Reciprocity Treaty of 1875

King Kalākaua and members of the Reciprocity Commission: John Owen Dominis, Governor of Oahu; Henry A. Peirce, the presiding U.S. Commissioner to Hawaii; King Kalākaua; Henry W. Severance, the Hawaiian Consul in San Francisco, and John M. Kapena, Governor of Maui.

The Treaty of Reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom (Hawaiian: Kuʻikahi Pānaʻi Like) was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875.

The treaty gave free access to the United States market for sugar and other products grown in the Kingdom of Hawaii starting in September 1876. In return, the US received a guarantee that Hawaii would not cede or lease any of its lands to other foreign powers. The treaty led to large investment by Americans in sugarcane plantations in Hawaii.

In a later extension of the treaty, the United States negotiated for exclusive use of lands in the area known as Puʻu Loa, which were later used for the Pearl Harbor naval base.


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