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March 19, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Agreement of 1810

At the end of the American Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, recognized the United States of America as an independent nation and established boundaries that extended far to the west of the 13 original colonies.

The new country was bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Mississippi River on the west, Florida on the south and Canada and the Great Lakes on the north. Spain retained control of Florida, and the United States was permitted use of the Mississippi River.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the 828,000-square mile Louisiana Purchase from France.  Later, after combat and negotiations, the US ran east to west across the continent.

In the Islands … Following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.

In the Islands, about the time of the Treaty of Paris, civil war broke out between Kīwalaʻō’s forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha. With the battle of Mokuʻōhai in 1782, Kamehameha I began a war of conquest, and, by 1795, with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms, with the exception of Kauai.

Then, Kamehameha looked to conquer the last kingdom, Kauai, which was under the control of Kaumualiʻi.  In 1804, King Kamehameha I moved his capital from Lāhainā, Maui to Honolulu on O‘ahu, and planned an attack on Kauai. Weather and sickness thwarted the invasions. 

Then, there was a period of diplomatic posturing between Kamehameha and Kauai’s Chief Kaumuali‘i that resulted in a face-to-face meeting on O’ahu in 1810.

“American captain … Jonathan Winship … told Kamehameha he would fetch Kaumuali‘i from Kauai and bring him before Kamehameha.  The reason this foreigner desired to be the one to fetch Kaumuali‘i was that he was engaged in selling sandalwood and, he knew that, if these ali‘i ‘ai moku began a war, his trade in sandalwood would be harmed.”

“This foreigner really did sail to Kauai and conferred with Kaumuali‘i. He advised Kaumuali‘i to cease thinking of war with Kamehameha who was in a state of readiness for war and also was furnished with warships which could fire on the land of Kauai” (Kamakau).

“When the canoes reached a spot in the harbor just outside of Ulakua, the single canoe went alone into Mamala channel. Passing the surf of Awalua, it proceeded to Kukuluaeo, close to the surf. It was not noticed by those on board the ship, for they were busy watching the double canoes and boats for sight of the king.”

“Kamehameha’s canoe, which was on the seaward side and about half a mile away when the other canoes drew close to the ship, caught the crest of a wave and rode in, reaching the ship ahead of the other craft.” (John Papa ‘I‘i)

“Kamehameha hastened aboard and stood inside of the railing with the pig in his arms. He freed the pig as Kaumualii stood up, and it ran immediately to Kaumualii.”

“Then the king said to Kaumualii, ‘Homai ko lima (Give me your hand).’ Thus they greeted each other kindly and with true affection. The king stayed on board ship only long enough to greet all of the chiefs of Kauai, then announced his return to shore … and pointed out the place where they were to land.”  (John Papa ‘I‘i)

1810 marked the unification of the Hawaiian Islands under single rule when negotiations between King Kaumuali‘i of Kauai and Kamehameha I at Pākākā took place.

What was the agreement between Kamehameha and Kaumuali‘i?

We learn of the apparent terms from Manasseh Stow. Stow (1788-1844) sailed on the Ship Hunter from Boston, captained by William M. Rogers, on August 13, 1810.  He maintained a journal covering a six year voyage to the South Pacific, China, California and Hawaii, including a residence on Oahu.

Stow includes what he states is a “Copy of an agreement between Tamaamaa [Kamehameha] and Tamoree [Kaumuali‘i]”

“1—These are to Certify that by the earnest request of Tamoomao [Kamehameha] King of the Island of Owhyhee, Mowee, Morotai, &c &c and his Chiefs, and by the particular desire of Tamoree [Kaumuali‘i] King of Atooi and Onehow and his Chiefs.”

“I have brought the said Tamoree with his Chiefs  relations and friends to this Island of Woahoo the present Residence of Tamaamao for the purpose of settling a long dispute between them and to put an end to all War and commotion among these Islands.”

“2- That we were politely rec’d and sumptuously entertained during our residence on the Island and all differences amicably adjusted by a mutual Contenence between the two Kings”

“3- The said Tamaamao promises on his part never to visit or invade the Islands of Atooi or Onehow with any military armament or hostile intentions and also promises to exert himself to maintain Tamoree on the Island of Atooi and Onehow if necessary.”

“4- In witness thereof we have hereunto put our hands and seals this 20th day of March in the year of our lord 1810.” 

[The agreement was signed by Jonn Winship, who Peter Mills notes “served as the mediator between Kamehameha and Kaumuali‘i in 1810” and Kamehameha. It was further “signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Thomas Robinson and Francis de Paula Marin”.]

“Kalanimoku was there to discuss these matters with them and said to Kaumualii, ‘Take care of the chief Liholiho, who belongs to you and to your cousin Kaahumanu. Liholiho shall be the heir.’ Thus we can be thankful for the soundness of the prophecies uttered before Kaumualii came hither.”

“When their personal possessions had been made ready, the Kauai company returned to their island. They took with them brotherly affection as chiefs of a united land, parents of the people, and associates of those from foreign countries.”

“Perhaps this was to establish in this archipelago the true religion, whereby we are now seeing the rapid growth and increase of righteousness.” (John Papa ‘I‘i)

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Pakaka, Agreement of 1810, 1810, Hawaii, Kamehameha, Honolulu Harbor, Kaumualii

March 17, 2025 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Saint Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland”, he is the primary patron saint of the island.

Legend credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons (the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit) in one God.  (Shamrocks are a central symbol for St Patrick’s Day.)  St Patrick is also credited with ridding Ireland of snakes, chasing them into the sea.

