July 31, 2026
Photograph of T. Haʻalilio and W. Richards. Courtesy of the Hawaiʻi State Archives.
Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea commemorates the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty in 1843 and the leaders who carried the kuleana of shaping and safeguarding the Hawaiian Kingdom. Among them was Timoteo Haʻalilio, a trusted architect of the nation whose service helped shape Hawaiʻi’s place in the world and one of its enduring national emblems.
Born in 1808 to Eseka Kipa and Koeleele, Haʻalilio was raised in the royal court alongside his childhood friend, Kauikeaouli, who would later become Kamehameha III. After studying under the early missionaries and at Lahainaluna Seminary, he went on to serve as the king’s private secretary.
In 1842, Kauikeaouli appointed Haʻalilio and William Richards as special envoys to seek formal recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s autonomy, building on years of constitutional work at home.
Together, Haʻalilio and Richards, along with George Simpson, travelled across Moananuiākea to Mexico, the United States, and Europe, where they endured racism, illness, and immense personal sacrifice. While abroad, the two negotiated with British officials to resolve the events surrounding Lord Paulet’s illegal occupation, paving the way for Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea on July 31, 1843.
Later that year, their efforts helped lead to the Anglo-Franco Proclamation, when Great Britain and France formally recognized the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent nation.
While in London, Haʻalilio also drafted and commissioned the creation of a design for what would evolve into the Hawaiian Kingdom’s royal coat of arms.The design brings together enduring symbols of the kingdom, including the Hawaiian flag, kalo leaves, pūloʻuloʻu, kāhili, and the royal twins Kameʻeiamoku and Kamanawa adorned in their ʻahuʻula. At its base is the ʻōlelo proclaimed by Kauikeaouli on that first Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea: “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.”
More than 180 years later, Haʻalilio’s leadership remains woven in the story of this day and the enduring pursuit of ea.