Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii Read online

  12 Joesting, Uncommon History, 103–7. While in Hawai‘i, Douglas described ninety plant species that were new to science. The escaped Australian convict with whom Douglas spent the preceding night was also suspected in his death, but nothing could be proved. The incident is recounted in more detail in Greenwell, “Kaluakauka Revisited,” 147–69.

  8. Captains and Cannons

  1 Wilkes, Narrative of the Expedition, 4: 504–6.

  2 Pilon, Maxime, and Daniele Weiler, The French in Singapore: An Illustrated History (Singapore: Didier Millet, 2012), 34–36.

  3 This is at some variance with Daws, Shoal of Time, 94–95, but Bachelot and Short returned to Hawai‘i the next year in the belief that they would be allowed in on the same terms.

  4 Castle, An Account of the Visit of the L’Artemise, 2–3.

  5 Sandwich Islands Mirror, January 15, 1840.

  6 Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 54.

  7 For a thoughtful perspective on his personal and theological molding, see Miller, “The Making of a Missionary,” 36–45.

  8 Canning to Barrow, October 4, 1842, quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 186.

  9 MacAllen, “A Reassessment,” 54–55.

  10 British Foreign and State Papers, 1023; an extensive selection of the exchange can be found in Jarves, Hawaiian Islands, 176–78. Indicative of the respect in which Charlton held Kamehameha III was a letter complaining of the theft of some stock which he began, “Dear King.” Jarves, 171.

  11 Quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 214.

  12 Judd, Honolulu, 93–94.

  13 Ibid., 94.

  14 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 215–16.

  15 Judd, Honolulu, 94.

  16 Quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 218–19.

  17 Judd, Honolulu, 95–96.

  18 British State and Foreign Office Papers, 1030.

  19 Lord George Paulet’s career survived his Hawai‘i missteps. He fought with gallantry in the Crimean War and was made naval aide de camp to Queen Victoria in 1854, retiring a full admiral in 1866.

  20 Ka Nonanona, quoted in Solomine, “Hawaiian Restoration Day, July 31, 1843,” 18.

  21 From Ka Nonanona, August 8, translated by Solomine, in ibid., 22–24.

  22 Ibid., 34.

  23 Quoted in Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 42.

  24 Judd, Honolulu, 90–91.

  25 Brown to My Dear Wife, 1 January 1844, Brown Papers, Honolulu Historical Society.

  9. A Nation among Nations

  1 These figures and many more are found in Jarves, Hawaiian Islands, 238–40, and were used extensively in Greer, “Honolulu in 1847,” 59–95.

  2 Clement, “From Cook to the 1840 Constitution,” 55. “Hawai‘i nei” can be taken to mean “our Hawai‘i,” or more literally, “the Hawai‘i right here,” but carrying a connotation of such deep affection that it is sometimes rendered, “beloved Hawai‘i.”

  3 Silverman, “Imposition of a Western Judicial System,” 48.

  4 Daws, Shoal of Time, 108; Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 236–37. Ricord’s adaptability and discretion were attested to by the fact that he had also previously served as private secretary to Houston’s predecessor and bitter enemy, David G. Burnet, Tyler et al., eds., 6 vols., New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996), 5: 577; Haley, Sam Houston (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002) 182–84.

  5 Daws, Shoal of Time, 108.

  6 Fox, Macnamara’s Irish Colony and the United States Taking of California, 83–86.

  7 Kanahele, Pauahi, 41.

  8 Quoted in Kuykendall and Day, Hawaii: A History, 64–65.

  9 This is the principal interpretation of him in Daws, Shoal of Time, 128–29.

  10 Judd, Honolulu, 131.

  11 Greer, “Honolulu in 1847,” 83–84; Tyler et al., New Handbook of Texas, 5: 577.

  12 Quoted in Charlot, “An 1849 Hawaiian Broadside,” 97.

  13 Dunn, “Letters from Hawaii,” 75.

  14 Charlot, “An 1849 Hawaiian Broadside,” 97.

  15 Dunn, “Letters from Hawai‘i,” 75.

  16 Bates, Sandwich Island Notes, 47.

  17 Original documents quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 398–402.

  10. The Great Mahele

  1 In later years, the papers that Wyllie squirreled away were recovered “from the attic and basement of the old royal palace, from under counters in the tax office, the vaults of the treasury and from various isolated public buildings.” Taylor, “Intrigues, Conspiracies and Accomplishments,” 18.

