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Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...
Edward William Purvis (July 4, 1857 – August 16, 1888) was a British army officer and settler of the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
who served as Vice-Chamberlain during the reign of King Kalākaua. After resigning from the royal household, Purvis published two political satires aimed at undermining the image of the king and his prime minister, Walter M. Gibson, who had been responsible for the removal of Purvis' superior. These actions and other factors led to the demise of the Gibson regime and the Bayonet Constitution of 1887. Purvis died in the following year, after going to the United States to seek medical attention for his health. According to popular legend, he was an expert player of the Portuguese machete or cavaquinho and was believed to be the inspiration for the name of the Hawaiian ukulele.


Early life

Purvis was born on July 4, 1857, into a family of Scottish descent. His parents were Robert Raaf Purvis and Annie Silburn Marshall. His paternal grandfather, William Purvis, who worked as a trader and ship captain, had settled in the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
in the 1810s while it was still part of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. The family lived in many places including Dutch East Indies,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, and
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Educated at Cheltenham College and the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...
, Edward William Purvis served as a sub-lieutenant of the
70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot The 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Formation The ...
in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, where he learned
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, and later as a sub-lieutenant for the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot in
Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. In 2020 it had a population of 80,596. Th ...
. Around 1879 he resigned his British Army post and traveled to the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
, where his father and older brother Robert William ''Theodore'' Purvis had already settled, having arrived on December13, 1877; his brother Theodore had started a sugar plantation business on the island of
Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
.; A distant cousin of theirs was William Herbert Purvis, known for introducing macadamia nuts to Hawaii.


Career in Hawaii

Purvis settled in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
around 1879. On August26, 1882, he was created a major in the Hawaiian military and appointed as military instructor. He was also appointed as King Kalākaua's Vice-Chamberlain under Chamberlain Charles Hastings Judd. In 1882 he served as acting chamberlain during Judd's trip to Europe and was appointed as a member of the King's Staff with the rank of
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...
on December23, 1884. By the end of August 1886, he had resigned the office of vice chamberlain after his superior Judd was dismissed from his post. Purvis had been asked to resign by the king at the instigation of the newly appointed prime minister, Walter M. Gibson, and the cabinet ministers. Between 1886 and 1887 Purvis attempted to undermine the Gibson administration. He was alleged to be the author or co-author, along with Alatau T. Atkinson, of ''The Grand Duke of Gynbergdrinkenstein'' and the ''Gynberg Ballad'', two anonymous political satires that parodied the corruption of the Hawaiian court and mocked Kalākaua, Gibson, and other people in their inner circle. According to Ralph Simpson Kuykendall, these were "a satirical take-off on various features and incidents of the Kalakaua–Gibson regime" used "to convince the public that the administration of the kingdom was not only corrupt and unworthy of trust, but also ridiculous". To the annoyance of the government, these two pamphlets were widely circulated in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
and even sent to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by the British ambassador to Hawaii.; ; ; ; ; These works and other factors including the Aki opium scandal and the failed attempt to form a Polynesian Confederacy contributed to the demise of the Gibson administration and the passage of the Bayonet Constitution of 1887, which severely limited the power of the king. Purvis made many friends among Hawaii's Portuguese immigrant community and became an expert player of the machete (otherwise known as the cavaquinho). Thus, it is popularly believed that the Hawaiian musical instrument, the ukulele (an adaption of these Portuguese instruments), was named for Purvis, as the term can be translated as "jumping flea"a nickname of the small, excitable, and quick-fingered Purvis.; ; Modern scholarship has cast doubt on this popular legend, though. According to historians John King and Jim Tranquada, "it is unlikely that the nickname of a man who sought to undermine the king in the months prior to the imposition of the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 would have been applied to an instrument favored by native Hawaiians".


Later life and death

After 1886 Purvis became a resident of Hanamaulu, on the island of
Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
. He was appointed Animal Inspector for Kauai on November14, 1887. In May 1888 he left the Hawaiian Islands for the United States for his health. Settling in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
, he initially wrote home stating that he was improving, but his condition worsened. His brother Theodore traveled all the way from Hawaii to see him for the last time before he died on August16, 1888. He was 31 years old at the time of his death.; ; ; ; His brother-in-law Edmund William Holdsworth was chosen as administrator of his estate; Purvis' will, written on April22, left everything to his brother Theodore Purvis. His remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.


Honors

* Royal Order of Kapiolani, Commander, 1884


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purvis, Edward William 1857 births 1888 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom people of Scottish descent Hawaiian Kingdom chamberlains People from Kauai 19th-century British Army personnel People from Colorado Springs, Colorado People from Padang 19th-century Dutch East Indies people Recipients of the Royal Order of Kapiolani Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Hawaiian Kingdom military officers British emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom East Surrey Regiment officers