Hawai'i Part Two

Happy Friday!

The four-part series on the stolen lands of Hawai'i culminated this week with a clear political division forming between the plantation-owning annexationists and the indigenous royalists. From missionaries to the California Gold Rush and the first pineapple cannery, this episode covered a vast swathe of Hawaiian history which happened in a relatively short period. Yet, we've only reached the mid-point with John and Patrick set to bring a lot more history in the next two episodes of this series.

While we eagerly await what is to come, why not delve into the a few stories we've dug up to round out this latest episode.

Hawai'i and the U.S. Civil War

When John and Patrick mentioned that Hawai'i was involved in the U.S. Civil War, it was a bit of surprise to say the least. How did an island nation in the middle of the Pacific, thousands of miles away, become involved in this bloody, domestic event?

While King Kamehameha IV declared a neutral stance, he held largely Unionist sympathies - as did the majority of people living in Hawai'i. The island nation had a close relationship economically, diplomatically and socially with the United States. As was touched on in the latest episode, Hawaiian-grown sugar replaced much of the southern sugar during the conflict which led to a boom in the Hawaiian sugar trade. As many of the sugar plantations were owned and operated by Americans living in Hawai'i, many of those in (and connected to) the sugar trade were pro-Unionist. Furthermore, many Hawaiians sympathized with the Union because of Hawai'i's ties to New England through it missionaries and the whaling industry, and the ideological opposition of many to the institution of slavery.

While Hawai'i's stance was formally neutral, that did not prevent many of its citizens from enlisting in either Union or Confederate forces. About 40 individuals who were born and raised in Hawai'i served in the U.S. Civil War. However, most of those that served were Hawai'i-born Americans (mainly descendants of the American missionaries).

You can read more about the Hawaiian involvement in the Civil War here.

Agricultural History Society

We at HOFP are proud to receive the support of the Agricultural History Society (AHS) in our effort to bring produce history to the forefront in a meaningful, entertaining way.

A short message from Joe Anderson, Executive Secretary at AHS:

AHS is interested in advancing awareness of issues relating to agricultural and rural history in a variety of formats, including supporting "The History of Fresh Produce". The podcast is a great opportunity for our members to share their research and perspectives".

The Agricultural History Society was founded in Washington, DC in 1919 "to promote the interest, study and research in the history of agriculture." Incorporated in 1924, the Society began publishing a journal, Agricultural History, in 1927. The term "agricultural history" has always been interpreted broadly, and the Society encourages research and publishes articles from all countries and in all periods of history. Initially affiliated with the American Historical Association, the Agricultural History Society is the third oldest, discipline-based professional organization in the United States. Currently the membership includes agricultural economists, anthropologists, economists, environmentalists, historians, historical geographers, rural sociologists, and a variety of independent scholars.

A big thank you to AHS for their support!

Royalist Pineapples vs. Annexationist Pineapples

It was mentioned in the most recent episode that John Kidwell partnered with a known annexationist (Lorrin Thurston) to form the Hawaiian Fruit & Packing Company. So, naturally we had to ask: was there also a royalist-leaning pineapple company? The answer is yes.

In addition to the high import tariffs in America, Kidwell's lack of profits in the pineapple trade was also due in part from competition with Peter Camarinos. In 1892, Camarinos successfully sued Kidwell for selling poisoned pineapples. The pineapples were not actually poisoned. Kidwell claimed he cut off the crowns of the pineapples hoping they would grow larger, which accidentally caused premature decay to set in (oops).

But who was Camarinos? He was a Greek settler who arrived in Hawaii in 1884 and became the agent for Greek enterprises in Hawaii, including his family's import-export business which dealt in fresh produce, meat, seafood, and wines. Camarinos had entered into agreement with Kidwell and his pineapples but then there was a fallout between the two because of the "poisoned pineapples". Perhaps the fact that Camarinos was also a prominent royalist didn't help matters.

While the Kidwell-Camarinos case was still in litigation, Camarinos established his own packing company called Pearl City Fruit Co., making him and Kidwell the two largest pineapple growers in Hawaii. This created an economic competitor for Kidwell, as well as a personal and political rival. But more importantly the rival corporate enterprises served as a preview of the royalist-revolutionist battle that was to come.

You can read more about the Camarinos family and the Greek Royalists ties to Hawaii here.

History test

Have you listened the latest HOFP episode? If yes, you may just know the answer to this week's trivia.

Click here to test your knowledge!

Livestream Event

The event we've all been waiting for is nearly here!

The first LIVESTREAM of 2024 is on Monday, January 22nd at 8pm EST!

You can join here: https://www.youtube.com/live/LvTUvTVb-WI?si=Ds5lP0r2djd6DP6R

We'd love to see you there!

But if you can't make it 'live', it'll be available afterwards on YouTube, or you can listen back to it later in your podcast feed.

You can send your questions and comments in advance via email at [email protected].

DATES FOR YOUR CALENDARS

Planning out which podcasts to listen to during your morning drives to work? Here's what's coming up over the next month.

Monday, January 22nd @ 8pm EST: HOFP LIVESTREAM on YouTube

Tuesday, January 30th: The Stolen Lands of Hawai'i: President Dole (Part 3)

Tuesday, February 6th: Magic or Reality? (Livestream)

Tuesday, February 13th: The Stolen Lands of Hawai'i: Pineapples from paradise (Part 4)

Thanks for reading, and please drop us a line in the comments or email ([email protected]) to let us know what you think of the newsletter and all things HOFP.

-John, Patrick and The History of Fresh Produce team