Lā Kūʻokoʻa – Hawaiian Independence Day

ovember 28 is Lā Kūʻokoʻa, a kingdom holiday celebrating the independence of the Hawaiian kingdom. The Anglo-Franco Proclamation was signed on that day in 1843 by Britain and France, recognizing the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The kingdom had been having trouble with foreign powers overstepping their bounds, so the mōʻī Kauikeaouli sent Timoteo Haʻalilio and his assistant William Richards on a diplomatic mission to secure recognition.

It was a difficult journey, as they sailed across the Pacific, traveled overland across Mexico, up to Washington, D.C. (where Haʻalilio also faced explicit racism), and then across the Atlantic to Europe. They successfully secured recognition from Britain and France, two of the great powers of the time, but Haʻalilio passed away off the coast of New York before he was able to return home.

Lā Kūʻokoʻa was one of the major kingdom holidays celebrated, along with Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, for five…