Lot Kapuaiwa | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Grandmother of Three Kings

Kalākua (also Kaheiheimālie) was daughter of Keʻeaumoku, a chief from Hawaiʻi Island and Namahana, from the royal family on Maui.

Kalākua’s siblings included Queen Kaʻahumanu, Hawaiʻi Island Governor John Adams Kuakini, Maui Governor George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku II and Lydia Nāmāhāna Piʻia. She was described as physically being ‘tall and gigantic,’ like her siblings. (Bingham)

“(Kalākua) was never a woman to indulge in flirtations, and her name was never coupled with gossip. She may have had her longings, but she remained true to her husband; and her children were never rumored to have been born of a double paternity like so many of the chiefs.”

“Double paternity was considered an honor because it gave a double or triple line of chiefly descent, thick and intermingled, and formed an honorable ancestry doubly blessed in such riches and knowledge as chiefs desire.”

“Not so (Kalākua,) who considered herself sufficiently honored with the root already established. Kamehameha was her uncle, and both he and Keʻeaumoku were directly descended from Haʻae.” (Kamakau)

She first married Kalaʻimamahu, the brother of Kamehameha I. They had a daughter, Kekāuluohi; Kekāuluohi became Kamehameha’s youngest wife.

Liholiho (Kamehameha II) later took her as one of his wives and around 1821 Kamehameha II gave Kekāuluohi to his friend Charles Kanaʻina. By Kanaʻina, Kekāuluohi had a son William Charles Lunalilo (the first grandson of Kalākua to become king.)

Kekāuluohi succeeded her half-sister Kīnaʻu as Kuhina Nui. Initially, she was considered something of a “place-holder” for Kīnaʻu’s infant daughter Victoria Kamāmalu, who would later assume the office. (Archives)

Kalākua was also married to Kamehameha I; she had four children. Their two sons died as infants; the oldest daughter, Kamāmalu, became wife of Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) and the youngest daughter, Kīnaʻu, later became Kuhina Nui.

Kīnaʻu later married Mataio Kekūanāoʻa; they had several children, including Alexander Liholiho (the second grandson of Kalākua to become king, known as Kamehameha IV), Lot Kapuāiwa (the third grandson of Kalākua to become king, as Kamehameha V,) and Victoria. (Liliʻuokalani) That made Kalākua grandmother of three future Kings.

“The death of Kamehameha made the first separation from the man she had lived with for twenty years. There was no woman of his household whom Kamehameha loved so much as (Kalākua.)

“Kamehameha is never known to have deserted (Kalākua,) but it has often been said that she did not love him so much as her first husband Kalaʻimamahu from whom Kamehameha took her away.” (Kamakau)

“In September, 1823, she heard in Hawaii of Keōpūolani’s death and sailed at once for Lāhainā to attend the burial ceremonies. The chiefs had all assembled at Lāhainā, the body of the chiefess had been concealed, and (Hoapili) was in mourning.”

“After the days of mourning were ended (Kalākua) became the wife of (Hoapili) (October 19, 1823,) they became converted, were married under Christian vows, and took the names of Hoapili-kāne and Mary Hoapili-wahine [the Hawaiian form of Mr. and Mrs.]”

“At this time she had not thought much about religion. The chiefs took to drinking and sensual indulgence after the death of the chiefess [Keōpūolani], but (Kalākua) listened to the word of God as taught by the missionaries although in her heart she still enjoyed life and fun.”

