Occasion: 19th Century - 1800s - Arrival of Europeans to Hawaii. Arrival of Missionaries to Hawaii. The development of epidemic disease and the decline of the native Hawaiian population. Adoption of European, American customs. Abandonment of native Hawaiian customs. Introduction of American work day - American companies.
Position: Despite the fact that "outsiders" greatly influenced the Hawaiian culture in the nineteenth century, native Hawaiians were able to preserve their traditional sport of surfing.
Evidence:
1. Many travelers and missionaries to the Hawaiian islands recorded seeing Hawaiians using surf boards and surfing canoes.
2. Surfing was an important aspect of Hawaiian folklore that was preserved in Hawaiian language newspapers in the nineteenth century.
3. The sport of Surfing quickly resurfaced in the twentieth century when Caucasians (Europeans, Americans, Austrailians) became interested in the sport.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thesis Examples
Topic: George S. Patton
Occasion: George Patton was a general in the U.S. army during WWII. He was a very strict, professional soldier. He led American troops to victory in Germany.
Position: George Patton was the most influential general in the U.S. army during World War II.
Evidence: 1. Patton was appointed commander of the U.S. army troops fighting in Germany.
2. Patton led by example. He was a strong, brave soldier not afraid to put himself in harms' way.
3. Patton inspired U.S. army troops to fight courageously as they won victory after victory under his command.
Thesis:
As a strict, professional soldier in the U.S. army during World War II, George S. Patton had the most influence in the success of the U.S. army. As the commander of U.S. army troops in Europe, he led by example and inspired U.S. troops to fight courageously in every battle. Despite the fact that Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Commander of all U.S. fighting forces he did not have as important an impact on U.S. troops. Everyday, Patton fought alongside the soldiers he commanded serving as a role model and inspiration for his troops.
Occasion: George Patton was a general in the U.S. army during WWII. He was a very strict, professional soldier. He led American troops to victory in Germany.
Position: George Patton was the most influential general in the U.S. army during World War II.
Evidence: 1. Patton was appointed commander of the U.S. army troops fighting in Germany.
2. Patton led by example. He was a strong, brave soldier not afraid to put himself in harms' way.
3. Patton inspired U.S. army troops to fight courageously as they won victory after victory under his command.
Thesis:
As a strict, professional soldier in the U.S. army during World War II, George S. Patton had the most influence in the success of the U.S. army. As the commander of U.S. army troops in Europe, he led by example and inspired U.S. troops to fight courageously in every battle. Despite the fact that Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Commander of all U.S. fighting forces he did not have as important an impact on U.S. troops. Everyday, Patton fought alongside the soldiers he commanded serving as a role model and inspiration for his troops.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
NHD Research Essay - Bibliographic Essay
This is my bibliographic essay for my research project on the History of Surfing.
Enthusiasts and advocates looking to promote the sport have written the history of surfing. As a result, the historiography is limited in its degree of professional research. To understand the decline of the sport in conjunction with the arrival of Europeans to Hawaii in the nineteenth century, it is necessary to examine the history of the Hawaiian Islands. This provides a larger context in which to study the sport of surfing. The main historical work on surfing, Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings by Finney and Houston, accomplishes this task. While this short study does shine a light on the dark history of surfing, it lacks detailed evidence and analysis of the decline of the sport. However, recent books on the history of surfing merely cite the research of Finney and Houston in opening chapters while the bulk of the studies is devoted to the modern development of the sport and its culture.
In 1966, Ben Finney and James Houston co-authored Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings by building upon a series of articles written by Finney including his M.A. thesis in anthropology titled Hawaiian Surfing, A Study in Cultural Change. The research reveals that the sport of surfing rapidly declined in Hawaii during the nineteenth century. The authors argue that this decline was the result of cultural changes that took place in Hawaii beginning soon after the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778. Finney and Houston state,
Economic, Political, and Social changes resulted in the decline of Hawaiian cultural and the sport of surfing. Hawaiians developed a trade network with the Europeans dealing in Sandalwood and sugar. “Economically, the development of barter, trade and industry undermined the traditional subsistence-based Hawaiian economy (Finney and Houston, 58).” Politically, Caucasians (this is the term used by Finney and Houston) encouraged the unification of the Hawaiian Islands under one ruler and eventually forced the Hawaiian rulers out of power to establish their own government further contributing to the erosion of Hawaiian culture. Socially, missionaries brought education and religion to the islands resulting in the abandonment of traditional religious customs. Additionally, Kinney and Houston argue, “The combined effect of all this – the fall of the kapu system, the loss of leisure time, the attractions of new culture, and the restrictions of a new religion – upon the decline of traditional pastimes, as well as other ancient customs, was augmented by an incredible population decline that spread throughout the islands (Finney and Houston, 63).” The authors compare the effects of cultural changes and depopulation in Hawaii with that of Tahiti to support the argument that these changes led to the decline of the sport of surfing.
