In OTL, Wolfe Tone, an Irish revolutionary, wanted to establish a British military colony in Hawaii in 1790 but Prime Minister Pitt refused it. Later on he wanted to enlist in the British East India Company in the early 1790s, but he was too late with his application. Instead he moved on into politics, where he fought for Catholic and Presbyterian rights, and this led him to becoming a revolutionary against British rule in Ireland, joining the revolutionary Society of United Irishmen. It, led by him, launched the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in alliance with the French First Republic in the name of establishing a democratic non-sectarian republic. The rebellion failed, he was arrested, and he shot himself in prison before he could be executed. The fact that this person, in many ways an anti-imperial revolutionary, was so willing to expand the might of the British Empire, demonstrates how Irish nationalists could often be quite cold towards fellow victims of colonialism.
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Political Career of Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1837)
1790-1796: Governor of Fort Fair Haven, Sandwich Islands
1796-1805: Governor of the Sandwich Islands
1807-1812: Governor of Bombay Presidency, British East India Company
1813-1818: Independent Member of Parliament, Mayo County
1818-1837: Whig Member of Parliament, Mayo County
1830-1834: Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
Born to a family within the Protestant Ascendancy of Ireland, on his father's side Wolfe Tone was from a family which moved from England, and on his mother's side he was from famed Wolfe family, a family which produced many British officers, most notably James Wolfe, the man who in 1759 commanded the army which conquered Canada for the British - and died in the act. This relation to James Wolfe became a lifelong obsession, as Wolfe Tone desired deeply to emulate his bravery. As a young man, he studied law in Dublin, eloping with a woman who became his wife Matilda, and he later studied law in England, becoming a barrister. In 1790, he presented a plan for establishing a military colony in the Sandwich Islands (now Owhyee) to Prime Minister Pitt, who accepted it.
And so, Wolfe Tone led a fleet of British ships to Hawaii. There, they established a colony in the port known to the native people of the area as Honolulu, and this colony of Fort Fair Haven was dominated by a large military presence. Initially he did so with the consent of the local chieftain Kamehameha, who believed they could be allies, but Wolfe Tone was a man who wanted to prove himself, and so he aggressively pushed and expanded the influence of Fort Fair Haven. Thus, he naturally got into conflict with Kamehameha, and in 1792 the two fought the Battle of Fair Haven, with Kamehameha intent on sweeping the British base into the sea and Wolfe Tone intent on proving his bravery through military conquest. In battle the British quickly gained the upper hand through their guns, and after Kamehameha was killed, the British won their victory, propping a puppet king to rule in his place.
Yet, this did not end opposition, and numerous chiefs declared their refusal to recognize this clear puppetry. And so Wolfe Tone sent the British army after them, and it rapidly conquered the Big Island. Yet this brought him in disputes with the chiefs in the islands of Mowhyee and Ohahyu, and he swiftly conquered them in turn, deferring his resignation to deal with them. In 1796, new regiments came to "pacify" the Sandwich Islands, launching a highly brutal campaign to establish British rule and helped in no small part by a smallpox epidemic, and the British government now recognized Wolfe Tone's authority over the Sandwich Islands. Yet, resistance proved harsh, and it took until 1804 for the Islands to fall under British influence. In some cases this rule was by puppet chiefs and in others it was under direct rule. And so, in 1805, Wolfe Tone was finally recalled; while some even then criticized him for his role in conquering the Sandwich Islands, most Britons regarded him as a hero, spreading the stamp of British authority to a faraway land. And he reveled in this pride, believing he lived up to his venerable cousin, even as the people of the Sandwich Islands damned him and the fleet he led.
In 1807, he became Governor of the Bombay Presidency, in which he aggressively expanded British authority over the ruins of the Maratha Empire and attacked Pindari raiders. His heavy-handed approach helped cause the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1813. Yet, in 1812 he had already resigned, leaving his successors to deal with the war he helped cause. He went on to be elected Member of Parliament, with his long military service having made him a proud Briton in the imperial sense, and he had many connections; perhaps it was inevitable that an Anglo-Irish Anglican would become a proud Briton connected to the establishment.
Initially, he was an independent, influenced by the aristocrats who made him an MP in the first place, but he broke with them and joined up with the Whigs, quickly making himself known as a firm frontbencher for his aggressive pleas for reform. During the 1820s, he strongly backed Catholic emancipation, voting for the emancipation bills of 1823 and 1825 and the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 in turn because he firmly believed in religious equality; yet, he also criticized how they increased the franchise qualification in Ireland to ten pounds, and he pushed failed amendments against them. This was all a substantial break with the Anglo-Irish establishment many thought he was part of, and it surprised many. Following the Whigs coming to power in 1830, he was made War Secretary, in accord with his experience. Yet, his history conquering Owhyee ultimately bit him. The great Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, who believed in solidarity with all oppressed peoples, damned Wolfe Tone, calling him the "Butcher of the Sandwich Islands". With O'Connell's influence over Ireland vast, this resulted in many Irish people hating him. And so, after the Whigs returned to power in 1835, as part of the Repeal-Whig pact, Wolfe Tone did not come back to the cabinet. He died in 1837, no longer as respected as he once was.