“Hoapili had accepted the word of God because of Keōpūolani. (Kalākua) turned to Christianity first, and Kaʻahumanu followed.” (Kamakau)

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Hoapiliwahine_by_C._C._Armstrong

Kamehameha_IV_(PP-97-8-006)

Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha_IV-between 1856 and 1863

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The young Prince William Charles Lunalilo in his teens

King_Lunalilo

April 10, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kalamaʻula

A he sure maoli no e a
Meke onaona, auwē he
Me ka nani, o Kalamaʻula

E kapaia nei ea
He uʻi mai hoi kau, auwē he
Me ka nani, o Kalamaʻula

Surely, it is so, the genuine
Attractiveness and
Splendor of Kalamaʻula

There in the bower
We arrive and behold the beauty and
Splendor of Kalamaʻula
(Emma Dudoit, 1922)

In a moʻolelo recounted by Fornander, Maniniholokuaua, known for his ‘great strength and fleetness,’ lived in Kaunakakai, while his moʻo grandmother, Kalamaʻula, lived in the neighboring ahupua‘a, with which she shared the name.

When the fastest runner of O‘ahu, Keliimalolo, arrived on the beach of Kaunakakai, he was warned of the thief who would steal his canoe. Sure enough, Maniniholokuaua lifted the canoe onto his back and carried it to a cave, for which Keliimalolo could not find the opening.

After traveling to Kaua‘i in search of fast runners who would help him retrieve his canoe, Keliimalolo found Kamaakamikioi and Kamaakauluohia. Once again, as the canoe landed, Maniniholokuaua was there to steal it. Ignoring their warning to not take the canoe, Maniniholokuaua put it on his back and ran to his cave of treasures.

Ultimately, Kama‘akamikioi caught up with Maniniholokuaua, and as he demanded the cave to open, Kamaakamikioi ordered the cave to close, crushing Maniniholokuaua and the canoe. Inside the cave, Kalama‘ula was dead, and the Molokai residents entered the cave to retrieve all of their precious belongings stolen by Maniniholokuaua. (Keala Pono)

At the time of Kamehameha’s conquest of the Islands, Kalola was the highest tabu chiefess on Maui; she was sister of the King Kahekili and an aunt of Kalanikūpule. Kalola lived with two brothers, Kalaniʻōpuʻu and Keōua, both Hawai’i island niʻaupiʻo (very high rank) chiefs.

From Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the older brother, she had a son, Kalanikauikeaouli Kiwalaʻo (Kiwalaʻo.) From Keōua, the younger brother, she had a daughter, Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha.

The children, Kiwalaʻo and Kekuʻiapoiwa, had the same mother, different fathers, offspring of a naha union (brother-sister mating of niʻaupiʻo chiefs.) These two lived together, and Keōpūolani was born to them, also the offspring of a naha union. (Mookini)

When Maui Island was conquered by Kamehameha – Kalanikūpule (Kahekili’s eldest son and heir-apparent) and some others (including Kalola and her family) escaped over the mountain at the back of the valley and made their way to Molokai and Oʻahu.

On the island of Molokai at Kalamaʻula, Kalola became ill and they could not carry out their original intention of going to Oʻahu to join Kahekili. Kamehameha followed Kalola to Molokai and asked Kalola for Keōpūolani (Kalola’s granddaughter) to be his queen.

Kalola, who was dying, agreed to give Kamehameha Keōpūolani and her mother Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, if he would allow the girls to stay at her death bed until she passed. Kamehameha camped on Molokai until Kalola died, and returned to Kona with his high queen Keōpūolani.

Another story suggests the area was named for a stone … and a song was written (excerpts above) about the beauty of the area …“I was born In Kaka’ako on August 20, 1918, and I was the second youngest of the eight children in our family. My brother John was the youngest. My parents, Emma Kala and Marcellus Dudoit, moved to Kalamaʻula in 1922.”

“The Kalamaʻula stone was right in our driveway, but we didn‘t know it was a famous stone. My dad wanted to get rid of it. So John and I tried with a sledge hammer, but we couldn’t break it. Then we found out that it was the stone that Kalamaʻula was named for, so we left it where it was.”