  2 It is sad, even maddening, that his papers did not survive him by long. His eventual successor as foreign minister, the former French consul Charles de Varigny, was Wyllie’s principal executor, and likely destroyed the state papers because they contained incriminating references to himself. Charles Judd, son of Gerrit, took up residence at Rosebank and cast further boxes of papers out to the elements “as rubbish.” Raeside, “Journals and Letter Books of R. C. Wyllie,” 90.

  3 The Hudson’s Bay steamer Beaver had called at the islands eleven years before, but its paddle wheels were not fitted until later. Schmitt, “Some Transportation and Communication Firsts,” 100.

  4 Schmitt, “Some Firsts in Island Leisure,” 102.

  5 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 373–74.

  6 W. L. Lee to Catherine Scott, October 1, 1848, quoted in Dunn, “Letters from Hawai‘i,” 69.

  7 Steiner, “Numerals: Hawaiian Kingdom Stamps,” 58.

  8 Ibid., 59.

  9 William Richards to Lt. Charles Wilkes, March 15, 1841, quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 270. Wilkes was the commanding officer of an American exploring expedition.

  10 Quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 274.

  11 Greer, “Notes on Early Land Titles,” 34.

  12 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 270–71.

  13 Greer, “Notes on Early Land Titles,” 48–50.

  14 Baldwin to Edward B. Robinson, December 15, 1848, quoted in Schmitt and Nordyke, “Death in Hawai‘i,” 6.

  15 Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs of Hawai‘i, 236–37. Schmitt and Nordyke, “Death in Hawai‘i,” 8–10, track the decline in both population and birth rate through census figures.

  16 Daws, Shoal of Time, 127.

  17 Dunn, “Letters from Hawai‘i,” 87.

  18 See Anderson, The Hawaiian Islands.

  19 David Greene to Sandwich Islands Mission, November 11, 1844; Anderson to Sandwich Islands Mission, April 10, 1846, quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 1: 337.

  20 Quoted in Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 45.

  21 Ibid.

  22 Ibid., 75.

  11. The Anglican Attraction

  1 Diary of Prince Alexander Liholiho, Honolulu Historical Society, msp. 243 ff. The quote appears at 107 of the published rendition.

  2 Judd to Anderson, May 1, 1861, quoted in Daws, “Decline of Puritanism,” 32.

  3 Kanahele, Emma, 78–79.

  4 Silverman, “To Marry Again,” 68, 71.

  5 Bishop Museum. The source at Pu‘ukohola Heiau National Historic Park gives the date as “about 1840.” Local sources place her birth in Kohala, others maintain that she was born in Honolulu, as inscribed on her casket; a source at the Queen Emma Foundation indicates that her birthplace is actually uncertain. Greg Cunningham to author, August 30, 2011.

  6 Emma’s father was High Chief George Na‘ea, her mother High Chiefess Fanny Kekelaokalani Young, daughter of John Young. Fanny’s sister, High Chiefess Grace Kama‘iku‘i Young, was married to Dr. Rooke, and they had no children of their own.

  7 For a short biography see White, National Cyclopædia of American Biography, 9: 32.

  8 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 48–52.

  9 Taylor, “Intrigues, Conspiracies and Accomplishments,” 21.

  10 www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1113.

  11 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 86.

  12 Wyllie to Kamehameha IV, Septe
mber 27, 1859, quoted in Kanahele, Emma, 114.

  13 Wyllie to Hopkins, December 5, 1859 (two letters), quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 87.

  14 Jennings, Chronology, 59.

  15 The founding of the Queen’s Hospital is chronicled in detail in Greer, “Queen’s Hospital,” 110–45.

  16 In corresponding with her father, Emma asked him to correct her letter, but not let anyone else see it. Kanahele, Emma, 75–76.

  17 Some steps to set apart the dignity of the king were certainly in order, as foreign ship captains particularly treated the monarch with no more moment than they had in the era of discovery. Taylor, “Intrigues, Conspiracies and Accomplishments,” 23.

  18 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 93, as well as in Semes, “Hawai‘i’s Holy War,” 119, which contains the most detailed account of the spiritual guerrilla war that the Congregationalist community prosecuted against Staley during his tenure.

  19 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 95, quotes Synge’s report for the death date of the twenty-seventh. Kanahele, Emma, 139, cites August 23.

  20 Kanahele, Emma, 140.

  12. Useful Marriages

  1 Cole, “Native Hawaiians Served on Both Sides during the Civil War,” Honolulu Advertiser, May 31, 2010, http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/May/31/ln/hawaii5310346.html.

  2 “Palawai Mormon Experiment: Early History of Mormon Settlers on Lanai,” www.lanaichc.org/lanai-mormons/Palawai_Mormon_Experiment.html. See also “Selected Accounts of the Mormon Settlement.”