Today, Wolfe Tone is a footnote in Irish history, and indeed his name is associated much more with British history, specifically the history of the British Empire. His role in conquering Owhyee made him and make him a figure of intense hatred among not only the native people, but also by the Indo-Owhyeeans brought in later as indentured servants. In the colonial Sandwich Islands, numerous places were named in his honour, and numerous statues of him were put up. The Owhyee Liberation Army, in its attacks against the targeted these statues and destroyed many of them; following independence, the remaining statues were destroyed, and the places named after him were renamed, as his name's association with colonialism made it unthinkable to leave them be. Even today in modern Owhyee, his name is synonymous with the horrors of the colonial era, even though many of them occurred long after he was gone.
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Political Career of Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1837)
1790-1796: Governor of Fort Fair Haven, Sandwich Islands
1796-1805: Governor of the Sandwich Islands
1807-1812: Governor of Bombay Presidency, British East India Company
1813-1818: Independent Member of Parliament, Mayo County
1818-1837: Whig Member of Parliament, Mayo County
1830-1834: Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
Born to a family within the Protestant Ascendancy of Ireland, on his father's side Wolfe Tone was from a family which moved from England, and on his mother's side he was from famed Wolfe family, a family which produced many British officers, most notably James Wolfe, the man who in 1759 commanded the army which conquered Canada for the British - and died in the act. This relation to James Wolfe became a lifelong obsession, as Wolfe Tone desired deeply to emulate his bravery. As a young man, he studied law in Dublin, eloping with a woman who became his wife Matilda, and he later studied law in England, becoming a barrister. In 1790, he presented a plan for establishing a military colony in the Sandwich Islands (now Owhyee) to Prime Minister Pitt, who accepted it.
And so, Wolfe Tone led a fleet of British ships to Hawaii. There, they established a colony in the port known to the native people of the area as Honolulu, and this colony of Fort Fair Haven was dominated by a large military presence. Initially he did so with the consent of the local chieftain Kamehameha, who believed they could be allies, but Wolfe Tone was a man who wanted to prove himself, and so he aggressively pushed and expanded the influence of Fort Fair Haven. Thus, he naturally got into conflict with Kamehameha, and in 1792 the two fought the Battle of Fair Haven, with Kamehameha intent on sweeping the British base into the sea and Wolfe Tone intent on proving his bravery through military conquest. In battle the British quickly gained the upper hand through their guns, and after Kamehameha was killed, the British won their victory, propping a puppet king to rule in his place.
Yet, this did not end opposition, and numerous chiefs declared their refusal to recognize this clear puppetry. And so Wolfe Tone sent the British army after them, and it rapidly conquered the Big Island. Yet this brought him in disputes with the chiefs in the islands of Mowhyee and Ohahyu, and he swiftly conquered them in turn, deferring his resignation to deal with them. In 1796, new regiments came to "pacify" the Sandwich Islands, launching a highly brutal campaign to establish British rule and helped in no small part by a smallpox epidemic, and the British government now recognized Wolfe Tone's authority over the Sandwich Islands. Yet, resistance proved harsh, and it took until 1804 for the Islands to fall under British influence. In some cases this rule was by puppet chiefs and in others it was under direct rule. And so, in 1805, Wolfe Tone was finally recalled; while some even then criticized him for his role in conquering the Sandwich Islands, most Britons regarded him as a hero, spreading the stamp of British authority to a faraway land. And he reveled in this pride, believing he lived up to his venerable cousin, even as the people of the Sandwich Islands damned him and the fleet he led.
In 1807, he became Governor of the Bombay Presidency, in which he aggressively expanded British authority over the ruins of the Maratha Empire and attacked Pindari raiders. His heavy-handed approach helped cause the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1813. Yet, in 1812 he had already resigned, leaving his successors to deal with the war he helped cause. He went on to be elected Member of Parliament, with his long military service having made him a proud Briton in the imperial sense, and he had many connections; perhaps it was inevitable that an Anglo-Irish Anglican would become a proud Briton connected to the establishment.
Initially, he was an independent, influenced by the aristocrats who made him an MP in the first place, but he broke with them and joined up with the Whigs, quickly making himself known as a firm frontbencher for his aggressive pleas for reform. During the 1820s, he strongly backed Catholic emancipation, voting for the emancipation bills of 1823 and 1825 and the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 in turn because he firmly believed in religious equality; yet, he also criticized how they increased the franchise qualification in Ireland to ten pounds, and he pushed failed amendments against them. This was all a substantial break with the Anglo-Irish establishment many thought he was part of, and it surprised many. Following the Whigs coming to power in 1830, he was made War Secretary, in accord with his experience. Yet, his history conquering Owhyee ultimately bit him. The great Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, who believed in solidarity with all oppressed peoples, damned Wolfe Tone, calling him the "Butcher of the Sandwich Islands". With O'Connell's influence over Ireland vast, this resulted in many Irish people hating him. And so, after the Whigs returned to power in 1835, as part of the Repeal-Whig pact, Wolfe Tone did not come back to the cabinet. He died in 1837, no longer as respected as he once was.
Today, Wolfe Tone is a footnote in Irish history, and indeed his name is associated much more with British history, specifically the history of the British Empire. His role in conquering Owhyee made him and make him a figure of intense hatred among not only the native people, but also by the Indo-Owhyeeans brought in later as indentured servants. In the colonial Sandwich Islands, numerous places were named in his honour, and numerous statues of him were put up. The Owhyee Liberation Army, in its attacks against the targeted these statues and destroyed many of them; following independence, the remaining statues were destroyed, and the places named after him were renamed, as his name's association with colonialism made it unthinkable to leave them be. Even today in modern Owhyee, his name is synonymous with the horrors of the colonial era, even though many of them occurred long after he was gone.