Kamehameha |
King Kamehameha the Great, Reign 1810-1819 "Ka nai Aupuni" The Conqueror
Kamehameha was born in 1753 in Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kamehameha established himself as a fierce warrior and leader, earning the title King of Hawaii. He became king at the age of 42. How he became king is an interesting story. Kamehameha killed his cousin, King Kiwalao, and over a period of ten years he then battled with other chiefs from Hawaii and won. He conquered all the islands this way except for Kauai. King Kamehameha tried to send his warriors to Kauai but they were caught in a severe storm and had to return home. King Kaumuali'i realized that if he fought with King Kamehameha he would lose. To save the lives of his people Kaumuali'i arranged to meet with King Kamehameha to surrender the island. They agreed that King Kaumuali'i could remain as governor of the island until his death. King Kamehameha had now conquered all the Hawaiian Islands and united them under one ruler.
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King Kamehameha II (Liholiho), Reign 1819-1824"E iho ana o luna, e pi'i ana o lalo, e hui ana na moku, e kiu anaka paia" That which is below, shall rise, that which is above, shall fall, the islands shall unite and the walls shall stand.
Liholiho was Kamehameha's first son. He was born in 1797 and his mother Kaahumanu was Kamehameha's favorite wife. Kalanikualiholiho became the new king when his father died. Kalanikualiholiho shared his royal power with Ka'ahumanu because Liholiho was quite careless and immature. It was Kalanikualiholiho who ended the Kapu system, Hawaii's system of laws and religion, by sitting and eating next to Chiefess Keopuolani. For example, one of the rules was that men could not eat with women. Another rule was that women could not eat bananas and pork and if they did, their eyes would be ripped out. In 1824 Kalanikualiholiho traveled to Great Britain because he wanted to visit. The Hawaiian people were scared because they thought they might never see him again and they were correct. While in London, he and his wife both died from the measles. |
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King Kamehameha III (Kau'ikeaouli), Reign 1825-1854 Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono, the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
Kau'ikeaouli was the second son of Kamehameha. He was only 10 years old when he became king. Since he was too young to rule on his own Ka'ahumanu, his stepmother was appointed as his kuhina nui. The kuhina nui is like a regent who rules the country until the king reaches legal age to rule by himself. Ka'ahumanu helped to make the first formal laws in Hawaii which made it illegal to kill, steal and commit adultery. She also became a Christian and helped spread Christianity in the Hawaiian islands. She died in 1832. Upon her death Kinau was now appointed the new kuhina nui. Now 18 years old Kau'ikeaouli became more active in what was going on. One of the first things he did was create the Declaration of Rights. This new law said that people had the right to possessions, life and equal protection. Now everybody had the same rights. This is how Kamehameha III showed that he cared about every Hawaiian. The next important thing he did was create a constitution which let the people have a say about the laws and how the money collected from taxes would be spent. This was another way that he showed that he loved every Hawaiian because it gave most of his power to the people. The next thing that he helped to create was the Organic Acts. The Organic Acts outlined the running of the goverment. It divided the goverment into smaller parts and described the responsibility of the goverment officials. The last signifigant thing Kamehameha III did was the Great Mahele, a system of land division. In 1848 the land was given to 245 chiefs and some was for himself and the goverment. When King Kamehameha III died in 1854, it ended the longest reign of any king in Hawaii.
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King Kamehahameha IV(Alexander Liholiho), Reign 1854-1863Kulia i ka nuu, strive for the highest summit.
Alexander Liholiho was born in 1834 and was the grandson of Kamehameha the Great. Liholiho was Kamehameha the III's nephew. He was adopted by Kamehameha III because Kamehameha III did not have any children and needed an heir to the throne. He went to school at the Royal School and was the first graduate there to become king. When Kamehameha III died Liholiho became the fourth king of Hawaii at the age of 21. Two years later Alexander Liholiho married Emma Naea Rooke. Liholiho loved Queen Emma so much that he shot someone because he was convinced that this man was showing too much interest in his wife. He later found out that the person was innocent and Liholiho never recovered from the experience. During this time many Hawaiian people were dying from diseases brought to the islands by foreigners. To help the Hawaiians, he and his wife created Queen's Hospital. They had a child named Albert but he died at the age of 4 because he became ill. Within a year, Liholiho himself died in 1863 because of poor health and grief over the death of his son. |
King Kamehameha V(Lot Kamehameha), Reign 1863- 1872 oni paa, steadfast, immorable, fixed movement. Lot Kamehameha was Alexander Liholiho's younger brother. He was born in 1830 during the time that sugar cane became dominant in Hawaii's economy. As the whaling trade faded, the sugar industry began to grow. Now all men could vote because of the constitution of 1852. Kamehameha V felt that the constitution gave too much power to the people and he wanted most of it back. Kamehameha V was less worried about rights for the people because he felt that as king, he should know what is best for his people. He closed the office of kuhina nui and changed the constitution so that in order to vote you hade to be male, own property and could read and write. The Hawaiians didn't mind about the changes because they respected the Kamehameha family. Lot Kamehameha died on his 42nd birthday because he came so obese. Lot Kamehameha never married or had children and didn't name a succesor before he died so there wasn't anyone to rule. The reign of the Kamehamehas was over after 77 years. |
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