MONARCHY

Ancient Hawai’i

Pre-Discovery

The Hawaiian archipelago is one of the most isolated land masses on earth, yet is was discovered approximately 1000 years ago by Polynesian voyagers at a time in world history were few ventured so far from land. The culture and society that evolved here became one of the most impressive and robust in all of the Polynesian triangle.

For hundreds of years these immigrants arrived from the southern Polynesian islands of the Marquesas, Samoan, Tongan and Tahitian islands. They established communities and enclaves which were mostly separate from each other, but by the 13th century powerful priests arrived and began the formation of the “kapu system” of Hawaiian religion and government. This ancient lifestyle evolved with no outside contact for over 600 years.

When Captain Cook arrived in 1778 the warrior society was at its height with chiefs from the Big Island of Hawai’i and Maui vying for control of the entire island chain. Maui’s Ali’i Moi (king) Kahekili nearly accomplished the feat conquering or gaining control of all the islands except the Big Island.

Meanwhile on the Big Island, Kamehameha consolidated his power while obtaining western armaments of muskets, swords and a canon from now arriving western ships and invaded Maui and defeated Kahekili’s forces at Iao Valley in 1794. What was left of Maui’s army retreated to Oahu but were again defeated there by Kamehameha a year later in 1795. After Kamehameha’s fleet, which now included western ships, were turned back in a storm trying to invade Kauai, the island’s king choose allegiance to Kamehameha rather than war and the island chain became the Kingdom of Hawai’i in 1810. Thus the 100 year reign of the Hawaiian monarchy began…

Kamehameha I

Kamehameha’s life was shrouded in supernatural powers and intrigue. There are several accounts of his young life with historians differing on events such as his time of birth. Since Hawaiians did not measure their age in years there are still some unknowns about how old Kamehameha was when he died in 1819 but most historians at the time believed him to be in his 80’s.

One story tells that around the time of his birth priests had foretold a prophecy of a king who would conquer all adversaries. Stories and legends (mo’olele) describe a comet seen in the sky during the time of Kamehameha’s birth, signaling the child’s powers backed by the gods. The king (Ali’i Moi) of Hawai’i Island sent warriors to kill the future rival, but his mother was aware of the plot and sent the newborn away into the mountains attended by servants. It is said he almost died of exposure in the mountains during the journey but was revived. Five years later the king (Alapa’i) who ordered his death died and Kamehameha was returned to his parents and raised by his uncle Kalaniopu’u, who eventually became king of Hawai’i Island, in the tradition of a warrior while learning the royal responsibilities of a Hawaiian chief.

Kamehameha the Great fought many battles throughout his young life.  After gaining control of Hawai’i Island he battled with Maui’s King Kahekili for control of the entire island chain. Kahekili was a skilled warrior chief who, in the mid 1700’s, had repelled an invasion of then Ali’i Moi of Hawai’i Island Kalaniopu’u when he attacked Kahekili’s forces in Wailuku. Kamehameha, an officer in Kalaniopu’u’s army, showed great bravery and skill in this battle even though Kahekili’s forces prevailed.

Kamehameha was also there when Captain Cook arrived and boarded his ships in both Maui and the Big Island. Crewman accounts of the warrior speak of his size (well over 6 ft tall) and quiet intensity. He studied the westerners weapons and on subsequent arrivals of foreign ships procured canon and musket for his planned unification of the entire island chain.

Kamehameha soon went on to conquer Kahekili’s forces at Maui’s Iao Valley in the late 1700’s with the help of these western armaments. By 1795 Kamehameha’s army conquered Oahu and gained control of all the major islands except Kauai. Peace with Kauai was negotiated through western influences and by 1810 Kamehameha and his 10,000+ warriors had gained control of all the islands. He ruled peacefully for 25 years guiding the new kingdom through entanglements with foreigners of nearly every developed country of the time who came seeking adventure and profit in Hawai’i. He died at his royal compound in Kona in 1819.

Queen Ka’ahumanu

Daughter of a prominent Big Island Ali’i (chief) living in Hana she was bequeathed to Kamehameha at a young age. By the age of 18 she had became the favorite wife and advisor of Kamehameha. She encouraged him in his conquest of the islands but held a secret desire to free herself of the repressive kapu system of government and religion of ancient Hawai’i.

