Russian Fort Elizabeth

Pāʻulaʻula State Historical Park is a National Historic Landmark and is administered as the Pāʻulaʻula State Historical Park just southeast of present-day Waimea on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is the last remaining Native Hawaiian fort on the Hawaiian Islands, built in the early 19th century by natives with an Italian-based design provided by a German traveler who arrived on a Russian-American Company ship, as a project of High Chief Kaumualii.[1] The star fort was employed by the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th century under the name Fort Hipo.

History

In 1815, German physician Georg Anton Schäffer, an agent of the Russian-American Company, arrived in Hawaii to retrieve goods seized by Kaumualii, chief of Kauai island.[3] According to the company instructions, Schäffer had to begin by establishing friendly relations with Kamehameha I, who had created a kingdom

Significance

This large stone construction is the most magnificent reminder of the Russians' attempts to gain an influential position in the Hawaiian Islands during the early 19th century. Alexander Baranov, governor of the Russian-American Company at Sitka, wished to open trade with the Hawaiian Islands to obtain food for the Alaska settlements and sent several vessels for this purpose. One of these ships was wrecked at Waimea, Kauaʻi, in 1815; the next year, Baranov sent Georg Anton Schäffer to recover the cargo and, likely, to open a permanent Russian trading post or gain a political foothold. Schäffer quickly gained influence over King Kaumualiʻi of Kauaʻi, and in the summer of 1816 persuaded him to sign an agreement giving the Russians special trading and economic privileges on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu. In a failed attempt to build a fort at Honolulu, Schäffer went back to Kauaʻi to consolidate his position with Kaumualiʻi. His aim was evidently to convince the king to declare his independence of Kamehameha and enter under Russian protection. He erected an earthwork at Hanalei and, sometime between April and October 1817, built a strong stone fort at Waimea, over which the Russian flag was flown.[1][8]

The Waimea establishment was a huge one. The fort was equipped with guns and quarters for troops. Schäffer owned a factory or trading house, with gardens and houses for a staff of about 30 families. Apparently the fort was not completed by the fall of 1817. By that time Schäffer's peremptory conduct had alienated the Hawaiians. Acting on Kamehameha's orders, Kaumualiʻi ousted the Russians.

After Schäffer left the islands, Hawaiian troops occupied the fort in October 1817. In 1820, a 21-gun salute was fired when the brig Thaddeus came up with the son of Kaumualiʻi, who had been attending school in the United States. The first mission settlement of Protestants on Kauaʻi took place on the riverbank by the fort. Around 1853, the fort was abandoned because the Hawaiian garrison was withdrawn.[5][9]

nrhp type	nhl
nearest city	Waimea, Kauaʻi County Hawaiʻi
coordinates	21.95167°N, -159.66417°W
locmapin	United States Kauai#USA Hawaii
area	17.5 acre
built	1817
architect	Dr. Georg Anton Schäffer
added	October 15, 1966
designated nrhp type	December 29, 1962‡R1R‡
refnum	66000299‡R2R‡

Russian Fort Elizabeth

History

Dismantling

Access

Significance

Physical structure

See also

Further reading

External links

References