Don Francisco de Paula Marin
Encyclopedia
Don Francisco de Paula Marín (1774–1837) was a Spaniard
who became influential in the early Kingdom of Hawaii
. Often called Manini, Marini or other variations, he became a confidant
of Hawaiian King Kamehameha I
. Marín acted as a jack-of-all-trades
, sometimes even acting as a physician, probably without any formal education, and is credited with introducing many agricultural products.
, an area of Spain
near Cadiz
. His father was Juan Marín and mother was María Grassi.
It was likely he was an apprentice pilot on a ship associated with the Alessandro Malaspina
expedition to Nootka Sound
and Vancouver Island
. At some point he deserted the Spanish and came aboard the ship of American John Kendrick
. He arrived in the Hawaiian Islands
in 1793 or 1794. He became an interpreter and advisor in the acquisition and use of Western military weapons to King Kamehameha I
who was just capturing Oahu
island in the Battle of Nu'uanu
. For his service Marín was given land in present-day Honolulu near Pearl Harbor
. He took at least one more trip off the islands. In 1804 he went as a pilot with captain James Rowan of the Hazard where he interpreted for Rowan with the Indians of the Pacific Northwest
.
. A natural charmer, he also had good relations with pirates such as Hippolyte de Bouchard
on his visit in 1818, and the French navigator Louis de Freycinet
in 1819.
He often asked for and received seeds, plants and animals, and then experimented with planting new kinds of fruits and vegetables in the Hawaiian Islands.
He established Hawaii's first grape
vineyard in 1815, and produced its first wine and brandy
. He distilled sugarcane
into rum
, and experimented with beer
.
In 1813, Marin cultivated the Hawaiian Islands' first pineapple
crop, and is usually credited with the first cotton
and mango
cultivation. He raised some of the first horses and cattle. Although some of these products might have been grown in household gardens, he ran the first Western-style commercial farming operation.
His home became a boarding house, as he rented rooms and served meals to visiting merchants.
As the speaker of several languages, he was the unofficial diplomatic corps of Honolulu, acting as accountant and tax collector as he sold his products to restock ships.
In April 1819 he was sent to attend the ailing Kamehameha as de facto royal physician and stayed with the king until he died on May 8. The new King, Kamehameha II
, and his young French drinking companion Jean Baptiste Rives
were happy to offer Marín's refreshments to visitors. On December 10, 1819, Kamehameha II officially commissioned Marín as a captain in the Hawaiian Army.
John Coffin Jones
(even though Jones was already married). Sons Nicolas and Paul F. Marin developed some early commercial facilities of the waterfront. His daughter Antoinette F. Manini married businessman Lyman Swan in 1851. Although Swan was accused of fraud in Hawaii, the family moved to Santa Cruz, California
and became stable members of the early community there. Marín wrote to governor Luis Antonio Argüello
about moving to Alta California himself, but was told his multiple wives would not be welcome.
, Marín favored the Roman Catholic Church
. When the first priests arrived, his growing family made a substantial part of the congregation.
He acted as interpreter when the first Christian missionaries arrived in 1820. When Richard Charlton
, the first official British trade representative, arrived he brought a letter addressed to Marín saying that land should be provided for the consulate. When Charlton pressed his claim, he produced a lease witnessed by Marín.
When the with the bodies of Kamehameha II and his queen, who died in London, arrived in 1825, more plants were left off with Marín, including some of the first coffee trees
. Although the English gardener John Wilkinson sent on the Blonde soon died, many of the plants thrived on Marín's farm.
Over the next few years, the puritan
ical views of Protestant missionaries such as Hiram Bingham I
began to lessen Marín's influence. Alcoholic beverages were put under strict regulation, and Catholic priests were banished.
found Marín's diary as he started the Hawaii archives, he said:
Marin street near the Honolulu Harbor
was named for him 21°18′38"N 157°51′49"W. A 28-story high-rise apartment house called Marin Tower was built in 1994 on the site of his house, marked by a plaque and a sculpture titled Site of Passage by Laura Ruby. Vineyard street and boulevard at 21°18′41"N 157°51′19"W is also named for his vineyard.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
who became influential in the early Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. Often called Manini, Marini or other variations, he became a confidant
Confidant
The confidant is a character in a story that the lead character confides in and trusts. Typically, these consist of the best friend, relative, doctor or boss.- Role :...
of Hawaiian King Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
. Marín acted as a jack-of-all-trades
Jack of all trades, master of none
"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
, sometimes even acting as a physician, probably without any formal education, and is credited with introducing many agricultural products.
Life
Marín's early life is not generally known, but he probably was born November 28, 1774, in Jerez de la FronteraJerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
, an area of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
near Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. His father was Juan Marín and mother was María Grassi.
It was likely he was an apprentice pilot on a ship associated with the Alessandro Malaspina
Alessandro Malaspina
Alessandro Malaspina was an Italian nobleman who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer and explorer...
expedition to Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
and Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. At some point he deserted the Spanish and came aboard the ship of American John Kendrick
John Kendrick
John Kendrick may refer to:* John Kendrick , English cloth merchant* John Kendrick , American sea captain* John Allen Kendrick , American criminal and bank robber* John B...
. He arrived in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
in 1793 or 1794. He became an interpreter and advisor in the acquisition and use of Western military weapons to King Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
who was just capturing Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
island in the Battle of Nu'uanu
Battle of Nu'uanu
The Battle of Nuuanu , fought in May 1795 on the southern part of the island of Oahu, was a key battle in the final days of King Kamehameha I's wars to unify the Hawaiian Islands...