  3 Quoted in Daws, Shoal of Time, 222–23. For the closest thing to a biography of this character see Gould, “Filibuster of Walter Murray Gibson,” 7–32.

  4 Kanahele, Emma, 175–77.

  5 See Tayman, The Colony, for an outstanding history of Kalaupapa.

  6 Quoted in Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 35.

  7 Kanahele, Emma, 79.

  8 Daws, Shoal of Time, 156.

  9 See Kovacevic, “Descent of John Owen Dominis,” 3–24.

  10 Kanahele, Emma, 330. See also archives.starbulletin.com/2007/10/28/travel/tsntsumi.html.

  11 Ibid. Kunuiakea was for a time betrothed to Miriam Likelike (Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s Story, 33), although he constantly embarrassed the family as a wastrel and spendthrift. Kanahele, Emma, 257–58.

  12 Their correspondence is largely reproduced and annotated in Hackler, “Dear Friend,” 101–30.

  13 Kanahele, Emma, 199–200.

  14 Ibid., 221.

  15 Twain, Letters from Hawaii, 125.

  16 See Zmijewski, “Man in Both Corners,” 55–73, and A. Grove Day, introduction to Twain, Letters from Hawaii, v–xvii.

  17 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 169–70; Schmitt, “Some Transportation and Communication Firsts,” 100.

  18 Twain, Letters from Hawaii, 126–27.

  19 Both R. C. Wyllie and David Kalakaua had supported the bill to allow sale of alcohol to natives, and were shocked by Lot’s veto. Alexander, “Brief Sketch,” 11.

  20 Day, introduction to Twain, Letters from Hawaii, viii.

  21 Quoted in Austin Shelley Fishker, ed., A Historical Guide to Mark Twain (Oxford University Press, 2002), 231–32. Like much effective art, Twain’s letters sometimes inspire readers to discover their own predispositions. Defenders of the native culture find his depiction disrespectful; others find him shilling for further sugar investment. James E. Caron, “Mark Twain Reports,” 39. This he may have done, but I found his sympathy for the natives genuine and his observations accurate, albeit expressed in the humorous vernacular people expected of him.

  22 Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s Story, 32–34.

  23 Kamehameha V to Emma, June 9, 1871, quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 96.

  24 Kanahele, Emma, 258.

  25 The French being skilled in matters of the heart, it was Varigny in whom the king confided, and who approached Emma on his behalf. Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 240.

  13. Mountains of Sugar

  1 Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 76.

  2 Varigny, Fourteen Years, 205, quoted in La Croix and Grandy, “The Political Instability of Reciprocal Trade,” 177.

  3 Tate, Reciprocity or Annexation, 54, 74–75.

  4 Rowland, “Contract Labor Question,” 251–53.

  5 Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 77.

  6 S. N. Castle to Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 24, 1869, quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 188.

  7 Kanahele, Emma, 264–66.

  8 The Conqueror’s father, Keoua (assuming the genuineness of that paternity over Kahekili), had a secondary wife, Kamakaeheikuli, and they were the great-grandparents of Lunalilo. His maternal grandmother was Kalakua, the sister of Ka‘ahumanu, who bore Kina‘u and Kamamalu to the Conqueror before marrying Lunalilo’s grandfather. “Royal Lineages of Hawaii,” Bishop Museum.

  9 Latter-day Emmaites reject this interpretation, and peg the kings’ disapproval to Lunalilo’s refusal to sign a prenuptial agreement. Della Kua‘ana, Interview, October 20, 2010. Ms. Kua‘ana, a member of the Daughters of Hawai‘i, is a docent at Hanaiakamalama, Emma’s summer “palace.”

  10 Holt, Hawaiian Monarchy, 20; Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s Story, 14–15, has Lunalilo proposing to her while he was still engaged to Kamamalu, and committing other ungentlemanly indiscretions until she decided on her own to reject him.

  11 Castle to Edward & May, December 17, 1872, reproduced in Taylor et al., From Land and Sea, 111.

  12 This of course again assumes Keoua’s paternity of Kamehameha. “Royal Lineages of Hawai‘i,” Bishop Museum. The Conqueror’s grandfather Kekaulike was Kapi‘olani’s great-great grandfather by a secondary wife. She was also the granddaughter of Kaumuali‘i of Kaua‘i and brought that royal line to the marriage as well.

  13 Twain, Letters from Hawaii, 133.

  14 Entry for June 9, 1849, Lunalilo School Workbook, Honolulu Historical Society.

  15 Secretary of War to Schofield, June 24, 1872 [confidential], quoted in Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 248.

