and devoted much of his time to repairing the frightful. damage caused by the l.ong C~l wars. One of his most famous laws" that of the "splintered pad.d1e," a name recalling an inCident of cruelty on his own part during a raid on

Puna, decreed: IILet the aged, men and women" and little children 11e down in satety in the road." And, of necessity, he skillfully controlled his subordinate chiefs so that none of them could raise

an insurrection. Such measures tended to c:re~te a "sort of national. feeling" which had hitherto been l.e.cking in Hawaiian life.

The death of Kamt:!hameha._ the Great occured at Ka.11ua, on the Kona Coast of Hawaii, on May 8, 1819. By his own stern decree, no human

11 ves were sacrificed at his passing. This departure from tradition

13

Ahuena Heiau, adjoining Kamehameha the the Great's last home at Kailua, Island of Hawaii, as sketched by

Louis Choris, 1816-1817. Coone.,. Bernice P. Bishop M.mum

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

'WaS sure eVidence that the old order was crumbling. Yet, With this exception, Kamehameba had been a firm upholder of the old feudal.

autocracy, of the ancient gods, and of the kapu system with &ll

-

its cruel.t1es and inequities.

Despite the ld.ns1s support, the Hawaiian religion bad been losing its strength for some time. Undoubtedly the contacts with foreigners -were cbiefly responsible, although there is eVidence that many Hawaiians were sickened by "the insatiable demand for sacrificial

victims and were tired of the arbitrary oppression by priests and

chiefs which the system made possible. When foreigners were seen to violate the taboos with impunity, doubts were natu.ral.J.y aroused in

the minds of the natives. And the foreigners did not hesitate to point out the1r belief that tbe1r own God, their own interpretation

of natural. phenomena, and their own social. concepts were superior, and to deplore the kapu restrictions. "I say de.mo. such laws, II

wrote a sailor on H.M.S. Racoon when he ~earned that taboos prevented 'WOlIleD from eating with men and imposed other l1mi tatioos and obl1ga-

1. tiona upon their matiDg acti v1ties.

The passing of Kamehameha brought the matter _ ot' religion toe.-bead.

young man of "some shrewdness II but no outstanding strength of char-

acter. Almost immedia.tely upon his accession, several. of his most important advisors, including his own'mother, Keopuolani; and his co-

ruler, his father's fa.vorite queen, Kaahumanu, urged b1m to end the kapus. He f1nally agreed, and early in November, 1819, he symbolically broke the most sacred taboos by eating in public with the women of his

1

The Voyage of the "Racoon, 11 edited by John A. Hussey (San FranciSCO,

1958), 35.

14

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court. Immediately therea:rter he ordered the destruction of eJ.l

I I

temples and idols throughout the 1slwlds.

The end of the 1m-pus was generall.y received with rejoicing by

the people J but many,. part1cularly the priests and chiefs, woul.d not agree to the complete destruction of their ancient gods and religiOUS

I I

system. The conservative element rallied a.t Kealakekua Bay under

I I

a chief na.med Kekus.olm.)an1" who asswned the position of high priest and chiel' defender 01' the old gods. The' rebel. forces met the king IS army during December" 1819, at Kuamo'o, on the coast of Kona, and were decls1 vely defeated. The ancient gods were indeed dead. And,

equally important, the Hawaiian kingdom proved that it could hold

together despite the removal of Kamebameba's founding band.

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The effects of Liholiho' s decree can scarcely be over-estimated.

The two or three decades following the end of the kapu system. consti-

-

tuted a period of co:n1'usion and difficulty for the Hawaiians. Age ...

old patterns of domestic life, based on the sanctity of chiefs, on

senior1ty" and on the separation of men and women for eat1ng,. for

I

serious labor J and for other occasions, were suddenly disrupted.

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"Neither man" woman. nor child any l.onger mew order, sta.tus or authority in the household."l It was years before a new patterncf

l.ife J based upon Christ1.a.n mores, 'WB.S firmly established.

The chiefs were stripped of their god-like status" but they still

owned and controlled the l.and.. The COlIDllOners still looked to them

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tor leadership and guidance, but the chiefs bad less reason to be concerned in the welfare of' their people. With the end of the power

1

E. S. Craighill. Handy and Mary Kawena. Puku1~ 'lhe Pol.ynesian Fam1l.y

6zytem 1ft Ka1u, Ha'Wai1 (Well.1ngton, N .Z.J 1.958), 233 .. 235.

15

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struggles between chieftains, the a.l1i no longer needed to exercise

-

restraint in order to keep retinues of loyal warriors. Thus, paradoxi-

I I

cally, peace brought increased su:f'feriJJg to the commoners.

I

Even at the height of the old system, the chiefs otten treated

the cOJlll1On people with great arrogance and cruelty. One early foreign visitor was horrified to see the manner in ~ch one petty chief

ran down the canoes of commoners who were in his way and how he maimed

I

with stones those who 'Were tardy in obeying hie commands. II Philosophers

are most mistaken who bui.l.d systems of natural. liberty,lI the observer

I I I

concluded.

1 "Rousseau I s savages exist nowhere but 1n his wr1 tinge. "

The ai tuation was made worse by another action of Liholillo. The

sandalwood trade , hitherto a royal. prerogative J was opened to a number

of the chiefs. With all the products of the Western world and the

I

Orient suddenly brought within their economic reach, these alii went

-

on a mad buying spree. Suddenly pate de foie gras and the most expens-

ive champagnes were scarcely good enough for chiefs who had hitherto

been perfectly content with baked dog and live fish. Grass-covered huts blossomed with aJ.1 sorts of European furniture and tlforeign

mechanics" whose uses were ill understood by the Hawaiians. tlHuge

state-beds to ~ook at~ and piles of fine cool mats to Bleep upon," 2

epitomized the situation in the eyes of one observer.

I

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1

Theodore Morgan" Hawaii, A Century of Economic Change (cambridge,

Mass., ~948), 9.

2

Francis Steegmuller, The Two Lives ct James Jackson Jarves (New

Haven" 1951), 19.

16

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r:

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To pay the resulting debts, more and more cOJDDX)ners were forced into the mountains to log sandalllOod. As men, women, and children were driven to this general.ly unhealthful task, the ordiD8l'Y economy was neglected. In many areas planting and fishing pract1caJl.y ceased. The combination of forced labor and famine contr1buted greatly to

the decline in the Hawa11a.n population.

Clearly, despite their strong central government, the Hawaiians were destroying themse1ves, and they were being destroyed by outs1de influence. The foreigners already in the islands, even those of

the caJ.1ber of John Young, were doing little to stop the decline.

If' anything of the Hawaiian people and culture was to survive, a

new force i18.S required.

17

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,\1

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t:

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Chapter 1lI

"Open Your Hearts Widell

The use of the Hawaiian islands as a supply sta1;ion for the China

and Northwest trades bad far-reacb1ng results. One liaS making the

islands known to the rest of the world. Many native Hawa.1ians, superb

sa1l.ors and untiring workers, joined tbe crews of European and AlDerican ships and traveled to distant lands.

By 1816 there were several Hawaiian youths in.: New England. The

best known of them" Henry Opulmba:ia, so the' ·story goes, 'WaS found one morning in 1809 by a New Haven di v1ni ty graduate on the steps of a building on the Yale C8JllPUs" weeping because he yearned for a Christian

education. A group of students befriended him, and he was later en-

rolled at a mission training schoo.l and became a convert. Death pre-

vented his return to his native land to preach the Gospel, but the

well publicized stOry of his frustrated amhlt10n was widely circuJ..e.ted

in miss10nary circles.

Through such isJ.anders and the reports of traders, the American

Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, an interdenominational. body ch1efly supported by the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, became interested in the Hawaiian Islanda. The first band of mission-

aries, a group of seventeen persons under the guidance of' the Reverend Hiram Bingham and the Reverend ABa Thurston, sailed from Boston on

the brig Thaddeus on OCtober 23, 18l9. On April 4 of the next year

these uHawai1an Pilgrims II went ashore at Kailua on the Island of Hawa1.1 and requested L1hollho' s permission to live in the country and bring Christianity to its people.

18

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After some hesitation, perhaps occasioned by the national jealcusfes of his English and French adVisors, the king gave his consent for a year I s trial. The missionaries then d1 Vided,. The main party went on to Honolulu, but some remained at Kailua and, later, two sailed to Kauai. On April 23, 1.820, the first Christian sermon in the islands was preached at Honolulu by the Reverend Hiram Bingham,. His text was I1Fear not J for I bring you glad. tidings of great joy. II

The missionaries had been surprised and pleased to learn upon their arrival that the old native religion of nature worship had been abandoned. Indeed, they regarded the circumstance as nothing short of miracuJ.ous. The spiritual upheaval made the new s011 more fertile than they bad dreamed l?os8ib~eJ and they set to work with a. will to cultivate it.

Liboliho insisted that the missionaries confine their first efforts to "the chiefs, who would determine: if the new teachings were suitable for the general populace. There have been observers unkind enough, however, to attribute the king's concern for the commoners to the

need to keep them chopping sandalwood. At any rate, the restriction coincided with the inclination of the missionaries, who believed that the conversion of the nobility would lead to the more rapid proselyting of the lower classes.

A first step in spreading the Gospel was for the miSSionaries to learn Hawaiia.n and to connnunicate with the natives through"both the spoken and written word. This objective required them to reduce the Hawaiian language, hitherto only a. spoken tongue, to writing and to teach the na.ti ves to read and i'1I'ite. An alpha.bet for transcribing

19

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Hawaiian was deVised, and on January 7, 1822, the first page of a small spelling book 1n the native tongue was l>rinted on ,:the mission', press in Honolulu. From that time a flood of works in Hawaiian -textbooks, translations of the Bible, religious tracts, and many other types of books ~- poured from the press at Honolulu and from another established at Lahainaluoa on Maui in 1834. By 1830 nearly 400,000 copies of 28 different books and tracts had been produced.

Hand in hand 'Hi tb this work went the establishment of schools.

The teaching program nas launched immediately after the arr! val of the missionaries. Mrs. Bingham guided the first Lnet ructdon, and aiter a few months tbere were about 100 pupils, mostly adults of

the chiefly class, enrolled in several mission schools. Instruction lt78.S slow until the newcomers learned Hawaiian; then it went ahead with a rush. During 1824 the regent, Queen Kaahumanu, authorized

the Schools to be opened to all classes of the population, and during that year an attendance of about 2,000 was reported.

The Hawaiians embraced the new learning With entihusdaem, They were ea.ger to acq_u1re knowledge of the culture from the outer world. Many of the first pupils became teachers. By the fall of 1831 about 52,000 natiVes, or about 40 per cent of the population, attended 1,100 schools scattered throughout the islands. A year or two later the fad for learning slackened, and school attendance dropped off

to a more realistic level. Yet, by 1830 it l1aS estimated that more than half of the adult population could read, and by 1846 another estimate, perhaps a bit optindstic, stated that 80 per cent of the people could read and write. The wife of one miSSionary claimed that

20

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in Hawaii the proportion of natives who could read and write was 11 greater than in any other COtultry in the world except Scotland and New England. II

This missionary achievement is even more impressive when the character of the curriculum is examined. The earliest schools taught onJ.y reading and spelling, but gradually arithmetic, compoSition) geography, "moral sc1ences)II and other subjects were added. Technical subjects were also taught at a number of schools. IIIndustrial training 11 was part of the instruction g1 ven at the new school for natives established at Lahainaluna in 1831, and several "f'ema'le seminaries" instructed girls in household duties.

The missionaries and their immediate descendants believed that education would result in better Christians and better citizens, and thus they promoted schooling for all classes of the population. Upon their advice public school laws were passed 1n 1840 which made attendance compulsory through the age of fourteen; and schools were later placed upon a tax-supported basis. This early and continued inSistence upon universal education was in later years a significant factor in the social} economic, and political development of the islands. But the miSsionaries sent their own ch:lldren to separate schools to keep them from. being contaminated by the "Levdne ss ' of the natives, a policy which also had i~ortant results in the development of Hawaii.