After the death of her husband Kamehameha I, Queen Ka’ahumanu became one of the most powerful rulers in the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom and ushered in many of the new nation’s most sweeping changes.

Ka’ahumanu was born in 1768 in a cave below Hana’s Puu Kauiki (a steep hill on the southern edge of Hana bay) on Maui’s east side. At the age of 18 she became the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I. Upon Kamehameha’s death in 1819 Ka’ahumanu announced the king wished her to be co-ruler with the young Kamehameha II (Liholiho), much to Liholiho’s surprise. The council of advisers agreed and created the post of kuhina nui (similar to a prime minister).

Her power grew to Queen Regent as she ruled through the reigns of both Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III. She famously conspired to abolish the kapu system which suppressed the rights of women and commoners while ushering in the Christian religion to replace the centuries old Hawaiian religion. She introduced Hawaii’s first codified body of laws modeled after Christian ethics, values and the Ten Commandments.

Kaʻahumanu and King Kamehameha III negotiated the first treaty between the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the United States in 1826. The treaty assumed responsibility on behalf of native Hawaiians with debts to American traders to be paid in Sandalwood which won her the support of chiefs who owed money to the traders. The same document was also a free trade treaty, ensuring Americans had the right to enter all ports of Hawaiʻi to do business.

Kamehameha II

Liholiho

The second king of the Kingdom of Hawai’i came to power at the age of 22. Born in 1797 as Liholiho he inherited the throne upon Kamehameha I’s death in 1819. However Queen Ka’ahumanu had intentions to rule the young kingdom herself.

As Liholiho arrived on the Big Island to claim the throne Ka’ahumanu greeted him wearing Kamehameha’s royal red cape and proclaimed “we two shall rule the land“. The young king, surprised, had no other choice. Liholiho died in 1825.

Kamehameha II (Liholiho) is best known for breaking the over 600 year old kapu (taboo) system of rule by sharing a meal with Ka’ahumanu and his mother Keopuolani. This began the disbanding of the social class of priest and the destruction of temples and idol imagery and carvings.

Kamehameha III

Kauikeaouli

Kamehameha III, also known as Kauikeaouli, reigned as king from 1825 to 1854. Under his rule Hawaii’s traditional system of land use along with the social systems of the native population underwent drastic change. When he came to the throne the native population was one third of what it was when Captain Cook arrived in 1778. During his reign it would be halved again due to a series of epidemics.

Guided by foreign advisors, the king divided lands that had formerly been held in common and administered by the ali’i (chiefs) and their konohiki (land stewards or overseers). Known as the Great Mahele, 23% of the land was allocated to the king (called crown lands), 40% comprised konohiki lands to be divided among 245 chiefs; and 37% was declared government lands, to be awarded to commoners who worked the land as active tenants but in the end commoners were unaware of the new program and lost out on the distribution, receiving less than 1% of the 37% set aside for them.

The Mahele was followed in 1850 by the Kuleana Act which established fee simple ownership of land. Historical land tenants were required to document their claims to specific parcels in order to gain permanent title. Once granted, a kuleana plot was independent of the traditional ahupua’a (ancient land divisions) in which it was situated and it could also be sold to foreign parties.

Kamehameha IV

Alexander ‘Lolani Liholiho

Born Alexander ‘Lolani Liholiho in 1834, Kamehameha IV ruled from 1855 to 1863. His uncle King Kamehameha III decreed him heir to the throne as a toddler and raised him as the crown prince. When Kamehameha III died Alexander took the oath as King Kamehameha IV in 1855, succeeding his uncle when he was only 20 years old.

Only a year after assuming the throne, Alexander took the hand of Emma Rooke as his queen. Queen Emma was the granddaughter of John Young, Kamehameha the Great’s British royal advisor and companion. She also was Kamehameha’s great-grandniece.

Alexander died of chronic asthma in 1863 and was succeeded by his brother who took the name Kamehameha V. Alexander was only 29 years old.

Queen Emma