Sovereignty Restoration Day

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Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian: L

Hoihoi Ea) is a national holiday celebrated on July 31 in Sovereignty Restoration Day
Hawaii, which commemorates the restoration of Hawaiian
sovereignty to the former Kingdom of Hawaii following the
occupation of Hawaii by Great Britain during the 1843
Paulet Affair. It is still celebrated today by proponents of the
Hawaiian sovereignty movement as a day of resistance to
what they believe is the ongoing American occupation of
Hawaii.

Contents
1 Background
2 Official observation
3 Modern-day observation
4 See also
5 References King Kamehameha III
6 Bibliography
Official L Hoihoi Ea
name
Also called Hawaiian Restoration Day
Background
Observed by Hawaii
On February 10, 1843, Captain Lord George Paulet, of Significance Restoration of the sovereignty of
HMS Carysfort landed in Honolulu in response to the Kingdom of Hawaii following
complaints by the British Consul in Honolulu Richard British occupation during the Paulet
Charlton, who had an underlying land dispute with the Affair (1843)
Hawaiian government, and claimed British subjects were
being denied their legal rights. Paulet, without the Date July 31
authorization of his superiors, unilaterally occupied the Next time July 31, 2018
kingdom in the name of Queen Victoria on February 25
Frequency annual
despite the protests of Hawaiian King Kamehameha III and
his ministers. The Hawaiian king ceded his sovereignty First time 1843
under protest to the British government. Paulet placed Related to Hawaiian Independence Day
himself and a committee in charge, restricted trade in the
ports, destroyed all Hawaiian flags that could be found, and raised the British Union Jack in their place.[1][2]

After a five-month occupation, Rear-Admiral Richard Darton Thomas, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific
Station, sailed into Honolulu on his flagship HMS Dublin on July 26, 1843, and requested an interview with the
king. Kamehameha III was more than happy to tell his side of the story, and a new treaty was negotiated with
the British giving British subjects on the islands "perfect equality with the most favored foreigners".[3]

On July 31, 1843, Thomas raised the Hawaiian flag in place of the Union Jack at the plains east of Honolulu
(now part of downtown Honolulu), formally ending the occupation, and gave a speech affirming the
independence and sovereignty of the Hawaiian kingdom and the friendship of the British government.[3]

The site of the ceremony was later made into a park in honor of the event and named Thomas Square.[4]

Official observation
Following the restoration of sovereignty at Thomas Square, King
Kamehameha III held an afternoon thanksgiving service at Kawaiahao
Church where he uttered the phrase: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ina i ka Pono
("The life of the land is preserved in the righteousness of the people").
This phrase was adopted in 1959 as the motto of the state of
Hawaii.[5][3] The king declared a ten-day holiday and the entire
community including foreigners and native Hawaiians rejoiced in
festivities with a lavish luau of suckling pig, fish and poi. The event was
later made into an annual holiday and was observed by his successor
King Kamehameha IV (18551864).[6][7] During the fourth anniversary
of the restoration in 1847, King Kamehameha III and his wife Queen
Kalama hosted a grand luau at their summer palace, Kaniakapupu,
attended by an estimated ten thousand guests.[8][9]
The King's Summer House (1853),
During the latter part of the reign of King Kamehameha V (18641872) lithograph by Paul Emmert. This was
the celebration was deemed inappropriate by the king and his ministers the site of the 1847 grand luau
since it brought back unpleasant memories of the British occupation by attended by ten thousand guests.
Paulet, and the official holiday was discontinued. The holiday was still
being officially sanctioned in 1865, but had ceased to be officially
observed by 1870.[10][11] There are also later assertions that the holiday was dropped "to suit the delicate
feelings of a few Englishmen who did not like the memory of these events revived".[12] However, the
anniversary was still remembered by people in private.[6][13] In 1872, the king replaced the holiday with
Kamehameha Day (on June 11) to honor his grandfather Kamehameha I who had conquered and united the
Hawaiian Islands in 1810. This remains the only holiday from the time of the Hawaiian monarchy that remains
an official holiday of the state of Hawaii.[14][15]

The 1890 session of the Hawaiian legislature briefly restored the date as a national holiday effective July 31,
1891, during the reign of Queen Liliuokalani.[16] In 1893, the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown and the
queen yielded her authority to the United States government under protest. The Provisional Government of
Hawaii, which was established as an interim regime while a treaty of annexation was being pushed through the
United States Congress, abolished the holiday. Private observance of the fiftieth anniversary on July 31, 1893,
was watched by the oligarchical government with an air of suspicion, while royalists and supporters of the
deposed queen hoped in vain for another restoration to occur.[17] After 1893, the holiday continued to be
observed privately by loyalists of the monarchy as a form of opposition and resistance.[18][19][20] By the time
the Territory of Hawaii was organized in 1898 the holiday had become a historical footnote.[21][22]

Modern-day observation
The tradition of this celebration was revived in 1985 by Hawaiian
sovereignty movement activist Kekuni Blaisdell during the Hawaiian
Renaissance.[21] Today, the holiday is upheld by proponents of the
Hawaiian sovereignty movement who compare the British occupation
of 1843 to what they believe is the ongoing modern American
occupation of the islands and believe the United States government
should "follow the example of the British to restore the Hawaiian
nation".[23][24][25] In Honolulu, the holiday is marked by the celebration The inverted Hawaiian flag represents
of Hawaiian culture, history and activism through organized speeches, the Kingdom of Hawaii in distress
presentations, marches, hula performances, music rallies and flag- and is the main symbol of the
raising. On the other islands, sovereignty groups organize historical Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
reenactments, rallies, and the ceremonial raising of the Hawaiian flag in
place of the American flag.[23][24]

