and over land. They took a steamer to Washington D.C. December 5. After a week waiting to see Daniel Webster who was the U.S. Secretary of State, they had their appointment on December 7. By December 19, 1842 they had verbal assurance of U.S. recognition, but no formal treaty. While in Washington, he became quite the celebrity as the first distinguished man of color to visit the nation's capital. An incident occurred on board the steamboat Globe, in which Haʻalilio was mistaken for Richards' slave. They tried purchasing two tickets for breakfast but instead were given one and a half, one for Richards and the half for his servant. Even after Richards explained to the captain that he was Haʻalilio's servant and that he was an ambassador from the "King of the Sandwich Islands" to the President, the captain refused to allow any "colored man" to sit at the table. They next sailed to England. In London they met up with Sir George Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Company and requested a visit with Lord Aberdeen who was British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. February 1843 Richards, Sir George Simpson and Haʻalilio visited King Leopold I of Belgium. On March 17, 1843 they met François Guizot who was the French Foreign Minister. Both verbally accepted Hawaiian independence, and so did Lord Aberdeen on another visit on March 25. Confident in their success, Sir George Simpson returned to Canada, thinking Richards and Haʻalilo could wrap up the details through April and May 1843. Finally on November 13, 1843 Lord Aberdeen and the French ambassador Louis Saint-Aulaire agreed on terms and signed an agreement on November 28. It was a joint declaration, not a treaty, so did not clarify status. They returned to America, and visited the new Secretary of State John C. Calhoun who was invited to also sign the agreement, but said he would wait for a treaty that could be ratified by the Senate. They left Boston November 18, 1844 on the ship Montreal, but Haʻalilio's health declined, and he died December 3, 1844 off the coast of New York. He probably had been suffering from tuberculosis through the long northern winters. Richards brought his body back on March 21, 1845 to Honolulu. A funeral was held March 26, and a memorial was held in the legislature at its next session. Bingham offered this praise: Haalilio was a