Everything about Kamehameha The Great totally explained
Kamehameha I, also known as
Kamehameha the Great, (born
February,
1758 or
November 1737 or
May 1,
1738 – died
May 8,
1819), conquered the
Hawaiian Islands and formally established the
Kingdom of Hawaii in
1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the
Mamalahoe Kanawai,
Law of the Splintered Paddle, which protects
human rights of
non-combatants in times of battle. His full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Keali`ikui Kamehameha o `Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kunuiakea.
Legendary birth
Although there's some debate as to the precise year of his birth, Hawaiian legends claimed that a great king would one day unite the islands, and that the sign of his birth would be a
comet.
Halley's comet was visible from Hawaii in
1758, and it's therefore assumed that Kamehameha was born shortly after its appearance. Other accounts state that he was born in November 1737.
Kamehameha's birth name was Paiea which means "hard-shelled crab". He was born to
Keouaand/or [Kahikilli] (in Hawaiian culture, it was possible to have two fathers and the child derived authority and strength from them both) and Kekuiapoiwa (mother),
alii of
Kohala on the
island of Hawaii. His father, Keoua, was the grandson of
Keaweikekahialiiokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawaii. When Keaweikekahialiiokamoku died, war broke out over succession between his sons,
Keeaumoku and
Kalaninuiamamao, and a rival chief,
Alapainuiakauaua. Alapai emerged victorious over the two brothers, and their orphan sons (including Kamehameha's father) were absorbed into his clan.
When Kamehameha (Paiea) was born, Alapai ordered the child killed. One of his
kahuna had warned him that a fiery light in the sky would signal the birth of a "killer of chiefs", or
alii. Alapai, nervous at the thought of this child eventually usurping his rule, decided to take no chances. Paiea's parents, however, had anticipated this. As soon as he was born, he was given into the care of Naeole, another
alii, and disappeared from sight. Naeole raised Paiea for the first few years of his life. Five years after his birth, Alapai, perhaps remorseful of his actions, invited the child back to live with his family. There under the guidance of his kahu (teacher), Kekuhaupio, he learned the ways of court diplomacy and war. Kekuhaupio remained a faithful and trusted advisor to Paiea until the accidental death of the loyal kahu during a sham battle.
Paiea is said to have had a dour disposition, and acquired the name he's best known for today:
Kamehameha, from the
Hawaiian language term for "the lonely one" or "loneliness of a god".
Unification of Hawaii
When Alapai died, his position was succeeded by his son Keaweaopala.
Kalani‘opu‘u, Alapai's great-nephew, challenged his rule, and was backed by his nephew Kamehameha. In fierce fighting at Kealakekua Bay, Keaweaopala was slain and Kalaniopuu claimed victory. For his loyal service to his uncle, Kamehameha was made Kalaniopuu's aide.
In 1779, Kamehameha again traveled with Kalaniopuu to Kealakekua Bay. This time he, among other young chiefs accompanying their senior chief, met with Captain Cook. Cook was perhaps mistaken by some Native Hawaiians to be
Lono, the Hawaiian god of fertility. Cook's ship was the
HMS Discovery; Kamehameha may have stayed on board at least one night. It was Kamehameha's first dealings with white men.
Raised in the royal court of his uncle, Kamehameha achieved prominence in 1782, upon Kalaniopuu's death. While the kingship was inherited by Kalaniopuu's son
Kiwala‘o, Kamehameha was given a prominent religious position, guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war,
Kukailimoku, as well as the district of Waipio. Nevertheless, there was already bad blood between the two cousins, caused when Kamehameha presented a slain alii's body to the gods instead of Kiwalao. When a group of chiefs from the Kona district offered Kamehameha the kingship instead of Kiwalao, he accepted eagerly. Among the five Kona chiefs supporting Kamehameha was
Keeaumoku Pāpaiahiahi (Kamehameha's father-in-law),
Kalua'apana Keaweāheulu (Kamehameha's uncle), Kekūhaupi‘o (Kamehameha's warrior teacher),
Kame'eiamoku and
Kamanawa (twin uncles of Kamehameha). Kiwalao was soon defeated in the battle of Mokuohai, and Kamehameha took control of the districts of Kohala, Kona, and Hamakua on Hawaii.
Kamehameha then moved against the district of Puna in 1790 deposing its chief Keawemauhili. Keoua, exiled to his home of Kaū, took advantage of Kamehameha's absence and led an uprising. When Kamehameha returned with his army to put down the rebellion, Keoua fled past the volcano, which erupted and killed nearly a third of his warriors from poisonous gas.