Finney and Houston place the causes of the decline of surfing squarely on the arrival of Caucasians from America and Europe. The native Hawaiians are presented as victims of cultural imperialism with the main thrust of abuse coming from missionaries. The chapter detailing the decline of surfing is title “The Touch of Civilization.” The authors are writing in 1966 during the rise of the counter-culture movement in the United States. Surfing was initially part of this movement as American teens embraced the free spiritedness of the sport that encouraged youth to forget about their responsibilities and head to the beach. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings reflects this counter-culture spirit, however it lacks the voice of the indigenous Hawaiian. To what extent did Hawaiians resist the cultural imperialism of Caucasians? An answer may be difficult to find because Hawaiians did not have a written language until the arrival of missionaries.
Other histories on the sport of surfing (e.g. Edward 1967, Kahanamoku 1968, Kampion 2003, Young 1983) reflect the Euro and American centrism of Finney and Houston. They cite the sources of Captain James Cook and Hiram Bingham as the earliest accounts of surfing by Europeans. The decline of the sport is attributed to the causes argued by Finney and Houston, mainly depopulation and cultural changes, with particular blame on the restrictions imposed by missionaries. This historiography reflects the limited sources on surfing in the nineteenth century. Finney and Houston used Hawaiian chants, missionary reports, and explorers’ diaries. The bulk of their research on the decline of surfing comes from the limited viewpoint of Europeans.
The only Hawaiian agency in the history is given to Duke Kanhanmoku an Olympic swimmer and native Hawaiian who toured the world in the early twentieth century demonstrating his gold medal swim technique and surfing. Duke is portrayed as one of the saviors of the sport after its decline in the nineteenth century. He has written his own account of the sport titled World of Surfing. However, in similar style to the majority of books on surfing, his account is written for a commercial audience in order to popularize the sport. These histories (e.g. Edward 1967, Kahanamoku 1968, Kampion 2003, Young 1983) lack bibliographies and source footnotes. As a result, they rely heavily on the research of Kinney and Houston. Left unanswered are questions about the causes of depopulation and native Hawaiian reactions and resistance to European and missionary actions. What diseases afflicted the Hawaiians? How did they respond? What sort of treatments developed? Did this affect the daily lives of Hawaiians? Who were the missionaries that arrived in Hawaii? How did they restrict Hawaiians from participating in traditional customs? How did this affect the sport of surfing? These questions can be answered by examining the larger historiography of Hawaii.
In Aloha Betrayed, Noenoe Silva provides analysis of Hawaiian newspapers to demonstrate the strong degree of resistance exhibited by native Hawaiians to American colonialism. Silva argues that in order to study Hawaiian history, the historian must learn the native language. The historiography of Hawaii lacks the perspective of the Hawaiian people if the only sources used are those written in English. This is the crux of the problem involving the historiography of surfing. Although Finney and Houston use some Hawaiian chants, it is merely to describe how important surfing was to the culture. Their analysis stops there. How did the Hawaiians respond to European denigration of Hawaiian culture and surfing in particular? By following Silva’s lead, Hawaiian sources – written in the native language – need to be examined.
Another area of research yet to be fully examined is medical history of the Hawaiian Islands. It is necessary to examine the impact of disease on native Hawaiian culture. According to Finney and Houston, the decline of the native culture was due impart to the depopulation caused by disease, however they do not provide evidence to support this argument. In The Gifts of Civilization: Germs and Genocide in Hawaii, author O. A. Bushnell provides a medical history of the Hawaiian Islands. By examining this medical history, it may be possible to demonstrate a direct link between disease and the decline of surfing.
