Paulet affair
The Paulet affair, also known as British Hawaii, was the unofficial five-month 1843 occupation of the Hawaiian Islands by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet, of HMS Carysfort. It was ended by the arrival of American warships sent to defend Hawaii's independence. The British government in London did not authorize the move and it had no official status.
Provisional Cession of the
Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands
King Kamehameha III confers with his Privy Council. At left is William Richards and Gerrit P. Judd sitting across from Robert Crichton Wyllie.
Paulet became captain of HMS Carysfort on 28 December 1841, serving on the Pacific Station under Rear-Admiral Richard Darton Thomas (1777–1857).[1]
Richard Charlton, who had been the British consul to the Kingdom of Hawaii since 1825 met Paulet off the coast of Mexico in late 1842. Charlton claimed that British subjects in the Hawaiian Islands were being denied their legal rights. In particular, Charlton claimed land that was under dispute.[2] Paulet requested permission from Admiral Thomas to investigate the allegations.[3]
Paulet arrived at Honolulu and requested an audience with King Kamehameha III on 11 February 1843. He was told the King was on another island and would take six days to arrive. His next letter on 16 February maintained the polite tone of formal diplomatic correspondence, but was more demanding:
The King replied that American Gerrit P. Judd, as chief government minister, could be trusted to handle any written communication. This seemed to infuriate Paulet who had been told by Charlton that Judd was acting as "dictator". Paulet refused to speak with Judd, and accused him of fabricating the previous response. Paulet then listed specific demands.
Paulet warned Captain Long of an American ship, USS Boston on 17 February:
Boston did not interfere.[5]
On 18 February the Hawaiian government wrote back that they would comply with the demands under protest, and hoped that a diplomatic mission already in London could settle any conflicts. Between the 20th and 23rd daily meetings were held by Alexander Simpson, acting consul and Paulet with the King. Kamehameha III agreed to reopen the disputed cases but refused to overrule the courts and ignore due process. On 25 February the agreement was signed ceding the land subject to any diplomatic resolution. Paulet appointed himself and three others to a commission to be the new government, and insisted on direct control of all land transactions.[4]
Paulet destroyed all Hawaiian flags he could find, and raised the British Union Flag for an occupation that would last six months. He cleared 156 residents off of the contested Charlton land. The dispute took years to resolve.[6]