John Tamatoa Baker
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John Tamatoa Baker, also given as John Timoteo Baker, (1852 – September 7, 1921) was a Hawaiian politician, businessman, and rancher who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii, including Governor of the Island of Hawaii from 1892 to 1893. Baker and his brother became the models for the
Kamehameha Statues Several ''Kamehameha'' statues honor the monarch who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. Original work The pictured statue stands prominently in front of Aliiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaii. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter M. Gibson, ...
.


Early life and family

Baker was born in 1852 at Kailupe, on the island of
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
, of part Hawaiian, Tahitian, and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
descent. His parents were Adam C. Baker, an English sea captain, and Luka Pruvia, daughter of an early Tahitian missionary to Hawaii. His adopted brother was Robert Hoapili Baker. He was educated at
Lahainaluna School Lahainaluna High School is a public high school with the grades 9-12 located in Lahaina (on the island of Maui). Lahainaluna High School is also a public boarding school. It was founded in 1831 as a Protestant missionary school, originally name ...
, an institution founded by the American Protestant missionaries on the island of Maui. He married the High Chiefess Ululani Lewai Peleiōhōlani, who served as Governess of the Island of Hawaii from 1886 to 1888.


Modeling the Kamehameha Statue

In 1879, Baker and his brother Robert Hoapili Baker became the model for the
Kamehameha Statues Several ''Kamehameha'' statues honor the monarch who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. Original work The pictured statue stands prominently in front of Aliiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaii. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter M. Gibson, ...
by American sculptor
Thomas Ridgeway Gould Thomas Ridgeway Gould (November 5, 1818 – November 26, 1881) was an American neoclassical sculptor active in Boston and Florence. Biography Gould was born in Boston on November 5, 1818. He was at first a merchant with his brother in the dry ...
. The statue was commissioned by King
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...
in honor of the centennial of James Cook's landing in the Hawaiian Islands. The original statue was cast in 1880 but lost at sea. A second cast was installed in 1883 at
Aliʻiōlani Hale Aliʻiōlani Hale is a building located in downtown Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, currently used as the home of the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court. It is the former seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the Republic of Hawaiʻi. Located in the ...
while the recovered original cast was installed at Kapaʻau, Kohala, the birthplace of
Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea;  – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...
. According to Walter M. Gibson, " e artist has copied closely the fine physique of obertHoapili aker..and it presents a noble illustration and a correct type of superior Hawaiian manhood". Two photographs of John modeling as Kamehameha survive, one in its original form and another in the form of a composite photograph with the bare legs of a Hawaiian fisherman.; ; ; ;


Political career

Running as a member of the Hawaiian National Party, Baker was elected to the House of Representative, the lower house of the legislature of the kingdom. He sat in on the legislative assembly of 1886 and 1890. King Kalākaua appointed him as high sheriff of the Island of Hawaii in 1886 at the time of his wife's appointment as Governess. He also served as a member of the Privy Council of Kalākaua and his successor Queen Liliuokalani. On March 14, 1891, he was appointed to the staff of Queen Liliuokalani and was elevated to the rank of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
. The Royal Governorship of Hawaii Island held originally by his wife Ululani had been abolished by the legislature after the
Bayonet Constitution The 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a legal document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites. It became k ...
. In 1892, Liliuokalani revived this political position and appointed Baker as Governor of the Island of Hawaii. He served from February 8, 1892 to February 25, 1893. After the
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-abori ...
, the
Provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian: ''Aupuni Kūikawā o Hawaiʻi'') was proclaimed after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety under the leadership of its ch ...
passed an act abolishing the island governorships again; this act passed on February 27 and went into effect on February 28.; ; ; ; ; Baker was an anti-annexationist.


1907 travels in the Pacific

In 1907, Baker journeyed throughout the Pacific and to Asia. He visited
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
, the
Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...
,
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
,
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
, Fiji,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and Japan. During his travels, he met and conversed with many indigenous leaders and colonial government officials including Tongan King
George Tupou II George Tupou II ( to, Siaosi Tupou II; 18 June 1874 – 5 April 1918) was the King of Tonga from 18 February 1893 until his death. He was officially crowned at Nukuʻalofa, on 17 March 1893. He was also the 20th Tuʻi Kanokupolu. Life Siao ...
, Queen Makea Takau Ariki of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Historian Lorenz Gonschor noted that Baker's voyage was "far more than a tourist venture" and "was an act of quasi-diplomacy in the name of the then US-occupied Hawaiian Kingdom".


Later life and death

Baker became a successful cattle rancher and businessman in Hilo on the island of
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. He established Puʻu ʻŌʻō Ranch at Piʻihonua and at one time, raised six hundred head of cattle including some longhorns. During the funeral ceremonies in 1917 for Queen Liliuokalani, he helped carry the former queen's crown jewels and orders during the funeral procession from
Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...
to her burial at
Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...
. Baker died on September 7, 1921, at the residence of Elizabeth Booth, in the
Pauoa Valley Honolulu (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of H ...
. He was buried at the Homelani Memorial Park in Hilo, Hawaii.


Gallery

File:John Tamatoa Baker modeling as Kamehameha I, original (PP-67-8-022).jpg, Original studio image wearing undergarment File:A Native Fisherman (PP-22-1-027).jpg, Photograph of a Native Hawaiian fisherman File:John Tamatoa Baker modeling as Kamehameha I, composite (PP-67-8-013).jpg, Compositve image with bare legs


Notes


References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, John Tamatoa 1852 births 1921 deaths Hawaiian nobility Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Governors of Hawaii (island) Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Businesspeople from Hawaii Ranchers from Hawaii Hawaiian Kingdom military officers National Party (Hawaii) politicians Lahainaluna School alumni Nobility of the Americas