The new "Pilgrims II were also remarkably successful in converting the Hawaiians to Christianity. As was the case with education) the work of spreading the new faith went slowly at first and was carried 21

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

on principally among the chiefs. There was an emotiona.l qual! ty

about Christianity which helped fill the void left by the abolition

of the old nature worship; and debauchery among the natives had pro-

gressed so far that many ~ Itrather welcomed" the missionaries and

their novel ethical concepts" Key milestones were passed when the

queen mother, Keopuolani, and tl1e co-ruler, Kaahumanu, were converted;

and the action of anobher 11.:'.g11. cbiefess, Kapiolani, in publicly de-

fying the volcano goddess Pele helped weaken the lingering belief

in the old gods.

Soon the new religion became the rage among the natives of all

classes. They flocked by the thousands to worship, perhaps missing

the finer points of doctrine but highly enjoying the preaching and

singing. Recognizing that the conversions were in many cases only

skindeep, the missionaries for a while followed a conservative policy

in admitting church members; and there "lrere periods, as during the mid- 1830 r s , when nat! ve interest waned. But progress was nevertheless

substantial. Reinforced by new· companies from Boston, the missionar-

Les establlsJied churches in all pa.rts of the islands. A "Grea.t

Awakeningll from about 1837 to 1841 swept the natives into the new

religion on a mass-production basis. One exuberant preacher on the

Big Island admitted 5,244 new members in a single year, anointing the converts With drops from a whiskbroom dipped in water. By 1844

there were 25 independent native churches) and more than one-fifth of the entire population was co~osed of church members.I The

• 1· ~

, • II.

22

.......

•

Site uf Kapiolani's Defiance of Pele, Halernaurnau Fire Pit, Kilauea Crater, in Hawaii Volcanoes National park.

N. P. S. Photograph, 1962

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II

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conclusion is inescapable that the missionary message~ though perhaps not fully comprehended, eventually gave the Hawaiians a new body

of doctrine around which they could orient themselves and helped

check diSintegration of native morale.

The missionaries did not confine th~ir efforts to spreading the

Gospel and to education. Their aim from the very beginning '\'18S to raise the entire Hawaiian population lito an elevated state of Christian

civilization. II Their instructions from the American Board reveal the breadth of the missionary purpose. lIyour views are not to be limited

to a 10\-1 or a narrow scale, II they were told; "but you are to open your hearts wide} and set your mark high. You are to aim at nothing short of covering those islands with fruitful fields and pleasant dwellings} and schools and churcbes.lll

Thus, the missionaries qllickly set about making Hawaii 8S much like Neu England as possible. They were particularly shocked by the

free and easy native morals, and more than one missionary wife .turned her head in shame from the nudity visible on every hand. Their efforts were at first directed toward trying to annihilate the native culture

because they consf.dez-ed it part of the "besotted idolatry!! they were hoping to replace. They imposed modesty of dress upon the churchgoers. The ancient dances ~ games, and festi vels were outlawed. The "Cold Water Army'! launched a war on liquor j even smoking was declared

a sin; and Sundays ve re devoted strictly to prayer. ttThe poor native, " said one Vlriter, "was to labor to attain to the sanctity of men and

2

"Tomen "rho rarely smiled and dared not jol(e.

1

Judd, HavTaii, 41.

2

Steegmuller, The Two Ll ves of James Jackson Jarves 19.

23

I I I I I

At least one preacher, however, had the grace to feel remorse

when the llPilgrimsll placed a ban upon the trearing of nower !!!.!

by churchgoers. "It is a pity a custom so innocent in itself should

ever have to be discoutltinenced,1/ he admitted, but he found the prohi-

bition necessary because some of the flock used ~ for llvanity" and for "meret rtctoue allurement and display. ,,1

Such radical social changes and strict regimentation were not

I I

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I I I I I I I

I I

accepted without some protest and much backsliding. Yet so great was

the interest in the new religion that the common people quite generally

gave up their old ways and sustained their chiefs in their spread of

the new ideas. Externe..lly, at least J the reform was almost complete)

though underneath the unquenchable Hawaiian love of life remained.

liNe missionary h:! re , n the natives would say J pointing to the head; 2 "no missionary here j II they added, designating the rest of the body.

So great \ms the influence of the missionaries, in fact, that they often replaced the chiefs in commanding the loyalty of the cormnoners.

Great crowds of natives worked for years to build the substantial stone churches which still grace the islands, and the ~eople freely gave

their labor to support their preachers. The missionaries became the advisors of the Hawaiians, helping them to adjust to the new technology,

improving their lot with medicine, hospitals, and by instruction in

trades and agriculture. While contributing to the disintegration of

the nat.ive culture by accelerating the rate of' social change, they at the same time made possible the rescue of "lhat 'WaS left by maping the dying way of life to the \'lestern mold.

1

Cheever 1 S'R.

2 Steegmuller,

cit. , 198.

op • cit., 23.

-_

24

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I I I I

Since the missionaries did not distinguish religious faith from

other values or customs, it was only natural that they soon began to

participate in political affairs. Their view of government was decidedly theocratic. The Rev. Hiram Bingham once said that the state "ought to be, and in an important sense is, a religious institution,nl. In their general attack on the native culture, the IIPilgrims" did not at once challenge the authority of' the king and high chiefs. Rather,

they encouraged the rulers to feel secure in their authority and to lean upon the foreigners for advice. So influential did the mission-

aries become that for two decades the Hawaiian government was in essence

a theocracy.

Totre,rd the end of 1823 King Liholiho, "rho had assumed the name of Kamehameha II, departed for a visit to Great Britain. Kaahumanu, the

great friend of the miss1onaires, was left behind as regent; and through her influence the religious principles taught by the Ne~ Englanders began to be written into law. In 1824 edicts \-lere issued against murder, theft, fighting and breaking the Sabbath. Three years later gambling, rum sellinG, and sexual immorality, especially aboard

Visiting ships, were added to the list of prohibited activities.

Liholiho died of the measles in London durinG 1824 and was sue-

ceeded by his younger brother, Kamehameha III. When the stern, guiding

hand of Kaahumanu was removed by death in 1832, the 'Young monarch for

a while threw off missionary restraint and repealed most of the blue

laus. But he was brought back to the straight and narrow path} and the restricti ve laws ve.re not only re -insti tuted but vere made to apply to

1

Ben Adams, HaVlaii, the Aloha State (Ne\-, York, 1959), 42.

25

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

foreigners as well as natives. In 1838 the anti-liquor laus were strengthened; and in 1840 the first Hawaiian constitution declared

that "no law shall be enacted ~vhich is at variance with the word of the Lord Jehovah. II Hawii had officially become a Christian state.

From the establishment of the ldngdom by Kamehameha the Great,

there had been no formal organization of' the government; and the com-

moners were completely at the mercy of the alii, with no rights except that of removing to the lands of aootner chief. Troubles with foreign

residents convinced the nobles that a more regular form of government vTould be desirable. In 1838 they persuaded one of the missionaries,

the Reverend William Richards, to leave the mission and become an advisor to the king. Constitutional changes followed rapidly_ A

code of Laws issued in 1839, often called the Ha'wailen Magna Carta, conceded certain rights 1:0 the people. The canst! tution of 1840 repeated these declarations and created a legislature elected by popular

vote. "For the first time, the cornman man had a share of political pover , ,,1

From this time forwarcl, Hawaii 'ras governed by law and not by

royal "'him. The hand of the missionaries in bringing about this Signal achievement is abundantly evident, giving substance to the statement

by one historian that "the single most important: fact about the

internal history of Hawaii /Jrom 18121 •• _ to about 1840, v TaS the grad-

ual domination of the government in these years by the American 2

miSSionaries."

1

Kuykendall and Day, Hat-Taii, 54.

2

Judd, op , cit., 49.

26

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

The influence of the missionaries vms not exerted without opposition. By 1820 several foreign mercantile houses had been established in the islands to supply both the natives and the trading vessels which Dlied the Pacific. The sandalwood traffic was then in the last decade of its importance, but whaling was coming to the fore as the main~ta.y of the Hawaiian economy.

The first American whaleships visited the islands in 1819, and the discovery of the rich sperm whale grounds off Japan about 1820 soon brought a host of whalers to Ha,ro.iian ports. During the 1840' sand

1850' s six-sevenths of the uorld' 6 whaling fleet operated in the Pacific, and Hawaii was the most convenient place to refit and obtain supplies. By 1822 about 60 whaling vessels touched at Honolulu, Lahaina, and other Ha~iian portsj by 1830 the number averaged about 150 annually; and in 1846 there "'ere at least 596 arri vale.

The repairing and supplying of these vessels were a great stimu~ lus to Hawaiian agriculture, industry) and trade. The crews swarmed ashore seeking liquor and women; and their activities in these spheres also bad a great impact upon the island economy as well as upon the morals and phySical well.being of the inhabitants,

As can be imagined, the resident and visiting traders '~re soon

in conflict ~dhh the miSSionaries, who preached temperance and urged

the natives not to thrO"T away money on Yankee knfcknacks and folderols J all of "rhich hurt busf.nees , And the plea.sure-bent seamen from the whalers and other ships blamed the miSSionaries for the laws against license, drunltenness, and other forms of disorder. More than once in Lahaina

and Honolulu the frustrated sailors stormed ashore and rioted against

27

•

•

•

•

The Town of Lahaina. Maui, viewed from the sea. Although the buildings are recent, the general scene preserves the atmosphere of the villar-e known to the American whaling fleet [rom the 1820's to the 1860's.

'=> N. P. S. Photograph. 1962

,I

I

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

the civil authorities and the !1Pilgrims. II Traders as well as missionaries became advisors to the Hawaiian government, and they won oc .. casiona1 relaxations of the restrictive legislation. But the mission-

aries steadily eained ground and eventually prevailed.

There was also o~position to the missionaries on political grounds,

particularly by Europeans who believed that the New Englanders were pushing the islands into the orbit of the United States and by resi-

dents lIho felt that. the "Pi1grimsl1 exercised entirely too much influence over the government. Richard CharltonJ the British consul

"-

and an arch foe of American interests, claimed that Kinau, the king's

half sister and prime minister during part of the 1830's) was

lIentirely governed by the American Nissionaries who through her govern 1

the Islands with unlimited sway. 11

Such opposition contributed toward involving the Protestant

missionaries in an unfortunate religious controversy. Anxious to

counterbalance the influence of the New Englanders, certain French and

English nationals encouraged missionaries of other faiths to come to lIawaU. The first Catholic priests arrived in 1827, but "with the

conni vance of the Protestant mission" they we re expelled by the Hawaiian government four years later. Native Catholics were persecuted for

"Idolatry" until the protests of foreigners, including the more moderate among the Protestant missionaries, caused the chiefs to desist.

The priests returned several years later) and in 1839 the commander of

a French frigate forced the Ha\4aiians to accept toleration. From that time the rigid F\tr1tan1sm taught by the American Board missionaries

faced competition frOID the Catholics, ~IDrmons, and representatives

1

Judd, 2}2. cit., 54.

28

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

of other faiths who, more flexible in their attitudes towards native

customs, made rapid headway in Winning converts.

Despite bitter opposition and periodic setbacks, the New England

missiona.ries continued to hold a prominent role in the Hawaiian government until the dea.th of Kamehameha III in 1854. Following William

Richards, other missionaries resigned to become important advisors to the monarchy. Most influential was Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, who served in

a number of high offices between 1842 and 1853. In fact, he was virtually the prime minister and influenced the king in carrying forward

constitutional reforms.

One measure which had the support of both traders and missionaries

was a revision of the land system. From time immemorial, all lands had

belonged to the kin£;1 and the nobles and commoners were given only rights of use. Foreigners were granted lands under the same conditions"

and the uncertainties of tenure caused great dissatisfaction. Merchants and planters hesitated to improve lands wh:l.c h they did not "own, If and

thus the investment of capital was hampered.

The missionaries, on their part, wished to see land made available

to the commoners on a permanent basis. Desiring to encourage "hab Lt s of industry, II they enviSioned the Hav!8.iians as small. farmers on the New England patternj but progress was impossible as long as hard work

and thrift only reGulted in the confiscation of improvements and savings by the chiefs. They noted that the old Hawaiians never planted treees because they '\-Tould be appropriated by the landlords. "The planting of

trees anywhere,l1 stated one American, l1indicates the possession of a 1. freehold, and the beginning of a prosperous and sound state. 11

1

Cheever, 2£- cit., 69-70.