. For his service Marín was given land in present-day Honolulu near Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. He took at least one more trip off the islands. In 1804 he went as a pilot with captain James Rowan of the Hazard where he interpreted for Rowan with the Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Diplomacy and horticulture
Despite deserting them, Marín kept on good terms with the Spanish in Alta CaliforniaAlta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
. A natural charmer, he also had good relations with pirates such as Hippolyte de Bouchard
Hippolyte de Bouchard
Hippolyte de Bouchard, or Hipólito de Bouchard , was a French and Argentine sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru....
on his visit in 1818, and the French navigator Louis de Freycinet
Louis de Freycinet
Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet was a French navigator. He circumnavigated the earth, and was one of the first to produce a comprehensive map of the coastline of Australia.-Biography:...
in 1819.
He often asked for and received seeds, plants and animals, and then experimented with planting new kinds of fruits and vegetables in the Hawaiian Islands.
He established Hawaii's first grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
vineyard in 1815, and produced its first wine and brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
. He distilled sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
into rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, and experimented with beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
.
In 1813, Marin cultivated the Hawaiian Islands' first pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
crop, and is usually credited with the first cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
cultivation. He raised some of the first horses and cattle. Although some of these products might have been grown in household gardens, he ran the first Western-style commercial farming operation.
His home became a boarding house, as he rented rooms and served meals to visiting merchants.
As the speaker of several languages, he was the unofficial diplomatic corps of Honolulu, acting as accountant and tax collector as he sold his products to restock ships.
In April 1819 he was sent to attend the ailing Kamehameha as de facto royal physician and stayed with the king until he died on May 8. The new King, Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu Iolani...
, and his young French drinking companion Jean Baptiste Rives
Jean Baptiste Rives
Jean Baptiste Rives was a French adventurer who served in the court of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His first name was sometimes spelled John and last name Reeves by English speakers. Some sources give other middle names.-Life:...
were happy to offer Marín's refreshments to visitors. On December 10, 1819, Kamehameha II officially commissioned Marín as a captain in the Hawaiian Army.
Family
Marín was also known for his family of at least three native Hawaiian wives and many children. His exact number of offspring is clouded by his penchant for exaggeration. One daughter married Portuguese stonemason Antonio Ferreira, who in 1810 built one of the first stone houses in Honolulu for the Marín family. Daughter Cruz Marín married English sea captain Joseph Maughan. Daughter Lahilahi had children with American ConsulConsul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
John Coffin Jones
John Coffin Jones
John Coffin Jones Jr. was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:John Coffin Jones Jr. was born in 1796 in Massachusetts.His father was John Coffin Jones, Sr...
(even though Jones was already married). Sons Nicolas and Paul F. Marin developed some early commercial facilities of the waterfront. His daughter Antoinette F. Manini married businessman Lyman Swan in 1851. Although Swan was accused of fraud in Hawaii, the family moved to Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
and became stable members of the early community there. Marín wrote to governor Luis Antonio Argüello
Luis Antonio Argüello
Luis Antonio Argüello was the first native governor of Alta California from 1822 to 1825, during the period California was under Mexican rule, twelfth overall. He was the only governor to serve under the Mexican empire, and the first native Californian to hold that office...
about moving to Alta California himself, but was told his multiple wives would not be welcome.
Religion
Despite his polygamyPolygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, Marín favored the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. When the first priests arrived, his growing family made a substantial part of the congregation.
He acted as interpreter when the first Christian missionaries arrived in 1820. When Richard Charlton
Richard Charlton (Hawaii)
Richard Charlton was the first diplomatic Consul from Great Britain to the Kingdom of Hawaii 1825–1843. He was surrounded by controversies that caused a military occupation known as the Paulet Affair, and real estate claims that motivated the formalization of Hawaiian land titles.-Life:Richard...
, the first official British trade representative, arrived he brought a letter addressed to Marín saying that land should be provided for the consulate. When Charlton pressed his claim, he produced a lease witnessed by Marín.
When the with the bodies of Kamehameha II and his queen, who died in London, arrived in 1825, more plants were left off with Marín, including some of the first coffee trees
Coffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
. Although the English gardener John Wilkinson sent on the Blonde soon died, many of the plants thrived on Marín's farm.
Over the next few years, the puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
ical views of Protestant missionaries such as Hiram Bingham I
Hiram Bingham I
Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham I , was leader of the first group of Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.-Life:...
began to lessen Marín's influence. Alcoholic beverages were put under strict regulation, and Catholic priests were banished.
Legacy
Marín died in Honolulu on October 30, 1837. After Robert Crichton WyllieRobert Crichton Wyllie
Robert Crichton Wyllie was a Scottish physician and businessman. He also served two decades as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Early life:...
found Marín's diary as he started the Hawaii archives, he said:
...much of the present wealth of the islands, is owing to the seeds, roots, and plants introduced by that one man. In my own opinion, it may be fairly questioned if there existed on these islands, or exists at present, any man, to whom the Hawaiian people are generally so much indebted.
Marin street near the Honolulu Harbor
Honolulu Harbor
Honolulu Harbor, also called Kulolia and Ke Awa O Kou, is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. It is from Honolulu Harbor, located on Mamala Bay, that the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized, in an outward fashion, over the course of the...
was named for him 21°18′38"N 157°51′49"W. A 28-story high-rise apartment house called Marin Tower was built in 1994 on the site of his house, marked by a plaque and a sculpture titled Site of Passage by Laura Ruby. Vineyard street and boulevard at 21°18′41"N 157°51′19"W is also named for his vineyard.