Peshwar Lancers Redux: Kingdom of Hawaii

[jacobus]

Great story, keep it up.
You might think about naming the warships after some of the pre-Christian Hawaiian deities. The Missionary Party isn't going to like it, but to hell with them!
http://glitternight.com/2011/02/20/the-top-eleven-deities-in-hawaiian-mythology/

 

[chris N]

The British Built Gunboats were now ordered renamed by the King .The New Names were LANAKILA, HO'OPA"I,Kame le, Pa Male La. Palekajko,P Malama, Mana 'o Ka Hakara Malka'I. The Two monitors were to receive their new names (Suggestions).

 

[jacobus]

You could name these monitors after some of the traditional Hawaiian melee weapons, used by the warrior class prior to the introduction of firearms:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hawaiian warriors employed a wide variety of weapons, often carrying several into battle for different purposes. Typical weapons include the Ihe (short spear), Pololu (long spear/javelin), Pahoa (wooden dagger), Pahoa 'Oilua (double bladed weapon), Lei-o-mano (shark-tooth weapon), La-au-palau (long war club), Newa (short war club), Pohaku (stone hand club), Pikoi 'Ikoi (tripping weapon), Ma'a (sling), Ka'ane (strangulation cord), and Ko'oko'o (cane). [/FONT]

 

[David S Poepoe]

You could name these monitors after some of the traditional Hawaiian melee weapons, used by the warrior class prior to the introduction of firearms:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hawaiian warriors employed a wide variety of weapons, often carrying several into battle for different purposes. Typical weapons include the Ihe (short spear), Pololu (long spear/javelin), Pahoa (wooden dagger), Pahoa 'Oilua (double bladed weapon), Lei-o-mano (shark-tooth weapon), La-au-palau (long war club), Newa (short war club), Pohaku (stone hand club), Pikoi 'Ikoi (tripping weapon), Ma'a (sling), Ka'ane (strangulation cord), and Ko'oko'o (cane). [/FONT]

That works. For the monitors one can consider Kameeiamoku and Kamanawa the twin brothers that were advisers of Kamehameha the Great and appear upon the Royal Seal of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

 

[jacobus]

I'm happy to suggest Hawaiian names for these warships. But I'm glad I don't live in the world of Peshawar Lancers, because I don't think I could pronounce them!

 

[chris N]

The King approved of the naming of the Two monitors the Kameelemoku and Kamanawa. I will considering changing the names of the gunboats.

 

[chris N]

1877 The country was in an Uproar as the Missionary Party got upset over the naming of the warships using Hawaiian Names. The Prime Minister saw no need to get upset about this but he was not going to give in to the Missionary Party. The Royalist or Nationalist Party had had enough of being push around. With a new Census to be taken place in just two Years there was a possibility that the Polynesian Population might once again become the majority of the population.
Estimates where that the Polynesian population would be perhaps 2 to 5,000 more than than the Immigrant population.
The Prime Minister was not totally opposed to becoming part of the US but it would be on Hawaii's terms and if they were not acceptable then he would do everything he could to ensure that the Kingdom remained independent.
He knew that Great Britain wanted the nation to remain independent and if anything a British Ally.

 

[chris N]

The Nationalist were preparing for the elections . The Prime Minister was feeling good about the prospects for the elections. They had strong support among the Polynesian Population and even some growing support among the Asian Immigrants and the white Immigrants. In contrast the Missionary party had strong support among the White immigrant population and very weak support among the Polynesian population.
The new Parliament would see an increase in the number of seats to a total of 50 The Prime Minister expected to win as many as 30 of the seats. In the Upper House The Nationalist held complete domination.

 

[chris N]

Honolulu July 1877 As the Passenger ship pulled into the Harbor it docked and begun to disembark it new immigrants to the islands. Among them was a man in his 40's. He had the bearings of a man who at one time be at sea but who had been through much hardship. He approached the Customs station and noticed that there was a naval officer nearby. The clerk asked him for his passport and he pulled out one baring the seal of the United States of America.
The Clerk looked at it and it said John A Payne and it Indicated that he was from the American South. He then asked the man if he was here for business or a visit. With an Accent that was clearly from Virginia he said a little of both.
The Navy officer hear the exchange and quickly moved toward the Man.
He said Would you happen to have formerly been Lt Payne of the Late Confederate States Navy?
To which he replied with a sigh Yes. And the officer said in reply, I am Lt John Masters of the Royal Hawaiian Navy and I have be instructed to collect you and you belongings. He then blew a whistle and two sailors came on the double.

 

[chris N]

And so Mr Payne was brought to a carriage and helped aboard by an Hawaiian Salor. Lt Master saw that Mr Payne's Luggage was in place and gabe the order to take them to The Military Affairs office . Mr Payne had never been in the islands before remarked that it was quite warm here but did not appear to be as Humid as South Carolina, where he had been stationed for a time. Mr Payne hoticed that the uniform thet the Lt was wearing was similar to that of the US Navy with the exception of the Shield on his cap.
They chatted for a while and Mr Payne was surprised to learn that Mr Masters had severed in the Merchant Marine before entering the Naval Academy.
The Journey lasted about half an Hour. Lt Masters then exited the coach with Mr Payne and gave orders for the luggage to be taken to the Hawaiian Arms Hotel and to be back at the Ministry in 2 Hours. With that they walked to the entrance where they were greeted by a Marine Sentry , who allowed they to enter.
They them arrived at the Office of the Minister of Military Affairs /Naval office and were shown a seat. Lt Masters was called in First and returned in Five minutes to escort Mr Payne.
The Minister rose and greeted his guest. He said, "Mr Payne I trust you had an enjoyable trip."
To which he replied it was a rather long one. I did get to see a lot of the Country before embarking on the ships that carried me here. I was surprised to receive your offer and I was most grateful to accept.
The Minister: Good I trust that you were able to bring the papers that we requested.
Payne smiled and sid , It wasn't easy but I did gather all of the information that I had and here it is. With that Mr Payne Handed over a leather case with Papers inside it.

