Wynee, also spelled Winee or Winée was the first

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

from the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

to travel abroad on a Western ship. She traveled to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

before dying on the voyage home to Hawaii.

Biography

Wynee was originally from the island of

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 ...

, known as ''Owyhee'' by European explorers at the time. In 1787, she became the first

to sail abroad with a Western ship when she was hired as the servant or maid of Frances Hornsby Trevor Barkley, the wife of Captain

Charles William Barkley Charles William Barkley (1759 – 16 May 1832) was a ship captain and maritime fur trader. He was born in Hertford, England, son of Charles Barkley.Imperial Eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of the ...

''. Barkley recorded her name as ''Wynee'' which was possibly an attempted spelling of '' wahine'', the Hawaiian word for woman. She traveled to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and later to China. The Barkleys intended to take her back to Europe but Wynee requested to return home and so she was left in the Portuguese colony of

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. At

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 ...

, she arranged to return to Hawaii aboard Captain

John Meares John Meares (c. 1756 – 1809) was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. Career Meares' father was Charles Meares, "formerly an ...

's ship '' Felice Adventurero'' with fellow Hawaiian "Tianna" (

Kaʻiana Kaʻiana, also known as Keawe-Kaʻiana-a-Ahuula, (born about 1755 - died 1795) was a Native Hawaiian (kānaka ʻōiwi/maoli) warrior and ''aliʻi'' (noble) of Puna, Hawai‘i, who turned against Kamehameha I in 1795 during his conquest of Oahu an ...

– also spelled Tyaana & Tyanna), a member of the

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...

(high chief) class from the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. Traveling with them were two other Hawaiians: a stout man and a boy from

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 ...

but they are not specifically named. She died of illness on the voyage home on February 5, 1788. Tianna, who remained by her bedside caring for her, contracted a fever as well. He reportedly became seriously distraught upon learning of her death, although he would recover and arrive back home. Wynee bequeathed to him some trade articles she had acquired and asked him to deliver her remaining possessions to her father and mother; these items included mirrors, porcelain, Western clothing and other items she collected during her travel. She was buried at sea. Shortly after describing her last moments, Captain Meares wrote:

Thus died Winee, a native of Owhyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands, who possessed virtues that are seldom to be found in the class of her countrywomen to which she belonged, and a portion of understanding that was not be expected in a rude and uncultivated mind. It may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to mention the cause of this poor girl's departure from her friends and country, which it was her fate never to behold again.

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External links

{{commons category-inline, Wynee Year of birth unknown 1788 deaths Native Hawaiian people Native Hawaiian explorers People from Hawaii (island) Polynesian explorers of the Pacific

Biography

See also

References

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