29

f'

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The cu.lmina"Gion of & series of steps toward land reform came

with the Great Mahele of 1848. This action -- 11 terally tithe diVide It __

I

resulted in a parliit.1on of the land among the king, the government,

the.nobles, and the commoners. The feudal land system was ended, and

I

with supplementa~J legislation passed in 1850, henceforth real property

I

could be bought and sold by private peraoIS, both native and foreign.

The percentage of land which went to the conunoners was relat1 ve1y small,

but their allotments included much of the ~dngdom I s best agricultural

property.

Unfortunately, the Hawaiians were not used to the concept of

pri vate property, and the Mahele opened the way for tlle alienation of

the natives from their la.nd. Yet the Great Mahele Hrerna.ins a major

I

landmark in Hauaiian history,'l and it has been said that 1rprobably no 1 single event 60 drastically changed the social system of' Hawaii. II

I I

It made possible the investment of capital vdth security. From it

stemmed the rise of the sugar industry which soon dominated the

course of Ha1-1Biian economy, politics, and foreign relations.

I

The death of Kamehameha III in 1854 closed the period of lIawaii I s

transition from the feudal autocracy of the old culture to a Christian

I

nation governed by a constitutional monarchy, with rights of suffrage

I I

and land ownership extended to all classes of people. In the transi-

tion, the socio-religious character of the ancient culture ~~s swept 2 a'Way; and most of iJI; s material aspect s had begun to disappear.

It is true that some of the missionaries and their families

I I

profited from the reforms they had advocated. In 1849 the American

I

1

Morgan, Hawaii, 139; Lawrence H. Fuchs, i{awaii PonD: A Social

History (Nell Yorl~, 1961), 14.

2 ~

Dorothy B. Barrere, Summary of Hawaiian Hist~ and Culture (type-

"lritten, Honolu, 1961), 85.

30

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I

Board proposed that tbe Hawaiian Mission should become independent

of the home treasury, and many ~ss1onar1e6 became concerned over their

I I

security in old age. others had long resented the necessity of being dependent upon donations for support. "~1e think it would be better

for American missionaries everywhere to be allowed to hold property,

I

and honorably help themselves, 11 said one expression of m1ssionary oPinion.1

I

Thus the missionaries and their children and other relatives

I I

were among the foreigners who began to aCCluire property by gift trom the chiefs or by purchase at low prices. As ea.rly as 1850 the

I

Honolulu TimesJ an anti·m1ssionary weekly, advised persons wishing to obtain land in the islands to "Go to Boston and be appointed a miSSionary. ,,2 In 1852 there "rare 20 miSSionaries 'Who owned no J.a.nd and 16 others who among them had acquired 7,886 acres.

I I

This entrance of' certain tlPilgrimstl into land speculation and the

interest ahovn by many J particuJ.a.rly the younger generation, in busi-

ness and agriculture were not unaccompanied by complaints back bome

I I

and in the islands about liworld11ness, II but on the whole even the

miSSionaries themselves saw no \1rongdo1ng in these activities. liThe

disposition to acc1.llmllate is human, it is American and more; properly guarded and for right ends it 1s Bible,11 wrote Dr. Judd in 1852.3

I

I I

1

Cheever, op. cit., 79.

- -

2

Adame, 2E.' £!1.., 43

3aerrtt P. Judd, The Letters of Dr. (Fragments II, Honolulu, 19l1 , 193.

I

3l

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Thrift and enterprise were what the missionaries preached to the nati vee, and they believed they were setting a. good example. By im-

proVing their lands and experimenting in agriculture, they hoped to

show the Hawaiians how to progress.

In summing up tile net effect of the missionary effort, it is diifi ..

cult not to agree \lith Rob~rt Louis Stevenson, who wrote that t'Vith all

their ieficiency of candour , humour,and common sense, the missionaries are the best and most use:f'ul wbitels 1n the Pacific. 11 And a.f'ter review ... ing the results of missionary a.ct! vity in bringing order to the Hawaiian

government, there seems to be much justice in the recent statement of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association that the missionaries pointed the way "down the path that has ultimstely led us to Statehood. III

1 .

Adams, op. Clot., 44.

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32

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Chapter IV

IISuge.r Engrosses Everything"

The funeral procession of Kamebameha. III wound through the

streets of Honolulu With an impressive display of the ancient Hawaiian

pomp and ceremony. But the hearts of the people were not in the spectacle. By 1854 even the carefree natives could see that their days of

power were done, that the sho,"1 of' former glory was only a sham.

The poplllation of' the islands was at a new low. The census of' lB53 revealed a total of 13,138 -- a drop of more than 35,000 since

the preVious count in J.835. The prophecyof' a native priest that

I1the hibiscus shall grow, the coreJ. shall spread and stretch forth

its bzancbea, but man shall cease, II was repea.ted mournfull.y through 1

tbe kingdom.

Although the foreigners numbered only about one fortieth of the population, they already held most of the political power. Dr. Judd

bad been eminently successful in his attempt to give stability to

the government by introducing foreigners into the key offices, so

much so that native Hamrlians were practically eliminated from the cabinet. But Judd had hoped that the natives could gradually be

trained to govern themselves; most of his successors in high office had little desire to be ruled by Hawaiians. Alert and intelligent,

the natives were gu1ck to detect this prejudice" and they resented it.

Even before the Great llllahe1e, large tracts of land had been trans-

ferred to foreigners under long lease. With few exceptions, the Hawaiians did not follow the lead of the whiteain developing planta-

tions, but they were deeply concerned at the passage of land to

lMorgan, Hawaii, 120.

33

I I I I I I

foreign control. An old Hawaiian salT an American sighting distances from the mountains to the sea in 1847 and complained, "They

are measuring our lands and even our mountains; they are all slipping from us -- and where are the Kane.ka.s going to 11 ve , ttl

After the land legislation of 1848 and 1850 the proportion of land

owned by foreigners progressively increased. Sixty-four per' cent

of the government lands sold before 1886 went to foreigners; and

by 1896 they owned 57 per cent of all taxed lands. An additional

large percentage was controlled by lease.

I I I I I I I I I

Such factors caused a growing native resentment against foreign-

ers in general and against the missionaries in particular. This

antipathy against the puritans from New England was shared by the

young and handsomely bearded Kamebameha IV, who formally acceeded to the throne on January 11, 1855. Raised under strict missionary

control, he was intelligent and well educated -. and thoroughly

bored With sermons and temperance lectures. UHaVing been compelled

to be good ,men a boy, tr saclly commented his mentor Dr. Judd. in 1861, "he is determined not to be good vnen a man. ,,2

During a trip abroad while still a youth, the new Idng had de-

veloped a stronG admi~ation for the forms of British government

and church. He dreamed of recreating in Honolulu the aristocratic

glitter of the Court of St. James. On the other hand) his dislike

of·Americans had been sharpened when a conductor on a New York rail-

road had mistaken him for a Negro and ordered him out of the car.

I I I

lStella Jones, "Economic History of Hanalei" (Typewritten" for Communi ty Studies of Kauad , 1945).

2

JuddJ Hawaii, 83.

34

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Thus the reign of ICrunehameba IV marked the end of American missionary predominance in the Hawaiian government. While several of his chief ady! sors were Americans, he gradually drifted away from their influence, and at his death in 1863 there was not a single American in the cabinet. Hd.s closest advisors were British, and his reign resulted in a revival of British ascendency in island politics.

Kamehameha IV's ruJ.e started auspiciously enough. In 1856, at a joyful. ceremony in lCawaiahao Church, he married E:mma. Rooke, andable granddaughter of John Young and a descendant of the Kamehameha line. The early death of their child and other domestic tragedies, hmtever ,soon ended their happiness and turned their minds more deeply toward religion, resulting in the introduction

of the Episcopal Church and its rise to a position of prominence.

Upon the premature death of Kamehameha IV in 1863 he was succeeded by his brother, who toolt the name Kameha.m.eha V. A Hportly

a.nd positive bachelor," the nev ruler was to be the last monarch

to bear the name of the founder of the kingdom. Experienced in

the ways of government, energetic, and capable, he brought to the throne the same pro-British and anti-missionary prejudice \-lh1:ch

had marked his brother's reign. Hore important, he believed he should revive the benevolent despotism of his grandfather, Kamehameha the Great, and rule as an autocrat for the good. of his people.

At his accession he refused to swear to uphold the liberal Constitution of 1852, which, among otber things, provided for universal manbood suffrage. He feared that the vote in the hands of 35

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

the landless would lead to demagoguery, then to a republic, and

then to annexation by the United States. tlHawa.1i has scarcely

emerged from a feudal state," he declared, "and already the American influence pushes us toward a republic. til

When a constitutional conventinn in 1864 failed to produce a document to his liking, he dissolved it. III will give you a Consti-

tution, It he told the members; and a week later he signed a ne"T instrument of government.. It strengthened the royal power and provided property and educational qualifications for legislators and

voters. The missionaries, their noses already out of joint at

being replaced in 1nf'luence by the Anglicans, were dismayed Et this

setback for the American democratic principles they had sponsored. They pointed out with heat that if the king could give a new consti-

tution he could also take it fMay at his whim. Dr. Judd, reflecting

the attitude of the foreigners who realized that they could not

Win influence in the government unless the power of the king were

confined, predicted disorders, but in reality the new constitution proved to be a stabilizing factor and remained in force for 23 years.

T\-ro actions demonstrate the king' s sincere deSire to rule well.

In 1865 he refused to approve a proposed bill uhlch would have re-

moved the penalties for supplying liquor to natives. HI will never

sign the death '\-rn.rrant of' my people, II he announced. During the

same year he Signed the law which resulted in the establishment of a leper colony on Molokai to cope with the scourge which had

appeared some years earlier.

1

A. Grove Day, Hawaii and Its People (New York, 1955), 150.

36

I I I I I I I I I

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·1 I

I I I I

lCamehameha VJ "the last great chief of the olden type, 11 died

in 1872 without a designated heir to succeed him. It was left

for the legislature to select a new Idng from the nobility, but

the people vere given a chance to express their preference at a plebiscite held on January 1, 1873. The popuJ.a.r favorite was Prince W. C. Lunalilo, the large, affable, but also frail and senSitive, bigh chief fam1lia.r11y known to all as "Prince Bill. II His election was almost a foregone conclusion, since the natives responded to

the new responsibility in the traditional manner by giVing their support to the highest ranking chief.. Mourners returning home

from Kamehameha VI s funeral, I1hugging their unfinished gin bottles J II were heard to state that 110f course" Lunalilo would be the next

king. Nevertheless another chief, David Kalakaua, conducted a spirited campaign, urging the people "nob to be led by foreigners" and promising to put native Hawaiians into governmental offices. UnderatBnablYi the foreign residents breathed easier when LunaliloJ lithe People's King,1I was swept into office by a una.nimous vote.

The nev reign opened propitiously as far as the foreign interests ·Here concerned. Luna1110 was friendly to Americans, and they composed the majority of his cabinet. He proposed to abolish property qualifications for voting and took steps toward restoring many provisions of the liberal constitution of 1852. Yet there was an uneasy realization that the precedent of electing the king inaugurated a potential threat, since the numerically superior native population, sho~dng ever-increasing signs of nationalism, might on another occasion vote in an anti-foreign candidate.

37

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One of the most significant facts of Ha"m,iian history is the

paradoXical one that during the very years 1854-1872 when American

I I I

influence was practically eliminated from the government, the

Americanization of Hawaii went on more rapidly than ever before.

This Americanization was partly cultural. The missionaries, the

traders, the sailors had int~oduced American books, American songs,

American customs, and even American holidays. A visitor from the

I

United States noted that "Honolulu is as much an American town as any town 1n this country. ,,1

But even more, AmeriCanization "18S economic. As the influence

of the mi.ssionaries faded, that of the trader and the planter came

to the fore. The two influences combined to forse the Hawaiian

I

society ",hieh existed until World War II.

From the 1830ls until the outbreak of the American Civil War,

I I

I

the principal stimulus to the Hawaiian economy and the greatest

source of lorealth was whaling, an industry almost completely dominated

by .Americans. The peale period of this trade came between 1843 and

1860. The whalers demanded vast quantities of firewood and prodigi-

ous amounts of vegetables, fruit, and meat. Diversified agriculture

I I

I

was stimulatedj and farms flourished on the temperate flanlts of

Haleakala and other mountains.

