Friday, December 21, 2007
On this day in history in Hawaii - December 21
by Larry Geller
Complicated stuff. On this day in 1850, the French warship La Serieuse was in Honolulu Harbor, and the question was whether there was a threat to the Hawaiian Kingdom. Or was the whole thing a plot to get Hawaii to seek the protection of the United States?
While the diplomatic wheels were grinding, Hawaii began its first postal service. The first letter was postmarked December 21, 1850, and dispatched to San Francisco. It would take a month to get there.
(More, much more, in The Hawaiian Kingdom By Ralph Simpson Kuykendall, 1938)
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