Polynesian Confederacy

PoD: Wherein one Lorrin A. Thurston never becomes head of the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety of the Hawaiian Annexation Club, and therefore does not participate in the 1887 Rebellion nor is appointed as Interior Minister of Hawai'i. Consequently, the Bayonet Constitution limiting the powers of the native monarchy is never drafted.

The "Merrie Monarch", King Kalākaua of Hawai'i, suceeds in forming a Polynesian Confederacy in 1887 with the aim of providing a united front against the imperialist Powers of Europe. With the agreement of Malietoa Laupepa of Samoa and George Tupou I of Tonga, the three as-yet-unconquered island chains formed the basis of a pan-national alliance that would free the South Seas from foreign domination. That's not to say things would be particularly rosy under their rule, however: Hawai'i, together with Samoa and Tonga, formed a block called "the Unconquered", which (perhaps subconsciously) views itself as superior to the isles it liberated from colonial rule.

In central Polynesia, the restored Kingdom of Tahiti has regained much of its former influence, with a cadet branch of the Pōmare Dynasty reigning over the isles of Bora Bora. Huahine and Ra'iātea, despite being ruled by a different House (the Teururaii), have both fallen under Tahitian suzereignty as in the past, along with the Tuamotu archipelego (they weren't called the "Subservient Islands" fer nuthin'!) and the outliers of Rurutu and Rimatara to the south. The isles of Mangareva, Oparo, and Rarotonga have, on the other hand, managed to maintain their independence from the expanding reach of the Pōmare, perhaps as a result of being further from their power-base in Tahiti.

With the addition of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to the Confederacy, its eastern(?) border was secured. Though recently annexed by Chilé, the island's inhabitants had been already been decimated by Peruvian slavers two decades before, as well as several epidemics of smallpox and tuberculosis. The discovery of the Rongorongo system of glyphs on the island lent a great deal of weight to the Confederacy's goal of advancing Polynesian culture at the expense of foreign occupiers (though, as in OTL, has yet to be deciphered...)

With the utter decimation of Rapa Nui, and Tahiti's import fees, Nuku Hiva and Tahuata have become the main hubs for trade with Central and South America. Not much else to say about them really (general rule of thumb: the less you have to talk about a place, they better off they are, typically).

Tuvalu is a... curious case. Though they opted for independence rather late in the Confederacy's formative years, they still keep the British monarch as their Head of State. The annual meetings in Honolulu might be more awkward if they weren't attended by Her Majesty's representative, the Governor-General of Tuvalu. To the south, the former French territory of Wallis and Futuna is governed by three constituent chiefdoms (on account of them each having flags): Alo, Sigave, and Uvea. Niue and Tokelau, once incorporated by the British into the "Realm of New Zealand", have restored their native monarchies, though are increasingly subject to Tonga and Samoa, respectively.

The greatest challenge to the Hawai'ian Hegemony are, of course, the Māori of Aotearoa ("the Land of the Long White Cloud"). Though historically, they had been prevented from projecting their strength and abundant resources due to tribal divisions (the subjugation of the pacifistic Moriori of Rekohu notwithstanding), the arrival of the British prompted the appointment of a Māori King. After joining the Confederacy, the Te Wherowhero Dynasty now seeks to establish its own sphere of influence far across the South Seas - and after all, why should Hawai'i, the only Polynesian nation of the Northern Hemisphere, dominate the South anyway?