The Russian Affair
Georg Anton Schäffer, the Prussian-born son of a miller was an opinionated, quarrelsome
physician with an exalted view of himself. He signed on with the Russian American
Company as a ship's surgeon and sailed for Sitka, Alaska in 1813. There he was given
the assignment of sailing to Hawaii to negotiate the return of Russian cargo confiscated
by Kauai's King Kaumuali‘i as well as establishing trading relations with Kamehameha.
Schäffer failed in gaining the confidence or trust of Kamehameha. He met with Kaumuali‘i
only to find that most of the Russian cargo had already been shipped to Sitka with
compensation offered for the rest. Instead of a hostile reception, Schäffer met
a gracious and conciliatory ruler. The two men immediately wondered how the other
could serve his purposes.
In a few days Schäffer became co-monarch of Kauai. Kaumuali‘i pledged allegiance
to the Emperor Alexander I, promised exclusive trade rights on Kauai and granted
permission for Russia to establish factories or trading posts anywhere in his domain.
In return Schäffer promised Russian protection of Kauai and a ship that would be
the beginning of a navy for Kauai. The two monarchs paid each other compliments
and traded honors. Kaumuali‘i bestowed lavish gifts of land upon Schäffer, who in
turn appointed Kaumuali‘i a Russian naval officer and pinned a silver medal on his
uniform. The trouble was; Schäffer did not have the authority to enter into any
of these agreements.
In 1816, Schäffer began the construction of a substantial lava-rock fort commanding
a view of Waimea Bay. He named it Fort Elizabeth, honoring the consort of Emperor
Alexander. On Kauai's north shore, Schäffer built two earthen walled forts. He
named the fort on the cliff overlooking Hanalei Bay, Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay,
which he named after a Russian general, guarded the mouth of the Hanalei River. Schäffer
even renamed the Hanalei Valley, Schäfferthal.
By this time, word of Schäffer's ambitions reached the Russian American company.
They dispatched orders for Schäffer to cease in his actions and refused to fund
his endeavors. At about the same time, the commander of a Russian brig that was
anchored at Honolulu reassured Kamehameha that Schäffer was acting without the consent
of the Russian emperor.
American traders in Honolulu, who feared that Schäffer would interfere with the sandalwood
business on Kauai, effected an ingenious plan to rid the islands of the would-be
autocrat. They spread rumors that the U.S. and Russia were having serious disagreements.
En route to Kauai, the rumors mushroomed the dispute into a war. Kaumuali‘i became
anxious that he had aligned himself with the weaker of the two powers in the Pacific.
Worried Kauaians forced Schäffer to retreat to a leaky ship and leave Kauai without
even his personal possessions. Eventually, the resilient Schäffer surfaced in Brazil
where he lived the rest of his life with the purchased title, Count von Frankethal.
Kaumuali‘i, who had in effect committed treason, escaped punishment from Kamehameha—for
the time being.
