Timothy Haalilio
Encyclopedia
Timoteo or Timothy Kamalehua Haalilio (1808–1844) was a royal secretary and first diplomat of the Kingdom of Hawaii
.
.
He was of the alii class or Hawaiian nobility. He was included in the first English school set up by Hiram Bingham I
in Honolulu around April 1821.
In 1823 William Richards
joined the mission, and became a teacher and friend for the rest of his life.
After learning of the death of King Kamehameha II
in 1825, Haalilio was selected to be the royal secretary of King Kamehameha III
. Jean Baptiste Rives
who had served as Kamehameha II's secretary had been accused of mismanagement of funds and never returned to Hawaii.
He took the Christian
name Timothy, which was "Timoteo" in the Hawaiian language
spelling.
In 1831 the Lahainaluna School was founded, and he continued his education there. In July 1839 he was offered as a hostage during the French Incident
. Captain Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace described him as:
In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
, he was included in the first members of the House of Nobles
. Haalilio was a founding member of the first Hawaiian Historical Society in 1841.
On April 8, 1842 he was appointed as the first diplomat of the Kingdom, envoy to the United States, France and Great Britain. Richards would assist him as advisor and translator. In May he was appointed to a treasury board, along with John Papa Īī and Gerrit P. Judd
.
Haalilio and Richards left on July 18, 1842 for their diplomatic mission. Instead of sailing via Cape Horn
, they went through Mexico
and over land. They took a steamer to Washington D.C. December 5. After a week waiting to see Daniel Webster
who was the U.S. Secretary of State, they had their appointment on December 7. By December 19, 1842 they had verbal assurance of U.S. recognition, but no formal treaty.
While in Washington, he became quite the celebrity as the first distinguished man of color to visit the nation's captital.
An incident occurred on board the steamboat Globe, in which Haalilio was mistaken for Richards' slave. They tried purchasing two tickets for breakfast but instead were given one and a half, one for Richards and the half for his servant. Even after Richards explained to the captain that he was his servant and that Haalilio was an ambassador from the "King of the Sandwich Islands" to the President, the captain refused to allow any "colored man" to sit at the table. They next sailed to England
.
In London
they met up with Sir George Simpson
of the Hudsons Bay Company and requested a visit with Lord Aberdeen
who was British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. February 1843 Richards, Sir George Simpson and Haalilio visited King Leopold I of Belgium
. On March 17, 1843 they met François Guizot
who was the French Foreign Minister
. Both verbally accepted Hawaiian independence, and so did Lord Aberdeen on another visit on March 25. Confident in their success, Sir George Simpson returned to Canada, thinking Richards and Haalilo could wrap up the details through April and May 1843. Finally on November 13, 1843 Lord Aberdeen and the French ambassador Louis Saint-Aulaire
agreed on terms and signed an agreement on November 28. It was a joint declaration, not a treaty, so did not clarify status.
They returned to America, and visited the new Secretary of State John C. Calhoun
who was invited to also sign the agreement, but said he would wait for a treaty that could be ratified by the Senate.
They left Boston
November 18, 1844 on the ship Montreal, but
Haalilio's health declined, and he died December 3, 1844 off the coast of New York
. He probably had been suffering from tuberculosis
through the long northern winters.
Richards brought his body back on March 21, 1845 to Honolulu. A funeral was held March 26, and a memorial was held in the legislature at its next session.
Bingham offered this praise:
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
.
Life
Haalilio was born early in the 19th century, probably 1808. He was the son Haalou, the governor of Molokai, and his wife Kipa. He was the elder brother of Levi Haalelea, husband of Princess KekauōnohiKekauonohi
Anna Keahikuni-i-Kekauōnohi , sometimes called Miriam Kekauōnohi, was a Hawaiian princess and queen consort, member of the House of Kamehameha and granddaughter King Kamehameha I....
.
He was of the alii class or Hawaiian nobility. He was included in the first English school set up by Hiram Bingham I
Hiram Bingham I
Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham I , was leader of the first group of Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.-Life:...
in Honolulu around April 1821.