“It has five natural veins in it, and the legend is that it’s the handprint of a young woman. My mother wrote the song Kalamaʻula about the beauty of the area and our home there. She died when I was five, so my sister, Hannah, later copyrighted the song on her behalf.” (Valentine Dudoit, September 22, 2000; Clark)

Kalama‘ula by Johnny Noble and his Hawaiians – Emma Bush vocals 1929

“In Kalama‘ula is a coconut grove that is said to have been planted by Kamehameha V, having about 1,000 trees covering an area of ten acres.”

“Molokai was the favorite rest resort of this monarch, who had an establishment on the beach which was reserved for sunbathing by the ali‘i at Kalama‘ula near Kaunakakai.”

“There was a fine spring there that ‘bubbled up through all eight-inch vent and ran as a stream to the shore. Along the banks of the stream sugar cane, bananas, and taro flourished. There were many shrimp in the spring.’”

“‘It is said that a woman’s shrimp-net was once washed away by a freshet down the valley above the spring. She found her net in the spring at Kalama‘ula, at least six miles from the place she had left it’.” (Handy)

The US Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to provide lands for Hawaiians; in 1922, Kalamaʻula became the first Hawaiian homestead subdivision in the islands.

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Kalamaula

Kapuaiwa_Grove,_Kalamaula-Kaunakakai,_Molokai

House of Kamehameha V at Kaunakakai on the south shore of Molokai where the Kapuaiwa groves stands today. It served as fishing lodge for the King-1888

Kapuaiwa_Grove,_Kalamaula-Kaunakakai,_Molokai

Kalamaula-Google Earth

January 15, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kalākua

“Kalākua, a widow of Kamehameha … asked (the missionary women) to make a gown for her in fashion like their own.” (Bingham) “(She) was told that it was the Lord’s day, and that they would make it tomorrow.” (April 2, 1820, Thaddeus Journal)

The next day, the first Hawaiian sewing circle was held on the decks of the Thaddeus, “Kalākua brought a web of white cambric to have a dress made for herself in the fashion of our ladies, and was very particular in her wish to have it finished while sailing along the western side of the island, before reaching the king.”

“Monday morning April 3d (1820,) the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in the Hawaiian realm. Kalākua was directress. She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on mats, on the deck of the Thaddeus.”

“The dress was made in the fashion of 1819. The length of the skirt accorded with Brigham Young’s rule to his Mormon damsels, – have it come down to the tops of the shoes. But in the queen’s case, where the shoes were wanting, the bare feet cropped out very prominently.” (Lucy Thurston, part of the Pioneer Company)

Kalākua (also Kaheiheimālie) (c. 1778–1842) was daughter of Keʻeaumoku, a chief from Hawaiʻi Island and Namahana, from the royal family on Maui. She was described as physically being ‘tall and gigantic,’ like her siblings. (Bingham)

“(Kalākua) was never a woman to indulge in flirtations, and her name was never coupled with gossip. She may have had her longings, but she remained true to her husband; and her children were never rumored to have been born of a double paternity like so many of the chiefs.”

“Not so (Kalākua,) who considered herself sufficiently honored with the root already established. Kamehameha was her uncle, and both he and Keʻeaumoku were directly descended from Haʻae.” (Kamakau)

Kalākua’s siblings included Queen Kaʻahumanu, Hawaiʻi Island Governor John Adams Kuakini, Maui Governor George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku II and Lydia Namahana Piʻia. She first married Kalaʻimamahu, the younger brother of Kamehameha I.

They had a daughter, Kekāuluohi; Kekāuluohi became Kamehameha’s youngest wife. Liholiho (Kamehameha II) later took her as one of his wives and around 1821 Kamehameha II gave Kekāuluohi to his friend Charles Kanaʻina. By Kanaʻina, Kekāuluohi had a son William Charles Lunalilo (future king of the Islands.)

Kekāuluohi succeeded her half-sister Kīnaʻu as Kuhina Nui. Initially, she was considered something of a “place-holder” for Kīnaʻu’s infant daughter Victoria Kamāmalu, who would later assume the office. (Archives)

With Kamehameha I, Kalākua had four children: their two sons died as infants; the oldest daughter, Kamāmalu, became wife of Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) and the youngest daughter, Kīnaʻu, later became Kuhina Nui.