In conclusion, it is evident that the historiography of surfing is lacking a native Hawaiian perspective. To understand the decline of the sport in the nineteenth century it is necessary to link research on Hawaiian resistance and medical history with the sport of surfing. This will reveal a new understanding of the origins of the sport and its decline and survival.
Preliminary Bibliography
European Encounters and the Decline of Surfing in Hawaii
Carl Ackerman History 9200—001—Research Seminar in American History
1. Banks, Joseph. The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks: 1768 – 1771. London: Angus & Robertson, LTD, 1963.
2. Cook, James. The Journals. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
3. Edwards, Phil with Ottum, Bob. You Should Have Been Here an Hour Ago. 1st ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
2. Fairmont, Gary and Filosa, R. The Surfer’s Almanac. 1st ed. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1977.
3. Finney, Ben R. and Houston, James D. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966.
4. Ford, Nick and Brown, David. Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, embodiment, and narrative of the dream glide. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2006.
5. Howe, E.W. Daily Notes of a Trip Around the World. Topeka, KS: Crane & Company, 1907.
6. Kahanamoku, Duke with Brennan, Joe. World of Surfing. 1st ed. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1968.
7. Kampion, Drew. Stoked: A History of Surf Culture. Revised ed., Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2003.
8. Klein, H. Arthur. Surfing. 1st ed. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1965.
9. Kuhns, Grant W. On Surfing. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1963.
10. Murray-Oliver, Anthony. Captain Cook’s Hawaii: As Seen By His Artists. Wellington, New Zealand: Millwood Press, 1975.
11. Nelson, William Desmond. Surfing: A Handbook. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Auerbach Publishers Inc., 1973.
12. Pearson, Kent. Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. 1st ed. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1979.
13. Young, Nat. The History of Surfing. 2nd ed., Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 1994.
Enthusiasts and advocates looking to promote the sport have written the history of surfing. As a result, the historiography is limited in its degree of professional research. To understand the decline of the sport in conjunction with the arrival of Europeans to Hawaii in the nineteenth century, it is necessary to examine the history of the Hawaiian Islands. This provides a larger context in which to study the sport of surfing. The main historical work on surfing, Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings by Finney and Houston, accomplishes this task. While this short study does shine a light on the dark history of surfing, it lacks detailed evidence and analysis of the decline of the sport. However, recent books on the history of surfing merely cite the research of Finney and Houston in opening chapters while the bulk of the studies is devoted to the modern development of the sport and its culture.
In 1966, Ben Finney and James Houston co-authored Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings by building upon a series of articles written by Finney including his M.A. thesis in anthropology titled Hawaiian Surfing, A Study in Cultural Change. The research reveals that the sport of surfing rapidly declined in Hawaii during the nineteenth century. The authors argue that this decline was the result of cultural changes that took place in Hawaii beginning soon after the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778. Finney and Houston state,
“Following that event, increasing numbers of foreigners visited Hawaii – mainly Europeans and Americans who came first as explorers and traders and later as missionaries and settlers … The rapid disintegration of traditional life during this period of expanding foreign contact amounted to a cultural revolution. Old ways were abandoned as the islanders copied the more sophisticated, technically-advanced Caucasians (Finney and Houston, 58).”
Economic, Political, and Social changes resulted in the decline of Hawaiian cultural and the sport of surfing. Hawaiians developed a trade network with the Europeans dealing in Sandalwood and sugar. “Economically, the development of barter, trade and industry undermined the traditional subsistence-based Hawaiian economy (Finney and Houston, 58).” Politically, Caucasians (this is the term used by Finney and Houston) encouraged the unification of the Hawaiian Islands under one ruler and eventually forced the Hawaiian rulers out of power to establish their own government further contributing to the erosion of Hawaiian culture. Socially, missionaries brought education and religion to the islands resulting in the abandonment of traditional religious customs. Additionally, Kinney and Houston argue, “The combined effect of all this – the fall of the kapu system, the loss of leisure time, the attractions of new culture, and the restrictions of a new religion – upon the decline of traditional pastimes, as well as other ancient customs, was augmented by an incredible population decline that spread throughout the islands (Finney and Houston, 63).” The authors compare the effects of cultural changes and depopulation in Hawaii with that of Tahiti to support the argument that these changes led to the decline of the sport of surfing.
