Sam Ehrhart Professor Donald J. Froning HIST 284 8 May 2020 Spanish Seafarers in Ancient Hawai‘i: The Possible Forgotten History I. An Introduction to Hawai‘i and the British and Spanish Colonial Empires Hawai‘i is a volcanic archipelago situated in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. The extremely remote Hawaiian islands are believed to have first been discovered by Polynesian seafarers from the Marquesas Islands (a part of French Polynesia), and centuries later, a second group of Polynesian seafarers from Tahiti (another piece of French Polynesia) reached the tropical islands of Hawai‘i (Fleming, 2020). Historians and archaeologists have not definitively agreed on an exact date when Hawai‘i housed its first inhabitants, but a time frame from approximately 300 to 600 CE is the commonly accepted idea for the Marquesas explorers, and then approximately 1000 to 1200 CE for the Tahitian explorers (Fleming, 2020). In terms of non-indigenous Pacific Islanders, Captain James Cook — a British explorer who sailed during the reign of King George III — is credited with being the first haole (foreigner) to ‘discover’ the Hawaiian Islands in 1778. The notion that Captain Cook was the first white man to reach Hawai‘i has been regarded as a historical fact since his initial contact with the Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) at Waimea, Kaua‘i. Indeed, the late seventeenth century was a period marked by British naval superiority, with ‘Britannia ruling the waves’ and ‘The sun never setting on the British Empire.’ However, an emerging hypothesis by some historians dictate that James Cook was not the first haole to set foot onto Hawaii’s stunning tropical beaches. Detailed Spanish maps, journal entries, metal tools, stone carvings, botanical evidence, mo‘olelo (stories), and ‘oli (chants) from Hawaiian ali‘i nui (high chiefs) from as early as the 1520s, show evidence that Spanish explorers and Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) may have reached Hawaii’s shores as early as 250 years before Cook’s ‘discovery’ of the islands. There seems to be no coincidence in some of this intriguing evidence. Spanish explorers knew of the existence of Hawai‘i as early as the 1520s; approximately 250 years prior to British Captain James Cook’s ‘discovery’ of the islands. II. Maps and Journals as a Tool of “Western” Historical Evidence and Narratives Hand-drawn maps from the Spanish, as old as the 1550s, show an archipelago of islands in the sprawling Pacific that look exceptionally similar to Hawai‘i. The earliest known illustration of these perplexing islands occurs “On a Spanish map drawn in 1555, which has a group of islands called Islas de Mesa (“Table Islands”). These islands resemble the Hawaiian Island chain very closely, except [that] they are drawn 10 degrees too far to the east” (Cook, 1995). These islands are believed to have first been recorded by Captain Juan Gaetano, a Spanish explorer that was sailing from Acapulco, Mexico to the Maluku (Moluccas) Islands of Indonesia in Asia. A journal entry that Gaetano wrote in 1555, may be the best source of evidence that the Spaniards reached Hawai‘i before Cook. Gaetano, in his journal, wrote of a “large Pacific Island with a tall mountain engulfed by cloud cover” (Young, 2014). While there are a few large islands in the middle Pacific, there are not many towering mountains that are higher than cloud layers. Additionally, only three such mountains come to mind — Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawai‘i Island (the “Big Island”) and Haleakalā on Maui. Upon analyzing the map of the Islas de Mesa, one island looks extremely similar to the western and southern half of Maui (this island is referred to as La Desagraciade or “The Unfortunate), with another island looking exactly like Kaho‘olawe (the map even has a small bay directly in the middle of this island, just like Kaho‘olawe actually does). At a staggering 10,023 feet tall, Haleakalā (“the house of the sun”) dominates the view of Maui and blocks the eastern and northern half of the island, while also obstructing the view of skinny Moloka‘i and O‘ahu at times. It is very possible that Gaetano saw Haleakalā from a far-away distance, drew what he could visually see with his owns eyes, sailed directly past Kaho‘olawe, and continued on without even barring any witness to Lāna‘i, Molokini Crater, and Moloka‘i. This hypothesis could also be used to describe the island that resembles only half of Hawai‘i Island, since Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa would obstruct views of half of the island, too. Indeed, if Gaetano sailed along the ‘Alenuihāhā Channel (which separates Hawai‘i Island and Maui), along with the very beginning of the ‘Alalākeiki Channel (which separates Maui and Kaho‘olawe), it is quite possible that he did not even see the other two