See also
 Hawaiian Independence Day

References
1. Kuykendall 1965, pp. 208230.
2. Thrum 1892, pp. 4570.
3. Kuykendall 1965, pp. 219221.
4. Riconda 1972.
5. Hookahua Staff 2014.
6. Thrum 1909, p. 114.
7. Gilman 1892, pp. 7077.
8. Thrum 1929, pp. 101106.
9. Pacific Worlds 2003.
10. "Restoration Day" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1865-08-05/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. August 5, 1865. p. 2.
11. "Legislative Jottings" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1870-06-11/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. June 11, 1870. p. 2.
12. "Hawaiian National Holidays" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014681/1883-12-01/ed-1/seq-
2/). Saturday Press. Honolulu. December 1, 1883. p. 2.
13. Schmitt 1995, pp. 141146.
14. "Memorial Day" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1870-06-11/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. June 14, 1873. p. 2.; "Commemoration Day" (http://chroniclin
gamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1876-06-17/ed-1/seq-3/). The Pacific Commercial Advertiser.
Honolulu. June 17, 1876. p. 3.
15. Schmitt 1995, p. 143.
16. "By Authority" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016412/1891-07-10/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Hawaiian Star. Honolulu. July 10, 1891. p. 2.
17. "Restoration Day" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015415/1893-07-31/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Hawaiian Star. Honolulu. July 31, 1893. p. 2.; "Melange" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8302
5121/1893-08-01/ed-1/seq-5/). The Hawaiian Gazette. Honolulu. August 1, 1893. p. 5.; "Maui News" (ht
tp://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1893-08-08/ed-1/seq-9/). The Hawaiian Gazette.
Honolulu. August 8, 1893. p. 9.
18. Thrum 1898, pp. 6269.
19. "Ka La Hoihoi Ea" (https://nupepa-hawaii.com/2015/07/04/on-independence-1893/). Hawaii Holomua.
III (272). Honolulu. July 31, 1893. p. 2.
20. "Restoration Day" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85047097/1899-07-31/ed-1/seq-2/). The
Independent. Honolulu. July 31, 1899. p. 2.
21. Fujii & 2012/2013.
22. "Reminiscences of the Past How Restoration Day Was Celebrated and What Happened to the
Participants" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85047097/1902-07-31/ed-1/seq-3/). The
Independent. Honolulu. July 31, 1899. p. 3.; "Restoration Day" (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn
83025121/1913-08-01/ed-1/seq-4/). The Hawaiian Gazette. Honolulu. August 1, 1913. p. 4.
23. Hoover 2004.
24. Scottmaui 2005; Tranquilli 2005
25. McDougall 2016, p. 162.

Bibliography
Fujii, Jocelyn (December 2012 January 2013). "Of King & Country". Hana Hou!. 15 (6). Honolulu.
Retrieved March 7, 2017.
Gilman, Gorham D. (1892). Thrum, Thomas G., ed. "Restoration Day: A Recollection". Hawaiian
Almanac and Annual for 1893. Honolulu: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 7077. hdl:10524/663.
Hookahua Staff (July 2014). "L Hoihoi Ea: Hawaii Commemorates Sovereignty Restoration Day".
Kaleinamanu Hawaiian Cultural Center, Kamehameha Schools. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
Hoover, Will (August 1, 2004). "Hawaiians mark restoration day". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu:
Black Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
 Kuykendall, Ralph Simpson (1965) [1938]. The Hawaiian Kingdom 17781854, Foundation and
Transformation. 1. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-87022-431-X. OCLC 47008868.
McDougall, Brandy Nalani (2016). Finding Meaning: Kaona and Contemporary Hawaiian Literature.
Tuscon: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-3385-5. OCLC 946967118.
Pacific Worlds (2003). "Kaniakapupu". Pacific Worlds. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
Riconda, Dorothy (March 23, 1972). "Thomas Square nomination form" (PDF). National Register of
Historic Places. United States National Park Service. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
Schmitt, Robert C. (1995). "Holidays in Hawaii". Hawaiian Journal of History. Honolulu: Hawaiian
Historical Society. 29: 141146. hdl:10524/338.
Scottmaui (August 2, 2005). "Hawaiian "Sovereignty Restoration Day" ". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 3,
2015.
Thrum, Thomas G., ed. (1892). "History of the Provisional Cession of the Hawaiian Islands and Their
Restoration". Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1893. Honolulu: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 4570.
hdl:10524/663.
Thrum, Thomas G., ed. (1898). "The Days We Celebrate ; Holidays and Their Observance". Hawaiian
Almanac and Annual for 1898. Honolulu: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 6269. hdl:10524/23170.
Thrum, Thomas G., ed. (1909). Hawaiian Holidays. Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1910. Honolulu:
Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 110116.
Thrum, Thomas G., ed. (1929). "Holiday Observances In Monarchial Days". Hawaiian Almanac and
Annual for 1930. Honolulu: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 101106. hdl:10524/32427.
Tranquilli, Betsy (August 1, 2005). "Group re-enacts 1843 replacing of Union Jack with Hawaiian flag".
West Hawaii Today. Kailua-Kona, HI.

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