Finney and Houston place the causes of the decline of surfing squarely on the arrival of Caucasians from America and Europe. The native Hawaiians are presented as victims of cultural imperialism with the main thrust of abuse coming from missionaries. The chapter detailing the decline of surfing is title “The Touch of Civilization.” The authors are writing in 1966 during the rise of the counter-culture movement in the United States. Surfing was initially part of this movement as American teens embraced the free spiritedness of the sport that encouraged youth to forget about their responsibilities and head to the beach. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings reflects this counter-culture spirit, however it lacks the voice of the indigenous Hawaiian. To what extent did Hawaiians resist the cultural imperialism of Caucasians? An answer may be difficult to find because Hawaiians did not have a written language until the arrival of missionaries.
Other histories on the sport of surfing (e.g. Edward 1967, Kahanamoku 1968, Kampion 2003, Young 1983) reflect the Euro and American centrism of Finney and Houston. They cite the sources of Captain James Cook and Hiram Bingham as the earliest accounts of surfing by Europeans. The decline of the sport is attributed to the causes argued by Finney and Houston, mainly depopulation and cultural changes, with particular blame on the restrictions imposed by missionaries. This historiography reflects the limited sources on surfing in the nineteenth century. Finney and Houston used Hawaiian chants, missionary reports, and explorers’ diaries. The bulk of their research on the decline of surfing comes from the limited viewpoint of Europeans.
The only Hawaiian agency in the history is given to Duke Kanhanmoku an Olympic swimmer and native Hawaiian who toured the world in the early twentieth century demonstrating his gold medal swim technique and surfing. Duke is portrayed as one of the saviors of the sport after its decline in the nineteenth century. He has written his own account of the sport titled World of Surfing. However, in similar style to the majority of books on surfing, his account is written for a commercial audience in order to popularize the sport. These histories (e.g. Edward 1967, Kahanamoku 1968, Kampion 2003, Young 1983) lack bibliographies and source footnotes. As a result, they rely heavily on the research of Kinney and Houston. Left unanswered are questions about the causes of depopulation and native Hawaiian reactions and resistance to European and missionary actions. What diseases afflicted the Hawaiians? How did they respond? What sort of treatments developed? Did this affect the daily lives of Hawaiians? Who were the missionaries that arrived in Hawaii? How did they restrict Hawaiians from participating in traditional customs? How did this affect the sport of surfing? These questions can be answered by examining the larger historiography of Hawaii.
In Aloha Betrayed, Noenoe Silva provides analysis of Hawaiian newspapers to demonstrate the strong degree of resistance exhibited by native Hawaiians to American colonialism. Silva argues that in order to study Hawaiian history, the historian must learn the native language. The historiography of Hawaii lacks the perspective of the Hawaiian people if the only sources used are those written in English. This is the crux of the problem involving the historiography of surfing. Although Finney and Houston use some Hawaiian chants, it is merely to describe how important surfing was to the culture. Their analysis stops there. How did the Hawaiians respond to European denigration of Hawaiian culture and surfing in particular? By following Silva’s lead, Hawaiian sources – written in the native language – need to be examined.
Another area of research yet to be fully examined is medical history of the Hawaiian Islands. It is necessary to examine the impact of disease on native Hawaiian culture. According to Finney and Houston, the decline of the native culture was due impart to the depopulation caused by disease, however they do not provide evidence to support this argument. In The Gifts of Civilization: Germs and Genocide in Hawaii, author O. A. Bushnell provides a medical history of the Hawaiian Islands. By examining this medical history, it may be possible to demonstrate a direct link between disease and the decline of surfing.
In conclusion, it is evident that the historiography of surfing is lacking a native Hawaiian perspective. To understand the decline of the sport in the nineteenth century it is necessary to link research on Hawaiian resistance and medical history with the sport of surfing. This will reveal a new understanding of the origins of the sport and its decline and survival.
Preliminary Bibliography
European Encounters and the Decline of Surfing in Hawaii
Carl Ackerman History 9200—001—Research Seminar in American History
1. Banks, Joseph. The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks: 1768 – 1771. London: Angus & Robertson, LTD, 1963.
