*** Welcome to piglix ***

John Young of Hawaii

John Young
Colored version of John Young (Hawaii).jpg
Royal Governor of Hawaiʻi
In office
1802–1812
Monarch Kamehameha I
Succeeded by Kuakini
Personal details
Born c.1742
or (1742-03-17)17 March 1742
Crosby, England
Died 17 December 1835(1835-12-17) (aged 93)
Honolulu, Oahu
Resting place Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
Spouse(s) Namokuelua
Mary Kaʻōanāʻeha
Children Robert Young
James Kāneloa Young
Fanny Kekelaokalani
Grace Kamaʻikuʻi Young
John Kalaipaihala Young II
Jane Lahilahi Young
Parents Robert and Grace Young

John Young (c.1742 – 17 December 1835) was a British subject who became an important military advisor to Kamehameha I during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was left behind by Simon Metcalfe, captain of the American ship Eleanora, and along with a Welshmen Isaac Davis became a friend and advisor to Kamehameha. He brought knowledge of the western world, including naval and land battle strategies, to Kamehameha, and became a strong voice on affairs of state for the Hawaiian Kingdom. He played a big role during Hawaii's first contacts with the European powers. He spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi. Between 1802–12, John Young ruled as Royal Governor of Hawaii Island while King Kamehameha was away on other islands. He organized the construction of the fort at Honolulu Harbor. The Hawaiians gave him the name ʻOlohana based on Young's typical command "All hands (on deck)".

According to his tombstone, he was born in 1742 in Crosby, Lancashire, England. Other sources give his birth as 17 March 1744. His father was Robert Young, also from Crosby, and mother Grace. He had two brothers: Peter and James. The Youngs were of Scottish descent. After his death, two families from Massachusetts and Connecticut claimed that Young was American and a member of their family, but all contemporary sources seem to indicate he was British.

Young served as boatswain on the Eleanora, an American ship captained by Simon Metcalfe, engaged in the maritime fur trade between the Pacific Northwest and China. Sailing from Cape Cod in 1789, the Eleanora put in at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii in February 1790. In March Young went ashore to investigate the disappearance of the Eleanora's companion ship, the Fair American, and he was detained because Kamehameha did not want Metcalfe to learn that his own forces had attacked her. Metcalfe waited for two days, but eventually sailed without Young. It was there that he met Isaac Davis, a Welshman who was the only surviving member of Fair American's crew.


...
Wikipedia

...