Kīnaʻu later married Mataio Kekūanāoʻa; they had several children, including Lot Kapuāiwa (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Alexander Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria. (Liliʻuokalani) That made Kalākua mother of another Queen consort, and grandmother of three future Kings.

“The death of Kamehameha made the first separation from the man she had lived with for twenty years. There was no woman of his household whom Kamehameha loved so much as (Kalākua.)”

“Kamehameha is never known to have deserted (Kalākua,) but it has often been said that she did not love him so much as her first husband Kalaʻimamahu from whom Kamehameha took her away.” (Kamakau)

“In September, 1823, she heard in Hawaii of Keōpūolani’s death and sailed at once for Lāhainā to attend the burial ceremonies. The chiefs had all assembled at Lāhainā, the body of the chiefess had been concealed, and (Hoapili) was in mourning.”

“After the days of mourning were ended (Kalākua) became the wife of (Hoapili) (October 19, 1823,) they became converted, were married under Christian vows, and took the names of Hoapili-kāne and Mary Hoapili-wahine [the Hawaiian form of Mr. and Mrs.]”

“At this time she had not thought much about religion. The chiefs took to drinking and sensual indulgence after the death of the chiefess [Keōpūolani], but (Kalākua) listened to the word of God as taught by the missionaries although in her heart she still enjoyed life and fun.”

“Hoapili had accepted the word of God because of Keōpūolani. (Kalākua) turned to Christianity first, and Kaʻahumanu followed.” (Kamakau)

In 1823, Kalākua (Kaheiheimālie and Hoapili-wahine) offered the American missionaries a tract of land on the slopes surrounding Puʻu Paʻupaʻu for the creation of a school.

Betsey Stockton founded a school for makaʻāinana (common people) including the women and children. The site of the school is now Lahainaluna School.

A good work for which Hoapili-kāne is celebrated was the building of the church at Waineʻe; the cornerstone was laid on September 14, 1828, for this ‘first stone meeting-house built at the Islands.’

It was dedicated on March 4, 1832 and served as the church for Hawaiian royalty during the time when Lāhainā was effectively the Kingdom’s capital, from the 1820s through the mid-1840s (it was destroyed by fire in 1894.) In addition, he erected the Lāhainā fort to guard the village against rioting from the whalers off foreign ships and from law breakers. (Kamakau)

When Lot Kapuāiwa was born to Mataio Kekūanāoʻa and Kīnaʻu, he was hānai by his grandmother Kalākua (Kaheiheimālie and Hoapili-wahine) and step-grandfather Hoapili-kāne. (Lot Kapuāiwa later became King Kamehameha V.) Kalākua died January 16, 1842 and is buried at Waine‘e (now Waiola) Cemetery.

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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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Kekuanaoa

Mataio Kekuanaoa

Princess_Ruth_Keelikolani

Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha_IV-between 1856 and 1863

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Victoria_Kamamalu_and_Kekuanaoa

Kinau_returning_from_church-Masselot-1837

Kaumakapili-1stChurch-(TheFriend)

Kekuanaoa-Territorial_Office_Building

April 4, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kīnaʻu

Kīnaʻu was the daughter of Kamehameha and Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (Hoapili Wahine.) She was a niece of Kaʻahumanu. Kīnaʻu was born probably in 1805 at Waikiki.

She was first married to her half-brother Liholiho (1797–1824) who became King Kamehameha II with the death of their father 1819. Liholiho died in London with his favorite wife (Kīna‘u’s sister) Queen Kamāmalu.

Her second husband was Kauai Governor Kāhalaiʻa Luanuʻu, a grandson of Kamehameha I. Her third husband was O‘ahu Governor Mataio Kekūanāoʻa’s (1791–1868.)

