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1778 Captain Cook Arrives to Hawaiian Islands

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1778 Captain Cook Arrives to Hawaiian Islands

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James Cook was born October 27, 1728, in Yorkshire, England. He died on February 14, 1779, at Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii. Cook wasn’t always the captain and explorer he is known to be. He started his journey at age 18 when he apprenticed under Quaker shipowner, John Walker, by age 21 he was an able seaman. Cook had always been cut above average in intelligence and studied mathematics at night when working for Walker. He eventually joined the Royal Navy where he quickly caught the attention of his superiors and rose through the ranks. He participated in the 7 years war and saw action in the Bay of Biscay, and was given command of a captured ship. He served in various military campaigns throughout the war. He began exploring in 1763 when he was in charge of charting the coasts of Newfoundland. On June 3, 1769, he discovered Australia for the British Empire. After this journey, he was promoted to commander. Cook was a very distinguished individual in the British Navy yet his next discovery would be his downfall.

In January 1778, Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to make contact with the Hawaiian islands. In 1779 Cook returned to the Hawaiian islands at Kealakekua Bay. When Cook arrived he was greeted with a large festival and many gifts. Historians believe that the Hawaiians thought  Cook was the Hawaiian god Lono so they treated him like a God. However this treatment did not last long, some of Cooks's men took sacred wooden idols and fencing from a sacred burial ground and used them as firewood, many confirmations occurred between the Hawaiians and cooks men there for Cook decided to leave. Due to poor conditions, Cook was forced to return to Kealakekua Bay where a few Hawaiians stole a longboat from one of his ships. In an attempt to get his stolen goods back, he tried to capture the ali’i nui of Hawai’i Island, Kalaniʻōpuʻu. This ended with a skirmish between the cook's men and the Hawaiians which led to the cook being stabbed and killed. The remainder of the crew sailed back to England to complete their journey.

From what I've learned about Captain Cook he was a great explorer and most likely has great tales of his journeys and accomplishments. Although I don’t agree with his actions in the Hawaiian islands I would have liked to meet him and hear of the stories he could tell aboard his long journeys in exploring the world.

The National Archives. “Captain Cook in Hawaii.” The National Archives, The National Archives, 25 Mar. 2021, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/captain-cook-in-hawaii/.

“James Cook.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/James-Cook.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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1795 King Kamehameha the Great comes to Power

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1795 King Kamehameha the Great comes to Power

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Many historians Kamehameha was born in 1758 during the year of the Haleys comet. He was given the name Paiea at birth. A prophecy was placed upon him that he would become a great ruler so the ruling chief at the time attempted to execute him so the Kamehameha was hidden in Waipio Valley. When there was no longer a threat to his safety Paiea came out of hiding and was renamed Kamehameha which means the lonely one.

Kamehameha I was famous for uniting the Hawaiian islands through both war and diplomacy. He was able to defeat the other chiefs and unify the islands by using foreign weapons and sails. He also had a large fleet of long-range canoes that were designed to cross the waters between the islands. He was also known as a ruler for the people mostly because of the creation of the Law of the Splintered Paddle. This was a law to protect the people as well as the chiefs.

King Kamehameha, the first is one of my personal heroes because of his efforts to unite the Hawaiian people. Although his methods were not always moral he achieved his end goal to unite his people under a single cause and a single flag creating the Hawaiian kingdom. He adapted the ways of the foreigners through their strategy and weapons yet stood firm in his belief in the kapu system and the Hawaiian religion for these reasons I look up to King Kamehameha the first.

“King Kamehameha I: Hawaiian History.” Go Hawaii, 29 May 2019, www.gohawaii.com/culture/history/king-kamehameha.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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King Kamehameha the second, ‘Iolani Liholiho, was born in November 1797 to high chiefess Keōpūolani and passed away on July 14, 1824. He was named Kamehameha II by Kamehameha I when he was five years old. Although King Kamehameha I had many wives and many children he chose Keōpūolani’s child as the next Kamehameha because Keōpūolani was one of the highest-ranked chiefesses in all of Hawaii. Liholiho took the throne in 1819 after the death of his father King Kamehameha I. He only ruled for 5 years due to his early death when he contracted measles with his wife Kamāmalu on a diplomatic trip to England.

Although Liholiho only ruled for a short amount of time his decisions had a massive impact on the Hawaiian kingdom as a whole. His greatest decision was to abolish the kapu system which had been in place for millennia. Ka‘ahumanu King Kamehameha I’s favorite wife convinced Liholiho to break kapu with her. Kekuaokalani, Liholioho’s cousin opposed his idea and had enough support and power to rival Liholiho. The Battle of Kuamo‘o was the result of this conflict. Kekuaokalani was killed during the battle thereby sealing the fate of the kapu system which eventually led to rising of missionaries and the conversion of the Hawaiian people from a polytheistic religion to the Christain belief in monotheism.