Then, with the opening shots of the Great Rebellion, this golden

age suddenly ended. The price of beef and other farm products

plummeted, and soon several business houses closed and lett the

I I

islands. Although there "laS a partial recovery of the whaling trade

after the war, the business soon 'tent into a permanent decline due

1

William Adam RUSS, Jr., The Havreiian Revolution (1893-94)

(Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, 1959), 5.

I

38

I I I I I I I' I

• ,

I I I I ,

I I I

to rising costs} depletion of the whaling grounds, competition from petroleum products, and a combination of other causes , Hi th the removal of this last effective spur to general farming, agriculture "ent through an uncertain state of tranSition.. After experiments in sheep, rice,and other products, attention was concentrated on sugar. This latter crop quicluy became Hawaii's new

chief source of uealth, and its domination of the economy led directly to ever closer ties with the United States and, eventually,

to annexation.

The discovery of the crop best suited to Hawaii '6 climate,

labor supply, and market was a long and painful process which brought disaster to many enterprising and hopeful planters. Repeated attempts to develop cotton as a crop and manufacturing industry were made from 1812 until after the CiVil War, but despite promiSing yields Hawaiian cotton could not compete in price with that raised in the southern United States. Coffee was first

planted 00 Oahuabout 1817, then on the Kana Coast of Hawaii, and then, from about 1835 to 1845) on a large scale on Kauai; but

again production proved difficult and uneconomical. The CalifOrnia Gold Rush provided a ready market for white potatoes and other vegetables, but the boom soon collapsed. vllieat, Silk, rice, tobacco,

and even pineapples vere other crops which were tried but·'.rhlch·'fallred to provide a solid baSis for the island economy.

Only cattle raising proved able to compete ~dth sugar as a longrange, large-scale agricultural enterprise. Livestock introduced by Vancouver and other mariners increased rapidly in the Hawaiian

39

I I I I I I I I

• I

I I I I I I

I I

environment until they actually became a hazard to agriculture. Ranching '\-las one form of labor "1ilich the Hawaiians entered into ,lith joy; and before 1830 they had absorbed the techniques of the cowboy from vaqueros brought in from Mexico and California. Between 1850

and 1870, particularly, the industry developed rapidly, both on ranches olmed by wbites and native chiefs and on government lands where cattle ran "Tild. The roughness of the mountain slopes used by the cattlemen prevented the ranges from being absorbed by the expanding sugar industry, but at the same time the ca.pacity of the ranges was compara·tively fixed. Thus the cattle industry reached maturity by the early 1870's, and production was relatively stable during the remainder of the century.

Meanwhile, sugar had been coming to the fore. Cook had found sugar cane growing wild and being cultivated by the natives on a

small scale in 1778, aod from that time many foreign residents and viSitors dreamed of becoming rich through sugar cultivation. A Chinese Visitor on Lanai is said to have produced a little sugar as early as 1802; and there are records of sugar manufacture by crude methods on Oabu in 1819 and through the 1820's on both that island and on 14aui. An enterprising but tubercular English agriculturist named John Wilkinson set out 100 acres of cane in Manoa Valley in 1825 under the patronage of the local governor, but he soon died; and his successors, maldng rum from the product, ran afoul of the missionary influence and sav their fields forcibly planted to sweet potatoes.

Such early ventures were of little commercial importance. The real. beginning of the sugar industry came in 1835 when Peter Allan Brinsmade, William Ladd., and William Hooper ~ - all New Englanders 40

I I I I

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I I I I I I I I I

I I

with missionary connections who had come to Honolulu in 1833 to establish a umercantile trading house" -. decided that the greatest commercial opportunities in the islands lay in agriculture. Under the name of !.add & Co. they leased 980 acres of land at Koloa, on the island of l(auai, and established I1Hawaii I s first large-scale sugar plantation. 11

After overcoming many obstacles J the young manager, Vli11iam Hooper, got his fields and the accompanying mill in successful production, only to see the whole enterprise lost when the firm overextended itself financially. But in 1848 the Koloa Plantation came into the ownership of Dr. Robert lJ. vTood, who amply demonstrated that sugar production could be profitable. Ladd & Co. inaugurated the Hawaiian practice of operating and financing plantations by central agencies in Honolulu; and the methods devised by Hooper for housinG and caring for laborers set a pattern which was followed by the entire industry for more than

a century.

The Koloa Plantation stimulated other ventures in sugar throughout the islands. Hith land ownership made possible by the Great Mahele, there soon followed the period in which IIbard-driving missionaries and sons of missionaries, Yankee sea captains and whalers, II

and enterprising Gel~n, Irish, British, and Norwegian imnugrants started plantations and the mercantile houses which v rent with them. Sugar production increased rapidly, vdth exports riSing from a reported 2 tons in 1837 to 288 tons in 1840 and 722 in 1860. These quantities were in addition to those consumed locally and to the

very substantial amounts of molasses exported. By 1.86.1 there were 22 41

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I I

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plantations in operation, and production, stimulated by high prices during the Civil War, boomed. By 1865 exports were up tenfold, to 7,659 tons. In 1875 they amounted to 12)540 tons.

This expansion was made possible only by a number of technical improvements ,.,hich enabled He:wa.iian sugar to compete with that grown in the Philippines and in other countries where labor or transportation costs were Lower , The first major irrigation ditch was placed in operation at Lihue, Kaual, in 1856; better varieties of cane stocks were imported; and a deep plow, centrifugal machines, steam pover , large-scale fertilization, the vacuum pan, and a number of other innovations were introduced during the 1850's and 186o's.

It quicJ:.l.y became apparent that sugar 1-TaS a big busdne sa, requiring large quantities of capital for large-scale operations and improvements. There was no chance for the small farmer in sugar. Producing sugar was also an integrated operation) requiring mills close to the fields. Thus a trend toward centralized control and toward larger and fewer plantations eventually developed.

In the early days of the industry individua.l planters generally attempted to market their sugar through sea captains; and they ordered their supplies, machinery) and equipment directly from the sources) often from the United States or Europe. But plantation managers had little time for such commercial ~Btters, and gradually they entrusted these functions to the Honolulu mercantile houses \-lith 1'/hich they did business. The traders, left at loose ends by the decline of whaling, were glad to find new occupations; and those i·lith capital soon began to finance the continuously expanding plantations. In this manner

42

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developed the agency system which became such a characteristic feature of Hawaiian economy.

One of' the first factors was Hackfeld 11 Company, a. German-financed firm which was reorganized as American Factors, Ltd., during the

first World Har. Another old firm, C. Brevler & Company,. Ltd., became the agent for 3 plantations in 1863 and quickly found sugar

llmore profitable than wha.1eships.11 Other prominent agencies which have survived vere Thea. H. Davies &: Com;pany, Ltd.; and Castle & Cooke, Ltd., which originated in 1851. These four firms, together ,dth Alexander & Ba.1dwin, Ltd., which began informally in the 1870's, later comprised the "Big Fivel1 sugar agencies which came to dominate the industry.

Another important outgrowth of the expansion in sugar production was the mass importation of' foreign laborers to 'lork the plantations. This movement eventually resulted in the Hawaiians becoming a minority group in their Olm land, and it vitally affected the social, political, and economic life of the islands.

The difficulty of obtaining an adequate supply of efficient -which to the plantation managers often meant cheap and servile -labor was a major ha.ndicap to the industry from the outset. The native Ha,·m.iians, as their services as sailors and cowboys demonstrated, could be superb wor'ker-s when they chose to be, but they displayed little enthusiasm for the steady, backbreav..i.ng toil required for successfUl cane raising and harvesting. The declining population contributed to the problem~ and some persons feared that a severe labor shortage was in the offing. One foreigner stated in 1863, "Unless we get more population, we are a. doomed nation. Ii

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·1

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The Btl tish-born Hawaiian foreign minister expressed doubt that

the native race could "withstand the shock which the overwhelming wave of Anglo-Saxon energy, enterprise, and cupidity has given it.1I

La~iS against the emigra.tion of natives. and providing for contract labor demonstrate that the situation Wa~ taken seriously.

,. .... '

The earliest Chinese contract labor~rs vere members of a group

. ,

of about 300 coolies imported during 1652. Their reception by

the planters was at first enthuSiastic.. They were "quite, able, and willing men, II it was reported, and by the end of' 1865, 1,306

of them had been brought to the islands. Soon, hO"Tever, there began to be complaints. In addition to a rrconsiderable disposition

to hang themselves, If the newcomers tended to drif't off the planta-

tiona when their contracts expired, entering into t!distressful

competition with the ,·,h1tes and Hawaiians as merchants, store- 1

keepers, mechanics, and artisans. II They also displayed "cunning"

by beginning to press for "advantages. n

Disenchanted, the planters and the Hawaiian government began

to seek more docile \lorkers. Agents probed the distant corners

of the earth, With far~reaching results. South Sea islanders were

tried, unsuccessfully. In 1868 a group of 148 Japanese was recruited by the Hawaiian consul in Japan. The importation of Portuguese

began in 1878; and large-scale recruitment of Japanese started about 1885. Between 1877 and 1890 about 55,000 laborers 'fere

brought into the islands. By the la.tter yea.r the total population of' 90,000 included 15,OOOC4inese, 12,000 Japanese, aJ;ld 9,000

por;uguese. AS t~le worker.? in each nationality group cecaee

1

Ivlorgan, ~. ill.} 190 •

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aclimated, they showed more independence; and thus the Chinese,

Japanese, and Portuguese successively fell into disfavor, and the planters sought new sources of labor. The employers gradually

developed an interest in recruiting worl~ers of mixed races who "eoukd less readily unite over issues of "rages or work conditions. ,,1 This burgeoning mercantile and agricultural economy was snugly 1n American hands. In 1844) four of the six. general or commission

merchants in Honolulu were American; and of 1.5 other shops, 11 were operated by Americans. Not even the powerful Hudson I s Bay Company _M whose Honolulu agency, opened in 1834, was called

Aienui, lithe big debt," by the natives who ran up large bills there could restore the old British ascendancy, although ita operations were aggressively competeti ve. The whaling busmeas of the 18110' s to 1.860' s was la.rgely American, and in 1863 the America.n Minister in Honolulu reported that at least 80 per cent of Hawaii's foreign

commerce \>Tas under American control.

The same condition came to prevail in the dominant sugar indus w

try. In 1893 the capitalization of all the inco~orated sugar interests in the islands amounted to $28,274,000. Of this total value, $21,554 .. 975, or mole than two-thirds, 1ms controlled by

Americans and Hs\re.iianMborn Americans. British interests, amonnt « ing to only $4,303,218, "Tere a poor second. Equally significant

vms the fact that the United States was the chief market for Hawaiian sugar. By 1875 Ha:waii was annually exporting about 24,000,000

pounds of sugar to the United States and only about 1,000,000

pounds to all other nations. Such economic facts shaped the course

1

Morgan, ~. cit., 191.

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of Hawaiian political and social history from the 1860's until the

annexation of the islands to the United States.

This economic situation explains why the foreigners, chiefly

Americans, were determined to exert a stronger influence in the Hawaiian government after the death of the autocratic Kamehameha V in 1872. The chief bar to their greater prosperity was the American tariff on sugarj and as early as 1848 they began a long campaign to

persuade t.J'ashington to sign a reciptocity treaty which would aQroit

Hawaiian.grown sugar and other articles without duty. Such a treaty

could oot be obtained Without the cooperation of the Hawaiian government • Alec, the approval of the royal government \as required for the

continued importation of contract labor; and further, the merchants

and planters wanted a stable, responsible~ and econondcal government

to assure preservation of property rights.

It is not surpriSing, thereforeJ that many American residents came to feel the annexation to the United States was the only sound solution to their problem. In February, 1873, a Honolulu

newspaper reported that there was "unquestionably" a. large party, "respectable in point of' wealth and position, that 1s no'" openly and 1

earnestly advocating ••• annexation. 11 But the time was not yet

ripe for such a measure.

The foreigners were somewhat reassured by the pro-American leanings and liberal tendencies displayed by King Lunal1lo upon

his accession in 1873; but after only a year and 25 days in office he died early in 1874. Like his predecessor, he had refused to name

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an heir; and the throne was again to be filled by vote of the legislature. Nany foreigners were dismayed by the instability of the

situation. In later years some of them fancied that after the extinction of the Kamehameha line, they had permitted Hal'l'aii lito

continue the monarchical form of government 8S a matter of courtesy 1.

rather than right. II But in fact they lTere still too weak to end

the monarchy and had to settle for supporting the candidate who

seemed least dangerous to their interests.

