Richard Charlton
He was surrounded by controversies that caused a military occupation known as the Paulet Affair, and real estate claims that motivated the formalization of Hawaiian land titles.
George Canning who was British Foreign Secretary was deeply embarrassed by the deaths, and wanted to formalize relations.
While en route, he was officially appointed British Consul (trade representative) for the Hawaiian, Friendly (now Tonga) and Society Islands on 23 September 1824.
[3][4]: 80 He took his wife Betsy, her sister, and a daughter Elizabeth on his ship Active which reached the Hawaiian Islands on 25 April 1825, from Valparaíso.
After Blonde arrived two weeks later, Charlton took part in the elaborate state funeral put on by the military crew.
The Anglican ship chaplain led the funeral service, which started a lingering conflict with Hiram Bingham I, the conservative American missionary leader from the Congregational church.
Charlton brought a letter from former royal secretary Jean Baptiste Rives indicating Hawaiian Prime Minister Kalanimoku should grant land for the consulate site.
With the Spaniard Francisco de Paula Marin as witness, Kalanimoku granted a 299-year lease on some valuable harbor-front land.
Charlton partnered with island governor Boki who had seen the vibrant British economy firsthand while accompanying Kamehameha II on the 1824 visit.
[3] Coffee trees and other crops had been brought by Blonde, and Charlton made an unsuccessful attempt to make growing them into a business.
[7] In 1836, Charlton requested HMS Actaeon sent under command of Lord Edward Russell to secure the release of two British prisoners.
The French had expelled Protestant missionaries in Tahiti, and Charlton wrote to suggest British warships could do the same with the Americans in Hawaii.
Alexander aligned himself with Charlton, arguing for a full British annexation, putting him on a collision course with Sir George.
In another case, Charlton had sold some of the waterfront land to Francis John Greenway with American William French acting as agent.
In London Charlton was fired for leaving his post without permission, and Lord Aberdeen recognized Hawaiian independence.
Wyllie served briefly as acting British Consul while Miller traveled through the Pacific, and then became a cabinet minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii for the rest of his career.
On 23 August 1845 with Thomas Charles Byde Rooke as witness, Charlton fenced off the land and put it up for sale.
[14] This led to what would be known as the Great Mahele, legalizing the fee simple ownership of land by foreigners for the first time in Hawaii's history.
