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May 6, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Entourage

On November 27, 1823, L’Aigle, an English whaling ship under the command of Captain Valentine Starbuck, on which Kamehameha II (Liholiho), Kamāmalu, and their entourage traveled to England to gain firsthand experience in European ways.

The king and his chiefs agreed that Liholiho needed a competent interpreter to travel with him, and they asked Starbuck to permit the Englishman William Ellis and his family to join the royal suite. Starbuck adamantly and persistently refused. Frenchman John Rives went as interpreter.

Liholiho’s chosen party were Governor Boki and his wife, Liliha, Kapihe, Chief Kekuanaoa, steward Manuia, Naukana (Noukana), Kauluhaimalama, servant Na‘aiweuweu, and James Kanehoa Young. (Corley)

Boki was the son of Kekuamanoha, a chief of Maui (but it was rumored that he was the son of Kahekili II.) His original name was Kamaʻuleʻule; his nickname came from a variation on Boss, the name of the favorite dog of Kamehameha I.

His older brother, Kalanimōkū, was prime minister and formerly Kamehameha’s most influential advisor. His aunt was the powerful Kaʻahumanu, queen regent and Kamehameha’s favorite wife.

King Kamehameha II appointed Boki as governor of Oʻahu and chief of the Waiʻanae district. John Dominis Holt III said Boki was “a man of great charisma who left his mark everywhere he went.”

Boki married Chiefess Kuini Liliha; Liliha was the daughter of Kalaniulumoku II (some say Koakanu was her father) and Loeau, who were themselves full blooded brother and sister (children of Kalaniulumoku I and his own mother the venerable kapu chiefess Kalanikuiokikilo.)

This makes Liliha a niaupio child, a chiefess of the highest possible princely rank in the system of Hawaiian chiefs. She was hānai (adopted) daughter of Ulumāheihei (Hoapili). (Kekoolani)

Ulumāheihei’s father, High Chief Kameʻeiamoku, was one of the “royal twins” who helped Kamehameha I come to power – the twins are on the Islands’ coat of arms – Kameʻeiamoku is on the right (bearing a kahili,) his brother, Kamanawa is on the left, holding a spear.

Kapihe (Naihekukui) “was very intelligent, had an excellent memory, and spoke English tolerably. He was remarkably skillful in the game of draughts (Kōnane,) which he played with uniform success.” (Byron)

He was son of the chief Hanakāhi and also known as Jack the Pilot or Captain Jack. He had been the pilot for the Russian explorer Golovnin in 1818 and piloted Freycinet from Kailua Bay to Kawaihae in August 1819. (Birkett) Lord Byron referred to him as ‘Admiral.’

Kekūanāoʻa’s name (literally, the standing projections) is said to refer to ships’ masts seen in the harbor when Kekūanāoʻa was born. (Pukui) (Some claim Kekūanāoʻa to be the son of Ki‘ilaweau, the grandson of Alapaʻi, King of Hawai‘i, and the Chiefess Kaho‘owaha of Moana. (Kapi‘ikauinamoku))

“As a young man he was a favorite and attendant of the declining years of Kamehameha I. With Liholiho he was a punahele, or intimate attendant and friend, and in that capacity accompanied the Royal party to England”.

Kekūanāoʻa married Pauahi, formerly a wife of Liholiho. They had a daughter, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. In 1827, Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha, became Kekūanāoʻa’s wife. Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa had five children: Prince David Kamehameha (who died as a child;) Prince Moses Kekūāiwa (who died in 1848;) Prince Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V); Prince Alexander Liholiho (Kamehamhea IV) and Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.

Boki’s younger cousin, Manuia, was in command of Fort Kekuanohu, of the fortified hill of Punchbowl and the harbor of Kou, and Boki made him Chief Marshall with power over life and death. He an Boki later set up grog shops at Honolulu.

Naukana (Noukana) was son of Kamanawa (one of the twins on the Islands’ coat of arms – and one of Kamehameha’s four Kona Uncles who helped him rise to control all of the Islands.)

Kauluhaimalama was son of Kekūhaupiʻo. Hawai‘i Island ruling chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu instructed Kekūhaupiʻo to teach Kamehameha the ancient martial arts of the land. Kekūhaupiʻo was determined to give all his knowledge to his chiefly pupil, and he indeed did so. This brought about the firm bond between Kekūhaupiʻo and the young Kamehameha.

Kekūhaupiʻo is arguably the one man most closely connected to Kamehameha I during Kamehameha’s formative years, while he developed his skills as a warrior, and through the early period of Kamehameha’s conquests.

“Kanehoa Young, the second son of John Young, was about the same age as Liholiho, had traveled widely throughout the world, and spoke English.” (Corley)

John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790. Kamehameha brought Young to Kawaihae, where he was building the massive temple, Pu’ukoholā Heiau.

