Russian Fort Elizabeth / Pāʻulaʻula o Hipo
1. Unification of Hawaii and the conquest of Kaua’i
Hawaiian Islands are rich with their history, culture, and local heritage. The existence of independent Hawaiian Kingdom and Republic are particularly emphasized473. The kingdom’s creator, Kamehameha I the Great is most commemorated with monuments,
471 See: J. Friedman, The Past in the Future: History and the Politics of Identity, [in:] American Anthropologist New Series, Vol. 94, No. 4 (December 1992), pp. 837-859.
472 See: D. A. Chang, Borderlands in a World at Sea: Concow Indians, Native Hawaiians, and South Chinese in Indigenous, Global, and National Spaces, [in:] The Journal of American History, Vol. 98, No. 2 (September 2011), pp.
384-403.
473 Consider: P. D’Arcy, Transforming Hawai‘i: Balancing Coercion and Consent in Eighteenth-Century Kānaka Maoli Statecraft, Canberra 2018. In particular the chapter 6: Creating a Kingdom: Hawai‘i from 1796 to 1819, pp. 181-220.
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streets and various buildings named after him474. His official bio at the website of National Park System considers him one of the most striking figures in Hawaiian history475. He is also known as The Unifier, a ruler who brought all the islands together, founding a strong, united statehood476. A state that survived numerous hardships and upheavals, until finally it had to yield to its powerful neighbor – United States of America477. In 1898 the US Congress officially approved annexation of Hawai’i478. However, such a narrative is not fully shared among the residents of all islands in the archipelago. There is a different perspective presented on Kaua’i Island. Centuries-long independence is considered to be a core of local memory practices as well as the main source of pride. Becoming a part of Kamehameha’s kingdom is seen as a forced incorporation, which came not without a fight.
Therefore, the most commemorated historical figure is not Kamehameha, but his local counterpart – King Kaumuali’i479. Even the geographical distance from other islands plays its role in the different perception of local history among the residents of Kaua’i480. Kamehameha was originally from Hawai’i Island (also known today as The Big Island) and his conquest started from there. He assumed power in 1782, spent few years on consolidating it and developing his island481. Next, he began to conquer neighboring islands Maui and Molaka’i. With upcoming years half of the archipelago was subjected to Kamehameha and he was ready to attempt control over O’ahu and Kaua’i482. The former was conquered in 1795 after the major victory of Kamehameha at the battle of Nu’uanu483. The latter remained independent until 1810 when its ruler - King Kaumuali’i realized he
474 Such a narrative has a long-lasting tradition. Kamehameha has been praised and commemorated on a national level for decades. Consider a century-old paper: H. H. Gowen, The Centenary of Kamehameha the Great, [in:] The Washington Historical Quarterly, April 1919, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 88-92.
475 https://home.nps.gov/puhe/learn/historyculture/kamehameha.htm [access: June 14th, 2022].
476 Albrecht Classen made an interesting comparison between the Kamehameha and Charlemagne as figures in nation building processes and the national myths built around such figures: See: A. Classen, Royal Figures as Nation Builders - King Kamehamaha and Charlemagne: Myth Formation in the European Early Middle Ages and in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Polynesian Hawai'i, [in:] Journal of East – West Thought, Vol. 6 No. 4 (2016): Winter 2016, pp.
85-91.
477 See the chapter: The United States Becomes a Colonial Empire in: K. van Dijk, Pacific Strife. The Great Powers and their Political and Economic Rivalries in Asia and the Western Pacific, 1870 – 1914, Amsterdam 2015, pp. 381-400.
478 M. Kazin, The Concise Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History, Princeton 2011, p. 7.
479 L. B. Croft, Kaumuali'i and the Last of Hawaii's God Kings, Sphynx Publications 2017.
480 See the core publication on Kauai’s perspective on local history: E. Joesting, Kauai. The Separate Kingdom, Lihue 1984.
481 S. M. Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs of Hawai’i, Honolulu 1992 (revised edition), p. 117.
482 P. D’Arcy, op. cit., p. 191.
483 S. M. Kamakau, op. cit., p. 172.
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was no longer able to resist Kamehameha and accepted surrender484. The Kingdom of Hawaii was created. Nevertheless, Kaumuali’i didn’t entirely give up and struggled to preserve the autonomy of his island from Kamehameha. “The Russian adventure” played its part in this struggle. The main character behind this story is Georg Anton Schaeffer485. This crucial figure was a German physician and adventurer who offered his services to the Russian American Company. Schaeffer came to Kaua’i in 1816 to recollect goods from the ship Bering that wrecked at the shores of this island a year before486. This is what he was instructed to do by the Russian America’s governor Alexander Baranov. However, Schaeffer’s much bigger ambitions were soon revealed. He spotted an opportunity for a development of Russian colonies in the Pacific as well as his own profit. Waters around Kaua’i were full of sea otters and other animals whose pelts were the main reason for Russian presence in the America487. Warm climate year-round could also provide supplies which were critical for survival of a young colony. Therefore, Georg Schaeffer engaged in the negotiations with Kaumuali’i regarding more extended collaboration. Hence the popular perception of Kaua’i potentially becoming a new Russian colony. Nevertheless, local narrative in Kaua’i emphasizes a different aspect of this story. It is Kaumuali’i, not Schaeffer who is the central figure of the story. The latter could be even seen as a tool in the local struggle for power among the Hawaiian rulers. Kaumuali’i considered Russia a great European empire. He believed its power could bring significant change in Hawaiian political and military landscape. Alliance with Russia could be a huge leverage in his dispute with Kamehameha488. Kaumuali’i was convinced by Schaeffer that the latter was acting entirely on behalf of the tsar Alexander I. A quarrel between these two gentlemen was created when Kaumuali’i found out that Schaeffer’s declarations were empty. As a
484 N. W. Potter, L. M. Casdon, A. Rayson, History of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Honolulu 2003, p. 20.
485 See: R. A. Pierce, Georg Anton Schäffer, Russia's Man in Hawaii, 1815-1817, [in:] Pacific Historical Review, Vol.
32, No. 4 (November 1963), pp. 397-405.
486 E. Joesting, op. cit., p. 75.
487 K. G. Lightfoot, Russian Colonization: The Implications of Mercantile Colonial Practices in the North Pacific, [in:]
Historical Archaeology, Vol. 37, No. 4 (2003), p. 14.
488 P. R. Mills, Hawai’i’s Russian Adventure. A New Look at Old History, Honolulu 2018, p. 112.
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result, Russians were forced to leave Kaua’i in 1817489. They left three forts behind and a legacy that will remain challenging for many years that were to come.