2. Cook, James. The Journals. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
3. Edwards, Phil with Ottum, Bob. You Should Have Been Here an Hour Ago. 1st ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
2. Fairmont, Gary and Filosa, R. The Surfer’s Almanac. 1st ed. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1977.
3. Finney, Ben R. and Houston, James D. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966.
4. Ford, Nick and Brown, David. Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, embodiment, and narrative of the dream glide. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2006.
5. Howe, E.W. Daily Notes of a Trip Around the World. Topeka, KS: Crane & Company, 1907.
6. Kahanamoku, Duke with Brennan, Joe. World of Surfing. 1st ed. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1968.
7. Kampion, Drew. Stoked: A History of Surf Culture. Revised ed., Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2003.
8. Klein, H. Arthur. Surfing. 1st ed. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1965.
9. Kuhns, Grant W. On Surfing. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1963.
10. Murray-Oliver, Anthony. Captain Cook’s Hawaii: As Seen By His Artists. Wellington, New Zealand: Millwood Press, 1975.
11. Nelson, William Desmond. Surfing: A Handbook. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Auerbach Publishers Inc., 1973.
12. Pearson, Kent. Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. 1st ed. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1979.
13. Young, Nat. The History of Surfing. 2nd ed., Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 1994.
Annotated Bibliography
1. Edwards, Phil with Ottum, Bob. You Should Have Been Here an Hour Ago. 1st ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
This book opens with an introduction by Bob Ottum, in which he declares Phil Edwards to be “the best surfer in the world.” He describes how Edwards surfs for pure enjoyment, not to win championships. There is an undertone of contempt for the commercialization of the sport, the need to hold competitions and label someone the champion. Also, he distinguishes the ultimate goal of surfing as enjoyment of the individual, not necessarily finding the biggest, perfect wave. This sentiment is captured in the opening page of chapter 1. In the intro, the author claims that surfing will become an Olympic sport.
Waves can’t be the god of the sport; if they were, we would all live in Hawaii. It has go to be getting out in it that counts – surfing because you love to surf, and getting pumped full of life and whip and snap. I used to ride junk waves all day long, training for good moments. You do this, and one day you are sitting out there all alone, waiting, for a set, and someone will paddle up and ask how the surf is. “Man,” you tell them, “you should have been here an hour ago.”
Edwards’ First Law of Surfing
2. Fairmont, Gary and Filosa, R. The Surfer’s Almanac. 1st ed. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1977.
This book claims to be the first almanac for surfers following in the historic line of almanacs produced by Ben Franklin and Benjamin Banneker. It includes a history of the sport, how-to-surf guide, and information about surf spots around the world. It appears that the main focus of the book is to provide information to support the adoption of surfing as an Olympic sport.
“In writing his book, Dr. Filosa has provided the international surfing community with vivid documentation for their sport’s entry into the Olympic arena.”
“The Surfer’s Almanac is a compendium of fact, past and present, a bible for surfing, a repository for surfing lore, and a dictionary for surfers about surfing.”
3. Finney, Ben R. and Houston, James D. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966.
This book is a history of surfing in Hawaii. The author developed the book from a Master thesis titled Hawaiian Surfing, A Study in Cultural Change. Using research from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, this traces the origins of surfing in the Pacific to its modern status as an international sport.
4. Ford, Nick and Brown, David. Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, embodiment, and narrative of the dream glide. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2006.
This book involves interdisciplinary research into the field of Surf Science (a degree offered a the University of Plymouth and Corwall College in the UK). I think the book is an attempt to understand how the sport of surfing has affected the lives of surfers. It examines the literature of surfing to understand how it has affected people and the development of a surf culture.
5. Kahanamoku, Duke with Brennan, Joe. World of Surfing. 1st ed. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1968.
This book opens with an introduction and a forward that praise Duke as the father of surfing. It includes a history of the sport in Hawaii and a how-to-surf guide.
6. Klein, H. Arthur. Surfing. 1st ed. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1965.
“It seeks to be a practical, easily applicable guide to many kinds of surfing, each with its particular possibilities for sport, stimulus, satisfaction, and physical benefits … The book seeks to emphasize what seems likely to be lasting in surfing rather than that which may be temporary and faddish … it seeks to show that surfing offers something worth while to those men or women of every age who are able to swim and who enjoy physical activity.”
7. Kuhns, Grant W. On Surfing. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1963.
This is a guide to surfing.
