Tomorrow, we celebrate Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Restoration Day. In the year 1825, Mr. Richard Charlton, the first British ambassador to Hawaiʻi arrived in Hawaiʻi to assume his newly created diplomatic position. In 1840, Mr. Charlton falsely claimed land that sparked the “Paulet episode” that led up to the forced cession and restoration of the Hawaiian Islands in 1843. [The aforementioned property is marked with a red rectangle on the map of Honolulu. This map was drawn up by Surveyor Alexander Simpson and published on August 25, 1843.] To substantiate his claim, Charlton produced a 299 year lease for the land in question, granted by Kalanimoku, the prime minister, in 1826. There was no disagreement over the parcel, Wailele, on which Charlton lived, but the adjoining parcel he claimed, Pūlaholaho, had been occupied since 1826 by retainers and heirs of Ka‘ahumanu, the kuhina nui or prime minister, five years prior her death in 1832 . Kamehameha III rejected Charlton’s claim citing the fact that Kalanimoku did not have the authority to grant the lease. At the time the lease was made, Ka‘ahumanu was Kuhina Nui, and only she and the king could make such grants. The land was Ka‘ahumanu’s in the first place, and Kalanimoku certainly could not give it away. Furthermore, since 1826, Ka‘ahumanu’s heirs had built houses on the land without objection from Charlton, so the proper time to present the claim was long passed. (Hawai‘i State Archives, Centennial Exhibit: 1906-2006, Charlton Land Claim.) It was Charlton’s land claim that lingered within the Hawaiian judicial system prompting King Kamehameha III to enact the Mahele of 1848, forever changing the Hawaiian relationship and worldview of land tenure. In September of 1842, nearly two years after his rejected land claim, Counsel Charlton set sail for London via Mexico to press his case against the Hawaiian Government. Two months prior to Charlton’s departure from Hawaiʻi, King Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, in an effort to secure national independence for Hawaiʻi sent a diplomatic envoy to seek recognition from Britain, France, and the United States of Hawai‘i’s sovereignty. The King’s private Secretary, Timothy Ha‘alilio and the King’s long-time advisor, William Richards, were chosen to be Hawai‘i’s emissaries. Joining Ha‘alilio and Richards was Sir George Simpson, the North American Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson Bay Company. Simpson left for England via Alaska and Siberia while Mr. Richards and Mr. Ha‘alilio departed to the United States via Mexico on July 8, 1842, as mentioned earlier, the King’s diplomatic envoy left more than two months before Counsel Charlton. Lord George Paulet, captain in the British Navy, was in Mexico when Counsel Charlton arrived. Having Lord Paulet’s audience, Charlton voiced his complaints about the bad-treatment he and others had received in Hawai‘i. With Lord Paulet, Counsel Charlton promoted the idea of annexation. Admiral Richard Thomas, commander of British naval forces in the Pacific, sent Lord George Paulet to Hawai‘i to investigate Counsel Charlton’s claims. Captain Paulet arrived to Hawai‘i on February 10, 1843. By the time Captain Paulet reached the shores of Hawaiʻi, Haʻalilio and Richards had already obtained US President Tyler and Congresses acknowledgment of Hawaiʻi’s independence. Captain Paulet was quite set in his mind that Hawaiʻi was his for the taking and facing Paulet’s threat of gun-boat diplomacy, the King ceded Hawai‘i under protest and appeal to the Queen of Britain on February 25, 1843. Immediately after the cession ceremony with Captain Paulet, Kamehameha III returns to Lahaina, still the Kingdom’s center of political power. For five months while things were getting sorted out between Great Britain and the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, Haʻalilio and Richards continued on with their mission in Europe with Sir George Simpson of the Hudson Bay Company. On the twenty-sixth day of July, approximately six months after Paulet’s arrival, the British ship, Dublin, conveying Rear Admiral Thomas of the British Navy, entered Honolulu harbor. On July 31, 1843, Admiral Thomas officially restores the Hawaiian Kingdom to Kamehameha III. At a 10:00 a.m. ceremony, the Union Jack was lowered and the Hawaiian flag was raised. This historic ceremony took place in the area known today as Thomas Square, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. On the same day, addressing his people on the front stairs of Kawaiahaʻo Church, Kamehameha III spoke the words that would become the State’s motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono (The life (sovereignty) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness; The sovereignty of the land is preserved through justice) The day will be celebrated as a National holiday in the Hawaiian Kingdom known as Ka Lā Ho‘iho‘ï Ea, Restoration Day. After British Admiral Thomas restored the Hawaiian Kingdom to Kamehameha III, on July 31, 1843, the Hawaiian delegation continued their stay in Europe to witness a treaty signing between Britain and France that recognized the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The day the treaty was signed, November 28, 1843, became a Hawaiian national holiday known a Lā Kuʻokoʻa – Independence Day. [Sources: Kuykendall, “The Hawaiian Kingdom: 1778-1854, Chapter XIII, The Paulet Episode. Newspapers, “Advocate” and “Friend”, July 31, 1843. Nupepa-Hawaii] Image credits: People, Hawaii State Archives. Alexander map, Bishop Museum Archives, Baker Collection.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 04:52:12 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015