After researching King Kamehameha II, I almost feel pity for him and his situation. Although he was born into royalty he had a lot of responsibility placed on him at an extremely young age. I feel he was manipulated by individuals like Ka’ahumanu for their own agenda. He also had to oppose his own cousin and fight a war against him.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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Kamehameha II did not bear any children therefore after his death, the youngest son of Kamehameha I became Kamehameha III, this was Kauikeaouli. However, the problem with this was the fact he was only 11 years old. Due to his young age the Kuhina Nui, Ka‘ahumanu, governed with the aid of the council of chiefs until the new king turned 19. Due to Ka’ahumanu and the council of chiefs having this unchecked power Hawaii’s political system drastically changed. During this time the power of the Kuhina Nui and the Council grew and they indicated the teachings of the missionaries by installing a strict Sabeth as well.

When Kauikeaoui came to power he signed the constitution of 1840 in an attempt to model the Hawaiian government off of the great western powers such as England and the Untied States. The constitution gave greater protection to the people of the Hawaiian Kingdom such as freedom of religion, freedom from oppression, freedom to earn money and keep it, and the right to a fair trial and to trial by jury. The constitution also divided the government into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. It also recognized the role of the kuhina nui and renamed the title to “premier” as well as now established a two-house with the council of chiefs becoming the house of nobles and the house of representatives being elected member of the community.

Although I love the idea of the Hawaiian kingdom becoming more like a democracy I do not appreciate the way it was done. Similar to King Kamehameha II he was a child when he came to power therefore he was easily influenced by people around him. Others most likely influenced him for their own agenda and to gain power for themselves and is a common thread across the world when it comes to child rulers.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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King Kamehameha III passed in 1854. He had two children but they both died as infants so King King Kamehameha IV became Alexander Liholiho. Alexander was the adopted son of Kamehameha III and a grandson of Kamehameha the Great giving him legitimacy to the throne. Like the previous Kamehameha’s Alexander did not rule for long, he ruled for nine years. One of his major concerns was the high death rate among the Hawaiian people. At the time foreign diseases were wiping out the Hawaiian people because they did not have immunity to these plagues similar to the Native Americans.

During Alexander’s rule, he suspected his wife Queen Emma of having an affair with Henry A. Neilson his secretary. He ended up becoming paranoid and shot Neilson, his suspicions were proven false and Alexader never recovered from the guilt, especially after Neilson died 2 ½ years later due to his injury. Only a few months after Neilson's death Prince Albert Kauikeaouli the only child of Alexander and Queen Emma died at the age of four. Devastated by his guilt and loss of his son, Alexander's health quickly declined and he died in 1863.

After researching Kamehameha IV It reinforces my thoughts on the importance of proper communication. If he had used better communication or even just more civil means of discovering if his wife was cheating or not maybe then he wouldn't have shot his secretary and gone down a spiral loop of depression. It is possible that the entire course of Hawaiian history could have been altered by something as simple as better communication.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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After the death of Alexander, Lot Kapuāiwa became Kamehameha V. Lot was the last of the Kamehameha's to rule the Hawaiian Kingdom. Since Lot had no heirs to succeed him he attempted to name Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop as the next ruler in line for the throne. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop was the great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I and was a respected individual in the community. However, she declined the position and then started the practice of elected monarchs.

Lot was well known for being strong-willed and refusing to recognize the 1852 constitution. He wrote his own constitution, the Constitution of 1864. This constitution gave the king back some power, abolished kuhina nui, combined the House of Representatives and the House of Nobles into one body called the Legislative Assembly. Most importantly the new constitution required that a man own property to be allowed to vote and that if you were born after the year 1840 you had to be literate in either English or Hawaiian.

After researching Lot Kapuāiwa my opinions about him are positive. I like the fact that he was strong-willed and abolished the constitution of 1852. I agree with his ideology of only individuals that are literate and that could own land should have the right to vote however I don’t think this was the best time to enact such a law considering the majority of the individuals that owned land at the time were foreigners. If I were in the position of Lot Kapuāiwa I would have waited until more Hawaiians owned land instead of enacting that law when he did.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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1873 First Elected monarch William Charles Lunalilo comes to power

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1873 First Elected monarch William Charles Lunalilo comes to power

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After the death of Lot, the legislature worked quickly to find another monarch to fill the gap. Their three choices were William Lunalilo, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and David Kalākaua. Bernice Pauahi Bishop declined the role leaving Lunalio and Kalākaua the two candidates for the king. When an informal vote was held it was 12,531 votes to 51 in Lunalilo’s favor. He then became king in 1873. He only ruled for 1 year until his death in 1874. He died of tuberculosis and alchohal abuse.

