'Blimey, never knew that': the British Museum's Hawai'i exhibition surprises

"Candidly, most people visiting the British Museum's Hawaii exhibition probably walk in with a lot of stereotypical preconceptions about the island nation. And will walk out with a totally different understanding of it. Understandably, we probably think of it as not much more than the Pacific island nation that's part of the USA, home to Pearl Harbour and the long-running TV show Hawaii 5.0."

"And it was the College of Arms in London that issued the coat of arms to the sovereign nation, and the state flag uniquely still includes the Union Flag in its design - so there's always a bit of Blighty in the USA. The exhibition is full of nuggets like this, and while it opens with what we might call tribal art, it's so very much more than that."

"A mix of history, its European connections, and famously - if also tragically - the visit to London by the Hawaiian King Liholiho (Kamehameha II). While most of the London press was modestly polite and curious about the foreigners, some satirists were pretty ghastly - and two rather disgusting cartoons are on show, just around the corner from the more widespread images used in the newspapers of the time. Sadly, while in London, the Hawaiian court had caught measles, to which they had no immunity."

James Cook's 1778 landing initiated European contact with Hawai'i, and British visitors did not immediately claim the islands for the Crown. Hawai'i marks an Independence Day that commemorates British and French recognition of the Hawaiian kingdom's sovereignty rather than liberation from Britain. The College of Arms in London issued a coat of arms and the state flag retains the Union Flag within its design. The exhibition pairs tribal art with objects revealing European connections, including King Liholiho's (Kamehameha II) London visit, during which the royal court contracted measles and the king and queen died and were returned to Hawaiʻi for burial.

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