Hawaiian Kingdom–United States relations refers to the historical relationship between the independent

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Relations included several treaties and exchanges of trade and diplomatic representatives from 1820 to 1893.

History

While American missionaries and businessmen had settled as residents in the

since 1820, relations with the

developed slowly, beginning in 1826, when the first treaty between the two countries was signed by Captain

Thomas ap Catesby Jones Thomas ''ap'' Catesby Jones (24 April 1790 – 30 May 1858) was a U.S. Navy commissioned officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. Early life and education Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born on 24 April 1790 in Westmor ...

and

Kuhina Nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offic ...

Kaahumanu. However, US recognition of Hawaii's government was suspended following the 1843

Paulet Affair The Paulet affair, also known as British Hawaii, was the unofficial five-month 1843 occupation of the Hawaiian Islands by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet, of . It was ended by the arrival of American warships sent to defend Ha ...

, after which the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

announced their recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Recognition was restored in 1849, when the United States and the Kingdom signed a treaty that established relations between the two countries. This treaty was signed one year after the US has expanded its territorial base to the Pacific coast of North America, making the two countries "neighbors". The first

United States Minister to Hawaii The United States Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to ...

(

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

roughly equivalent to a modern

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

) was

David L. Gregg David Lawrence Gregg (July 21, 1819 – December 23, 1868) was an American politician from Pennsylvania. He rose to prominence in Illinois politics, first in the Illinois House of Representatives, then as United States Attorney, and Illinois Secre ...

, who became minister to Hawaii in 1853. A commercial agent (called

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

starting in 1844) had served in the islands since 1820. From November 1874 to February 1875, King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kin ...

made a state visit to the United States. This was the first time that any foreign head of state or head of government had visited the United States. Kalākaua visited the United States again in 1881 as part of his world tour. Further treaties were signed between the United States and Hawaii, including the

Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom ( Hawaiian: ''Kuʻikahi Pānaʻi Like'') was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. T ...

. Relations between the two countries were aggravated following the 1893

Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-aborig ...

, in which then-Minister

John L. Stevens John Leavitt Stevens (August 1, 1820 – February 8, 1895) was the United States Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 when he was accused of conspiring to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in association with the Committee of Safety, led by ...

had participated; he was accused of inappropriate conduct by the

Blount Report The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report was conducted by U.S. Commissioner James ...

, and was forced into retirement by the United States government that same year. After the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

was proclaimed, a new minister,

James Henderson Blount James Henderson Blount (September 12, 1837 – March 8, 1903) was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the American involvement in the political revolut ...

, was sent to the country to investigate the overthrow of the monarchy. After Blount issued his report, he was succeeded by

Albert Sydney Willis Albert Shelby Willis (January 22, 1843 – January 6, 1897) was a United States Representative from Kentucky and a Minister to Hawaii. Life Born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Willis attended the common schools and graduated from the Louisvill ...

, who convinced the deposed queen to grant an amnesty to the instigators of the coup, and then demanded that the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

turn power back to the monarchy. This was refused by

Sanford B. Dole Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was a lawyer and jurist from the Hawaiian Islands. He lived through the periods when Hawaii was a Kingdom of Hawaii, kingdom, Provisional Government of Hawaii, protectorate, Republic of Hawa ...

Diplomats from the kingdom to the US

Diplomatic representation in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

in the kingdom was through a series of ''ad hoc'' envoys, and a post roughly equivalent to the current

of full-time Minister to the United States. *

William Richards William, Bill, or Billy Richards may refer to: Sportspeople * Dicky Richards (William Henry Matthews Richards, 1862–1903), South African cricketer * Billy Richards (footballer, born 1874) (1874–1926), West Bromwich Albion football player * B ...

1842 *

James Jackson Jarves James Jackson Jarves (1818–1888) was an American newspaper editor, and art critic who is remembered above all as the first American art collector to buy Italian primitives and Old Masters. Life and career Jarves was the editor of an early we ...

1849 *

William Little Lee William Little Lee (February 25, 1821 – May 28, 1857) was an American lawyer who became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life William Little Lee was born February 25, 1821 in Sandy Hill, New York. His fat ...

1855–1856 *

Elisha Hunt Allen Elisha Hunt Allen (January 28, 1804 – January 1, 1883) was an American congressman, lawyer and diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Elisha Hunt Allen was born January 28, 1804, in New Salem, Massachusetts. ...

1856–1883 *

Henry A. P. Carter Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter, also known as Henry Augustus Peirce Carter (August 7, 1837 – November 1, 1891), was an American businessman, politician, and diplomat in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Family life Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter was born Au ...

1883–1891 *

John Mott-Smith John Mott-Smith (November 25, 1824 – August 10, 1895) was the first dentist to set up a permanent practice in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was also a politician, newspaper editor, and diplomat. Life John Mott-Smith was born in New York City on No ...

1891–1893

References

External links

President Cleveland Message about Hawaii

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawaiian Kingdom-United States relations History of the foreign relations of the United States

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

History

Diplomats from the kingdom to the US

See also

References

External links