Royal seal of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi
    Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi

    Primary Source Documents

    Full texts and excerpts of the instruments on which the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi grounds its claim of continuing sovereignty, with the public repositories where each may be consulted.

    Register of Instruments

    Documents on File

    • I. Anglo-French Proclamation of Hawaiian Independence — 28 November 1843
    • II. Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom — 20 August 1864 (Reference)
    • III. Message of President Grover Cleveland to the United States Congress — 18 December 1893 (Excerpt)
    • IV. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — Endorsement Statement of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi
    • V. Royal Proclamation of Continuing Sovereignty — Aliʻi Nui Aleka Aipoalani

    Document I · 28 November 1843 · London

    Anglo-French Proclamation of Hawaiian Independence

    “Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the French, taking into consideration the existence in the Sandwich Islands of a government capable of providing for the regularity of its relations with foreign nations, have thought it right to engage, reciprocally, to consider the Sandwich Islands as an independent state, and never to take possession, neither directly or under the title of protectorate, nor under any other form, of any part of the territory of which they are composed.”

    Signed at London, 28 November 1843, by the Earl of Aberdeen for Her Britannic Majesty and the Comte de St. Aulaire for His Majesty the King of the French. Filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi under reference KOA-DOC-I-1843.

    Where these documents may be consulted

    Primary / authoritative source

    General reference / secondary source

    Source categories indicate provenance and evidentiary weight. Classification does not determine the ultimate legal interpretation of a record.

    Document II · 20 August 1864 · Honolulu

    Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom (Reference Text)

    The Constitution promulgated by His Majesty Kamehameha V on 20 August 1864 remains the constitutional reference point invoked in defense of the continuing juridical personality of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The full instrument, comprising eighty-one articles and a preamble, establishes the structure of the Crown, the Legislature, the Judiciary, and the rights of subjects of the Kingdom.

    Read in conjunction with the Anglo-French Proclamation of 1843 and President Cleveland's message of 1893, the 1864 Constitution is the principal domestic instrument to which the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi appeals in claiming constitutional continuity. These historical documents establish historical facts; they do not by themselves establish the authority of any particular contemporary claimant, and the continuity claim is documented separately as a claim.

    Authoritative copy held in the Hawaiian State Archives, Honolulu. Reference copy filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi under reference KOA-DOC-II-1864.

    Where these documents may be consulted

    Primary / authoritative source

    Source categories indicate provenance and evidentiary weight. Classification does not determine the ultimate legal interpretation of a record.

    Document III · 18 December 1893 · Washington

    Message of President Grover Cleveland to the United States Congress (Excerpt)

    “By an act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without the authority of Congress, the Government of a feeble but friendly and confiding people has been overthrown. A substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair.”

    President Grover Cleveland, Annual Message to the United States Congress, 18 December 1893. Filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi under reference KOA-DOC-III-1893.

    Where these documents may be consulted

    General reference / secondary source

    Source categories indicate provenance and evidentiary weight. Classification does not determine the ultimate legal interpretation of a record.

    Document IV · 13 September 2007 · Endorsement

    Endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

    The Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi formally endorses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007 by resolution 61/295, and recognises its provisions as expressing the minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.

    In particular, the Kingdom affirms the principles set out in Articles 3, 4, and 5 concerning the right of self-determination and the right to maintain and strengthen distinct political, legal, economic, social, and cultural institutions; the principles of Articles 26 through 28 concerning the rights to lands, territories, and resources traditionally owned or otherwise occupied; and the provisions of Article 37 concerning the recognition, observance, and enforcement of treaties, agreements, and other constructive arrangements concluded with States.

    The Kingdom invites all States, inter-governmental organisations, and indigenous peoples to engage with its institutions in the spirit of the Declaration and in furtherance of the peaceful resolution of outstanding questions concerning the status of the Hawaiian Islands under international law.

    Issued under the seal of the Aliʻi Nui. Filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi under reference KOA-DOC-IV-UNDRIP.

    Where these documents may be consulted

    Primary / authoritative source

    Source categories indicate provenance and evidentiary weight. Classification does not determine the ultimate legal interpretation of a record.

    Document V · Royal Proclamation

    Royal Proclamation of Continuing Sovereignty

    Text of the instrument as issued by the Kingdom, reproduced in full. It is a document of the Kingdom's own making and is not evidence of recognition by any other authority.

    We, Aliʻi Nui Aleka Aipoalani, by the grace of God and by the unbroken lineage of the Polynesian peoples of these islands, do hereby proclaim and reaffirm the continuing sovereignty of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi, in continuity with the Hawaiian Kingdom and in conformity with the customary law of nations.

    We affirm the Kingdom's commitment to the peaceful conduct of its external relations; to the faithful observance of its treaty obligations; to the dignity and well-being of all who dwell within its ancestral territory; and to the cooperative engagement of all just nations in the resolution of questions arising from the continuing occupation of the Hawaiian Islands.

    We invite the States of the world, the inter-governmental institutions of the international community, and the indigenous nations with whom we share ancestral and ceremonial bonds, to receive this proclamation in the spirit of friendship and good faith in which it is issued.

