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Hawaiian Territory

On March 16, 1854, in Honolulu, His Excellency Robert C. Wyllie, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hawaiian Kingdom, informed: William Miller, Esq., Her British Majesty's Commissioner; M. Louis Emile Perrin, Consul Commissioner and Plenipotentiary of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French; and Honorable David L. Gregg, United States Commissioner, of the islands constituting the Hawaiian domain:

"I have the honor to make known to you that that the following islands, &c., are within the domain of the Hawaiian Crown, viz: Hawaii, containing about , 4,000 square miles; Maui, 600 square miles; Oahu, 520 square miles; Kauai, 520 square miles; Molokai, 170 square miles; Lanai, 100 square miles; Niihau, 80 square miles; Kahoolawe, 60 square miles; Nihoa, known as Bird Island, Molokini, Lehua, Kaula, being Islets, and all Reefs, Banks and Rocks contiguous to either of the above, or within the compass of the whole."

On May 16, 1854, State Neutrality of the Hawaiian Kingdom was proclaimed by His Majesty King Kamehameha III. The 1854 Proclamation of Hawaiian neutrality, stated:

"...that Our neutrality is to be respected by all Belligerents, to the full extent of Our Jurisdiction, which by Our fundamental laws is to the distance of one marine league (three miles), surrounding each of Our Islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau, commencing at low water mark on each of the respective coasts, of said Islands, and includes all the channels passing between and dividing said Islands, from Island to Island..."

Four additional Islands were annexed to the Hawaiian Kingdom domain under the international doctrine of discovery subsequent to the reign of His Majesty King Kamehameha III. These islands are as follows:

  1. Laysan Island, 800 miles northwest of Honolulu, was annexed to the Hawaiian Kingdom by discovery of Captain John Paty on May 1, 1857, during the reign of His Majesty King Kamehameha IV.

  2. Lisiansky Island, 920 miles northwest of Honolulu, also was annexed by discovery of Captain John Paty on May 10, 1857.

  3. Palmyra Island, a cluster of low islets, 1,100 miles southwest of Honolulu, was taken possession of by Captain Zenas Bent on April 15, 1862, and proclaimed as Hawaiian Territory during the reign of His Majesty King Kamehameha IV, as per "By Authority" notice in the "Polynesian" newspaper of June 21, 1862.

  4. Ocean Island, also called Kure atoll, 1,800 miles northwest of Honolulu, was acquired September 20, 1886, as per proclamation of Colonel J.H. Boyd, empowered for such service during the reign of His Majesty King Kalakaua.

A revised survey of the Hawaiian Islands constituting the Hawaiian Kingdom are as follows:

Island Location Square Miles/Acreage
Hawai`i 19º 30' N 155º 30' W 4,028.2 / 2,578,048
Maui 20º 45' N 156º 20' W 727.3 / 465,472
O`ahu 21º 30' N 158º 00' W 597.1 / 382,144
Kaua`i 22º 03' N 159º 30' W 552.3 / 353,472
Molokai 21º 08' N 157º 00' W 260.0 / 166,400
Lana`i 20º 50' N 156º 55' W 140.6 / 89,984
Ni`ihau 21º 55' N 160º 10' W 69.5 / 44,480
Kaho`olawe 20º 33' N 156º 35' W 44.6 / 28,544
Nihoa 23º 06' N 161º 58' W 0.3 / 192
Molokini 20º 38' N 156º 30' W 0.04 / 25.6
Lehua 22º 01' N 160º 06' W 0.4 / 256
Ka`ula 21º 40' N 160º 32' W 0.2 / 128
Laysan 25º 50' N 171º 50' W 1.6 / 1,024
Lisiansky 26º 02' N 174º 00' W 0.6 / 384
Palmyra 05º 52' N 162º 05' W 4.6 / 2,944
Ocean
(a.k.a. Kure atoll)
28º 25' N 178º 25' W 0.4 / 256
TOTAL: 6,427.74 square miles /
4,113,753.6 acres

The Islands comprising the domain of the Hawaiian Kingdom are located in the Pacific Ocean between 5º and 23º north latitude and 154º and 178º west longitude.





Welcome || Political History || System of Government || Constitution & Statutory Laws

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