  16 Hawaiian Gazette, February 26, 1873.

  17 Daws, Shoal of Time, 193–95; Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 2: 259–61.

  18 Kanahele, Emma, 274.

  19 Nordhoff, California, Oregon and the Sandwich Islands, quoted in Thurston, Life and Times of Lucy G. Thurston, “Introduction to the Second Edition,” d.

  20 Thurston, Life and Times, iv.

  14. Taffy Triumphant

  1 Green, “Trollope in Hawaii,” 301–2. Trollope was returning home after having spent several months in Australia helping in the dissolution of his son’s failed agricultural enterprise.

  2 “Royal Lineages of Hawai‘i,” Bishop Museum.

  3 Lunalilo was the great-grandson of the Conqueror’s father Keoua (assuming that paternity) by his secondary wife Kamakaeheikuli. Kame‘eiamoku was her second husband, and that pair were Kalakaua’s great-grandparents. Thus Lunalilo and Kalakaua were second cousins through the same great-grandmother, but there was no actual blood tie between Kalakaua and the Kamehamehas descending from Keoua. Kame‘eiamoku, however, was Keoua’s cousin, so Kalakaua could claim a royal tincture from further up the line, hence his and his sisters’ eligibility to the succession. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_School_(Hawaii), accessed November 15, 2010; “Royal Lineages of Hawai‘i,” Bishop Museum.

  4 Kuykendall Hawaiian Kingdom, 3: 6.

  5 Ibid.

  6 Emma to Peter Ka‘eo, September 26, 1873, quoted in Kanahele, Emma, 276.

  7 Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s Story, 39–45. She also wrote that she found Emma’s avoidance of Kapi‘olani incomprehensible, even though she must have known very well that Emma blamed Kapi‘olani for the death of her son. Lili‘uokalani’s partisanship for her brother is understandable, but here is one of many indications that her memoir is to be used with caution.

  8 Karpiel, “Ties of Brotherhood,” 382.

  9 Quoted in Kanahele, Emma. 289.

  10 See Williams, “Pr
ince of Entertainers,” 153 ff.

  11 Bird, Six Months in the Sandwich Islands, 317.

  12 Daws, Shoal of Time, 199.

  13 Chauvin, “Astronomy in the Sandwich Islands,” 199–201.

  14 Summarized in much more detail in Daws, Shoal of Time, 202–5.

  15 Kalakaua to Harris, March 15, 1881; Kalakaua to Green, March 10, 1881, Foreign Office Papers, HSA. The king also got a lesson on the mortality of monarchs who lose favor with their subjects, as he reported without comment the assassination of the Emperor of Russia.

  16 Marumoto, “Vignette of Early Hawaii-Japan Relations,” 52.

  17 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom., 3: 230.

  18 Ibid., 3: 238–39.

  19 Kalakaua to Green, April 6, 1881, Foreign Office Papers, HSA.

  20 Kalakaua to Green, April 21, 1881; Kalakaua to Dominis, May 12, 1881, Foreign Office Papers, HSA.

  21 Kalakaua to Lili‘uokalani, June 21, 1881, Foreign Office Papers, HSA.

  22 Menton, “A Christian and ‘Civilized’ Education,” 241.

  23 Daws, Shoal of Time, 219–20.

  24 Twain, Letters from Hawaii, 70–71.

  25 Honolulu: Pacific Commercial Advertiser, 1881.

  26 Green, “Trollope in Hawaii,” 208.

  15. A Voice Like Distant Thunder

  1 Nogelmeier, “Ruta Keanolani Kamu‘olaulani Ke‘elikolani Kanahoahoa: A View from Her Time,” 5.

  2 Twain, Letters from the Sandwich Islands, 69–70.

  3 Ibid., 129–30.

  4 Daws, Shoal of Time, 226–27.

  5 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom, 3: 60–61.

  6 Bell, “Journal of Dr. Nelson J. Bird,” 119.

  7 Kuykendall, Hawaiian Kingdom 3: 236–37; Ursula Sophia Newell Emerson to Nathaniel Emerson, August 31, 1881, Bishop Museum Archives, online at www.hawaiialive.org/realms.php?sub=Wao+Lani&treasure=356&offset=0.

  8 Kanahele, Emma, 346.

  9 See Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 15, 1882.

  10 Luau Invitation, Bishop Museum, online at www.hawaiialive.org/realms.php?sub=Wao+Lani&treasure=356&offset=0.

  11 Emma to Lucy Peabody, March 25, 1882, quoted in Kanahele, Emma, 346.

  12 Emma to Ihilani Jones, May 29, 1883, quoted in ibid., 356.

  13 Will of Ruth Ke‘elikolani, Kamehameha Schools Archives, online at http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/archives/historical/wills/ruth.php.