PU'UKOHOLA HEIAU NHS • KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NHP • PU'UHONUA O HONAUNAU NHP A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai'i Island

CHAPTER III:
FOREIGN POPULATION GROWS (continued)

B. Foreigners Become Residents

As a result of continued contact and trade by foreign ships, it was not long before some foreigners became permanent residents. By 1794 there were at least eleven non-native residents in the Islands, including Englishmen, Chinese, Americans, Irish, Genoese, and Portuguese. At Kawaihae in 1798 there were at least six foreigners, including John Young. [39] Some foreigners had been left in the islands because of illness or to establish trade relations, while others jumped ship. [40] While this latter group contributed little to either culture, they usually did not pose a serious threat to the Hawaiian rulers because they "worked under the chiefs." [41] Some of the new residents were fugitives from justice and escaped convicts who "eked out an existence by living on the natives." [42] Sometimes, however, the foreigners caused problems by refusing to submit to Hawaiian justice or by inciting unrest. Several times during his reign, Kamehameha issued deportation orders for all non-land holders, as did his successor Liholiho.

However, it had become fashionable for important chiefs to have foreigners in their employ, and many of the newcomers were able to quickly establish themselves as associates of Hawaiian leaders. [43] Many of the foreigners were allowed to stay on the islands because of their knowledge of firearms, navigation, and military warfare, while others were welcomed because of their background as skilled tradesmen. James Coleman, left behind on Kaua'i by Captain John Kendrick, was befriended by the chief of O'ahu and given considerable power and property.

Coleman went on to regulate shipping and served as the chief's business representative, smoothing relations between the Hawaiians and foreigners visiting O'ahu. [44]

Kamehameha employed emigrant carpenters, masons, joiners, bricklayers, and blacksmiths and gave them generous grants of land. For example, by 1794 an English seaman named Boyd had taken up residence on the islands and had become one of Kamehameha's artisans, employed in the construction and repair of the king's fleet of vessels. It is likely that Boyd helped train many of the Hawaiian shipwrights stationed at Honolulu.

Some foreigners like Captains Alexander Adams and William Sumner sailed ships for Kamehameha and Liholiho and were awarded significant land grants for their services. Williams Stevenson distilled brandy for the king, while John de Castro served as his personal surgeon and Welshman William Davis as his gardener. [45]

Some of the foreigners served in Kamehameha's military forces. William Broughton states that part of Kamehameha's confidence in the 1790s battles was due to the fact that he had fifteen Europeans with him. Other chiefs contended for the foreigner immigrants as well, perhaps hoping to counter Kamehameha's superior forces. [46]

Kamehameha had a number of trusted advisors among the foreign population. Several married into Hawaiian families, some, like John Young, Isaac Davis, and John Smith, marrying daughters of chiefs. They were endowed with lands upon which to settle and held important positions in Hawaiian government; they also, however, had to live under the kapu system. Padre Howel guided Menzies and his party to the summit of Mauna Loa and "had many long sessions with Kamehameha on the subject of Christianity." [47] Jean Rives served as an interpreter at Kawaihae and later at O'ahu. [48] An American named Oliver Holmes became the governor of Hawai'i following Isaac Davis's death and received large tracts of land on O'ahu and Moloka'i.

A few of the immigrants operated as independent businessmen. For example, a certain Mr. Harribottle (ca. 1807) was the "chief purveyor of water" on O'ahu. Former slave Anthony Allen supplied milk, kept a boarding house, and cultivated land. Don Francisco de Paula Marin was an Andalusian Spaniard who settled on the island of O'ahu in 1791. He was a lack of all trades who married a Hawaiian woman and became closely involved with several Hawaiian leaders. He established a large ranch where he introduced a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, bred horses, processed beef for traders, and ran a distillery. Marin acted as an interpreter to the king, served as a doctor for members of the nobility, built a storehouse for Kamehameha, ran a boarding house, served as a tailor, commanded a ship, and dealt with sandalwood exports. He also reportedly built a stone house for Liholiho at Kailua, Kona, about 1813. [49] During King Kamehameha's last days, Marin was called to his bedside in a futile attempt to save his life. After Kamehameha's death, Marin lost favor with the chiefs and had to struggle to make a living. [50]

One of the early foreign settlers was a New England sailing master named John Parker. He married a high-ranking Hawaiian woman and built a home on the west side of the island of Hawai'i. He adopted many Hawaiian ways and became well versed in Hawaiian history and legend. He bred horses and captured wild cattle to help build the Parker Ranch, which now occupies vast acreages of Hawai'i Island. (Parker's contributions to Hawai'i Island history will be discussed in more detail later.)