There uere two contenders: Prince Ke.lakaua, the nationalistic chief who had been defeated by Lunalilo in 1873; and Queen Dowager

Emma, ,lido", of lCamehameha IV. Though loved and respected by both

natives and foreigners, Queen Emma was believed by many to be favor-

able to England; and it was feared that her accession would reduce

chances for a reciprocity treaty with the United States. Thus the

Americans, in the cabinet and out, iDterefered to assure the e~ection of Kalakaua. Sanford B. Dole later said that the little steamer,

the Kilauea, owned by an American, was sent around the island's to collect the legislators before popular support could crystallize

behind Queen Emma; and at an election held only 9 days after Lunalilo's death, Kalakaua was duly chosen as king.2

Hhen the results tTere announced to the c rovd outside the courf>-

bouse in Honolulu, an angry roar, lias thougb a stick had been

twisted in a giant beehive, 11 rose from Queen Emma's supporters;

and a riot of joyful ferocity ensued. Order was restored by marines

l· --

Honolulu Commercial Advertiser as quoted in Russ, op. ~., 18.

2Sanford B. Dele, Memoirs of the Hawaiian Revolution (Honolulu, 1936), 34-37.

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landed from American and British warships in the harbor, but the fundamental weakness of the monarchy had been exposed for all to see, and a precedent of armed interference to protect foreign inter~ eats had been established.

Kalakaua at first cooperated with the Americans who had assisted him 10 power. Ilia io1 tisl cabinet was formed of honest and able

men acceptable to the foreign conununity. And when in June, 1871+,

he received a petition from nearly every important factor, merchant, and planter in the kingdom requesting him to negotiate a reciprocity treaty with the United States, he responded favorably. In fact,

he went to Washington himself lito throw his ample bulk and jolly natiure " behird the official Hat-taiian envoys charged with negotiating the treaty.

The Grant administration and Congress proved not particularly receptive to the proposal despite a barrage of Hawaiian propoganda. The Hawaiians pointed to indications that Great Bri ta.1n might be building up her interests in the islands. Having sent about a

third of their sugar to Australia, New Zealand, and British Columbia in l873~ they threatened to send their entire crop to the British colonies in 1875-1876. But the Hawaiian market was too small to tempt the United States into a reciprocity treaty; and Louisiana sugar planters and Neu· Englanders trading in Hest Indian sugar fought the measure with tooth and nail.

In the end it apparently was the pOlitical arguments uhich pre~ vailed. Senator George Sewell Boutwell of Massachusetts pleaded,

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"If ne reject this treaty we transfer these islands either to

France or Great Brita.in, and we diminish our lllBrkets, we diminish

our political power, we limit the influence of our institutions, we circumscribe American ideas. 111 And, as finally approved, the treaty contained a clause which gave the United States ultimate

control over HavTaii r s foreign policy by proViding that J as long

as the agreement should remain in effect, the kingdom should not

lease or othervdse dispose of any port or territory, or grant any special rights or privileges therein, to any other nation.

This reciprocity treaty, which went into effect on September 9, 1876, has been termed lithe moat important event in the last t'Y1enty

2

years of' the Hawaiian Kingdom. n Perhaps these words are an under-

statement. The treaty was certa1nJ.y the first firm and positive

step toward annexation. It placed HallB.ii firmly in the political and economic orbit of the United States, remqving the possibility of

foreign control and so inextribably bindingthe kingdomls economy with that of the United States that union was virtually inevitable.

And the treaty had another significa.nt effect. It resulted

in a tremendous and sudden boom in the sugar industry. No,\-, sugar became lias profitable as gold mines we re only hoped to be. 113

lJudd, Hawaii, 95. 2

!£!!!., 93

3rmrgan) 01'. ~.) 214.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

About 20,000 acres of additional land were put in production within 6 years. Sugar output more than doubled in 4 years •. Fresh capital

flowed into the islands, and vast improvements, such as the Hamal~ Ditch on Maui, were undertaken to swell production still further.

l'fithin 15 years tonnage had increased tenfold, and thereafter it doubled every 10 years. In ~891 the kingdom sent 274,983,295 pounds of sugar to the United States and only 285 po mds to the

rest of the vTorld.

By 1898 nearly tlro~thirds of a.ll labor in Hawaii "ms employed

on sugar plantations. All other enterprises took second place to sugar. Sugar was king. Taro patches, small home plots,

coffee plantations, rice fields -- all were sY/all't:med ·up befote advancing sugar, with widespread social and economic effects. Cbse~these conditions. one contemporary histOrian could only say, "sugaz- engrosses everything.ltl The social and economic leadersh1p "lhich once had belonged to the chiefs and then to the m1ssion-

aries had passed to the planters.

1

Russ, op , ~.J 33.

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Chapter V

"Tbis Party .. spi rt ted Settlement"

The Bawa11an sbip of state did not reach the safe harbor of Un! ted States proteet1on, assured by the reeiproc.1 ty treaty of 1876, wi. thout passing through :many squalls and narrowly escap ... ing capture by European powers. Yet, a. review of her progress through the stormy seas of foreign relations reveals that for nearly a century she had been steering a general course in the direction of the American Republic.

The first Europeans to touch the Hawaiian Islands were struck by the apparent happiness of the DQ.t1ves and sensed that Western c1V1Uzat1on and rule would introduce a blight into this idyllic Eden. Ca.pta.:Ln Cook expressed the hope that foreign governments would not be established over the Pacific isles, and he mde no att~t to take possession of the Hawaiian chain for Great Britain.

The French explorer" the Count de !a Perouse" was even more empbat1c in voicing bis views. Anchoring his two frigates off southern Ml.ui, this great navigator who had aided the Americans during their war for 1udependence, sent a force a.shore on Mly 30 J 1786. Evidently his men were the first Europeans to set foot on M3.ui, but La. Perouse none the less refused to take possession in

the name of the king of France. "The customs of EUropeans on such eccaatens are completely ricl1culous," he commented in his joUl'nal.; he preferred to leave to the sovereignty of its own people an island "fert1l1zed by the pa.1Dful. exertions of its 1nllab1ta.nts, and for

51

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1 many ages the tomb of their ancestors."

But sueh humani ta.r1.an reflections of the Age of Enlightenment d:Ld not long preve.1l. When the English eXplorer George Vancouver touehed the islands during 1792-1794 he f!P.ve Kanahameha. some Bound advice and ~ren assisted the king in effecting a. reconciliation With bis favorite Wife. The native ruler was so impressed with English wisdom and rectitude that, 'With the consent of his chiefs, he offered to plaee the island of Ba.~i under British protection. Vancouver promptly p"cce:yted the "cession" and hoisted the British flag. Probabl.y the k1cg had merely intended to obtain a Brit1sh protectorate in order to strengthen his hand against his enemies; and, 1n a:ny event, the Brit1sh government never confirmed the action. The only long-range result was to create a somewhat be.zy tradition of British pre-em1l1ence in the 1slands.

A more serious a.ttempt to bring the islands under European ru1e was made two decades later when the Russian bear stretched out a paw from Alaska. and nearly snatehed up Rawa.ii. Seeking foodstuffs for its northern settl.ements" the Russ1an American Company began to send trading ships to the islands a.bout 1.807; and there is evidence that at least as early as 1809 the Russ1ans were thinking about .making a settlement there. The idea of a protectorate

lrethurln Dondo, La Perouse in Mau1 (~Ie.11uku, M3.u1, 1959), 45. 52

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

apparently was in the minds of at least some Russian merchants and officials.

At any rate" Dr. Georg Anton Scheffer, an overambitious and overbea.r1og company agent" persuaded the king of Kaua.i in 1816 to gre.nt extensive priVileges on that island and on Oahu to the Russians; and soon the Russian flag was waving over two forts on Kauai. Ala.rmed by Schefter's activities and encouraged to take action by J!mer1ca.n traders, Kamebameba bad Scheffer expelled in

1817. Scheffer's bungling caused the Russians to disavow bis actions. The govemment policy apparently became ene of waiting for a more propi tioua moment; but the intervention of American interests to counteract the COIDpan;y-' s move was an indication that a chance for effective Russian action would never again appear.

The arrival of the first American whal.ers in 1819 and the

coming of the missionaries during the next yea:r were to lead quiekly to American pre-eminence 1n island. affairs. The first official Un11jed States representative was dispatched to Hawaii 1n 1820. One result was the l1egotiat1on of a treaty of naVigat10n and f'riend-

abip in 1826, but the agreement was not rat1fied by the United States. However I the convention was notable as being the first international. compact s1gned by liawaii" and the kingdom long continued to abide

by 1 ts terms.

British and French iaterests did not intend to l.et the merican bid for power go uncballenged. Great Br1t~in strengthened the old traM tion of a.ll1ance by showering attentions on the Hawaiian mona.rchs. In 1822 a. six-gun schooner vas donated to the ktngdomj and

53

I

( ,

"/

-

-.

.._ -

•

.., ..,

I"~

__ Pl;\i'J_ lIf

I)

Jt u

o ']{ '1'

Plan of Old Russian Fort built in UUi' at Waimea, Kauai, as drawn in 18gS.

-_"

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

and in 1824 King Liholilo and his consort were feted in London. After the unfortunate deaths of the royal couple, their bodies were returned in state aboard a British frigate.

France found an opportun1 ty to interfere when the Hawa.11an kingdom banned Catholic priests. The French government considered itself the protector of Cathol1c miSSionaries in the Pacific and

chose to believe that the Hawaiians bad committed a national. a.ffront. Captain C. P. T. Laplace was dispatched in the 6o-gun frigate .Artem1se

with orders to use force, if necessary, to demonstrate lithe wrath of France. IT Arriving off Honolulu in 1839, he trained his guns on the town and compelled the authorities to slgn a trea.ty recognizing Catholicism, permitting importation of French merebandise, including liquors, and giV1ng French lawbreakers the right of trial. by Juries of foreigners. Laplace duly noted the increasing American influence and reported to bis superiors that lithe Sandwich Islands will belong

1 some day to the masters of California. If

FolloWing this inCident, continued blusterings and intrigues by French civil1ans and officials convinced many Hawaiian residents,

both native and fore1gn, tba.t France woul.d lltake the first reaaona.b~e opportunity, to reduce the islands to subJectioo.n2

~oster Rhea Dulles, America in the PaCific (Boston, 1932)" 149.

2Gustavus Hines, Life 00 the Plains of the Pacific (Buffalo, 1851) ,,84.

I I I

Richard. Charlton, the Brit1sh Consul, seemed determined to

bring Hawa1i under the rule ot his government, and he stirred up a dispute over a land cJ..aim With the object .. it seemed to many,

of inducing Great Br1 tain to Intervene 1n Hawaiian a.ffa.1rs. These

I I

maneuverings" a.s well as the continued. contests among the citizens

of several. na.tlons for control of' the royal government .. gave an un-

usual bitterness to the rival.r1es of trade. Business and polle1es

I

in Honolu1u were conducted 1n an atmosphere of' "short-tempered bickering/ recr1m1na.t1on" and wh1te .. hot argument.

I I

The officials of the Hudson t s Bay Company adVised their representa ... ti ves in the islands to avoid entanglements in these poll ticaJ. squabbles but admitted that detacbment probably was impossible.

During a visit to Honolulu in 1842 Sir George Simpson .. the Company's

I

American governor, a.ssessed the Situation. "I am not quite clear,"

I I

he wrote to his traveling compan1on .. "that during the fortnight we have been here, we have escaped being contaminated by the ·political a.tmosphere of Ws party ... spir! ted Settlement. It~

I I I

Thoroughly alarmed by the foreign threa.t and torn by the result-

ant internal d1ssenBio~, the royal government dispatched a missioa

to the United States, France, and Great Britain to negotiate treatles recognizing Hawa.11an independence. Sailing in mid.1842, the commissioners first vis1ted Wa.sh1ngton~ There they found that the United

I

I

~E. E. Rich (ed.) ~ The Letters of John McLougbliQ ••• Second Series, 1~-44 (Hudson's Bay Record Soc1.ety Publications .. VI; London, 1 3), 280.