“It is the author’s intention that this book should not only furnish the general information through which the reader may become acquainted with a new and remarkable sport, but that it will help establish in the surfer the skill and knowledge through which he will gain the maximum satisfaction from the sport by making the wave more a servant than a master.”
8. Pearson, Kent. Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. 1st ed. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1979.
“This book is not about surfing but about the people who surf.” This is an examination of the cultures of “surf life savers” and “surf board riders.”
9. Nelson, William Desmond. Surfing: A Handbook. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Auerbach Publishers Inc., 1973.
“This book is an attempt to show surfing as it really is, in the early 1970s, complete with challenges, problems, and excitement.”
“A major propose of this book is to introduce a new surfer to surfing with a minimum of embarrassment and avoidable mistakes.”
10. Tabrah, Ruth. Hawaii. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1980.
Missionaries: 37 – 48, 50 – 51, 53, 66 – 68, 80
Chapter 4 – The Reign of Hiram Bingham
This chapter opens with a description of the passing of a ruler (Kamehameha) and the rise and defiance of a new ruler (Liholiho – Kamehameha II) who by the urging of Kamehameha’s wife Kaahumanu, broke the tradition of kapu. “It was a symbolic defiance ending the power of the old gods in Hawaii, and at Kaahumanu’s urging he sent messengers to every part of the kingdon, even to Kauai, proclaiming the end of all kapu.” P. 35 (The overthrow of idol worship)
“The end of kapu and the fading away of the old gods and their power did not affect the basic system of Hawaiian values.” P. 36
New “Aloha spirit” – welcoming newcomers
“This new dimension of aloha spirit, offered to strangers and exchanged between Hawaiians and resident foreigners, sped cultural transition, permeating island life in a way that had not had to be during the isolation of ka poe kahiko.” – 36
Hiram Bingham – 31 years old, native of Bennington, VT, graduate of Middlebury College and Andover Theological Seminary, married to Sybil Moseley of Hartford, CT
14 American missionaries – mostly young couples
Puritans from Boston?
Possible Source to find:
Stephen Reynolds Journal: November 27, 1823 to June 27, 1845
“Stephen Reynolds, an American who liked the Hawaiian lifestyle, complained in his diary that “missionaries are always the ruin of the whole world.””
William Richards – built a high school and taught the principles of democracy
William Farnham, American visitor to Hawaii in 1840. Commissioned to pursue a treaty between USA, Great Britain, France, and Hawaii.
Missionaries – continued to wear New England clothing even in the heat of Hawaii, brought plant seeds from Massachusetts, …
“It was the good fortune of the mission that when the kuhina nui was struck with a serious illness in 1823, Sybil Bingham nursed her to recovery. Kaahumanu’s whole personality became transformed by her belief that only Mrs. Bingham’s prayers had helped her become well. Immediately, Kaahumanu became a Christian and applied all her strength and vigor to seeing to it her people listened to the word of God. Hiram Bingham became her religious mentor and the one person on whom she depended for advice in every detail for direction of Hawaii’s government. Through her, in just three years, the missionary status shifted from discouraging failure to undreamed-of success.” P. 41
“Mission influence flooded Hawaiian life. Laws prohibited the kindling of fires on the Sabbath and the old sports of boxing and wrestling.” P.42
“Life was a grim business for most of these American missionaries who were appalled by the frankness and candor of the Hawaiians on subjects taboo to New England culture and by the spontaneity with which Hawaiians lived each present moment, usually with innate exuberance whether the challenge was that of a surfing wave, a game, a job to be done, sex, or the chance to learn to read, write, and cipher.” P. 44
(French) Catholic Missionaries –
French ship Comete – July 1827, “a Catholic mission of members of the Congregation of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Father Abraham Armand, Father Alexis Bachelot, Father Patrick Short, and Brothers Theodore Boissier, Melchior Bondu, and Leonore Portal.
“The Hawaiian commoner of the 1840s was the particular victim of missionary attitudes that communicated a not so subtle cultural inferiority – a message received by the alii as well. The mission schools in which Hawaiians became quickly literate, and the churches where they sought God’s love and grace taught them that the Hawaiian past, Hawaiian culture with all its music, literature, dance, knowledge, and celebration of life, was dark and evil, an ineradicable blot staining the Hawaiian soul, a burden to be weighed on Judgment Day.” P. 54
Silva, Noenoe K. Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004.