In 1823 William Richards
William Richards (Hawaii)
William Richards was a missionary and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Family life:William Richards was born in Plainfield, Massachusetts on August 22, 1793. His father was James Richards and mother was Lydia Shaw. He was schooled under Moses Hallock in Plainfield, attended Williams College...
joined the mission, and became a teacher and friend for the rest of his life.
After learning of the death of King Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu Iolani...
in 1825, Haalilio was selected to be the royal secretary of King Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
. Jean Baptiste Rives
Jean Baptiste Rives
Jean Baptiste Rives was a French adventurer who served in the court of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His first name was sometimes spelled John and last name Reeves by English speakers. Some sources give other middle names.-Life:...
who had served as Kamehameha II's secretary had been accused of mismanagement of funds and never returned to Hawaii.
He took the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
name Timothy, which was "Timoteo" in the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
spelling.
In 1831 the Lahainaluna School was founded, and he continued his education there. In July 1839 he was offered as a hostage during the French Incident
French Incident (Hawaii)
The French Incident or the Laplace Affair was a military intervention by the Kingdom of the French to end the persecution of Catholics by the Kingdom of Hawaii, which had been promoted by Protestant ministers in Hawaii...
. Captain Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace described him as:
"The king's secretary and one of his favorites was a handsome young man of frank, pleasant countenance and good manners; he wore European dress and spoke English quite well."
In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii titled Ke Kumukānāwai a me nā Kānāwai o ko Hawai’i Pae ‘Āina, Honolulu, 1840 was the first fully written constitution for the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, he was included in the first members of the House of Nobles
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
. Haalilio was a founding member of the first Hawaiian Historical Society in 1841.
On April 8, 1842 he was appointed as the first diplomat of the Kingdom, envoy to the United States, France and Great Britain. Richards would assist him as advisor and translator. In May he was appointed to a treasury board, along with John Papa Īī and Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
.
Haalilio and Richards left on July 18, 1842 for their diplomatic mission. Instead of sailing via Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, they went through Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and over land. They took a steamer to Washington D.C. December 5. After a week waiting to see Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
who was the U.S. Secretary of State, they had their appointment on December 7. By December 19, 1842 they had verbal assurance of U.S. recognition, but no formal treaty.
While in Washington, he became quite the celebrity as the first distinguished man of color to visit the nation's captital.
An incident occurred on board the steamboat Globe, in which Haalilio was mistaken for Richards' slave. They tried purchasing two tickets for breakfast but instead were given one and a half, one for Richards and the half for his servant. Even after Richards explained to the captain that he was his servant and that Haalilio was an ambassador from the "King of the Sandwich Islands" to the President, the captain refused to allow any "colored man" to sit at the table. They next sailed to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
they met up with Sir George Simpson
George Simpson (administrator)
Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...
of the Hudsons Bay Company and requested a visit with Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
who was British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. February 1843 Richards, Sir George Simpson and Haalilio visited King Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
. On March 17, 1843 they met François Guizot
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
who was the French Foreign Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
. Both verbally accepted Hawaiian independence, and so did Lord Aberdeen on another visit on March 25. Confident in their success, Sir George Simpson returned to Canada, thinking Richards and Haalilo could wrap up the details through April and May 1843. Finally on November 13, 1843 Lord Aberdeen and the French ambassador Louis Saint-Aulaire
Louis de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire
Louis-Clair de Beaupoil comte de Saint-Aulaire was a French politician.-Life:After attending school at the École des ponts et chaussées and polytechnique , he served as chamberlain to Napoleon I of France, then prefect of the Meuse in 1813 then of Haute-Garonne in 1814...
agreed on terms and signed an agreement on November 28. It was a joint declaration, not a treaty, so did not clarify status.
They returned to America, and visited the new Secretary of State John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
who was invited to also sign the agreement, but said he would wait for a treaty that could be ratified by the Senate.
They left Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
November 18, 1844 on the ship Montreal, but
Haalilio's health declined, and he died December 3, 1844 off the coast of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He probably had been suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
through the long northern winters.
Richards brought his body back on March 21, 1845 to Honolulu. A funeral was held March 26, and a memorial was held in the legislature at its next session.
Bingham offered this praise:
"Haalilio was a man of intelligence, of good judgement, of pleasing manners, and respectable business habits. ...few public officers possess integrity more trustworthy."