John Mākini Kapena (October 2, 1843 – October 23, 1887) was a politician, diplomat and newspaper editor who served many political roles in the
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( 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 independent island ...
. He served as
Governor of Maui from 1874 to 1876,
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
from 1876 to 1878 and again from 1883 to 1886,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from 1878 to 1880, Postmaster General from 1881 to 1883 and Collector General of Customs from 1886 to 1887. From 1874 to 1875, he accompanied 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 ...
on his
state visit to the United States to negotiate 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 ...
. In 1882, he traveled to Tokyo as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Japan to negotiate
Japanese immigration to Hawaii
The Japanese in Hawaii (simply Japanese or “Local Japanese”, rarely Kepanī) are the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii. At their height in 1920, they constituted 43% of Hawaii's population. They now number about 16.7% of the islands' p ...
.
Early life and family
Born on October 2, 1843, at
Lāhainā
Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...
, on the island of
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, Kapena was the son of Mākini and High Chiefess Nāʻawa, a relative of the
Kalākaua family. He was adopted under the Hawaiian custom of ''
hānai
''Hānai'' is a term used in the Hawaiian culture that refers to the informal adoption of one person by another. It can be used as an adjective, such as "''hānai'' child", or as a verb to ''hānai'' someone into the family.
In the Hawaiian cultu ...
'' by his uncle
Jonah Kapena
Jonah Kapena (died March 12, 1868), also spelled Iona Kapena, was a royal advisor and statesman in the Kingdom of Hawaii who helped draft the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In addition to his legislative career as a member of the ...
, an influential statesman, judge and royal advisor since the reign of King
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
(r. 1825–1854).
Kapena was educated at the
Royal School and later at the Oahu College (now
Punahou School
Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...
). In 1863 he married Emma Aʻalailoa Malo (1846–1886), the only daughter of early Native Hawaiian historian and Christian minister
David Malo
David Malo or Davida Malo (1795–1853) was a chiefly counselor, a Hawaiian intellectual, educator, politician and minister. He is remembered by subsequent generations of Hawaiian people and scholars primarily as a Native Hawaiian historian of the ...
and his third wife Rebecca Lepeka. Emma was an accomplished musician and composer and served as an attendant of Princess
Liliʻuokalani
Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Haw ...
. Emma died unexpectedly from heart disease on April 18, 1886, at the age of 39.
They had one daughter, Alexandrina Leihulu Kapena (1868–1914). On November 5, 1887, Leihulu married Morris Kahai Keohokālole of Maui. She later divorced Keohokālole and married Henry N. Clark after he divorced his wife Emma Dreier. Leihulu owned property on Hawaii and the mainland United States. She died on March 23, 1914, while living in San Francisco, California. She was the last lineal descendant of David Malo. Leihulu died intestate and her estate was disputed between her widower and her two next of kin: Samuel I. Maikai and David U. K. Maikai (grandsons of
John William Elliott Maikai). The
Hawaii Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions of ...
ruled in favor of her widower as her sole heir.
Editor
In 1870, Kapena became the editor of the newspaper ''Ke Au Okoa'', which ran from 1865 until it merged with ''Ka Nupepa Kuokoa'' to become ''Ka Nupepa Kuokoa Me Ke Au Okoa I Huiia'' in 1873.
Political career
Earlier career
![Young Hawaiian students in San Francisco en route to Japan and China in 1882](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Young_Hawaiian_students_in_San_Francisco_en_route_to_Japan_and_China_in_1882.jpg)
During the reign of
Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...
(r. 1864–1872), he was commissioned on January 16, 1864, as first lieutenant of the 1st Company of the Yeomanry, a volunteer army regiment in the military of Hawaii.
When King
Lunalilo
Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later.
Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...
ascended to the throne in 1873, Kapena was appointed to a number of political positions. He was appointed to the Board of Education on January 23. He was made a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
on the king's personal military staff on January 27, and judge of the first circuit court on the island of Oahu, serving in the latter position from April 1, 1873, to July 13, 1874.
In July 1873, King Lunalilo and his foreign minister
Charles Reed Bishop considered a proposal to cede
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
to the United States in exchange for a reciprocity treaty. Although he was in favor of the reciprocity treaty, Kapena gave a speech in front of 1500 Hawaiians at
Kaumakapili Church
Kaumakapili Church is a Gothic Revival church located at 766 North King Street in the Kapālama neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. It was originally established on April 1, 1838, at the corner of Smith and Beretania Streets as a Protestant church ...
opposing the cessation of Hawaiian territory.
Patronage by Kalākaua
Lunalilo died without an heir in 1874. In the
election that followed, Kapena supported his relative
David Kalākaua's candidacy for the vacant throne against
Queen Emma, the
dowager queen
A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...
of
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...