Kaona – hidden meaning in Hawaiian poetry; concealed reference, as to a person, thing or place; and word with double meaning.
This book opens with an introduction by Bob Ottum, in which he declares Phil Edwards to be “the best surfer in the world.” He describes how Edwards surfs for pure enjoyment, not to win championships. There is an undertone of contempt for the commercialization of the sport, the need to hold competitions and label someone the champion. Also, he distinguishes the ultimate goal of surfing as enjoyment of the individual, not necessarily finding the biggest, perfect wave. This sentiment is captured in the opening page of chapter 1. In the intro, the author claims that surfing will become an Olympic sport.
Waves can’t be the god of the sport; if they were, we would all live in Hawaii. It has go to be getting out in it that counts – surfing because you love to surf, and getting pumped full of life and whip and snap. I used to ride junk waves all day long, training for good moments. You do this, and one day you are sitting out there all alone, waiting, for a set, and someone will paddle up and ask how the surf is. “Man,” you tell them, “you should have been here an hour ago.”
Edwards’ First Law of Surfing
2. Fairmont, Gary and Filosa, R. The Surfer’s Almanac. 1st ed. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1977.
This book claims to be the first almanac for surfers following in the historic line of almanacs produced by Ben Franklin and Benjamin Banneker. It includes a history of the sport, how-to-surf guide, and information about surf spots around the world. It appears that the main focus of the book is to provide information to support the adoption of surfing as an Olympic sport.
“In writing his book, Dr. Filosa has provided the international surfing community with vivid documentation for their sport’s entry into the Olympic arena.”
“The Surfer’s Almanac is a compendium of fact, past and present, a bible for surfing, a repository for surfing lore, and a dictionary for surfers about surfing.”
3. Finney, Ben R. and Houston, James D. Surfing: The Sport of Hawaiian Kings. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966.
This book is a history of surfing in Hawaii. The author developed the book from a Master thesis titled Hawaiian Surfing, A Study in Cultural Change. Using research from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, this traces the origins of surfing in the Pacific to its modern status as an international sport.
4. Ford, Nick and Brown, David. Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, embodiment, and narrative of the dream glide. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2006.
This book involves interdisciplinary research into the field of Surf Science (a degree offered a the University of Plymouth and Corwall College in the UK). I think the book is an attempt to understand how the sport of surfing has affected the lives of surfers. It examines the literature of surfing to understand how it has affected people and the development of a surf culture.
5. Kahanamoku, Duke with Brennan, Joe. World of Surfing. 1st ed. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1968.
This book opens with an introduction and a forward that praise Duke as the father of surfing. It includes a history of the sport in Hawaii and a how-to-surf guide.
6. Klein, H. Arthur. Surfing. 1st ed. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1965.
“It seeks to be a practical, easily applicable guide to many kinds of surfing, each with its particular possibilities for sport, stimulus, satisfaction, and physical benefits … The book seeks to emphasize what seems likely to be lasting in surfing rather than that which may be temporary and faddish … it seeks to show that surfing offers something worth while to those men or women of every age who are able to swim and who enjoy physical activity.”
7. Kuhns, Grant W. On Surfing. 1st ed. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1963.
This is a guide to surfing.
“It is the author’s intention that this book should not only furnish the general information through which the reader may become acquainted with a new and remarkable sport, but that it will help establish in the surfer the skill and knowledge through which he will gain the maximum satisfaction from the sport by making the wave more a servant than a master.”
8. Pearson, Kent. Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. 1st ed. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1979.
“This book is not about surfing but about the people who surf.” This is an examination of the cultures of “surf life savers” and “surf board riders.”
9. Nelson, William Desmond. Surfing: A Handbook. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Auerbach Publishers Inc., 1973.
“This book is an attempt to show surfing as it really is, in the early 1970s, complete with challenges, problems, and excitement.”
“A major propose of this book is to introduce a new surfer to surfing with a minimum of embarrassment and avoidable mistakes.”
