Richard Charlton
Richard Charlton | |
---|---|
Born | 1791 |
Died | |
Occupation(s) | Seaman, diplomat |
Spouse | Betsy Bastram |
Parent(s) | Robert Charlton Christian |
Richard Charlton (1791–1852) was the first diplomatic
Life
Richard Charlton was born in St Anthony in Roseland, Cornwall in December 1791. His father was Robert Charlton and mother Christian Charlton. He married Betsy Bastram of Bristol in 1818.[1]
He worked for the East India Company in the Pacific as early as 1821, starting as cabin boy to command his own vessel. Charlton knew King Kamehameha II during his early trading visits to the Hawaiian Islands. For example, Charlton commanded the schooner Active which arrived on 4 February 1823 from Tahiti with English missionary Rev. William Ellis, and was generally well received.[2]
Kamehameha II and his Queen
He took his wife Betsy, her sister, and a daughter Elizabeth on his ship Active which reached the Hawaiian Islands on 25 April 1825, from
Friction
Charlton and George Byron, 7th Baron Byron who commanded Blonde, addressed the Hawaiian leaders assembled for the funeral, encouraging them to adopt a more formal set of written laws. However, a lack of any trained legal professionals would cause this to be a slow and contentious process.
Charlton brought a letter from former royal secretary Jean Baptiste Rives indicating Hawaiian Prime Minister Kalanimoku should grant land for the consulate site.[5] Beretania Street, 21°18′42″N 157°51′35″W / 21.31167°N 157.85972°W in
Charlton toured the islands with the new young King Kamehameha III, entertaining both Hawaiian royalty and visiting foreign guests at his several island estates. Charlton partnered with island governor Boki who had seen the vibrant British economy firsthand while accompanying Kamehameha II on the 1824 visit. Boki was happy to profit as he could, even from vices considered sinful by the American missionaries. Boki sailed off on one of his business ventures and was lost at sea.
Conflicts continued with American missionaries. In 1825 Charlton heard about reports in American newspapers quoting Maui missionary
Coffee trees and other crops had been brought by Blonde, and Charlton made an unsuccessful attempt to make growing them into a business. He also built a wharf on his land and started a shipping business. However, the sandalwood trade declined, while crops such as sugarcane grew in importance. The sugar business was dominated by American companies such as that Ladd & Co. and Charles Brewer.[7]
In 1836, Charlton requested HMS Actaeon sent under command of Lord Edward Russell to secure the release of two British prisoners. Russell also insisted on religious freedom. In 1837 Edward Belcher of HMS Sulphur brought Catholic priests to open a parish for the first time.[3]
In 1837 a separate consular post was established for Tahiti and the Society Islands by former British missionary George Pritchard. The French had expelled Protestant missionaries in Tahiti, and Charlton wrote to suggest British warships could do the same with the Americans in Hawaii. In 1838 Charlton helped establish the Oahu Charity School with Stephen Reynolds. The school offered a liberal education including dance, which the conservatives thought was sinful.[3] In the 1839 First Opium War the Chinese rebelled against the monopoly of the English East India Company. This further disrupted the sandalwood trade.
In 1840 Charlton decided to formalize his claim for the area known as Pulaholaho near the Honolulu Harbor. Charlton had built a wharf in 1838 at 21°18′34″N 157°51′52″W / 21.30944°N 157.86444°W. Charlton claimed additional nearby land, even some that had been used by long-time residents. By this time, the signers and witnesses of the lease (Kalanimoku, Marin, and Boki) were dead. The kingdom ruled the lease invalid since by tradition the land belonged to Kaʻahumanu, not Kalanimoku.[8]
About this time Charlton alienated another fellow Briton: the HBC agent since 1834 in Honolulu, George Pelly, who was cousin of HBC Governor
Paulet
Charlton left for London in September 1842 to present his grievances in person before the British Foreign Office. He appointed Alexander Simpson as his successor, but this was not recognized by either government. While he was gone, several of his trials went to court with juries of Americans, generally reaching verdicts against him.[3] While en route he met with
Lingering claims
On his return, Pelly accused Charlton of slander for accusations of sodomy. Charlton was found guilty and fined in June 1844, but continued to appeal the case. Experienced frontier lawyer John Ricord had just arrived, and served as the first Western-style Attorney General for the Kingdom.[13] Miller was presented with enormous volumes of testimony presenting the issues of the Charlton land claim. Surrounded by commercial wharves, the Pulaholaho beach was the only public boat landing left in Honolulu. Miller insisted the land was Charlton's, but did not fully trust him, so insisted on a third party to agree on the border. On 23 August 1845 with Thomas Charles Byde Rooke as witness, Charlton fenced off the land and put it up for sale. In November he sold it to Robert C. Janion of the company that would become Theo H. Davies & Co.; Janion subdivided and sold the valuable lots by the next year.[8]
On 19 February 1846 Charlton left quietly with his wife and children to retire in England. Pelly on his departure called him a "liar, Slanderer, and Contemptible Coward."[8]
He died on 31 December 1852 in Falmouth.
The land claim case made it clear a formal land title system was needed. A Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles was formed, with Richards elected president.
References
- Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. Archives of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- ^ Hawaiian Mission Children's Society (1901). Portraits of American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaiian gazette company. p. 9.
- ^ hdl:10524/266.
- ISBN 0-87022-431-X.
- ^ "Instructions from Kamehameha II". state archives centennial collection. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Charlton Lease". state archives centennial collection. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- hdl:10524/282.
- ^ hdl:10524/430.
- hdl:10524/142.
- ^ Alexander Simpson (1843). The Sandwich Islands: progress of events since their discovery by Captain Cook. Their occupation by Lord George Paulet. Their value and importance. Smith, Elder.
- ISBN 9780824823795.
- ^ "Wyllie, Robert Crichton office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ^ "Ricord, John office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ^ "Richards, William office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
Further reading
- Great Britain. Consulate (Honolulu, Hawaii) (1846). Investigation by command of the King and Premier of the Hawaiian Islands in vindication of the course pursued by His Majesty, impugned by William Miller, Esq., H.B.M.'s Consul General: who demanded and took possession of the land in Honolulu, claimed by Richard Charlton, Esq. 115 pages, plus supplement of 85 pages, second supplement of 142 pages, and an appendix of 90 pages in 1847
External links
- "The Charlton Land Claim". state archives centennial collection. state of Hawaii. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- "Commission of Richard Charlton as consul for the Sandwich Friendly and Society Islands". Archives of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 26 February 2010.