FOUR NATIVE HAWAIIANS AMONG CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES REACHING HAWAII
Christian evangelists from Boston, led by Reverend Hiram Bingham and his wife, Sybil Mosely, arrived in Hawai’i on a ship named “Thaddeus.” With them were four native Hawaiian men, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoli’i, and George Tamoree (the prince of Kaua’i). They had all studied with ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia, called Henry Obookiah. ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia arrived in America in 1809, converted to Christianity and began lecturing to students of Theology that they should go to Hawai‘i and convert Hawaiians to quell the negative effects of Western contact. The five studied together and began their training at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall until Opukaha’ia’s death in February 1818. The King of Hawai’i, Kamehameha II, adopted the new faith and converted to Christianity himself. Ten years later, Protestantism was proclaimed to be the official religion of Hawai’i
Source: “Missionaries,” Universe, 9/25/2013. Retrieved 6/26/2019, https://theumiverse.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/missionaries/
Portrait: Author and date unknown. Portrait of Henry Obookiah, from Jeffrey K. Lyons, “Memoirs of Henry Obookiah: A Rhetorical History,” Hawaiian Journal of History, Vo. 38, 2004, p. 36. Likely Public Domain. Most likely first published prior to 1/1/1925 and the relevant copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or less.