(r. 1855–1864). The choice of Kalākaua by the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
, and the subsequent announcement, caused a
riot at the courthouse. US and British troops were landed, and some of Emma's supporters were arrested.
As part of his first round of political appointments, Kalākaua appointed Kapena as a member of the Privy Council of State and the
Governor of Maui, succeeding
Paul Nahaolelua
Paul Nahaolelua (September 11, 1806 – September 5/15, 1875) was a Hawaiian high chief who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii, including Governor of Maui from 1852 to 1874. In his long political career, Nahaolelua served und ...
, who had resigned the governorship to become Minister of Finance. Kapena served as Governor of Maui from February 23, 1874 until December 15, 1876, when he too resigned the governorship to become Minister of Finance. He was succeeded by
William Luther Moehonua
William Luther Kealii Moehonua (1824–1878) was a native Hawaiian noble and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Life
William Luther Moehonua was born May 5, 1824, in Mokulēia. His mother was Mary Napuaelua. There is some dispute about his fa ...
as governor.
[; ] On January 10, 1876, Kapena was appointed by the king to be an official member of the House of Nobles, the upper chamber of the legislature. As a member of the House of Nobles, Kapena served in every legislative session between 1876 and 1886.
From November 17, 1874, to February 15, 1875, Kapena was a member of the Reciprocity Commission and traveled with Kalākaua on his
state visit the United States to negotiate 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 ...
.
Kapena held various important cabinet positions during Kalākaua's reign. In 1876, Kapena was appointed to the king's cabinet as
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
serving alongside three Americans:
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 ...
, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
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 ...
, Minister of the Interior; and
Alfred S. Hartwell
Alfred Stedman Hartwell (June 11, 1836 – August 30, 1912) was a lawyer and American Civil War soldier, who then had another career as cabinet minister and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Early life
Alfred Stedman Hartwell was born June 11, 18 ...
, Attorney General. He served as the finance minister from December 5, 1876, until Kalākaua demanded the resignation of his entire cabinet in the middle of the night on July 1, 1878. It was widely suspected that Kalākaua's sudden replacement of his cabinet was influenced by American businessman
Claus Spreckels
Adolph Claus J. Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) (his last name has also been misspelled as Spreckles) was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also in ...
, who had refinanced the King's debts the night before in order to secure water rights for his sugarcane plantation on Maui. On July 3, Kapena was appointed as the
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
in a new cabinet with
Samuel Gardner Wilder
Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Life
Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in Leominster, ...
, Minister of the Interior;
Simon Kaloa Kaʻai
Simon Kaloa Kaʻai (died March 22, 1884) was a politician who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served multiple terms as a legislator from the island of Hawaii (island), Hawaii, Ministry of Finance (Hawaii), Minister of Fin ...
, Minister of Finance; and
Edward Preston
Edward Preston (17 February 1831 – 17 January 1890) was a lawyer and judge originally from England who served in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Early life
Edward Preston was born 17 February 1831 in London, England.
In 1852 he sailed to Melbourne, Au ...
, Attorney General. Kapena became the first Native Hawaiian to hold the post of foreign minister and the only minister to survive the political shakeup. He held this post from July 3, 1878, to August 14, 1880. During his tenure, the elders (''na elemakule'') of
Tabiteuea
Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the bigger and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands but Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, in the nor ...
in the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
requested annexation to Hawaii. However, Kapena and the king wrote back declining the request due to its political impractically.
When the king chose a new cabinet in 1880, Kapena was replaced in the position by the Italian adventurer
Celso Caesar Moreno
Celso Caesar Moreno (1830 – March 12, 1901) was an adventurer and a controversial political figure on the world stage, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hawaii under Kalākaua. Born in Italy, he fought in the Crimean War and lived throughout A ...
to the vehement opposition of the diplomatic corps and political leaders in Honolulu. Kapena later returned to another cabinet headed by
Walter Murray Gibson
Walter Murray Gibson (March 6, 1822 – January 21, 1888) was an American adventurer and a government minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to the kingdom's 1887 constitution.
Early life
Gibson was generally thought to be born March 6, 1822 ...
when he was appointed Minister of Finance for a second term in February 1883 after Kaʻai was removed for "dereliction of ministerial duty." He served as finance minister until June 30, 1886, although Minister of the Interior
Charles T. Gulick
Charles Thomas Gulick (July 25, 1841 – November 7, 1897) was a Kingdom of Hawaiʻi politician and one of the few members of the various missionary families of the time to side with the monarchy in the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawa ...
served as acting finance minister while he was attending the
Louisville Exposition in 1885 as Special Commissioner.