In his short reign, Lunalilo accomplished a lot. The major changes he made was he appointed a new cabinet, he tried to make amendments to the Constitution of 1864 because he wanted the power returned to the people. The people knew him as “ali‘i lokomaika‘i” (the good chief). He is also known for leaving the majority of his estate for a home for poor, aged, and infirm Hawaiians. This became known as The Lunalilo Home for the Aged.

After reading about Lunalilo like Lot I have only positive thoughts about him other than the alcohol abuse. You can see he cared for his people and in return, they cared about him. Similar to Pauahi he left his wealth not to his family but to the Hawaiian people. You can see he was a good monarch but at the same time, I question why he was so favored over Kalākaua in a landslide victory. Was Kalākaua that bad or was Lunalilo that good?

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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After the death of Lunalilo David Kalākaua was after the throne however a new candidate ran against him. Queen Emma, the widow of King Kamehameha IV also ran for the throne. She had much of the support of the Hawaiian people as well as the support of the English in Hawaii. However, the Americans backed David Kalākaua. The election turned out to be in Kalākaua’s favor. The vote was 39-6 and Queen Emma supporters were so outraged they stormed the courthouse and one legislature even died from injures caused by the crowd.

Kalākaua’s efforts to improve the Hawaiian kingdom interfered with the business of rich haole businessmen that had massive empires due to their sugar plantations. To discredit Kalākaua they created newspapers criticizing him about the building of the Iolani Palace and the events he held there as well as the dealing he had with certain individuals. To the outside world, people saw Kalākaua as someone who stirred up Hawaiians against foreigners. In 1887 Kalākaua was accused of accepting an opium bribe. This action made many lose faith in him and because of this, he had to sign the bayonet constitution which stripped the monarch's power.

The story of queen Emma's supports in storming the legislature reminds me of when trump supporters and right-wing extremists stormed the US capital after the results of the 2020 election. It proves that no matter what era there will always be civil unrest due to politics. The remainder of his story shows that most politicians are at the mercy of the rich and powerful.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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After the death of Kalākaua Lydia Kamaka‘eha Lili‘uokalani became queen in 1891. Queen Lili‘uokalani was the first queen in the Hawaiian monarchy. She passed away on November 11, 1917. When she took the throne she had the goal of reviving the Hawaiian nation and keeping the Hawaiian kingdom a sovereign nation. To do this she revised the constitution and created the constitution of 1892.

In 1893 the missionary party led by Sanford Dole declared the queen Lili‘uokalani deposed. They established a provisional government and attempted to annex the Hawaiian kingdom. To avoid conflict Liliuokalani surrendered, but she appealed to President Cleveland to reinstate her. This proved to be effective however Dole argued that Cleveland did not have the authority to do this and the overthrow became official.

Hearing the story of queen Lili‘uokalani like all the other monarchs of Hawaii was tragic. I see a theme of early deaths and conflict within the Hawaiian monarchy. With the exception of Kamehameha I and Lili‘uokalani everyone else died a premature death. I know this is commonplace among rulers because they have an incredibly stressful job however it is still sad non the less.

“Liliuokalani.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Liliuokalani.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.

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 1893 Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy

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 1893 Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy

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The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy was something that was carefully planned out for years. It involved American businessmen that held a lot of power in Hawaii as well as the US government. The first individuals to bring up annexation known as annexationists called

themselves the Hawaiian League. Most of the members were not Hawaiian but they had the help of US Minister John L. Stevens and US Secretary of State James G. Blaine. These individuals along with the US military were responsible for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

There were many factors on why the overthrow occurred, one example being overthrow. the increased number of foreigners who held high political positions in the government, as well as growing business of sugar production and the third factor was the signing of the bayonet constitution. One of the major reasons the United States turned a blind eye to the overthrow was because the people that overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy promised the renewal of the lease of Pearl Harbor for the US military. With all of these factors adding up Hawaii was officially annexed in 1898 and officially made a state in 1951.

The story of the Hawaiian kingdom seems pretty sad after completing this research. However the fact that we were annexed by the United States seems to be for the best. I feel that if we were not annexed by the United States someone would have taken over the Hawaiian kingdom eventually. I personally believe that the Hawaiian kingdom wouldn’t have lasted past WW1 because of its lack of defense and strong military location.

Tau-Tassill, Leah, et al. A History of Hawaii. 3rd ed., CRDG, 2016, pp.1-29.