Laplace affair facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laplace affair
L'Artémise
Date July 10, 1839 Location Kingdom of Hawaii 19°52′59″N 155°56′02″W / 19.883°N 155.934°W / 19.883; -155.934 Result Kamehameha III agrees to demands Hawaii issues the Edict of Toleration July 17 Hawaii paid $20,000 in compensation.
Belligerents
French Kingdom	Kingdom of Hawaii
Commanders and leaders
Captain Laplace	Kamehameha III
Strength
1 frigate 300 Marines

The Laplace affair, also known as the French Incident, was a time in 1839 when France used its military power to stop the unfair treatment of Catholics in the Kingdom of Hawaii. At this time, Protestant leaders in Hawaii had made it illegal to practice Catholicism.

France sent a warship, and its captain, Captain Laplace, demanded that the Hawaiian king, Kamehameha III, allow Catholics to practice their faith freely. He also demanded money for the harm caused to Catholic citizens. Under the threat of war, King Kamehameha III agreed to these demands.

Why the Conflict Started

Effects of the visit of the 'L'Artemise,' Kimeone released from chains by the magnanimous conduct of Captain Laplace, woodcuts showing the persecution of Catholics in Hawaii, c. 1839.

After Kamehameha I, the first king of the Hawaiian Islands, died in 1819, his wife, Queen Kaʻahumanu, became the powerful ruler. She had recently become a Protestant.

Protestant ministers from New England convinced her to make Catholicism illegal in Hawaii. Because of this new rule, chiefs who supported her forced French Catholic priests to leave the islands. They were put on a ship called the Waverly in Honolulu Harbor on December 24, 1831.

Native Hawaiian people who had become Catholic were arrested and put in prison. Many of these prisoners were released only after Protestant ministers had beaten them until they said they would no longer be Catholic. This unfair treatment of French Catholic missionaries continued even when Kaʻahumanu II became the next ruler.

France Steps In

On July 10, 1839, Captain Laplace sailed his French warship, the Artémise, to Hawaii. He had clear orders from France.

His mission was to fix the bad image of France and show that France was a powerful nation. He needed to make sure the Hawaiian chiefs understood that they should not anger France. He was told to demand full payment for the wrongs committed against Catholics. He was not to leave until he had made a strong and lasting impression.

The Agreement and What Happened Next

Because France threatened war, King Kamehameha III agreed to Captain Laplace's demands. On July 17, 1839, the King issued an important document called the Edict of Toleration.

He also paid $20,000 as payment for the priests being forced to leave and for the imprisonment and torture of Catholic converts. The Hawaiian kingdom officially announced:

• "That the Catholic worship be declared free, throughout all the dominions subject to the king of the Sandwich Islands; the members of this religious faith shall enjoy in them the privileges granted to Protestants."

This meant that Catholic worship was now allowed everywhere in Hawaii. Catholics would have the same rights as Protestants. After this, Catholic missionaries could return without being treated unfairly. King Kamehameha III even gave them land to build a church as part of the agreement.