islands along his journey (To-Hawai‘i.com, 2006). The Islas de Mesa’s largest island was called La Mesa (“The Table”). Even more puzzling, is that in his journal, “Gaetano drew the southern coastline of an island that resembles the Big Island almost perfectly; while even matching the latitude of La Mesa to the Big Island’s own latitude with super close placement” (Young, 2014). Additionally, the Spanish map from the 1550s shows islands that resemble Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau, and Lehua to decently impressive scales in terms of island shape and latitude proximity. An island resembling Ni‘ihau is approximately 8.5 degrees more north than its actual location, with a small island resembling Lehua being placed directly north of the Ni‘ihau-looking island, which would be a correct placement of the small uninhabited Hawaiian island (Travel To Paradise, 2018). O‘ahu is the only main Hawaiian island on this map that is completely disregarded, besides perhaps being the one random island thrown at the very top of the drawing. However, that last island is pure speculation. In 1527, a massive platoon of Spanish galleons set sail from Mexico to Manilla, Philippines. These ships were of vital importance, since they held goods that were acquired (stolen) by Hernán Cortés, the infamous Spanish conquistador who is responsible for the fall, mass genocide, and demise of the Mesoamerican Aztec civilization. However, two of these Spanish vessels sank mid-journey and succumbed to the Pacific Ocean’s raw power. During an interview for the Los Angeles Times in 2010, Captain Rick Rogers stated that he “Believed two ships that Hernán Cortés sent from Mexico to Manila, were wrecked near the coast of Kona, Hawai‘i Island in 1527” (Semuels, 2010). Rogers’ explanation for this idea was due to multiple ‘oli originating during this era, which spoke of strange men arriving from the ocean. Rogers believed that the large ship at the bottom of Kealakekua Bay is the “Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, or the San Franciso Xavier; both of which may have been given the name Konaliloha by Native Hawaiians” (Rogers, pg. 217). Interestingly enough, the earliest ‘oli about this comes from the reign of an ali‘i from the 1520s on Maui who “bared witness to pale castaways who appeared on Maui” (Stokes pg. 7-8). However, it is crucial to note that the name of this great chief has been lost throughout the centuries, along with the fate of these supposed castaways. Captain Rick Rogers believed that two Spanish ships that belonged to Captain Saavedra wrecked off the coast of Kona, near Kealakekua Bay, in 1527. Saavedra was “Sailing during the month of November, so a Kona Storm could have brought his ship to the Big Island with ease (Alexander, pg. 2). Even more intriguing is there are multiple ‘oli from ancient ali‘i that speak of strange people arriving from the ocean, who resemble Europeans with impressive accuracy. Captain Rogers may very well have been correct all along, since Hawaiian ‘oli have been traced back to this time, which all describe strange pale people arriving from the sea and speaking in an intelligible language for the ancient Hawaiians. The similarities between most of the evidence is quite uncanny; they line up with each other’s period and location almost perfectly. III. ‘Oli and Mo‘olelo: Sources of Historical Evidence for Indigenous Hawaiians ‘Oli and mo‘olelo have been passed down orally throughout Hawai‘i for dozens of generations from kūpuna (elders) to keiki (children). Before European and Americans introduced written language to Hawai‘i, oral history was the method of how Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders kept their rich and vibrant histories alive for millennia. However, another chant hails from O‘ahu, which is one of the best supportive pieces of evidence to support the claim of the Spanish arriving in Ancient Hawai‘i. A chant from an O‘ahu ali‘i named Kūaliʻi, now translated, reads: “A land with a strange language is Kahiki. Men of our race are not in Kahiki. One kind of man is in Kahiki; the white man.” (Hawaiian Historical Legends). In ancient Hawai‘i, “Kahiki” refers to any land outside of Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Historical Legends). It is reasonable to surmise that Spaniards are the “Kahiki” referenced in the chant since they were from a land other than Hawai‘i, they would have spoken a strange language that was not Hawaiian, and they would be paler (whiter) than indigenous Hawaiians since they were from Europe. The similarities between the shipwrecks, maps, Gaetano’s journal, and these chants are quite striking, but the possibility of Spaniards in Hawai‘i before Cook grows even larger. There is an ‘oli from Hawai‘i Island which ties into all the evidence presented and discussed thus far. The chant comes from a chief named Keali‘iokaloa, who lived during the early seventeenth century. In this chant, Keali‘iokaloa speaks of two people (believed to be a father and daughter), who survived a shipwreck off the coast of Hawai‘i Island. Specifically, the pale man who “Survived this shipwreck, was called ‘Ku-Kanaloa’ by the Native Hawaiians. Early Christian missionaries talked heavily about this interesting man” (Rogers, pg. 225). These two people looked up to the sky and knelt on the sandy shore. On Hawai‘i Island, “There is now a town called Kulou [“kneeling”] for where this event supposedly took place. The two castaways then married into Native Hawaiian families” (Hawaiian Historical Legends). Additionally, the mo‘olelo continues on to state that these “Two people were progenitors of certain well known families of chiefs, for example Kaikioewa, a former governor of Kaua‘i” (Alexander, pg. 2). During this era, Spain was a deeply Catholic nation. Catholics pray by kneeling, and Heaven is believed by Christians to be in the sky, so it very well may be possible that this family were Spaniards who knelt in prayer and looked to Heaven to thank God and Jesus of Nazareth for their survival. During the late sixteenth century, Spanish maps were updated, and the Islas de Mesa were removed entirely. These islands were replaced with a new set of islands called Los Monges (“The Monks,”) which were drawn for the first time by Abraham Ortelius in 1587, and subsequently in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, these islands were again replaced by an archipelago referred to as Los Bolcanos and Olloa interchangeably (Cook, 1995). Interestingly enough, “Olloa” sounds like a Hawaiian name. These updated islands are much more intriguing and impressive, since they were illustrated to be only 2 degrees north of Hawaii’s latitude and 4.5 degrees west of Hawaii’s true longitude (Cook, 1995). These islands resemble the Hawaiian archipelago extremely closely, with two islands resembling Hawai‘i Island and Maui almost perfectly. For Spanish ships that sailed west from Mexico to the Philippines, “The [westward] ocean current would have taken a ship right past Kealakekua Bay [at Hawai‘i Island]. The captain of the ship Santo Cristo de Burgos was known to have talked about the Islas de Mesa and Los Monges in extreme detail” (Rogers, p. 224-225). It seems there is little coincidence that these Spanish maps had islands which closely resembled Hawai‘i, about 250 years prior to Cook’s landing in the island chain. There is more information from European maps during this era which can be used to further the claim that the Spanish made it to Hawai‘i before James Cook. Regarding the two survivors of the Spanish ship that supposedly sank in the 1520s, “Early American Protestant missionaries to Hawai‘i were regularly told by King Liholiho Kamehameha II [the elder son of King Kamehameha I] — amongst other Native Hawaiians — that strange foreigners landed at Kealakekua Bay many years prior and knelt in the sand after arriving on shore” (Hawaiicam.com, 2012). While a town named “Kulou” was created to honor where this event supposedly took place, there is currently no genealogical and DNA evidence to support the theory that Spaniard castaways married, had sexual intercourse, and reproduced with Native Hawaiians for multiple generations; but it is vital to still ponder the possibility since multiple ‘oli regarding Hawaiian ali‘i nui all describe the same exact event in impressive detail. Further, in the year 1600, it is written that “Dutch sailors abandoned ship and swam to islands that were written to be located at 16 degrees north latitude, and only 5.5 degrees away from Hawai‘i” (Semuels, 2010). Captain Rick Rogers, in his book Shipwrecks of Hawai‘i, believed that this sunk boat was the “Dutch ship Hope, who came ashore and was scuttled during the reign of Hawai‘i Island chief Kahoukapu” (pg. 217). While this piece of evidence is a tad lackluster and a bit of a stretch, Dutch maps, and journals from the seventeenth century also showed islands which closely resembled the Hawaiian chain, however these maps appear to be copied from Spanish versions. It is interesting though — that a few European maps from the sixteenth century with islands that resemble Hawai‘i — coincide almost perfectly with ancient royal chants of white men appearing in Hawai‘i from a great faraway land. The next piece of evidence is rather interesting, since no one exactly knows who is talked about in this incredibly old ‘oli. The ‘oli talks about how “In the thirteenth century, ‘the white chief with the shiny knife’ was wrecked on the coast of Maui, near the kalo (taro) farming village of Wailuku. Three men and two women were saved from drowning. Wakalana — a Maui chief — took his outrigger canoe through the turbulent surf and personally rescued them. The captain of the ship carried a long sword which became renowned throughout the islands as ‘the wonderful dagger’” (Hawaiian Historical Legends). During the 1200s, Spain certainly was not exploring the Pacific Ocean yet, nor was any European nation during the Middle Ages — the first European to even enter the Pacific Ocean was Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan in 1519. This then raises the question if the “white chief with a shiny [metal] knife,” could have been an explorer from Kamakura Period Japan, Sòng Dynasty China, Yüan Dynasty Mongolia, or Koryŏ Dynasty Korea. These four nations would be the best bet for the Medieval period, but then again, there is currently zero evidence to suggest an Asian sailing expedition going east during this period. It is crucial to note that ancient Hawai‘i had no writing system, so stories and knowledge were passed down orally throughout the generations from parent to offspring. Like the children’s game of “Telephone,” over time, the original meaning of speech can be accidentally misinterpreted, warped, or lied about. This unfortunately may be true for a few, many, or all the Hawaiian ‘oli. The Spanish maps and journals continue to be the best sources of evidence that the Spaniards were knowledgeable about ancient Hawaii’s existence and geographic location. IV. Archeological and Botanical Evidence for Spanish-Hawaiian Contact The Spaniards may have left archeological and linguistic evidence which may prove their contact with ancient Hawai‘i. On the island of O‘ahu, a possible carved stone figure of a man was found. This stone carving of a man appears to have “a ruffled and frilly collar, a pointed beard, and a helmet similar to those worn by Spain’s conquistadors” (Cook, 1995). It is salient to interject here that during the “sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, European men commonly wore frilly shirts and collars, had long beards, and wore helmets for protection; this dress attire’s style was utterly unknown in ancient Hawai‘i” (Alexander, pg. 3). Although an exact date for this stone carving has not been tested, it is believed to be “really old” (Cook, 1995). Additionally, when Captain Cook landed in Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island, he noted how the “Native Hawaiians had a few metal nails and a sword tip which originally belonged to the Spanish armada” (Stokes, pg. 8). It is quite difficult to say if the metal items simply washed up onto the beaches or were traded to the indigenous Hawaiians in person, but regardless, the Hawaiians had access to a few Spanish tools before Cook’s arrival in 1778 and historians do not dispute this factoid. Additionally, during Cook’s first landing at Kaua‘i, British officers stated how the “Hawaiians’ ‘ahu‘ula (feathered cloaks) and mahiole (feathered helmets) of the ali‘i were traceable to Spanish-like garments [of clothing]” (Stokes, pg. 597). Botanists believe that the ‘uala (sweet potato) is a root vegetable that originates from the South American continent. However, the sweet potato was one of the stable crops grown and eaten in geographically remote Hawai‘i, along with being widespread throughout Oceania as a whole. This poses a quandary of how sweet potatoes made it to Hawai‘i, which is thousands of miles away from mainland South America (Stokes, pg. 1). To answer this inquiry, there are four possible explanations: (1) the yams were carried by westward-moving ocean currents for thousands of miles to Hawai‘i, (2) the seafaring Polynesians reached continental South America and brought the yams back with them, (3) the Spaniards brought the yams from South America to Hawai‘i — the Spanish regularly sailed from their colonies in South America to the Philippines, or (4) all of the above. Options three and four are certainly a possibility. Additionally, a few Hawaiian words are eerily like Spanish words with the same meaning (Stokes, pg. 596). As Stokes describes on page 596, pono is like bueno (good), poko is like poco (short), and ‘uala is like batata (sweet potato). This impressive fact does not seem possible unless the two groups met and exchanged conversations with each other in some form. V. Conclusion and Summary of Evidence Presented Although Hawaii’s history has a foggy beginning, it is commonly held that the islands were first inhabited sometime around 300 to 600 CE by Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), followed by a second wave of Polynesians from Tahiti (French Polynesia) around 1000 to 1200 CE. Several centuries later in the late 1700s, Captain James Cook of the United Kingdom is typically credited as the first haole (foreigner) to ‘discover’ the Hawaiian Islands. However, evidence is now being used to suggest that the Spanish made the first European contact with the Hawaiians, as early as 1527 via shipwreck. Indeed, maps, journal entries, metal tools, stone carvings, charts, and Hawaiian royal chants (‘oli) plus stories (mo‘olelo), all describe a different historical narrative for Hawaii’s first Western contact. During this era, “Spanish galleons regularly sailed from Mexico, to Guam, and then to Manilla; with Spain ruling and dominating the Pacific Ocean as their own aquatic domain and extensive overseas empire for the royal Catholic Crown” (Daws, pg. 9). While one can argue that the Spanish did not make actual landfall on Hawaiian shores, it is difficult to deny the idea that Spaniards at least knew and heard about Hawaii’s existence and possible geographic location in some fashion. Indeed, it is vital to note that “The whole Pacific Ocean belonged to Spain by a double title; the right of discovery, and by the ‘Papal Bull’ of Pope Alexander VI” (Alexander, pg. 1). While the Pacific Islands are geographically remote, they are not isolated in the slightest. For millennia, indigenous people in the Pacific routinely sailed via outrigger canoes from one archipelago to the next (for example, the triangular Vasa Loloa trade network of goods and kin between Tonga, Fiji, and Sāmoa); they learned how to utilize ocean currents, were masters in observing astronomy, and closely followed migrations of birds and sea fauna (such as yearly spawning humpback whales and sea turtles). These island communities were closely connected to one another by history and kin relations, so it is quite possible that Spanish explorers heard about Hawai‘i and a rough estimate of its geographic location from other island groups (such as the Northern Mariana Islands, which Spain colonized and took control of through brutal force). As early as 1555, Spanish maps were drawn with extreme details and the geographic position of these islands were almost perfect to Hawai‘i (especially Hawai‘i Island, Maui, Kaho‘olawe, Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau, and Lehua). Additionally, the journal of Captain Juan Gaetano from 1555 describes an island that closely matches Maui or possibly Hawai‘i Island. A stone carving from O‘ahu also potentially resembles a European man from the 16th century, something that the Native Hawaiians would have had no clue about since they supposedly had zero idea that Europe existed during this point in history. VI. Moving Forward and Expanding on Our Perceived Notions of “History” History studies the past, but it is always changing. As we learn more about our past, we learn that our perceived notions of it have not always been correct. Perhaps, someday, the history of Hawaii’s early origins will be rewritten with new historical findings, writings, and research (such as this paper for example)! Maybe a sunken Spanish ship or a Renaissance era skeleton of a European explorer will finally be discovered in Hawai‘i. Someday, people like Captain Rick Rogers and thousands of others — who are truly adamant that the Spanish made it to Hawai‘i before Captain James Cook — may prove to have been entirely correct the whole time! VII. References Alexander, William Dewitt. Relations between the Hawaiian Islands and Spanish America in Early Times. Hawaiian Historical Society, January 28, 1892. Cook, Chris. “How Spain Cast Its Spell On Hawai‘i.” Spanish History, Mahalo Islander Magazine , 1995, www.aloha.net/~mahalo/spanish.html. Daws, Gavan. Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands. Univ. of Hawai‘i Press, 1968. “FIRST FOREIGNERS.” Hawaiian Historical Legends: First Foreigners, www.sacred-texts.com/pac/hhl/hhl14.htm. Fleming, Esther. “Who Discovered Hawai‘i First?” Sid Martin Biography: Wide base of Knowledge, December 30, 2020. https://www.sidmartinbio.org/who-discovered-hawaii-first/. “Hawai‘i Ocean Channels.” Hawai‘i ocean channels. To-Hawai‘i.com, 2006. https://www.to-hawaii.com/oceanchannels.php. Rogers, Richard W. Shipwrecks of Hawaiʻi: a Maritime History of the Big Island. Pilialoha Publishing, 1999. Semuels, Alana. “The Battle over Hawaii’s History.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2010, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-18-la-na-hawaii-historian18- 2010jan18-story.html. Stokes, John F. G. “SPANIARDS AND THE SWEET POTATO IN HAWAII AND HAWAIIAN‐AMERICAN CONTACTS.” AnthroSource, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 28 Oct. 2009, pg. 594-600. anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1932.34.4.02a00050. “Was Captain Cook the First Western Visitor to Hawai‘i?” Travel To Paradise, March 8, 2018. https://traveltoparadise.com/was-captain-cook-the-first-western-visitor-to-hawaii/. “Who Discovered Hawai‘i? Captain Cook? Or The Spanish?” HawaiiCam, 2 May 2012, hawaiicam.com/2012/05/who_discovered_hawaii_captain_cook_or_the_spanish/. Young, Peter T. “First Foreigners to Find Hawaiʻi.” First Foreigners to Find Hawaiʻi, 2 Feb. 2014, totakeresponsibility.blogspot.com/2014/02/first-foreigners-to-find-hawaii.html. Ehrhart 1