The Dark Decade

During the summer of 1827 two French Catholic priests arrived in Honolulu to establish their religion in the Hawaiian Islands. They were met with extreme resistance from Hawaiian royalty, who were already practicing the Protestant faith, and the influential Reverend Hiram Bingham. The Monarchy and the Protestant Mission together waged a ten-year campaign to exterminate the Catholic religion from Hawai‘i. New Catholic converts were accused of idolatry and were even beaten and starved for practicing their faith. Working from long neglected accounts, the late historian Emmett Cahill had rescued this compelling story of the bitter struggle for the hearts, minds and souls of the Hawaiian people.

Author: Emmett Cahill