Porter's claim translated a temporary refitting base and intervention in local conflict into the language of American possession. Nuku Hiva was inhabited political ground, not an empty harbor awaiting a flag.
19 November 1813Naval proclamation and journal narrativeRead the chapter →
Excerpt
I do declare that I have, in the most solemn manner, under the American flag displayed in Fort Madison, and in the presence of numerous witnesses taken possession of the said island, called Madison's Island, for the use of the United States, whereof I am a citizen.
Historical wording and forms retained where stated.
Modernized reading
Porter declared Nuku Hiva to be United States territory and renamed it for President Madison.
Plain-language reading; not a substitute for quotation.
Editorial method: One complete clause is transcribed from Porter's 1815 printed declaration; capitalization is reduced.
Annotations
possessionA unilateral imperial claim that the United States neither sustained nor effectively administered.
this islandNuku Hiva in the Marquesas, home to multiple communities with their own rivalries and authority.
Witness and provenance
Creator
David Porter
Witness used
Porter's published declaration in Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean, volume 2 (1815), pages 83–85.
Repository or edition
HathiTrust / public-domain transcription at The Whalesite
Collection
David Porter, Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean, vol. 2
Identifier
Philadelphia, 1815, pp. 83–85
Transmission
Porter printed the declaration in his post-cruise journal. The linked edition is the cited witness, not the location of the original signed instrument.
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