For the next several years, John Young, and another British sailor, Isaac Davis, went on to assist Kamehameha in his unification of the Hawaiian Islands.

Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons. In addition, both Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

With these powerful new weapons and associated war strategy, Kamehameha eventually brought all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

In London, Liholiho and Kamāmalu became ill. It is believed they probably contracted the measles on their visit to the Royal Military Asylum (now the Duke of York’s Royal Military School.) Virtually the entire royal party developed measles within weeks of arrival, 7 to 10 days after visiting the Royal Military Asylum housing hundreds of soldiers’ children.

Kamāmalu (aged 22) died on July 8, 1824. The grief-stricken Kamehameha II (age 27) died six days later, on July 14, 1824. Prior to his death he asked to return and be buried in Hawai‘i.

Kapihe was the only one of the followers who had suffered from the disorder in a degree at all equal to the king and queen. Boki and Kekūanāoʻa rapidly recovered; and Kapihe soon grew better.

Shortly thereafter, the British Government dispatched HMS Blonde to convey the bodies of Liholiho and Kamāmalu back to Hawaii, along with the entourage. The Captain of the Blonde, a newly commissioned 46-gun frigate, was Lord Byron (a cousin of the poet.) The Blonde arrived back in Honolulu on May 6, 1825.

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Alexander Liholiho, Boki, David Kamehameha, Eleanora, Fort Kekuanohu, Four Kona Uncles, Hawaii, Hoapili, Isaac Davis, James Kanehoa Young, John Young, Kaahumanu, Kalanimoku, Kalaniopuu, Kamamalu, Kamanawa, Kameeiamoku, Kamehameha, Kapihe, Kauluhaimalama, Kekuamanoha, Kekuanaoa, Kekuhaupi, Kinau, Liholiho, Liliha, Lot Kapuiwa, Manuia, Moses Kekuaiwa, Naaiweuweu, Naihekukui, Naukana, Noukana, Pauahi, Princess Ruth Keelikolani, Ulumaheihei, Victoria Kamamalu

November 24, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kekūanāoʻa

“The father of (Mataio (Matthew)) Kekūanāoʻa was Nahi‘olea, brother to Ka‘iana. The two were noted O‘ahu chiefs of high rank and nearly related to the famous Kahekili of Maui.”

“Rebelling against his rule, they were vanquished, and went to live on Kauai.” They later served Kamehameha. However, they “separated from Kamehameha I on his voyage for the subjugation of O‘ahu, turned against him, and were killed at the battle of Nu‘uanu in 1795.”

“The mother of Kekūanāoʻa, Inaina, was of Hawai‘i, and of a high-born family of kahus of Kamehameha I. Their home and land, Keokea, was near Honaunau, Kona. Kekūanāoʻa, however, was born during a temporary absence in Hilo, near the period of Vancouver’s third visit.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

His name (literally, the standing projections) is said to refer to ships’ masts seen in the harbor when Kekūanāoʻa was born. (Pukui) (Some claim Kekūanāoʻa to be the son of Ki‘ilaweau, the grandson of Alapaʻi, King of Hawai‘i, and the Chiefess Kaho‘owaha of Moana. (Kapi‘ikauinamoku))

“As a young man he was a favorite and attendant of the declining years of Kamehameha I. With Liholiho he was a punahele, or intimate attendant and friend, and in that capacity accompanied the Royal party to England; – to return with Boki and Liliha in sad and sacred charge of the Royal remains (in 1825.”)

“The years immediately following were those distinguished by the regency of Kaahumanu, and the aspiring rivalry of Boki. Kekūanāoʻa was at first much favored by the latter.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

He married Pauahi, formerly a wife of Liholiho. They had a daughter, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. Pauahi died while giving birth to Keʻelikōlani (February 9, 1826;) Keʻelikōlani was then cared for by Kamehameha’s wife, Kaʻahumanu, who herself died six years later.

In 1827, Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha, became his wife. They both publically professed the Christian faith in 1830. Following Ka‘ahumanu’s death in 1832, Princess Ruth was then sent to live with her father, Kekūanāoʻa, and her stepmother, Kīnaʻu.

Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa had five children: Prince David Kamehameha (who died as a child;) Prince Moses Kekūāiwa (who died in 1848;) Prince Lot Kapuāiwa; Prince Alexander Liholiho and Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.

Kekūanāoʻa and Kīnaʻu were the parents of two kings, Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho) and V (Lot Kapuāiwa.) His daughter, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, passed her great land holdings to Bernice Pauahi Bishop; it was the land base that formed Kamehameha Schools / Bishop Estate.

