Page 34 - DIVA_3_2024_web

international

The Treaties of the Hawaiian Kingdom
h.e. leon Kaulahao siu

Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Hawaiian Kingdom

In the Swiss Archives are flipped. Most of the Pacific nations that King
While viewing the Swiss-Hawaii Treaty of 1864* Kalakaua was trying to protect, as well as most
at the Federal Archives of the Swiss Confederation of the rest of the world, are now independent or
in Bern, Switzerland, I came across a letter autonomous nations. But Hawaii is being held
of protest, written by the Foreign Minister captive, disguised as the U.S. “State of Hawaii”,
of the Hawaiian Kingdom on behalf of King a situation to which the US manipulated the
Kalakaua and the Hawaiian people. It addresses UN into being an unwitting accomplice. And
our European treaty partners, protesting their Hawaii seems to be stuck in that position even
colonial ambitions in Polynesia. It begins with though the United Nations and the international
the following eerily prophetic sentence: community in general, ostensibly stand in
“Whereas His Hawaiian Majesty’s Government support of the territorial integrity of sovereign
being informed that certain Sovereign and Colonial states.
States propose to annex various Island and
Archipelagoes of Polynesia does hereby solemnly Hawaiian Kingdom Treaties
protest against such proposals of annexation as Upon completion of the unification of all the
unjust for a simple and ignorant [uninformed] Hawaiian Islands in 1810 by Kamehameha the
people and subversive in their case of those Great, trade with vessels from various foreign
conditions for favorable national development, countries became more formalized by nation-
which have been so happily accorded to the to-nation trade agreements and bilateral and
Hawaiian Nation.” multilateral treaties.

A Diplomatic Protest In 1843, diplomats of the Hawaiian Kingdom
This is a diplomatic protest by which King succeeded in securing formal recognition of the
Kalakaua exercised his prerogative as the King of Kingdom’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom
a sovereign nation to register his support of the and the Kingdom of France. The United States,
sovereignty of the Polynesian nations who were Belgium and others soon followed suit. As a
being forcibly subjected to colonial takeover by result, the Hawaiian Kingdom established equal
European powers. Although Kalakaua’s Protest treaties with the major nations of the world and
th
was ignored by the colonial powers, it was a by the latter part of the 19 Century had over 130
sincere, noble and righteous effort by. embassies and consular posts all over the world.
Having never been abrogated or extinguished,
Little did King Kalakaua know, that ten years the treaties are merely dormant, not dead.
later, his own country would be forcibly hijacked
and unjustly annexed by the United States. Following is a partial list of the 44 treaties the
Hawaiian Kingdom made with foreign states in
th
If one were to do even a cursory search, the 19 Century.
Kalakaua’s Protest and other documents of
Hawaii’s active engagement in international • Austria-Hungary - 1875
discourse (such as neutrality during the Crimean • Belgium - 1862
War, the immediate emancipation of slaves who • Denmark - 1846
touched Hawaii’s shores, etc.) can be found in the • France - 1846 and 1857
archives of many, if not all of our treaty partners • Germany - 1879
in Europe, Asia and the Americas. • Great Britain - 1836, 1846 and 1851
• Italy - 1863
The Circumstances Flipped • Japan - 1871 and 1886
The irony is, today in 2023, the circumstances • Netherlands - 1862

w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h