I

55

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States was already alert to the importance of the islands to American wbaUng and trading operations. Although there was yet no disposition to aaaex such e. distant land, the country was determ:l.ned to protect 1 ts groWing interests in the islands and would not restrict its f'I'eedom of action by joining other nations in a convention guaranteeing Hawaiian independence. Secretary of State Webster announced that the United States was more interested in the islands than any other country could be, and he deelared that Haw.a11 should not be brought under the exclusive control of any foreign power.

PreSident Tyler later amplified this statement by announcing that while the United States did not intend to acquire the islands, it would view With dissatisfaction any a.ttempt by another Dation to take possession. This bold stand, taken at a time when the United States had not yet expanded its boundaries to the Pacific, was the

II first official indication!! that live considered American relations With the islands in a somewhat different eategory from the relations between Hawaii and the rest of the world.ul

The Wisdom of the Hawaiian m1.Bs1on was soon evident. In AUgust, 1.842, a French warship arrived, and her commander, Captain S. Mallet, made demands wbieh woul.d virtua.lly bave given French residents a

1

Dulles-, 2R,. ill.." 150.

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eontroll1ng influenoe in the government. The king refused. to yield" stating that a nev treaty 'With France was to be negotiated. Captain

Msllet apparently hesitated to act under these circumstances, and he soon departed.

Another and more serious test quickly oocurred. British consul Charlton bad complained. that British sUbJects in Honolulu, including himself, bad been treated unfairly by the Hawaiian government; and during February, l843, Captain Lord George Paul.et in B..M.S. Chrysfort a.rrived to force satisfaction. The demands made by this condescending

young man With ftshort chestnut hair curl1ng all over his head" were so drast1c that no sovereign power could have accepted them. He refused to be put off by pleas tba.t a treaty was even then under negotiation

in london; and it appeared to all that he was determined to force

annexation.

Powerl.ess to fight back a.ge.1nst the Carz_sfort IS threa.tened broadsides, the Hawaiian monarch made a. shrewd move. Undoubtedl.y upon the adVice of tbe former missionary, Dr. Gerr1t Judd, he offered to cede bis kingdom to Great Brita.1n temporarily until the affair could be referred to London. Paulet fell into the trap and accepted the

cession. The Hawai1an flag was replaced by the standard of Great

Bri tain, and Bri t1sh forces marched into the fort in Honolulu. ThEt r

band loudly played the air, IIIsle of Beauty, fa.re thee well,,11 a "refinement of crueltyll which" said Mrs. Judd, II could only ema.n.a.te from 1

a. woman."

1

JUdd" Hawaii" 64.

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For five months Paulet rule~ the islands in a. h:Lgb.-banded tasb1.on.

Meanwhile, Bawa.11an appeals fol' aid went both to the United states and Gree.t Britain. The Amer1~ government shot off 8. protest to . London, the .American minister ~ere being told that the tJn1ted States might feel Justified "1n: interfering by force" to prevent the isla.nds from tlfall1ng 1nto the ~ds of one of the great powers of

Eur ,,1

ope. Farly in July the U. S. s. Constellation appeared in

Honolulu, and Commander I.e.wrence Kes.rney protested Paul.et 1 s action and saluted the Hawa1ian flag.

Meanwhile Rear Admiral Richard Thomas, commander of the Br1 tish Pacific squadron, had ascertained that Great Britain had no deSire to interfere in the Hawaiian government, and he hastened to Honolulu

to take corrective measures. He repuCl1ated Paulett s action, and at

a. col.orfUl ceremony on Jul.7 31 the Hawaiian flag was once more raised

to the breeze. The k1ng and the cb1.efs celebrated the restoration of' sovereignty by repa.1r1ng to Kawa.18,bao Church tor prayer; and the

eommoners went 011 a. ten-day" spree which, reported a seaman named BermaD. Melville, ube8S$rs description."

During the same year, France and Great Britain concluded agree-

menta to recognize Hawaiian independence; and the Un1ted States sent a. full .. fledged dipl.cma.tic agent to the islands, a.t the same time reaffirming America's vital interest in an independent Hawaii. In 1849

1

Dulles, 22- ~., 153.

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a treaty of friendship and commerce between Hawaii and the Un! ted States was signed and, this time, ratified.

This "complete recoguitionll ot trawaiian independence came almost as another French assault was being made on island sovereignty. After a series of troubles between the ehauv1m.stic French cousul and Hawaiian authorities, Rear Admiral L. de Tromel1n landed troops

in Honolulu and extensively damaged government bUildings to demonstrate that France intended to Enforce its demands. He sailed away, but another French warship arrived in lB51 and repeated the demands. Th:l.s time Kamebameha. In ga.ve the American Commissioner a sealed, provisional deed of session to be opened and acted upon shOuld the French f'la.g be raisedi and the U. S.S. Vandalia prepa.red to defend the American banner sbould it be boisted. The French tound it convenient to modify their demands and Withdraw.

This event marked the end of French attempts to dominate the islands by cannonballs. By 1850 it was becoming apparent to European observers that if Hawaii were to lose its independence it would be to the United States. Lord Pa.lJnerston 1s said to have told a. Hawaiia.n delegat10n in that year tbat a.nnexation to the Urdted States was tithe destiny of the Hawai1an Islands, ar1dng from their prox1m1ty to the State of California and Oregon and natur.al dependence on those

1 markets."

The American State Department protested both of France' s last demonstrations of force at Honolulu, but the Wbig administration

•

•

lDulles, !?R. cit., 157 .

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under President Fillmore was not expansionist 1n temperament and hasteaed tc hand back the 1851 deed Of sessiO!1. The return of the l>emoerats to power in 1853" however" brought 8. change in policy.. The Un1ted States at th:l.s time was show1D8 an intensified interest 1n the Pacific, and Commodore Perry was recommending naval. bases in the distant reaches of that sea. Public opinion on the Pacific Coa.st opeol.y a.gt tated for annexation of the Hawai1an Islands, and for a while there were rumors that California res1dents might take matters 1nto their 0\lJl bands through fil1bustering expeditions. Secretary"

of State William L. MarcY', determ:l.ned to keep the eagle soariog after the expansion to Texas, Oregon, and California, instructed the minister in Paris to sound out the sentiment of the French government toward an American annexation of Hawaiij and early in 1854 he directed. the Pmerican commiSSioner in Honolulu 1Ito treat-II for the transfer of

the islands to the United States.

Mea.nwb:l.le .. sent:l.ment for annexation 'WaS being fanned in Honolulu.

Ever Since the lltine hand" c.f' the king' 8 pro-mnerican advisors had been made evident by the sealed cession document of' 1851, the American party had pressed annexat10n on Kanmebameba III. Disturbed by the declining population, fears of European domination, threats of fil1- busters, and other discouraging c1reumstauees which seemed to press him on every band, the king expressed a w:l.ll.1ngness to abd1.ca.te and ordered bis foreign minister to open negotiations with the American commissioner.

A trea.ty of annexat10n was actual.ly prepared, but action was delayed by Bawaiian 1nsi~tence on being admitted to the Union as a

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state and on pajlmetl.t of an annual pension of $300,000 by the United States to the king and prine1pal chiefs. It was believed tbat the

statehood proVi aion was 1aserted by pro-English advisors who were determined to defeat annexation. At any rate, all iIlImediate hope of ratification ended on December 15, 1854 when Kamebameba. III

died. H1s ant1-Alner:lcan successor, Crown Prince Alexander, was

known to be entirely unrecept1 ve to the idea of bargaining away

his right to rule.

Although this "first rehearsa1" for annexation came to naught,

Secretary &roy tr:led to salvage something by negotiating a rec1- proc1 ty treaty tor trade in 1855. lJhe Senate refused to approve

it, la.rgely due to the die-hard opposition of Louisiana sugar

grcnters.

Following the C:I. vil War the Sta. te Department was again in the bands of an expansionist, William H. Seward. In 1867 he cautiously

advised the American minister 1n Honolulu that he might "receive

overturesl1 looking toward annexation, but there was no popular

support for such a move. A frustrated Sewa.rd was left to rail. at

the public's absorption With domestic matters to the exclu~ion

n of the higher but more remote questions of national extension and

d1 ... ,,1

aggran ~emen". Another reciprocity treaty was defeated during

the same yee:r beea.use the Senate waG too busy With Reconstruction,

and, it seems, because certain senators feared that reciprocity

might block ultimate annexation.

1 Dulles, _2P. e1t., 162.

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Although the American. public a.ppea.red to have lost interest

111 II M:I.n1fest Dest1ny't during the l860 I 8 and 1870 IS, there was a bard core of expansionists who loDked forward to advancing the frontier into the Pacific. Even President Johneon advoeated reciprocity as a guaranty ot American 1bterests "unt11 the people of the islands ebaU of themselves, at one distant day, voluntarily apply for admission 1nto the Union. II In 1873 Generals John M. Schofield and B. S. Alexander recom.ended the acctUis1tion of Pearl Ha.rbor for both commercial and stratesic reasons.

As a. matter of fact, it was expanSionists who provided much of the opposition to the reciproc1 ty treaty vb1ch was BUbmi tted in

1875. It was largely to mollify these people who feared ratification we.uld block annexation tbat the clause giving the United States control. of Hawaiian fore1gn policy was inserted. Only then was the opposi t10n placated; and the treaty 'Wa.6 ratified ill 1876 1n the belief that it pe.ved the ~ for future annexation.

Another step in American elQ;lSl1s1on toward Hawaii was made when the reciproe1ty trea.ty ~ame up for renewal in 1884. Senate a.pproval. was aot obtained unti~ 1887 and then only after Hawaii agreed to

give the United States exclusive right to use invaluable Pearl. Harbor as a naval. base.

Both England and Franee protested the Pearl Barbor cessioa and proposed a Joint declaration gue.rantee1Dg Hawaiian neutral! ty and independence. This suggestion came during the very year in which the UD1ted States had. proposed a similar tripartite 8.1're.ngement for control of Samoa, yet We.sb1ngtoa refused to consider 1 t. Secretary of

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State Bayal-d umade it clea.r that we coul.d a.dmit of no foreign restraint upon our Hawaiian policy whatever course we chose to adopt. III

As James G. Blaine bad declared in l.88l., Hawaii had become "an 1ntegral part of the Amer::1 can system, we coul.d never consent to share what responsi bill ty we bad" a.nd our posi t10n in the iSla.nds had to be maintained both because of our duty to the Hawaiians and because the islands represented the key to dominion of the Pacific. Benevolent

neutrality rather than annemt10n or a protectorate was our pOlley, he concluded, but should this be found impracticable 'this Government would then unhes1tatlnglymeet the altered situation by seeking an avowedl.y Amer1can solution. 1112 AlthoUE;h many Hawa.:l.ians did not yet recognize it" their homeland was nO longer an independent nation;

~es" 2R_. ~., 164. 2Dulles, ~~ .2!i., 164.

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Chapter VI

"Annexation ••• is Consur.amation"

An aura of good feeling surrounded the Ha'ffiiian throne early in 1875 when gracious) imposing ICing Kalalca.ua returned from his gala Visit to Washington, where his presence had done so much to create a favorable atmosphere for the reciprocity negotiations. But the IIMerry Monarch 1811 honeymoon with his foreign subjects quickly ended. Soon he beganto act as it' he did not realize that American influence was predominant in the islands and as if he bad forgotten that American support had given him his crown.

A legislative act of 1874 had restored universal suffrage, with the result that the native Hawaiians found themselves possessed of an overYThelming majority of the votes. Although personally demo~ cratic as ",ell as kingly., Kal.a.kaua saw in this situation an oppor~ tunity to revive the old chiefly tradi tiOD of personal rule. He aiso hoped to restore the dominant position of the Hawaiian race and to reduce the influence of the foreigners Whom, as a class, he heartily disliked. For more than a decade he skillfully appealed to the mass of voters and through his personal prestige, patronage, and catchwords was able to vdeld universal suffrage to great effect as a weapon of political control.

