Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 11, 1 November 2021 — Pursuing Recognition of Hawaiian lndependence [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pursuing Recognition of Hawaiian lndependence

By Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp The journey to have Western powers recognize our long-independent Hawaiian Nation began in the 1800s. In 1824, King Kamehameha II went to London to secure recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom but tragically passed away before any commitments were made. Two years later, Queen-Regent Ka'ahumanu successfully negotiated with U.S. envoy Captain Thomas ap Catesby Jones (the "ap" in his name is Welsh for "son of") to begin bilateral relations with the United States. Jones was conferred ambassadorial powers by the U.S. State Department to settle debts owed by Hawaiian chiefs to American sea captains and to deal with Ameriean deserters of U.S.-flagged merchant ships. Ka'ahumanu asserted that the only way the Hawaiian government could assist was if the U.S. recognized Hawai'i as an independent nation. This led to the signing of the U.S.-Hawai'i Agreement of 1826, also known as the "Jones Treaty," whieh recognized both the independent government of King Kamehameha III, and Native Hawaiians as its subjects. This was an important point. In treaty negotiations, Ka'ahumanu emphasized that her government would never concede any Hawaiian land to the United States, nor would she tolerate Native Hawaiians being captured, enslaved, and/or trafīicked. While Ka'ahumanu remains a controversial figure because of her role in the abolishment of the kapu system, she negotiated the Kingdoms first international agreement with a Western power - although the Jones Treaty was largely ignored by Americans living in Hawai'i because it was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. In 1837, Rev. William Richards went to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Attorney-General Benjamin Franklin Butler as an envoy of Kuhina Nui Princess Elizabeth Kīna'u Ka'ahumanu II in an effort to push the U.S. to enforce its treaty obligations. Richards was a missionary in Hawai'i since his arrival in 1823 and was pastor to Queen Keōpūolani. Richards and Butler communicated at length about updating the Jones Treaty. Richards presented Butler with an amended treaty signed by Kamehameha III and the Kuhina Nui for ratification in the U.S. Senate. Butler agreed that a more formal treaty would need to be ratified by the U.S. Senate, but Richards was unahle to secure the necessary support. Upon his return to Hawai'i, he heeame an advisor to the King. In 1842, Kamehameha III sought formal agreements with the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom to never seize the Hawaiian Kingdom, to step up diplomatic engagement, and to support Hawaiian independence. He wanted a Native Hawaiian to lead a delegation and selected Timoteo Ha'alilio, appointing him his personal ambassador. Ha'alilio already served as governor of O'ahu, private secretary to the King, and treasurer for the Kingdom. He spoke English fluently, and was widely

īimoleo Hū'ūlilio served as an ambassador for the Kingdom of Hawai'i under Kina Kamehameha III. - Photos: Courtesy

īimoleo Ha'alilio and Rev. William Richards.

read, eloquent and pious. Since Richards had previous experience on treaty matters, he, too, was appointed to this delegation. A third delegate, Sir George Simpson, the eolonial governor of the Hudson Bay Company in Canada, was also appointed to the delegation to leverage his connections with the royal courts of London and Paris. Simpson traveled separately from Ha'alilio and Richards, going directly to Europe.

Ha'alilio had a premonition that he would not return to his native land and did not wish to go, but ultimately accepted the assignment out of a sense of duty. Throughout the 28-month-long journey, he wrote heartfelt letters to his mother thanking her for raising him and expressing his wish to pass away by her side. The delegation departed Honolulu for Mexico. While there, Ha'alilio wrote about the hardships of their travel but also glowingly about Mexico. From Mexico, they proceeded to New Orleans and then to Washington, D.C. Throughout Ha'alilio's stay in the U.S., he experienced mueh racism. One incident occurred on the steamship Globe, when the captain refused to allow Ha'alilio to purchase a full breakfast dining ticket believing him to be Richard's slave. U.S. newspapers, particularly in the North, celebrated Ha'alilio for being the most distinguished person of color to visit the U.S., and abolitionists touted Ha'alilio as an example of what Blacks were eapable of if they were ffeed.

In Washington, D.C., Ha'alilio and Richards sent a diplomatic note to U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster on Dec. 14, 1842, asserting the treaty rights of the Hawaiian Kingdom stating in part: "In the year 1826 articles of agreement, in the form of a treaty, were entered into between His Majesty's Government and Thomas ap Catesby Jones, commanding the United States sloop of war Peaeoek. His Majesty has never received any notice of that treaty's being ratified, nor intimation that it was approved by the Government of the United States. His Majesty has, nevertheless, during the last sixteen years, governed himself by the regulations of that treaty in all his intercourse with citizens of the United States..." Within two weeks, U.S. President John Tyler extended the Monroe Doctrine to the Hawaiian Kingdom - essentially guaranteeing American support for Hawaiian independence with a promise that a new treaty, ratified by the Senate, would be forthcoming. With that, the delegation left for Europe. Three months later, on March 17, 1843, King LouisPhilippe of France formally recognized Hawaiian independence, followed by the United Kingdom on April 1. An international agreement recognizing Hawaiian independence, the Anglo-French Proclamation, was signed on Nov. 28, 1843. In Hawai'i this was commemorated as Lā Kū'oko'a - Hawaiian Independence Day. The agreement included upgrading diplomatic relations, and forming a non-aggression pact promising to never take possession of the Hawaiian Kingdom in any form - an agreement to whieh both European powers abided. This debunks arguments that, had the U.S. not taken Hawai'i, France or Britain would have. To celebrate, Ha'alilio commissioned a royal coat of arms from the Royal College of Arms in London on behalf of Kamehameha III. After securing European support, Ha'alilio returned to the U.S. to lobby for concrete action from the U.S. On July 6, 1844, the United States formally recognized Hawaiian independence - minus a non-aggression pact. An upgraded treaty with the U.S. followed in 1849. In November 1844, while still in America, Ha'alilio contracted tuberculosis and passed away on December 3 aboard a ship departing New York for Hawai'i. Ha'alilio was just 36-years-old. He never saw his mother or his motherland again, but left all of us a profound legacy. November 28, or Lā Kū'oko'a, not only marks the successful mission of Ha'alilio but the work of all Kānaka Maoli who fought, struggled, and sacrificed for the lāhui - and who continue to do so. From the beginning, our ali'i took steps to safeguard the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom ffom foreign eolonial powers and assert our right to self-determina-tion. It is the kuleana of the present generations of Kānaka Maoli to continue that journey. ■ Adam Keawe Manalo-Catnp grew up in Papakōlea and is a Hawaiian and Filipino writer, blogger and independent researcher.