Jean Baptiste Rives

[2] When Prince Liholiho became King as Kamehameha II in May 1819, Rives became part of his "inner circle"; he was his personal secretary and a binge drinking companion.

On August 8, 1819, the French explorer Louis de Freycinet (1779–1842) arrived on the ship Uranie, and Rives acted as interpreter.

[4] Rives tried to convince others to join the ceremony, but people who would often plunge into the Pacific found it hard to believe a spoonful of water had much power.

[5] Jacques Arago describes Rives as a curious sight: he was under four feet tall, at a time when native Hawaiians were much taller than even average height Europeans.

Although Rives boasted of having sailed to China several times, being the son of a famous physician and curing the natives with his medicines, the fellow Gascons of the crew were embarrassed by his claims.

However, the Queen Regent Kaʻahumanu and other chiefs were convinced by the British advisor John Young and some Hawaiians on the ship to let them stay.

[11] Rives was one of the party chosen by Kamehameha II to take the ship L'Aigle (French for "The Eagle") under Captain Valentine Starbuck on a state visit to London in November 1823.

The English missionary William Ellis wanted to return to England and act as interpreter, and offered to pay for his own passage, but Rives convinced Starbuck to select him instead.

Another theory was he wanted to visit relatives; for whatever reason, he did not accompany the surviving members of the court on HMS Blonde on their way back to Hawaii on September 8, 1824.

He raised financing in early 1826 from the banker Jacques Laffitte and other investors, including the Javal family, to form a joint stock company to profit from trade with Hawaii.

[13] Le Héros arrived March 29, 1827, at Santa Barbara, California, under the Spanish commander José de la Guerra y Noriega.

Eventually word reached Pope Leo XII, who appointed Alexis Bachelot of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to lead the group; they left France November 21, 1826, on La Comète under command of Captain Plassard.

[13] They returned to Santa Barbara, where on September 13, 1827, they met the schooner Waverly under Captain William Sumner; it had sailed from Hawaii.

They chartered the Waverly for Rives to engage in trade along the Pacific Northwest coast and planned a rendez-vous with Duhaut-Cilly next summer.