10. Tabrah, Ruth. Hawaii. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1980.
Missionaries: 37 – 48, 50 – 51, 53, 66 – 68, 80
Chapter 4 – The Reign of Hiram Bingham
This chapter opens with a description of the passing of a ruler (Kamehameha) and the rise and defiance of a new ruler (Liholiho – Kamehameha II) who by the urging of Kamehameha’s wife Kaahumanu, broke the tradition of kapu. “It was a symbolic defiance ending the power of the old gods in Hawaii, and at Kaahumanu’s urging he sent messengers to every part of the kingdon, even to Kauai, proclaiming the end of all kapu.” P. 35 (The overthrow of idol worship)
“The end of kapu and the fading away of the old gods and their power did not affect the basic system of Hawaiian values.” P. 36
New “Aloha spirit” – welcoming newcomers
“This new dimension of aloha spirit, offered to strangers and exchanged between Hawaiians and resident foreigners, sped cultural transition, permeating island life in a way that had not had to be during the isolation of ka poe kahiko.” – 36
Hiram Bingham – 31 years old, native of Bennington, VT, graduate of Middlebury College and Andover Theological Seminary, married to Sybil Moseley of Hartford, CT
14 American missionaries – mostly young couples
Puritans from Boston?
Possible Source to find:
Stephen Reynolds Journal: November 27, 1823 to June 27, 1845
“Stephen Reynolds, an American who liked the Hawaiian lifestyle, complained in his diary that “missionaries are always the ruin of the whole world.””
William Richards – built a high school and taught the principles of democracy
William Farnham, American visitor to Hawaii in 1840. Commissioned to pursue a treaty between USA, Great Britain, France, and Hawaii.
Missionaries – continued to wear New England clothing even in the heat of Hawaii, brought plant seeds from Massachusetts, …
“It was the good fortune of the mission that when the kuhina nui was struck with a serious illness in 1823, Sybil Bingham nursed her to recovery. Kaahumanu’s whole personality became transformed by her belief that only Mrs. Bingham’s prayers had helped her become well. Immediately, Kaahumanu became a Christian and applied all her strength and vigor to seeing to it her people listened to the word of God. Hiram Bingham became her religious mentor and the one person on whom she depended for advice in every detail for direction of Hawaii’s government. Through her, in just three years, the missionary status shifted from discouraging failure to undreamed-of success.” P. 41
“Mission influence flooded Hawaiian life. Laws prohibited the kindling of fires on the Sabbath and the old sports of boxing and wrestling.” P.42
“Life was a grim business for most of these American missionaries who were appalled by the frankness and candor of the Hawaiians on subjects taboo to New England culture and by the spontaneity with which Hawaiians lived each present moment, usually with innate exuberance whether the challenge was that of a surfing wave, a game, a job to be done, sex, or the chance to learn to read, write, and cipher.” P. 44
(French) Catholic Missionaries –
French ship Comete – July 1827, “a Catholic mission of members of the Congregation of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Father Abraham Armand, Father Alexis Bachelot, Father Patrick Short, and Brothers Theodore Boissier, Melchior Bondu, and Leonore Portal.
“The Hawaiian commoner of the 1840s was the particular victim of missionary attitudes that communicated a not so subtle cultural inferiority – a message received by the alii as well. The mission schools in which Hawaiians became quickly literate, and the churches where they sought God’s love and grace taught them that the Hawaiian past, Hawaiian culture with all its music, literature, dance, knowledge, and celebration of life, was dark and evil, an ineradicable blot staining the Hawaiian soul, a burden to be weighed on Judgment Day.” P. 54
Silva, Noenoe K. Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004.
Kaona – hidden meaning in Hawaiian poetry; concealed reference, as to a person, thing or place; and word with double meaning.
NHD 2009 Topic Selection
As a teacher, I am unable to compete in the National History Day contest. However, I can still provide students with a model for NHD. I will use the research I am conducting for my graduate class at Temple University. My topic of research is surfing. I chose surfing as my topic for research because this past summer I learned how to surf and now I would like to learn about the history of surfing. Particularly, I am interested in the development of surfing as a part of Hawaiian culture. How was surfing a part of Hawaiian culture? Was it merely a sport or was it something more? Furthermore, I want to investigate what happened when Europeans and Americans arrived in Hawaii in the 1700s and 1800s. How did they view surfing? How did they influence Hawaiian culture? For this research, I have taken out a number of books from the Temple University Library. I have also visited the Library Company of Philadelphia. I'll post my original annotated bibliography and bibliographic essay. I hope this will serve as a model for students to follow.
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