In 1833, Kīnaʻu was appointed Kuhina Nui. The Kuhina Nui was a unique position in the administration of Hawaiian government and had no specific equivalent in western governments of the day. It has been described in general terms as ‘Prime Minister,’ ‘Premier’ and ‘Regent.’

When John Adams Kuakini left his position as Governor of O‘ahu in 1834 to govern the Island of Hawai‘i, Kekūanāoʻa succeeded him and served the government for more than 30-years.

Starting in 1837, “the common Hawaiian folk of Honolulu” started petitioning Rev Hiram Bingham, head of the Hawaiian Mission, to establish a second church or mission in Honolulu (Kawaiahaʻo being the first).

When the matter of deciding where a new Church should be built, Governor Kekūanāoʻa “begged to express his manaʻo that it should be in the village” (Honolulu;) specifically, in the district of Kaumakapili where 12,000 to 13,000 people lived. (The Friend)

They requested that the Rev Lowell Smith be their pastor. The 1837 annual ʻAha Paeʻaina (the annual meeting and gathering of the churches and ministers) granted their request.

Kīnaʻu died on April 4, 1839, not long after the birth of her youngest child, Victoria; Kekūanāoʻa then raised Victoria. She was educated at Chief’s Children’s School (Royal School) along with all her cousins and brothers.

“An amusing scene is said to have taken place at the staking out for (Kawaiahaʻo Church.) The Governor insisted that it should be 160-feet long, – the pastor of the church (Hiram Bingham,) also a determined man, said 120 feet, and set the stakes of one end further in.”

“The Governor set those of the other end again ahead; the missionary followed up from behind, and the site would have walked rapidly downtown, had not a happy compromise arisen as to the required dimensions.” (The church is 143’ 6’” long by 78’ 10” wide.)

“In those days the labor of the people was in great measure at the command of the chiefs, and it was but for the chief to say, Come and let us do this, and the thing was done.”

“The planning and execution and procural of material however, for that massive edifice, required an amount of energy and thought, and the credit is due to (Kekūanāoʻa,) to the late Hon A Paki and the Rev Mr Bingham.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

Years later, it was “an old building and one that is greatly beloved by a portion of our people, this mother church of ours. Its predecessor on these grounds was a church of pili grass; and the stone building was completed in 1842, constructed by the loving hands of the aliʻi and makaʻāinana of times gone by.”

“It was Kekūanāoʻa and Bingham (Binamu) Sr who selected the area where it was to be built and supervised its construction, however Bingham returned to America before the completion of this building.” (Kuokua, January 24, 1885)

“On the occasion of the hauling down of the Flag by Lord George Paulet in 1843, he was ordered to have the ignominious service performed. ‘Not at all, you shall do that yourselves,’ was the doughty answer, and the British mariners had to do it.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

At the age of 17, Victoria Kamāmalu was appointed Kuhina Nui by her brother Kamehameha IV soon after he ascended the throne in December 1854.

“In 1861, (Kekūanāoʻa) became President of the Board of Education, succeeding the Rev Dr Armstrong in that office. He held in tender regard the good of the young of his nation, and the last public speech heard from his lips, outside the Legislative Hall, was a Sunday School celebration.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

While President of the Legislative Assembly, “His last speech was in favor of progress and improvement. It was on the steamer subsidy question. ‘Gentlemen, where are we, for going forward? – looking back? Our race have more than once declared the progress, the foreign improvements. I am for steam.’” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868)

When Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V) succeeded his brother Kamehameha IV in 1863, he selected his father Mataio Kekūanāoʻa to be the Kuhina Nui.

As the last Kuhina Nui, Kekūanāoʻa essentially presided over the demise of the office. Kamehameha V proclaimed a constitution on August 20, 1864 in which there was no provision for a Kuhina Nui.

It was “an unnecessary check upon the Legislative in giving to this Office an absolute control over the acts of a body of which he himself is a member and in which he has a vote.” (Archives)

“In former times, (Kekūanāoʻa) would have been a warrior; in this time he has done more than any person of his race to maintain their independence and their good name.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 28, 1868) Kekūanāoʻa died November 24, 1868.

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Alexander Liholiho, David Kamehameha, Hawaii, Kekuanaoa, Kinau, Kuhina Nui, Lot Kapuaiwa, Mataio Kekuanaoa, Moses Kekuaiwa, Pauahi, Princess Ruth Keelikolani, Victoria Kamamalu

December 15, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

David Kamehameha

Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1793–1868) and Kīnaʻu (1805-1839) each served as Kuhina Nui, a position generally described as “Prime Minister,” “Premier” and “Regent.”  They were each born of chiefs; Kekūanāoʻa was son of an Oʻahu chief; Kīnaʻu was the daughter of Kamehameha I.

