Creation and development of the Hawaiian consular network in Chile: The case of the Beyerbach administration, 1851–57

Abstract

The focus of this article is the process of the creation and installation of the consular network of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i in Chile (1851–57), which was headed by Eduard Beyerbach, its first consul in the South American country. With competition between the powers of the northern hemisphere for dominating territories in the Pacific, the sovereignty and independence of the island Kingdom of Hawai‘i was seriously threatened. This explains Honolulu’s interest in creating, maintaining and increasing its consular presence in the main ports of the world in general and, in this particular case, in those of the Chilean South Pacific. This study, based on an analysis of Chilean, American and Hawaiian primary sources of the time, stored in different historical and diplomatic archives, presents new information about Hawaiian foreign policy in relation to South America. It is argued that economic-commercial, national security and eventually humanitarian reasons explain the creation and enlargement of the Hawaiian Kingdom consular network in Chile in the 1850s. The research explores the precedents for the bilateral relationship and the identities and actions of those individuals – Beyerbach, in particular – who made possible its development.