 

[chris N]

The Minister pulled out some of the documents as well as some of the Illustrations and looked at them.
Mister Payne you are being offered a position of Instructor and advisor at our Naval Academy . I part because you were involved in thos project but more because of Your Knowledge. I can offer You the rank of Lieutenant with possible promotion in six months to Lt Commander. Will you accept?

Mr Payne looked the Minister in the eye and said , Since the late war I have had trouble finding employment but You offer me much more than a Job and I would be grateful to accept your proposal.
.
On the desk laid the diagram below.

 

[chris N]

The Minister did not propose that the nation build a submarine but he believed that Lt John A Payne would be of great help should they ever move in that direction.

 

[jacobus]

Ha ha ha, this is excellent!

 

[David S Poepoe]

The Minister did not propose that the nation build a submarine but he believed that Lt John A Payne would be of great help should they ever move in that direction.

Good, don't go off the deep end - so to speak. So far your ATL has been fairly realistic, but building anything like the Hunley would make it drift into 'steampunk' and Hawaii doesn't need anything like it. Also it would be interesting to consider how far a field information on the Hunley had really gotten by the 1870s outside newspapers.

 

[jacobus]

I have to admit, grudgingly, that David S. Poepoe is right. A submarine would probably be a bit much. I was already trying to think of a good name for it! Oh well.

 

[chris N]

Discussion: It is not my intention to have Hawaii build a submarine but just to gain knowledge. The person that I did use really did command the Huntley briefly but left after a mishap to rejoin the regular confederate Navy. As to what happen to him that is a big unknown. I suspect that like a great many Confederate officers he found it hard to make a living. As for who might have known of what happen with the Huntley. I suspect that word might have made its way to Hawaii over the Years..
This ex-Confederate Naval officer got an employment offer because of two factors his having served aboard the first true submarine but mainly to gainhis experience in training officers of the Royal Hawaiian Navy.
On the other Hand if the Confederacy could build a submarine then it is possible that the Hawaiian could also but I think that that would happen in the future(and I do not mean the immediate future but perhaps 10-20 years).
Anyway The Royal Hawaiian Navy now has all of the ships that it will have by the time of The Fall.

 

[chris N]

At the Conclusion of their Talks the newly Commission Lt Payne was escorted over to the Navy's Uniform shop were he was measured for his uniform. He would be taking up duties as an instructor at the Naval school but would also continue to work on putting to paper everything that he knew about the CSS Huntley. The Minister had no plans to ask the Parliament for fundss for any attempt at constructing one but who knew
what might be possible in the future.
The Minister knew that he had some very bright officers but for now it was the surface Navy that concern him.
The two new Monitors would ensure the safety of the defenses of the Home islands. They were powerful warships but he was growing quite weary over demonstrations by some of the Missionary Party over their Hawaiian names. He had to admit that the move had been controversial but quite popular with the Native Hawaiian population.
He was still concern that the Navy needed a larger stockpile of coal.

The Nation's foundry had received a stockpile of ore to allow it to build metal products. He had attended a diner with the owner and he went on about a new process which would allow he to manufacture something called Steel. It was a process that had been acquired from the Americans. Still he doubted that the foundry would be able to produce much of it as it would still require the importation of ores from outside Hawaii. He was However producing a limited amount of Rails for the Railroad being constructed in the Islands.

 

[chris N]

Late 1877 Hawaii holds Parliamentary elections which result in the Nationalist winning 32 of the seats to the Missionary Party's 18.
The Prime Minister announces some projects which he hope will see a diversification of the economy. Renewed efforts to grow Oak and Pine trees will be attempted as well as a limited attempt to grow cotton.

The Nation is preparing for the Census of 1880, which will see how big the nation has become. Hawaii has constructed its first Prison.

 

[chris N]

Earlier in the year an American Naval vessel the USS Narraganset stopped in Honolulu after a cruise along the Pacific coast of the US from California to Alaska. The Captain decided to visit the Kingdom of Hawaii on his way back from Alaska. it would be the final cruise of the ship. The Captain was then to return back to the East for a new posting.
He delivered two lectures at the Naval Academy on action during the Civil War. He also answered a few questions about sailing in Northern Waters.
He was overjoyed by the new friends that he had made. The Captain was George Dewey.

 

[chris N]

As the year drew to a close Hawaii seemed to be on track toward prosperity . Some good decisions had helped to increase revenue to the treasury. The result of this had been that some projects which would have taken place much latter in OTL were moved forward. The Small Hawaiian Railroad lines were a great step forward for the Kingdom but on the Mainland they would be considered tiny. Technology was moving forward.

Hawaii was learning a great deal from advancements in Medical Science. King Davids predecessors had spent a lot of time and effort to insure that the Kingdoms medical schools were aware of the latest theories. Thus they were better prepared than a lot of others.

Winter came to the Kingdom and that generally meant rains and perhaps a little cooler. Still no one had any idea that the New year would bring something which would change the course of life on the planet.