They were also husband and wife.

They had five children: four boys, David Kamehameha (1828–1835), Moses Kekūāiwa (1829-1848,) Lot Kapuāiwa (1830–1872,) Alexander Liholiho (1834–1863,) and a girl, Victoria Kamāmalu (1838–1866.)

Consistent with custom, each of the sons were hānai (adopted) to other families – David by Kaʻahumanu, Moses by Kaikioʻewa, Lot by Nahiʻenaʻena, and Alexander by Kauikeaouli.  (Luomala)

When Kīna‘u’s last child, Victoria Kamāmalu, was born she refused her maternal uncle Kuakini’s request to take the child to the island of Hawaiʻi to rear. Defying custom, she herself nursed her and her adopted daughter Pauahi (but made John Papa ʻĪ‘ī and his wife Sarai her child’s kahu.)  (Luomala)

We hear a lot about two of Kekūanāo’a and Kīnaʻu’s sons – Alexander Liholiho became Kamehameha IV and Lot Kapuāiwa became Kamehameha V (daughter Victoria Kamāmalu became Kuhina Nui, like her parents.)

We do not often hear about David Kamehameha.

Some suggest David’s birth had helped reconcile differences between Ka‘ahumanu and Kīnaʻu.

It was the wish of Kamehameha the Great that Kīnaʻu and Kamāmalu, his daughters by Kaheiheimalie, marry his sons by Keōpūolani, the highest ranking chief of the ruling family in the kingdom during her lifetime, to continue his line.

Kamāmalu became the wife of Liholiho (Kamehameha II.)  Kīnaʻu had refused to marry Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III.)  (Luomala)

When Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa were married, Kaʻahumanu was furious; “she ground her teeth and spit fire. … It was not until Kīnaʻu became pregnant with her first child that Kaʻahumanu became reconciled to what had taken place.” (Kamakau)

As was the custom, the child was hānai (adopted) by others.  Pukui, emphasizing the permanency of the hānai relationship, has stated that a child “is the hānai of his permanent, adoptive parents” and the relationship is as permanent as that in modern legal adoption.  (Luomala)

At his birth (May 20, 1828,) Kīnaʻu presented her first-born, Prince David Kamehameha, to Kaʻahumanu, “a boy fine enough for any mother not of the seed royal to glory in.”  (Judd)

A second grandchild whom Kaʻahumanu had charge of at this time was Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. (Kamakau)

Kaʻahumanu clashed with Boki (Governor of Oʻahu.)

“He (Boki) accused Kaʻahumanu of appropriating to herself the private estate of the young king (Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III) so that he could have no land, and of reviling him by calling him a servant of David Kamehameha and of Ruth, the daughter of Kekūanāoʻa and Pauahi, who had been one of the wives of Liholiho. But these slanders recoiled on the governor, whose folly and wickedness contrasted strongly with the prudence and inoffensiveness of the queen regent.”  (Bingham)

When Kaʻahumanu received word that Boki may try to kill her, Kaʻahumanu said, “I do not fear death planned by this son of ours, but he will have to (come) himself to kill me and these grandchildren of mine who will stay by me.” (These were David Kamehameha and Ruth Keʻelikōlani.)  (Boki later gave up the idea of killing Kaʻahumanu.) (Kamakau)

When David was four, in 1832, Kaʻahumanu died at her house in Mānoa Valley, and afterwards, David was raised by Kekāuluohi (Kīnaʻu’s half sister, who became Kuhina Nui of Hawaiʻi on April, 5, 1839 and took the name Kaʻahumanu III.)

Hiram Bingham noted David Kamehameha was “the favorite little son of Kekāuluohi;” although it is likely Kīnaʻu still had a hand in his upbringing.

Kekāuluohi joined Kawaiahaʻo Church on March 2, 1828 the third occasion in the history of the church on which members were received into it, and Kīnaʻu on March 7, 1830. These chiefesses were of the same firmness of character as Kaʻahumanu, and their husbands took a similar stand. They too were like parents to the people.  (Kamakau)

Prince David Kamehameha died of unknown causes at the age of seven, December 15, 1835.  He was buried at Pohukaina on what is now the ʻIolani Palace grounds and was later transported and buried at the Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum.

On November 16, 1836, High Chief Kahana Kapaʻahea and the High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole had their third son, David Kalākaua; it has been suggested that he was named in honor of David Kamehameha.

The image shows a portion of the Kamehameha family tree.  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Alexander Liholiho, David Kamehameha, Hawaii, Kaahumanu, Kalakaua, Kekauluohi, Kinau, Lot Kapuaiwa, Mataio Kekuanaoa, Moses Kekuaiwa, Victoria Kamamalu

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