In 1876 Kalalw.ua took a step which foreshadO\.ed one of the chief evils of his reign. As was his constitutional right, he dismissed

his cabinet and replaced it by a new set of ministers. These men were oapable, but the action set a precedent vUllch \~s subject to abuse,

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as lias proved t",o years later when 'the cabinet was again dismissed because it bad refused to grant water rights on Maui to sugar magnate Claus Sprecltels, who had won Kalakaua' 5 good will through a personal loan. In 1880 the king once more overturned the ministry to place an Italian adventurer~ Celso Caesar Moreno, at its head. Public outcry at this betrayal of "t.he principles of constitutional monarchy" was so great that Moreno was constrained to resign; but Kalakaua continued his habit of frequenty seeking ministers ever more amenable to his will, and whims.

The sugar boom "hich follovred reciprocity brought revenues pouring into the royal treasury in quantities Ilalmost sufficient" to meet the liing1s natural extravagence. One result of this prosperity ,TaS the decision to build a "proper" palace in Honolulu, and the cornerstone of the elaborate, "Polynesian baroquel1 1olan1 Palace was laid in 1879. Another splurge made possible by reciprocf.t y i,taS ICalakaua' s gala trip around the world in 1881.

The thrifty puritans cf the "Missionary Party,'1 as the leading foreign clique in Ha\m.1i was known despite the fact that fe\T of its members had been missionaries, were shocked by Kalakaua' s ,dId expendi tures • Yet even the Americans were at first inclined to look on tolerantly as the monarch ordered two je'~led crowns reputed to cost $10,000 apiece or purchased a battery of Austrian field guns for a reported $21)000. The tendency was to excuse such extravagences as merely expressions of the Idngts naturally high spirits, for it \18.S difficult to dislike this ebullient monarch who could I

., -t

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discuss archeaology and arts with Henry Adams lias well as though he had been a professor, nand 'tfho could carry his liquor) according to his friend Robert Louts Stevenson) "like a mountain with a sparrow on its shoukder-s ;"

But after the king returned trom his royal progress through the courts of the world) his actions became increasingly irresponsible and were no longer vie\'red with tolerant amusement. Expenditures such as the $30,000 appropriation for Kalal~ua's elaborate coronation ceremony in 1883 seemed less harmless as time went on and as the national debt pushed up to beyond $2,000,000. The king fell under the influence

of adventurers and opportunists who used their positions as royal drinking companions and poker game opponents to wangle favors, concessions, and government offices. One I1rare and slick rascal!!

named Walter Hurray Gibson actually controlled the Hai-re.iian government for five years.

Encouraged by G1b~on t S selfish flattery, l(alakaua began to dream of becoming Empcerar of Polynesia. To mal{e a show of force in the South Pacific he ,·rested $50,000 outfitting a warship for a disastrous voyage to Samoa. This rash venture was an outgro,·rth of Kalakaua's increasing racism. Such slogans as 1IHawaii for the Hawaiians II we re employed by Gibson and the king to rally native support behind the throne and to thwa.rt foreign residents who ~rished

to reform the Government.

Viewed in the most charitable light, Kalakaua was an imprudent ruler. As scandals and corruption continued to rl1B.rk his reign., he took no effective measures to correct the situation. Such lit rivial II

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abuses as illegal land leases and the sale of public offices were even extended to include the marketing of exemptions which permitted lepers to escape exile to Molokai. The larger scandals included the repeal of the li~uor laws and the sale of an opium monopoly. Several of the questionable transactions touched the ruling sugar interests

to the quicl.... In 1882 the legislature permitted Claus Spreckels,

an "outsider, tt to acquire 24,000 acres of crown land on I>1aui in settlement of a claim for a mere $10,000. The government also granted a subsidy to a Spreckels steamship line. By making loans

to the King, Spreckels, who had moved into Hawaii wit h the hope of becoming the largest sugar producer, acquired additional influence.

As early as 1884 the foreigners organized a minority oppOSition, but they could not halt the king' s wayward course by legislative means. About the beginning of 1887 a secret society called the Hawaiian League vms formed, and its members., who included ma.ny native Hawaiians, ac~uired arms. An alliance was formed with the all-white militia unit) the Honolulu Rifles; and several rifle clubs were organized. The foreigners nO"T controlled the most efficient military force in the kingdom, and they were ready for effective action.

The crisis came when it was learned that Kalakaua had profited personally from the sale of an opium monopoly. One faction of the Hawaiian League ui shed to march on the palace at once, overthrow the monarchy, and annex Hawaii to the United States; but the conservati ve ldng inststed that t:te king should be given another chance providing he i{ould agree to a limitation on his powers. A mass

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meeting of more than 2,500 persons, mostly foreigners, on June 30, 1887, unanimously demanded that Kalakaua dismiss his cabinet and agree to specified reforms. The ldng recognized that the ultimatum was backed by bayonets, and he capitulated. A nev ministry was !l?Pointed at once, and a hurriedly drawn constitution was signed on

July 6, 1887.

The Constitution of 1887 was a liberal document in one sense,

in that the king coul.d no longer dismiss his cabinet w.1.thout the consent of the legislature, and the king's veto could be overridden by a two -thirds vote of the lawuakers. But thirteen years of experience undar Kala.kaua had disenchanted the foreigners with the

old American ideal of universal suffrage, so vigorously supported

by the missionaries. Under the new constitution the dominant part of the legislature, the House of Nobles, was elected by voters \IDO possessed specified incomes or amounts of property. Foreigners

who could meet these qualifications trere allowed to vote even though they retained their foreign citizenships. Chinese and Japanese, hovevez-, were barred from the polls. In short, the reigns of government were placed firmly in the hands of the propertied foreigners.

The native Hawaiians deeply resented the subordinate role forced on them by the "bayonet constitution_, 11 and they "'ere humiliated by the ct rcumsbancee under which their lctng had been shorn of his powers. Their attitude was summed up by Kalakaua's sisterj Liliuol~lani) who had been away attendinG Queen Victoria's Jubilee

at th'e time of the 1887 reform action. \olben she returned to Honolulu,

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she said of the ne~T constitution and of the Pearl Harbor amendment to the renewed reciprocity treaty, IIIt should not have been done,lIl

With lithe desperate floundering of a people who fea.red extinction, II the Ha-wa1ians renewed . their alliance with the king and sought some way to revive the royal. powers. On July 30~ 1889, a group of about 150 armed men under the command of a part-Hawaiian named Robert '·1. Hilcox sei zed the palace grounds, eVidently With a View to restoring the Constitution of 1864. The cabinet called out the volunteer military companies, composed largely of foreigners, and soon rifle fire and dynamite bombs forced the rebels to surrender. \-lhen Hilcox was tried for treason, he vas acquitted because of his cl.aim that Kalakaua had sanctioned the uprising and tithe king co uld do no lTrong. II

Unfortunately for the Reform Party J as the small but dominant foreign political group was called, its ranks were soon torn by dissension, and a nwnber of foreign vorkens , opposed to the coolie labor policyat' the plar 1I.ttm, allied with the Hawaiians. Royalists dominated the legislature elected in 1890, and the Refo~ ministry was replaced by a compromise cabinet. The propertied foreigners had to admit political failure.

To "burst; the bubble of Hawaiian content 11 still further, the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890, passed to reduce the surplus in the American Treasury, placed all sugar on the free list and gave a bounty of two cents a pound to American growers. Within a year the price of

Hawaiian sugar ~ms cut in half, and a severe depression gripped the island plantations. The growers, most of whom had previously

lJUdd, Hawaii, 101.

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resisted the thought of annexation because of possible adVerse effects on the mass importation of contract labor) now agreed that their continued prosperity could only be assured by a union With the United States. Both the merchant and professional group in Honolulu and many of the planters were soon united in the belief that the future stabili ty and lTell-being of the Ls.Lands depended upon the overthrow of the monarchy and annexation. A secret Annexation Club was formed in 1892 to work toward this end.

The matter came to a head with the death of Kalakaua in 1891 and the succession of the dignified and strong-willed Queen Liliuokalani. The new ruler was even more of a nativist than her brother had been. She was unalterably opposed to the Constitution of 1887 and vas de - temi.r.e:l to restore2royal aui1x>n:tyJ Her -goal was tl:e p;rt.r-i'OttlC-=- -oneof continuing Hawaiian independence, but she failed to see that she was opposing a trend which had gone too far to stop.

After a long series of bickerings between the rival political groups for control of the cabinet, the queen, early in 1893, signed two controversial bills licensing opium and opening the door to the Louisiana lotteryj and she appointed a ministry of her own supporters~ These acts were offensive enough to the propert1edwhite groups,

but on January 14, 1893, Liliuol".a.lani called a meeting of notables

at the palace and announced her intention of promulgating a new constitution modeled after that of 1864. Her ovm ministers refused to support this authoritarian measure, and the foreigners decided that the time for decisiVe action had arrived.

A Committee of Safety, dominated by Honolulu 1a'·ZY-er, publisher, and missionary descendant torrin A. Thurston and other members of the

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Annexation Club, wa.s argent zed to guide aft'a1 rs • A mass meeting of

citizens on January 16 denounced the queenls actinn and authorized

the COmmittee to protect Itlife, liberty, and property in Hawaii. n

The committee added to the stature of their movement by selecting

the soft-spoken but athletic Sanford Ballard Dole, a much-respected

associate justice of the Hawaiian Supreme Court, to bead a new government. Dole at first suggested deposing the queen and replacing her with Princess Ka1ulani, the heir apparent, but he found the Committee determined to have no more dealings With the Kalakaua family.

The members said they were looking forwrd to annexation to the

United States Hand so an end to our difficulties. It

The next step '\-TaS to consult with American Minister John L. Stevens~ already known as an outspoken annexationist. He quickly arranged to

land a force from the cruiser Boston, ostensibly to protect American lives and property; and when shown a draft of the oommittee's intended proclamation, he said III thinlt you have a great OPportunity.lll

With the green light thus flashed on for revolution, the committee

seized the government office building on the afternoon of January 17,

1893, and issued a proclamation ending the monarchy and setting up a

Provisional Government lito exist until terms of union with the United

States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon. II

American sailors and marines from the Boston IIleaned on a picket fence" across the street from the Aliiolani Hale and watched these proceedings but tool~ no part in them. Then, when Minister Stevens almost at once accorded ~ facto recognition to the regime, the queen

1 ,C' ,,-

Dole, Memoirs of the Hawaiian Revolution (Honolulu, 1936» 76-77.

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not illogically concluded that the official hand of the United

States was behind the revolution. She therefore yielded under pro-

test to the demands of the Provisional Government and surrendered her

power "until such time as the Government of the United States shall upon the facts being presented to it undo the action of its repre-

sentati ve , II The monarchy founded b"" Kamaehameha the Great was dead.

The very next day the Provisional Government apPointed £1 ve com-

missioners to negotiate a treaty of annexation, and they left immediately for Washington. They received a friendly welcome from the Harrison administration. A treaty was aign.ed on February 14, 1893,

and at once submitted to the Senate with the President's warning that

1 t .".,as "easent.La.L that none of the other great powers shall secure

the islands. II But the Senate refused to be rushed, and no action "18.B taken before Harrison's term of office expired on March 4 and President Grover Cleveland returned in triumph to WaShington. This event had

a sudden and catastrophic effect upon the annexation proceedings.

Meamlhile, the ProVisional Government found its position somewhat

precarious and requested Minister Stevens to place the islands under

,

the protection of the United States. The errchusf.astif,c envoy agreed

at once and raised the American flag over the government building in

Honolulu on February 1. liThe Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it, II he told Hashington by way of explanation. This step, taken without the ap ...

provel of the State Depar-tment , went too far even for the Harrison

administration, and it was disavowed. Oddly enough, however, tIle American flag continued to fly over Honolulu as long as Stevens remained in office.

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The submission of the annexation treaty to the Senate plunged

I

the AInerican public into nits first major debate on the portentous issue of imperialism. III Many newspapers already favored national ex-

pansion and a big navy" and they shrilly cried, "Hawaii 1s welcome. 11

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But there was an oPPosition press, largely Democratic} which urged

caution. tfas all the haste, these papers asked dueto a "sugar con-

spiracyll? Should America depart from its tradition of isolation

I

to embark on an inr.perialistic course"? !f~'larily Brothers} 11 urged a

widely printed jingle.

I

President Cleveland came into office suspecting that Queen

I

Liliuokalani had been wronged. A man of honor who believed that it

was not the mission of the United States to go around "annexing

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islands, II he Withdrew the treaty from the Senate and sent former

Congressman James H. Blount to Honolulu with "paramourrt " authority

to investigate the revolution.

