In 1842, Kamehameha III had a “very strong desire that his Kingdom shall be formally acknowledged by the civilized nations of the world as a sovereign and independent State.” To accomplish this, he appointed Timoteo Ha'alilio, William Richards and Sir George Simpson, a British subject, as joint ministers plenipotentiary on April 8, 1842. Shortly thereafter, Simpson left for England, via Alaska and Siberia, while Ha'alilio and Richards departed for the United States, via Mexico, on July 8, 1842.

After Ha'alilio and Richards secured President John Tyler's assurance of recognizing Hawaiian independence on Dec. 19, 1842, the delegation proceeded to meet Simpson in Europe. On March 17, 1843, King Louis-Philippe assures them of France's recognition of Hawaiian independence, and on April 1, 1843, Lord Aberdeen, on behalf of Queen Victoria, assured the Hawaiian delegation that “Her Majesty's Government was willing and had determined to recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands under their present sovereign.” Confirming these assurances, Great Britain and France formally recognized Hawaiian sovereignty on Nov. 28, 1843, by joint proclamation at the Court of London, and the United States followed on July 6, 1844, by letter of Secretary of State J.C. Calhoun. Nov. 28 was a national holiday celebrating Hawaiian Independence, Lā Kū'oko'a.