Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. The Kingdom of Hawaii was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great of the independent island of Hawaii, conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, and unified them under one government and ruled as Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when Kauai and Niihau voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Hawaii. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

In 1778, British explorer James Cook visited the islands. This led to increased trade and the introduction of new technologies and ideas. In the mid-19th century, American influence in Hawaii dramatically increased when American merchants, missionaries, and settlers arrived on the islands. Protestant missionaries converted most of the native people to Christianity. Merchants set up sugar plantations and the United States Navy established a base at Pearl Harbor. The newcomers brought diseases that were new to the indigenous people including influenza, measles, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. At the time of James Cook’s arrival in 1778, the indigenous Hawaiian population is estimated to have been between 250,000 and 800,000. By 1890, the indigenous Hawaiian population declined had to less than 40,000.

In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani, her cabinet, and her marshal, and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This led to the 1898 annexation of Hawaii as a United States territory. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States.

In 1993, one hundred years after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Resolution which “acknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum”. As a result, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom in Hawaii, was established along with ongoing efforts to redress the indigenous Hawaiian population.

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Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands, 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha I the Great, reigned as King of the Hawaiian Islands from 1795 – 1819. He was born Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea and known as Paiʻea. His father was Keōua Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui Ahilapalapa, from an old Hawaiian noble family, and his mother was Kekuʻiapoiwa II, a Hawaiian chiefess. Kamehameha was probably born in November 1758.  At the time of his birth, a comet was visible. Since Halley’s Comet was visible from Hawaii in 1758, it is believed that Kamehameha was probably born in 1758. His birth ceremony was held at the Moʻokini Heiau, an ancient temple that is preserved at the Kohala Historical Sites State Monument.

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. Kamehameha I grew up at the court of his uncle Kalaniʻopuʻu, the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch or chief) of the island of Hawaii. During Kalaniʻopuʻu’s reign, British explorer Captain James Cook visited the island of Hawaii three times and had two cordial visits with Kalaniʻopuʻu. However, in 1779, during Cook’s third exploratory voyage in the Pacific, tensions escalated between his men and the people of the island of Hawaii. The theft of a longboat and an attempt by Cook to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu led to the death of Cook’s death.

After Kalaniʻopuʻu’ died in April 1782, his son Kiwalao became the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch or chief) of the island of Hawaii. In July 1782, Kiwalao was overthrown and killed at the Battle of Mokuʻōhai. This was the first step toward Kamehameha I’s domination over all the Hawaiian Islands. The island of Hawaiʻi was divided into three parts: Kamehameha I ruled Kona, Kohala, and Hāmākua, Kiwalao’s half-brother Keawemaʻuhili controlled Hilo and Kiwalao’s son Keōua Kūʻahuʻula controlled Kaʻū.

Kamehameha and his council of chiefs planned to unite the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. British and American traders sold guns and ammunition to Kamehameha. Captain William Brown of the Butterworth Squadron, a British commercial group of three vessels, gave Kamehameha the formula for gunpowder: sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal, all of which are abundant in the islands. Welshman Isaac Davis and the British John Young who both lived on the island of Hawaii and had married native Hawaiian women, became valued advisors to Kamehameha. By 1795, Kamehameha had conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lānaʻi and unified them under one government, the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined the Kingdom of Hawaii voluntarily.

Keōpūolani, Kamehameha’s highest ranking wife and her retinue; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha had many wives and many children. The exact number is debated because documents that recorded the names of his wives were destroyed. While he had many wives and children, only his children from his highest-ranking wife Keōpūolani succeeded him to the throne. Keōpūolani had eleven children, all but three died young.

The ʻAhuʻena Heiau, the personal shrine of Kamehameha at Kamakahonu  in 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha I spent the last years of his life at Kamakahonu, the compound he built in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. It was at Kamakahonu that Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands died on May 14, 1819. After his death, Kamehameha I’s body was hidden by his trusted friends Hoapili and Hoʻolulu in the ancient custom called hūnākele (to hide in secret). The mana, or power of a person, was considered to be sacred and his body was buried in a hidden location because of his mana. His final resting place remains unknown. King Kamehameha III asked Hoapili to show him where his father was buried, but on the way there Hoapili knew that they were being followed, so he turned around.

Statue of King Kamehameha I in Honolulu, Hawaii; Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited

  • Kamehameha I. Royal Family Hawaii. https://www.crownofhawaii.com/kamehameha-i
  • U.S. Department of the Interior. Kamehameha the Great. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/puhe/learn/historyculture/kamehameha.htm
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Hawaiian Kingdom. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Kingdom
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Kamehameha I. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I