Kīna’u was the highest in rank of any of the women chiefs of her day. With Kekūanāoʻa she had several children, including Lot (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Alexander Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria. (Liliʻuokalani)

Pauahi was born to Pākī and Kōnia and was hānai (adopted) to her aunt, Kīnaʻu. (Bernice Pauahi lived with Kīnaʻu for nearly eight years.) On September 2, 1838, Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha was born to Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea and Analeʻa Keohokālole; Liliʻu was hānai to Pākī and Kōnia (she later became Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

“When I was taken from my own parents and adopted by Pākī and Kōnia, or about two months thereafter, a child was born to Kīnaʻu. That little babe was the Princess Victoria, two of whose brothers became sovereigns of the Hawaiian people.”

“While the infant was at its mother’s breast, Kīnaʻu always preferred to take me into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose.”

“So she frequently declared in the presence of my adopted mother, Kōnia, that a bond of the closest friendship must always exist between her own baby girl and myself as aikane or foster-children of the same mother, and that all she had would also appertain to me just as if I had been her own child”. (Liliʻuokalani)

Kīnaʻu “was sedate, courteous, and reliable, a little haughty in her deportment toward strangers, but a loving, exemplary wife, a tender mother, and a warmhearted, unwavering friend.” (Judd)

“June 5, 1832, was an epoch in the nation’s history, although the death of the Queen Regent (Kaʻahumanu) was not followed by any outbreak or disorder. Kīnaʻu, eldest daughter of Kamehameha I, was publicly recognized as her lawful heir and successor, with the title of Kaahumanu II.” (Judd)

“Hear ye, ye head men, common people, chiefs, and men from foreign countries … The office that was held by my guardian (Kaʻahumanu) until her departure, now belongs to my mother (Kīna’u) from Hawai‘i to Kauai. …”

“We two, who have been too young and unacquainted with the actual transaction of business, now for the first time undertake distinctly to regulate our Kingdom.” (Kauikeaouli; Joint Proclamation by Kamehameha III and Kīna‘u)

“The office which my mother (meaning Kaʻahumanu, actually her aunt) held until her departure is now mine. All her active duties and authority are committed to me.”

“The tabus of the king, and the law of God, are with me, and also the laws of the king. My appointment as chief agent is of long standing, even from our father (Kamehameha) ….” (Kīna‘u, Joint Proclamation by Kamehameha III and Kīna‘u)

She acted as the Regent for her brother Kauikeaouli when he became King Kamehameha III, from June 5, 1832 to March 15, 1833. She was responsible for enforcing Hawaiʻi’s first penal code, proclaimed by the king in 1835.

Her term of office was marked by discord as the young King Kamehameha III, her half-brother, struggled with her and the chiefs for political power. (Archives)

Kīnaʻu soon found herself opposed by Kamehameha III, a still unsettled, self-indulgent eighteen year old. (Kelley) “Kīna‘u stood nobly in defense of virtue, decency, and good order, but the king refused to listen to her advice, and even threatened her with personal violence, if she dared to venture into his presence.” (Judd)

”ln her despondency she made us a visit one day, and said: ‘I am in straits and heavy-hearted, and I have come to tell you my thought. I am quite discouraged, and can not bear this burden any longer. I wish to throw away my rank, and title, and responsibility together, bring my family here, and live with you, or we will take our families and go to America; I have money.’” (Judd)

Mrs Judd referred her to the story of Esther, and pointed out to her the necessity of maintaining her rank and responsibility as the only hope of her people.

Fortunately for the country, she accepted this advice and remained at her post. Like the great queens of England, both she and
Kaʻahumanu displayed much wisdom in their choice of advisers, whose opinions both respected. (Krout)

Kīnaʻu became a Christian in 1830, and was involved in the persecution of Hawaiian Catholics and attempts to expel French priests. This contributed to a diplomatic confrontation with France that threatened Hawaiian sovereignty. (Archives)

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

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.

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