The original Nov. 28, 1843, Anglo-French proclamation recognizing the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom is housed in the national archives of Britain, and appears in part here. - Photo: Courtesy of Keanu Sai

Independence Day, Lā Kū'oko'a: Nov. 28

By Keanu Sai / Special to Ka Wai Ola

In 1842, Kamehameha III had a “very strong desire that his Kingdom shall be formally acknowledged by the civilized nations of the world as a sovereign and independent State.” To accomplish this, he appointed Timoteo Ha'alilio, William Richards and Sir George Simpson, a British subject, as joint ministers plenipotentiary on April 8, 1842. Shortly thereafter, Simpson left for England, via Alaska and Siberia, while Ha'alilio and Richards departed for the United States, via Mexico, on July 8, 1842.

After Ha'alilio and Richards secured President John Tyler's assurance of recognizing Haw-
aiian independence on Dec. 19, 1842, the delegation proceeded to meet Simpson in Europe. On March 17, 1843, King Louis-Philippe assures them of France's recognition of Hawaiian independence, and on April 1, 1843, Lord Aberdeen, on behalf of Queen Victoria, assured the Hawaiian delegation that “Her Majesty's Government was willing and had determined to recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands under their present sovereign.” Confirming these assurances, Great Britain and France formally recognized Hawaiian sovereignty on Nov. 28, 1843, by joint proclamation at the Court of London, and the United States followed on July 6, 1844, by letter of Secretary of State J.C. Calhoun. Nov. 28 was a national holiday celebrating Hawaiian Independence, Lā Kū'oko'a.

On May 16, 1854, Kamehameha
III proclaimed the Hawaiian Kingdom to be a neutral State, and it was expressly stated in treaties with Sweden-Norway in 1852 and Spain in 1863. As an internationally recognized sovereign and neutral state, the Hawaiian Kingdom joined the Universal Postal Union on Jan. 1, 1882, (today an agency of the United Nations) maintained more than 90 legations (embassies) and consulates throughout the world, and entered into extensive diplomatic and treaty relations with Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Bremen, Chili, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hamburg, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nether
lands, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Sāmoa, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Switzerland, the United States and Uruguay.

The year 1893 was to have been a festive year celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hawaiian independence. Instead, it was a year that the United States began to systematically violate Hawaiian sovereignty that resulted in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian government and the prolonged occupation of the country since the Spanish-American War. Nevertheless, Nov. 28 was and still remains a national holiday.

Keanu Sai is completing his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, specializing in Public Law and International Relations. His dissertation is titled The American Occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom: Beginning the Transition from Occupied to Restored State.