He was succeeded by
Paul P. Kanoa
Paul (Paulo) Puhiula Kanoa (June 10, 1832 – March 18, 1895) was a noble and politician in the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii from the island of Kauai, Kauai.
Life
Paul Puhiula Kanoa was born June 10, 1832 in Honolulu.
His hānai father, ...
.
He also served as the Postmaster General from 1881 to 1883 and the Collector General of Customs from 1886 to 1887.
Other political posts and appointments he held during his political career included Marshal of the Household, member of the Board of Education, Commissioner of Boundaries for Maui, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Commissioner to Codify and Revise Laws and Registrar of Conveyances for Oahu.
In 1872, he was appointed as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Japan. Along with his secretary
John Lot Kaulukoʻu
John Lot Kaulukoʻu (June 1, 1841 – June 2, 1917) was Attorney General of the Kingdom of Hawaii under the monarchy of Kalākaua.
Early life
Kaulukoʻu was born of Spanish and Hawaiian ancestry, in Keauhou, Hawaii. Orphaned at a young age, h ...
, he traveled to Japan to negotiate the prospect of
Japanese immigration to the Hawaiian Islands. As part of the
Education of Hawaiian Youths Abroad
Education of Hawaiian Youths Abroad was a government-funded educational program that commenced April 1, 1880, during the reign of King Kalākaua, to help students further their educations beyond the institutions available in Hawaii at that time. S ...
governmental program, Kapena also escorted three Hawaiian students to study in Asia. James Kapaa was placed in a school in
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
, China, and James Hakuole and Isaac Harbottle were placed in schools in Japan.
Kapena was decorated with a number of Hawaiian and foreign orders and honors. He was made a Knight Companion of the
Royal Order of Kamehameha I
The Royal Order of Kamehameha I (''Kamehameha I e Hookanaka'') is an order of knighthood established by Kamehameha V in 1865, to promote and defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Established by the 1864 Constitution, the Order of Kameh ...
, a Grand Officer of the Royal Order of the Crown of Hawaii and a Grand Officer of the
Royal Order of Kalākaua
The Royal Order of Kalākaua I (''Kalākaua I e Hookanaka'') was instituted on 28 September 1874 by King Kalākaua I to commemorate his accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi on 12 February 1874.
Grades
The Order was awarded in four ...
. He was also accorded the foreign honors of the Grand Cross of the
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...
of Japan, Grand Officer of the
Order of the Cross of Takovo
The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order.
History
It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...
of Serbia, Grand Officer of the
Order of the Crown of Prussia
The Royal Order of the Crown (german: Königlicher Kronen-Orden) was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers (or civ ...
, Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Japan and the
Belgian Red Cross
The Belgian Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that aids in providing emergency and disaster related services and relief as well as providing education for disaster awareness within the population of Belgium. It is a member of the Internati ...
.
Death
In 1887, Kapena resigned his last political post as Collector General of Customs. Kapena died at his residence at Peleula, Honolulu, on October 23, 1887, at the age of 44.
Kapena's funeral at
St. Andrew's Cathedral the following day was attended by the King, members of the royal family, ranking members of the government and Honolulu society,
Viscount Torii and T. Fujita of the Japanese legation, the
Lodge Le Progres de L'Oceanie and the Hawaiian Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., where he was a member. His service was conducted entirely in
Hawaiian by Anglican Reverend Alexander Mackintosh with Reverend H. H. Gowen also in the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
. His daughter Leihulu served as the chief mourner. After the service, a funeral procession brought the hearse carrying his casket to
Kawaiahaʻo Church
Kawaiahaʻo Church is a historic Congregational church located in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. The church, along with the Mission Houses, comprise the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site, which was designated a U.S. Natio ...
where he was buried with
Masonic rites
In Freemasonry, a Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In many cases, such as the York Rite, it can be a col ...
.
Kapena was buried next to his wife Emma Malo and his ''hānai'' father Jonah Kapena in the Kapena family plot. His grave marker reads, "J. M. Kapena Died Oct 23 1887."
Other relatives interred there include Umiuimi, David Kalu and Kahoihoi Pahu.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapena, John Makini
1843 births
1887 deaths
People from Lahaina, Hawaii
Hawaiian nobility
Royal School (Hawaii) alumni
Punahou School alumni
Editors of Hawaii newspapers
Hawaiian Kingdom military officers
Native Hawaiian politicians
Hawaiian Kingdom politicians
Hawaiian Kingdom judges
Governors of Maui
Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles
Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council
Hawaiian Kingdom postmasters general
Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers
Hawaiian Kingdom Foreign Ministers
Burials at Kawaiahaʻo Church
Ambassadors of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Recipients of the Royal Order of Kalākaua
Hawaiian Kingdom Anglicans
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo