Foreign Office & Executive: Chronological File

The “Chronological File,” which was digitized in its entirety, spans a time period from 1790 to 1849 and is arranged chronologically. It contains a total of 553 files and 27,089 individual images. The original documents may be found using the Hawaiʻi State Archives Foreign Office and Executive Finding Aid (Series 402). According to the Hawaiʻi State Archives,

[t]he series consists of transactions of the pre-constitutional rulers, of the King, the kuhina nui or premier, the Privy Council, the Cabinet Council, and the Department of Foreign Affairs with ministerial and non-ministerial officials, captains of visiting ships from foreign nations, foreign officials and consular officers, and Hawaiian residents. It includes correspondence of the King, the kuhina nui, the governors of islands, members of the Privy Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs; drafts of outgoing letters by Foreign Minister R.C. Wyllie’s from 1845 to 1849; documents relating to court cases prior to 1847; diplomatic instructions; drafts of treaties; proclamations and orders of the King or island governors; and bills of sales of ships. Subjects include diplomatic mission to secure the recognition of Hawaiian independence, the controversy relating to the admission of Catholic missionaries, duty on spirits, Charlton land case, seizure of the Hawaiian Islands and establishment of the British Commission in 1843, disputes with foreign consuls over the treatment of foreign citizens; impeachment charges against G.P. Judd; and treaty negotiations. Court cases relating to Skinner vs. Dominis, French & Greenway, and Ladd & Co are found in the series.

Please click on the following links to access this digitized collection.

Chronological Files by Box:
  • 402-2
  • 402-3
  • 402-4
  • 402-5
  • 402-6
  • 402-7
  • 402-8
  • 402-9
  • 402-10
  • 402-11
  • 402-12
  • 402-13
  • 402-14
  • 402-15
  • 402-16
  • 402-17
  • 402-18
  • 402-19
  • 402-20
  • 402-21
  • 402-22
  • 402-23
  • 402-24
  • 402-25
  • 402-26
  • 402-27