Kamehameha's ambition
Kamehameha's dreams included far more than the island of Hawaii; with the council of his favorite wife
Kaahumanu, who became one of Hawaii's most powerful figures, he set about planning to conquer the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Help came from British and American traders, who sold guns and ammunition to Kamehameha. Two westerners who were resident on Hawaii,
Isaac Davis and
John Young, trained Kamehameha's troops in the use of firearms.
With his new weapons, Kamehameha felt confident enough to move on the neighboring islands of
Maui and
Oahu, already weakened by a war of succession that had broken out between King
Kahekili II's son and brother. Kamehameha may or may not have known that his rival, King
Kalanikupule, also possessed firearms, and was planning a move against him when the
alii nui of Hawaii invaded the western islands.
In
1795, Kamehameha set sail with an armada of 1,200 war canoes and 10,000 soldiers - an incredible number for an island chain whose population had never exceeded 300,000. He quickly secured the lightly defended islands of Maui and Molokai, and moved on the island of Oahu, landing his troops at
Waialae and
Waikīkī. What Kamehameha didn't know was that one of his commanders, a high-ranking
alii named Kaiana, had defected to Kalanikupule. Kaiana assisted in the cutting of notches into the
Nuuanu Pali mountain ridge; these notches, like those on a
castle turret, would serve as gunports for Kalanikupule's cannon.
First King of Hawaii
As king, Kamehameha took several steps to ensure that the islands remained a united realm even after his death. He unified the legal system and he used the products he collected in taxes to promote trade with
Europe and the
United States. Kamehameha didn't allow non-Hawaiians to own land; they wouldn't be able to until the
Great Mahele of
1848. This edict ensured the islands' independence even while many of the other islands of the
Pacific succumbed to the colonial powers.
In fact, the Kingdom of Hawaii that Kamehameha established retained its independence, except for a five-month British occupation in
1843, until it was annexed by the United States in
1898. It was this legacy that earned Kamehameha the epithet "
Napoleon of the Pacific."
Kamehameha also instituted the Mamalahoe Kanawai, the
Law of the Splintered Paddle. Its origins derived from before the unification of the Island of Hawaii, in
1782, when Kamehameha, during a raid, caught his foot in a rock. Two local fisherman, fearful of the great warrior, hit Kamehameha hard on the head with a large paddle, which actually broke the paddle. Kamehameha was stunned and left for dead, allowing the fisherman and his companion to escape. Twelve years later, the same fisherman was brought before Kamehameha for punishment. King Kamehameha instead blamed himself for attacking innocent people, gave the fisherman gifts of land and set them free. He declared the new law, "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety". This law, which provided for the safety of noncombatants in wartime, is estimated to have saved thousands of lives during Kamehameha's campaigns. It became the first written law of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and remains in the state constitution to this day.
Although he ended human sacrifice, Kamehameha was to the last a follower of the
Hawaiian religion and Hawaiian traditions (such as
Lua). He believed so strongly in his religion and culture that he'd execute his subjects for breaches of the kapu. Although he entertained
Christians, he didn't appear to take them seriously.
When Kamehameha died in
May 8 1819, his body was hidden by his trusted friend,
Hoapili and his wife
Keopuolani. To this day his final resting place remains a mystery.
Honors
Statues
Five statues exist, where each of the statues vary slightly from each other in details such as having different weaponry, gilding or painting, yet the original cast has been restored to its original painting:
- The original cast -- the ship, bound for Honolulu on which it was being shipped from Europe sank off the Falkland Islands but in 1912 the original was salvaged, repaired and erected in Kapaau, on the Big Island of Hawaii;
The replacement Kamehameha Statue was erected in his honor by King David Kalākaua in 1883 at Aliiōlani Hale, the center of Hawaii's judicial system in Honolulu;
One is located at the judicial court building in Hilo, Hawaii;
One of smaller size is located in an outdoor Polynesian shopping center, across from the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada; and
One in National Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol as a representation of the State of Hawaii.
Other Honors Rendered
In 1871, Kamehameha V decreed a holiday, Kamehameha Day, in his honor. This holiday is still celebrated annually on June 11.
Kamehameha Schools were founded in the will of Pauahi, at the time of her death 1884 the last direct descendant of Kamehameha I. Her intention was to bring education and thus hope for a future to the rapidly declining number of native Hawaiians. The first school opened in 1887
A C-17 Globemaster III, P-153, is named the "Spirit of Kamehameha", while a Benjamin Franklin class submarine, launched in 1965 and decommissioned in 2002, was christened the USS Kamehameha.
Hawaii will feature Kamehameha on the state quarter in 2008.Further Information
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