    Issued at the seat of the Royal Household under the seal of the Aliʻi Nui. Filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi under reference KOA-DOC-V-PROC.

    Where these documents may be consulted

    Source categories indicate provenance and evidentiary weight. Classification does not determine the ultimate legal interpretation of a record.

    Appendix · Hawaiian Kingdom Statutes

    1848 Legislative Session — Council House, Honolulu

    The following Acts of the Hawaiian Kingdom, signed at the Council House in Honolulu by His Majesty Kamehameha III and Keoni Ana during the legislative session of June 1848, are entered into the Register of Instruments as enacted law of the Hawaiian Kingdom and form part of the unbroken statutory record from which the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi derives continuity. Each instrument is preserved in certified bilingual (English / Hawaiian) form by the Hawaiʻi State Archives, ʻIolani Palace Grounds, Honolulu, under certification of the Acting State Archivist, dated 9 February 2016.

    • 6 June 1848

      An Act relating to the Privileges of Exemption from Duties granted to Foreign Diplomatic Agents

      Repeals portions of Section 14, Article 1, Chapter 1, Part 3 of the Organic Acts, and establishes reciprocal duty-exemption privileges for foreign diplomatic agents accredited to His Majesty or to the Minister of Foreign Relations.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-06-DIPLOMATIC

    • 6 June 1848

      An Act to correct certain Discrepancies existing between the Hawaiian and English Versions of the Statute Laws

      Six sections amending the English text of the Organic Acts and Judiciary Act to conform with the original Hawaiian text, and repealing Sections 26 and 31, Article 1, Chapter 4 of the Hawaiian Judiciary Act.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-06-CORRECTIONS

    • 12 June 1848

      An Act to provide for the Appointment of Extra Superintendents of Schools

      Empowers the Minister of Public Instruction, with the approbation of the King in Privy Council, to appoint additional Superintendents of Schools beyond those provided for in the Organic Acts when required by the exigencies of education.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-12-SCHOOLS

    • 12 June 1848

      An Act to provide for the Suppression of Drunkenness arising from the sale of an article called “Spruce Beer”

      Penalizes manufacture or sale within the Kingdom of intoxicating drink compounded with tobacco, ʻawa, and other unwholesome ingredients under the name “Spruce Beer.”

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-12-SPRUCEBEER

    • 13 June 1848

      An Act extending the Powers of the Board of Commissioners to quiet Land Titles

      Extends the Land Commission past 14 February 1849 and authorises the appointment of Sub-Commissioners on each of the Hawaiian Islands to take testimony on land claims — a foundational instrument of the Great Māhele apparatus.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-13-LANDCOMM

    • 15 June 1848

      An Act to provide for certain Amendments in the Law relating to Passports

      Requires public notice in Hawaiian and English in the Polynesian newspaper for at least one fortnight prior to departure from the Kingdom, and establishes penalties on persons and shipmasters who depart or carry passengers in contravention.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-15-PASSPORTS

    • 13 June 1848

      An Act to alter and amend the Laws relating to Chattel Taxes

      Seven-section bilingual (English / Hawaiian) statute signed at the Council House in Honolulu by His Majesty Kamehameha III and Keoni Ana, amending Sections 1, 7, and 9 of Article 4 and Section 1 of Part 4 of the Organic Acts. Held in the Hawaiʻi State Archives within Session Laws 1848 (Series 263, Originals of Legislative Actions of the Governor / Office of the Lieutenant Governor) and certified as a true and correct copy on 9 February 2016 by Luella H. Kurkjian, Acting State Archivist. Full certified PDF available to verified requesters via the Archive Request Access process.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-13-CHATTELTAXES

    • 16 June 1848

      He Kanawai no ka Poe Aie kaaole — An Act respecting Insolvent Debtors (Bankruptcy)

      Comprehensive statute in thirty-six sections governing insolvency proceedings, the appointment of trustees of the bankrupt estate, the examination of creditors, and the discharge of debts before the President of the Court.

      Reference PSD-HK-1848-06-16-BANKRUPTCY

    Certified copies of each instrument above are preserved in the originals of Legislative Actions of the Governor, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Session Laws 1848 [Series 263], Hawaiʻi State Archives, Honolulu. Reference copies filed in the Diplomatic Archive of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi.

    Note on Authenticity

    The instruments above are reproduced for public reference. Certified copies bearing the seal of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi may be requested through the Office of International Relations. See further the Legal Foundations of Sovereignty and the Treaty Register.

    How to Cite This Page

    Suggested citation

    Office of the Aliʻi Nui, Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi. "Primary Source Documents — Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi." Last updated July 2, 2026. https://kingdomofatooi.com/primary-source-documents

    When reproducing material from this page in academic, legal, or journalistic work, please retain the retrieval date and cite the underlying primary sources linked above directly wherever practicable.

    Sources are cited in order of authority. See the Research and Documentation Standards, and send corrections to corrections@kingdomofatooi.com.

    Last substantively reviewed: September 6, 2026 · Research & Documentation Standards

    Last substantively reviewed: September 6, 2026