THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
also translated the Book of Genesis. His death in 1817, with this desire unfulfilled, led Hiram Bingham (q. v.) and Asa Thurston to offer their services to the American Board for work in these islands. They were joined by fifteen others, and on Oct. 15,
1819, the Mission Church of Hawaii was formed in Boston, with seventeen members, three of whom were Hawaiian boys, and on Oct. 23 they sailed on the brig Thaddeus, arriving at the islands March 30,
1820, to find the taboo abolished, temples and idols destroyed, and the priesthood shorn of its diabolical power. In spite of all his sweeping reforms, Kamehameha did not want the missionaries, or rather the white foreigners told him he did not; and it was with reluctance that he finally granted them permission to remain one year, as an experiment. They settled on Hawaii, Oahu, and Maui. Thus the first Christian Church in the Hawaiian Islands was transplanted from New England. Eight months previously, however, a Roman Catholic priest on the French discovery ship Uranie had baptized the prime minister, Kalanimoku, and Boki, his younger brother. The former heartily welcomed the newcomers, and used his influence in their favor. The king was friendly and was one of the first to learn to read. On his death, in England, in 1824, the government passed into the hands of Kaahumanu, as queen regent, and the prime minister, Kalanimoku, both of whom were friendly, as were the majority of the high chiefs. This year several notable events occurred, all favorable to the mission. The chiefs agreed to observe the Sabbath, the ten emmandments were taken as the basis of government, and the Princess Kapiolani made her memorable visit to the crater of Kilauea, defying the power of the firegoddess Pele. Kaahumanu, the queen dowager, traveled to all parts of her kingdom, commanding the people to assist the " Kumus " and accept their teaching. Though the missionaries had large congregations and schools at all their stations, yet in 1825 there were but ten members in the native church.
In 1827 the first Roman Catholic missionaries
arrived, but they were refused residence. They
remained till 1831, when the govern-
4. Missions, ment provided a vessel in which they
1827-62. were taken to California. The work of the American mission was vigorously prosecuted; reenforcements were sent out, more schools opened, the printing-press busily employed, and a strong Evangelistic work carried on. For a quarter of a century the American Mission was the dominating influence in a rapidly increasing foreign population; nevertheless such was the care exercised that in 1836 there were but twenty churches, with a membership of but 1,168. Then came the revivals of 1836-39; during these three years, out of a population of 125,000, nearly 20,000 members were received into the church, the greater number under the ministry of Titus Coan (q.v.). During these years Messrs. Richards, Thurston, Bingham, and Bishop had been translating the Bible, and it was given to the people in 1.S39. This year the French government intervened in behalf of the Roman Catholics, and a mission was established by them; in 1843 more priests were sent, and the cathedral in Honolulu was dedicated. In 1850
Mormon missionaries arrived. The Hawaiian churches of the pioneer mission increased in strength and character; in 1852 they united with the American Board in sending missionaries to Micronesia and the Marquesas; and as a result the general meeting of the missionary fathers became the Hawaiian Evangelical Association in 1854. In response to repeated requests of churchmen resident in the group, in 1862 a mission was established by the Church of England.
At this time there were 59 native churches, having a membership of 53,583; representatives of these churches were admitted to the Hawai- 5. Missions ian Evangelical Association, having since 1862. equal status with the missionaries, and the Hawaiian board was formed as its executive agency. The mission had become a colony, and it was becoming increasingly evident that the work could no longer be continued along the old lines. Accordingly, in 1863, the American Board decided to send no more missionaries, to grant autonomy to the churches, and to place them in the care of Hawaiian pastors. Coincident with this process of development in the native church, the Hawaiian nation had been passing through a remarkable period of evolution. Bill of rights was succeeded by constitution, the granting of property rights, the enactment of just laws, and all the outward evidences of a Christian civilization. The year 1863 marked the climax of prosperity for the Hawaiian Church. The Kamehameha dynasty passed; missionary leaders died, and their places remained unfilled. During the reigns of Kalakaua and Liliokulani new vices were born, and a fresh and vigorous alien paganism asserted itself; the clash came, and the nation lost its sovereignty, and the Church declined. But all was not lost; if the missionaries had died, they left behind them a goodly band of descendants who loyally helped their Hawaiian brethren. Churches for the white races were formed, to become the nucleus for a second great advance; the battle was pushed in new directions; missions for Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese were instituted and carried on with vigor; and at the jubilee of the mission in 1870, Hawaii was declared to be no longer missionary ground, but an Evangelized nation. Missionary and philanthropic work progressed henceforth along denominational lines; and after 1870 came the Methodist Episcopal, Christian, Lutheran, and Adventist churches, the Reorganized Mormon Church, the Salvation Army, Theosophists, and Buddhists. When the islands were annexed by the United States in 1898 a newera of home missions began, characterized by the dominance of the English language in all missionary activities, and for the first time in forty-five years the membership in the Hawaiian Church has notably increased in spite of the decline in population. At the census of 1900 there were 27,000 Protestant communicants, 30,000 Roman Catholics, 6,000 Mormons, 55,000 Buddhists, 25,000 Confucianists, and 11,000 unclassified. Theodora Crosby Bliss.
Bibliography: H. Bingham, Residence of SI Years in the Sandwich Islands, Hartford, 1S47; 'I'. N. Staley, Fire Years' Church Work in Hawaii, London, 1868; R. Anderson, The Hawaiian Islands, Boston, 1805; idem, Sandwich Islands Mission, ib. 1870; J. C. Bartlett, Historical