8. John Young: The English Sailor who Married a Hawaiian Princess
When John Young left his home in Lancashire for a life at sea, he could hardly have imagined he would end up married to royalty. In 1790, Young was serving on an American fur trading ship, the Eleanora when the boat docked in Hawaii. It was the first time Young had seen Owhyee as the island was known. He had however heard tales of its exotic delights- especially the women.
However, the Hawaiian’s were not entirely well disposed towards European visitors. Only 11 years earlier, the Islanders had killed Captain Cook. Young quickly discovered relations were still uneasy. While the Eleanora was in the harbor, her companionship, The Fair American was attacked. Young was part of a party sent ashore to investigate what had happened. However, the local King, Kamehameha I did not want the Europeans to discover that the attackers were Hawaiian. So Young was detained, and his ship sailed without him.
In 1793, a Captain Vancouver sailed into Hawaii and encountered Young and offered passage out of Hawaii. Young, however, refused as his lot on Hawaii had improved considerably. For the sailor from Lancashire had become Governor of Hawaii and an adviser to King Kamehameha. Young’s knowledge of land and naval strategy was of great use to the monarch- as was his ability to act as a go-between with European powers. Two years after Captain Vancouver’s offer of a lift, Young married Kamehameha’s daughter, Namokuelua. Their descendants still live on Hawaii today.