Hawai’i : A Kingdom Crossing Oceans

Interesting exhibition at the British Museum tracing the relationship between Hawai'I and the United Kingdom.

The show marked 200 years since the first royal Hawaiian visit to London. I'd not come across this event before and found it fascinating to learn how King Liholiho and his queen Kamamalu  with an entourage had come to see George IV but sadly the monarchs died of measles while they were here.

The show started by looking at the early history of the Hawaiian Islands and their culture leading up to their unification into one kingdom in 1810. The show was very careful to document the provenance of the objects on display, many of which had entered the collection as the result of the travels of Captain Cook and other British explorers.

There were some beautiful objects in the show and care had been taken to consult the Hawaiian community in London to honour the items but the core of the show was the tragic story of the visit and the aftermath when the bodies were returned to Hawai'I and the crew of the ship, HMS Blonde, which was involved desecrated the royal mausoleum taking statues back to the Britain three of which were in the show which was sobering.

I would have liked to know more about the coup in 1893 when North American and European businessmen backed by the US marines overthrew the kingdom leading to the USA claiming the islands as a territory in 1898 and as its 50th state in 1950.

Closes 25 May 2025


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