"Paramount II Blount, as he came to

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be calledJ quickly ordered the lO\fering of the American flag and,

although "Tined and dined by the propertied foreigners, soon made it

clear that he did not subscribe to the theory that the natives did

not know what was good for them. He found that most of the Hawaiian

people favored the monarchy and were opposed to annexation.

I

After a thorough but perhaps not impartial investigation, Blount

reported to President Cleveland that the revolution would not have

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succeeded ,nthout American assistance and without the IIcollusion"

of Stevens. Be c:ax:luded thatttha new governmeIIt coultd 'only rel}iainm power through forceJ and he.adv1Sed~ ClevelanQ~.n.ot:to ccntinue 8UlEKstlan pro-

I

~omas A. Bed.Ley, A Diplomatic History of the American People (3rd ed., Ne,., York, 194713 471.

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in the islands, his "royalist II leanings were apparent to all. Probably not even Blunnt, a resident of lJ1acon, Georgia, and a

for:mer Confederate officer, was surprised when the Hawaiian Band lustily serenaded him. at his departure vlith the strains of "Marching Through Georgia. II

Blount's report dampened annexation ardor in the United States, and it caused President Cleveland to decide that American honor required the restoration of Queen Liliuokalani to her throne. But the new minister he appointed to broach the matter in Honolulu at first found the deposed monarch regally determined to have the heads of the principal revolutionists; and the ProVisional Government I1respectfully and unhesitatingly'! declined to surrender to the queen. It was apparent that. the pear could not be put back on the tree without the spilling of American blood. Cleveland recognized that public opinion in the United States would not tolerate such a price on behalf of a Polynesian queen, and he diplomatically turned the problem over to Congress, uhich, af'ter acrimonious· debate, voted not to interfere in Hall'aiian affairs.

Although political action on Rauaii "as shelved until the advent of a new administration, the public debate continued. The heady wine of i~erialism, already quickening the national pulses of European and Asiatic nations, was beginning to titilate the American people.

A IIbig navy" group spearheaded the proponent.a of annexation, raising fears of British palter in tbe Pacific and urging "Let the Honroe

doctrine stay not its hand until it balds Ha''18ii securely in its grasp. ,,1

lDulles, America in the Pacific, 187.

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The much respected exponent of sea pOlrer; Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan,

urged the acquisition of Halmii on strategic grounds; and Henry Cabot Lodge said it was lithe plain duty" of the nation to annex the islands.

I

Such vielTS l1'ere reflected in the Republican platform of 1896 1mich

declared, lithe Hawaiian Islands should be controlled by United

I

States and no foreign pover should be permitted to interi'ere With

them. It

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When it became evident that there ",ould be no annexation as long

as President Cleveland remained in office; the leaders of the

#f

Hawaiian Provisional Government acted to fOl~ a more permanent regime.

Despite protests of a mass meeting of royalists} a carefully screened

convention; on July 3, 1894, approved a nev constitution drafted

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largely by Dole and Thurston. There was no popula.r referendum, and

the next day Dole assumed office as President of the Republic of

Hawaii.

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Although republican in form, the new government was by no means

a. democracy. Property and income 'qualifications assured1llat relatively few Ha,'ra1ians could vote or ]lold legislative office.l Orientals and

other recently arrived laborers "'ere excluded from politics. Frankly

and o~enly, the Republic was established by force, maintained by force,

I I

a.nd designed to keep control of the state 1n the hands of a small group

of propertied whites, particularly those favorable to annexation. The

sentiments of the ruling lIoligarchy" had been well expressed by ,

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IThere 'Tere no property qualifications required to vote for members of the House of Representatives, brr~ there vera loyalty and other tests "T~ich made the oo\.,a11an6 reluctant to register.

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Hiss tIf.ary H. Krout: IIShall what notr exi~ts .~ society, wealth, comfort, in mlich even the poorest shares -- be dissipated by hands incapable of administering lali and order; or shall it be transferred to those who created it, and who, in saVing their Olin, must sa.veVli.th it that ivhich yet remains to the natives?ul

The political control was not entirely in the hands of the sugar interests. Ma.ny of the planters had been glad to see annexation delayed' since the gates for contract labor were thus kept opea , The economic crisis on the plantations was ended in 1894- when the United States Congress removed the domestic sugar bounty and in effect restored reciprocity_ The growers were largely content to leave matters as they were ..

The dominant faction in the new government, rather, was a group representing the merchant and professional leaders of Honolulu.

These men had, different ideas. IYhile as anxious as the planters to maintain control) many of them were disturbed by the growing tide

of Oriental labor. They desired to "Amez-Lcard ae" the islands, and they attempted to persuade the grolTers to find European and American sources of labor. They eased the restrictive conditions of labor contracts, attempted to place limits on grants and leases of public lands to encourage small farms) and made school attendance compulsory for all children between 6 and 15 years of age. And they continued

to "Tori;;. for annexation. In these programs they reflected the missionary heritage ",hich was strongly represented in the officialdom of the Republic.

1

Day, Ha1.-Taii) 217.

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Despite these inner contradictions, the Ha~miian Republic sur-

vi ved , Fol101iers of Liliuokalani attempted a counterrevolution early in 1895J but at'ter tw'o weeks of minor sldrmishing the rebellion lIa.s crushed and its leaders, including the former queen and Robert \f. Hilcox, 'Here placed under arrest.. HopinG to "lin clemency for the captured insurrectionists, Liliuokalani renounced her throne and urged support of the Republic. The ultimate effect of the movement was to strengthen the pOSition of the new government, although all during the life of the Republic there were die-hard royalists, both native and foreign, who hoped against hope that by some miracle the monarchy could be restored. The Right Reverend Alfred WilliS, the Anglican bishop in HonolulU, continued to pray in public for Queen Liliuolmlani; and Hawaiian vlomen patiently stitched Hawaiian flags and composed songs of bitterness and rebellion.

As the result of its attempt to reduce the inflowing stream of Orientals, the Republic soon found itself involved in a diplomatic dispute with Japan. The Erli>ire of the Rising Sun, swaggering somewhat after its recent victory over China, sent a warship to the islands during May, 1897; but if its intention "TaS to overawe the Hawaiians thereby,the operation boomeranged. Sentiment for annexation both in Hawaii and the United States was sharpened by the resultant wild rumors and renewed cries against the "Japanese bogey. II The United States ordered its minister in Honolulu to land naval forces and take protective custody of the islands shoul.d Japan attempt to enforce its claims by armed threat.

The officials of the Hawaiian Republic had never ceased to press for annexation, but they worlted 'uithout any real hope of success

78

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until the election of ~-lilliam NcKinley in l896 brought an abrupt

change in the picture. Even before the inauguration, Ha,vaiian emissaries met with the preeident.elect and reported him as taking

"a lively interest in possible annexatd.on ;" Spurred on by this "first sound. basis for encouragement, II the commissioners negotiated an annexct Ion treaty on June 16, 1897, and HcKinley forwarded it to the

Senate on that same day. President Dole visited Hashington to stimulate enthusiasm for treaty, but despite the popular interest aroused

by this unusual picture of a ruler offering to lay down his office

in order that his country might join another, the measure lanauished in the Senate.

Opposition to the treatyoame from several sources. Japan entered

a formal protest; but her arguments were countered by the secretary

of state, and the opposition was in due course \l1thdrawn. As usual, American sugar interests did evel~hing possible to block annexation. But principally the debate was bet'feen the IILittle Americans" and

the "Big Americans. II Colonialism had not yet been universally accepted in the United States, particularly by the Democrats; and there

"ere still enough reluctant Democratic senators to prevent the required t'fO-thil.~ds vote for ratification. The New York Nation

exultingly declared that annexation vas u dead beyond the hope of

resurrection. II

All during the latter half of 1897 the matter hung fire; but as

the nell year turned and the threatened war "lith Spain became a virtual certainty, President McKinley "made up his mind he would wait l

no longer on DemocratiC pleasure. Hawaii had to be annexed."

lDu11es, 2E.. ill.., 192.

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Seizing upon the precedent which had served so well 1n the case

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of Texas, the proponents of annexation determined to force the issue

by a joint resolution, which would require only a simple majority of

Congressional votes. The neu measure was introduced in the Senate

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on Uarch 16, 18$8.

The debates opened l11th arguments already familiar from long:

repetition, but the outbreak of the Spanish-American t-Tar on April 25

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injected a nev note. The issue} contested in the exciting atmos-

phere of patriotic fervor, was no longer merely the fate of Ha1-1aii;

it was the national des~tny itself: should the United States take

this first step in overseas expansion? The acquisition of the

Spanish colonies lms already more than a possibility; the road to

imperialism and world pov~r lay ahead. Should the nat1on, as the

"Little America!! proponents urged, renounce the lIunconquerable Anglo-

Saxon lust for Land" and confine itself to the American mainland;

or should it reave to·Hard complete control of the Pacific and toward

even more distant territorial ac~uisitions?

Actions in Havmii helped settle the issue. Immediately upon

the outbreak of hostilities, the Havmiian Republic determined to

break the laws of neutrality and assist the United States. The

American Navy was allo'·red to continue its coal piles ashore and to

use Hav1B.i1an ports. The Spanish gove rnmenf lodged a protest 1.ffijc h, said President Dole J "ve ignored. Hl American troops passing through

Honolulu on their way to the Ph1lippines \-!ere given a hearty ,.,elcome.

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Proponents of annexation, both in Congress and out, agreed that such

1

Ethel M. Damon; Sanford Ballard Dole and His Hai·mii (Palo Alto,

California, 1957) J 330.·

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friendship deserved re~-lard and that the strategic importance of the islands had been demonstrated.

But it i-TaS the i-rar enthusiasm which carried the day. The public wanted to follow up De,·reyl s breathtaking victory at Manila with

some sort of action. "Bridge the Pacific, II urged the Phd.ladelphia Press. The President grew increasingly impatient~ and it seemed that he might annex the islands by executive order as a lYer measure. "Obedient to the voice of the people, I shall cast my vote to take them in, II stated Representat1 ve Henry R. Gibson.

The pressure could no longer be opposed. Both houses passed the resolution; and on July 7, 1898, President McKinley affixed his signature, saying, Vlith a remarkable grasp of the historical realities, "Annexation is not change j it 1s consummation. II Still out of tempo with the times, former President Cleveland could only mutter glum.ly, III am ashamed of the "Thole affair. It

As in 1848, IIganifeet Destiny" 'Has in the saddle. Imperialism IS first fruit, "even though it -was only little Haue.ii, It and even though its acquisition was only the logical culmination of a long and gradual movement , started the United States on a nev path of expansion. The debates on Ha~mii were the rehearsal for those on the Philippines.

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Chapter VII "cur '::up Is Bitter"

Cn tlle rr:orning of July 13 t 1ll9t., President Dole pacad the shore at his cottace near Diarr~nd Head. Instead of his usual Ind Lan clubs he carried a t e Ie scope , ~lhicil he kel't trained on

t he s teame r Coptic as she approached .ono lufu harbor. Suddenly the ship blossomed with lines of sienal flags. Dole rushed to tot-m to hear the news thus heralded: annexation \las a reality.

1.\ spontaneous ce lebration erupted trrrcugnout; the city; tut the official ce'rerrony of transfer was delayed until August iL, after the arrival of the U.S. ~. P;:tihdelphia witll ~. lInited .cat e s flag made ::It t ne iare. Island 1:a\l1 lard especially for the pur~Jose of being raised over t ne ;:ia~laiian c op Ltc l ,

The ho Ls t tng of this banner over 101an1 :. a l ace was not the joyous occasion n"any had ~ntieipatecl. '.founds from the revolution and the bit;ter annexation controversy ve r e still rato1; and even filen who had wo rked for years tot1;"'.rd iunerican rule round it difficult to ~latch an independent nation die. T11e "tension of an execut Ion" Gripped. the crot-1(:~ as the rlat·I<JU".n f l ag (tescel',ded for the last titHe. ·.:rhen a double 2l·sun salute broke t ne spell there we re few dry eyes ~ri,ong the observers.

nut durine the ensutng He€.l~s"'nJ li·onths res Lde nt s of the isl".mlsb.a(~ ". difficult th:~e r e a Ld.z Lng that any c:!an:~~e of sovarei:~.nty had taken place. The annexae ion resolution stated that

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