St. Patrick features in many stories in the Irish oral tradition and there are many customs connected with his feast day.  March 17, popularly known as St. Patrick’s Day, is believed to be his death date and is the date celebrated as his feast day.

St. Patrick has never been formally canonized by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is included in the List of Saints.)

So, today, we celebrate the death of St Patrick; we also celebrate the “birth” of Kauikeaouli.

On the night of his birth, the chiefs gathered about the mother.  Early in the morning the child was born but as it appeared to be stillborn.

Then came Kaikioʻewa from some miles away, close to Kuamoʻo, and brought with him his prophet (Kamaloʻihi or Kapihe) who said, “The child will not die, he will live.”

The child was well cleaned and laid upon a consecrated place and the seer (kaula) took a fan (peʻahi), fanned the child, prayed, and sprinkled him with water, at the same time reciting a prayer.

The child began to move, then to make sounds and at last he came to life. The seer gave the boy the name of “The red trail” (Keaweaweʻula) signifying the roadway by which the god descends from the heavens.  The name Kauikeaouli means “placed in the dark clouds.”

Kauikeaouli was the second son of Keōpūolani by Kamehameha, and she called him Kīwalaʻo after her own father. She was the daughter of Kiwalaʻo and Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, both children of Kalola and hence Keōpūolani was a niʻaupiʻo and a naha chiefess, and the niʻaupiʻo rank descended to her children and could not be lost by them.  (Kamakau)

Kauikeaouli was only nine years old when his older brother Liholiho sailed to England; Liholiho died on that trip, leaving Kauikeaouli successor to the rule over Hawaiʻi. As he was then too young to assume command, affairs were administered by his guardians, Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku, and the other chiefs under them.

We more commonly reference Kauikeaouli as Kamehameha III.  He was the longest reigning Hawaiian monarch, serving 29-years, from 1825 to 1854.

There is scarcely in history, ancient or modem, any King to whom so many public reforms and benefits can be ascribed, as the achievements of his reign. Yet what King has had to contend with so many difficulties as King Kamehameha III? (The Polynesian, 1855)

“That the existence of the King, chiefs and the natives, can only be preserved by having a government efficient for the administration of enlightened justice, both to natives and the subjects of foreign powers residing in the islands, and that chiefly through missionary efforts the natives have made such progress in education and knowledge, as to justify the belief that by further training, they may be rendered capable of conducting efficiently the affairs of government; but that they are not at present so far advanced.”  (Kamehameha IV, in Obituary to his hānai father)

In private life, Kamehameha III was mild, kind, affable, generous and forgiving. He was never more happy than when free from the cares and trappings of state. He could enjoy himself sociably with his friends, who were much attached to him. (The Polynesian, 1855)

Having associated much, while a boy, with foreigners, he continued to the last to be fond of their company. Without his personal influence, the law to allow them to hold lands in fee simple could never have been enacted.  (The Polynesian, 1855)

It is hardly possible to conceive any King more generally beloved than was Kamehameha III; more universally obeyed, or more completely sovereign in the essential respect of independent sovereignty, that of governing his subjects free from any influence or control coming from beyond the limits of his own jurisdiction.  (The Polynesian, 1855)

Under his leadership, Hawaiʻi changed from an isolated island kingdom to a recognized member of the modem world. Many of the things he did as king still influence life in Hawaiʻi today.  (Kamehameha Schools Press)

The following are only some of the many accomplishments of Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli:)

  • On June 6, 1825, Kauikeaouli was proclaimed king of Hawaiʻi. To the people he said, “Where are you, chiefs, guardians, commoners?  I greet you.  Hear what I say! My kingdom I give to God.  The righteous chief shall be my chief, the children of the commoners who do you right shall be my people, my kingdom shall be one of letters.”  (Kamakau – Kamehameha Schools Press)
  • June 7, 1839, he signed the Declaration of Rights (called Hawai‘i’s Magna Charta) that, in part, noted, “God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth, in unity and blessedness. God has also bestowed certain rights alike on all men and all chiefs, and all people of all lands.”
  • June 17, 1839 he issued the Edict of Toleration permitting religious freedom for Catholics in the same way as it had been granted to the Protestants.
  • June 28, 1839 he founded Chief’s Children’s School (The Royal School;) the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chiefs’ children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom.  (He selected missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke to teach the 16 royal children and run the school.)
  • October 8, 1840 (the King was about 27-years-old) he enacted the Constitution of 1840 that, in part, changed the government from one of an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. It provided for a separation of powers between three branches of government, with executive power in the hands of the king, the kuhina nui (similar to a prime minister) and four governors; a bicameral legislative body consisting of a house of nobles and a house of representatives, with the house of representatives elected by the people; and a judiciary system, including a supreme court.
  • April 27, 1846 he declared that “the forests and timber growing therein shall be considered government property, and under the special care of the Minister of the Interior …;” effectively starting the process of protecting our mauka watersheds.
  • January 27, 1848 through March 7, 1848 he participated in what we refer to as the “Great Māhele” that was a reformation of the land system in Hawaiʻi and allowed private ownership.
  • June 14, 1852 he enacted the Constitution of 1852 that expanded on the Declaration of Rights, granted universal (adult male) voting rights for the first time and changed the House of Nobles from a hereditary body to one where members served by appointment by the King. It also institutionalized the three branches of government and defined powers along the lines of the American Constitution.
  • Toward the end of Kauikeaouli’s reign there were 423-schools in Hawaiʻi with an enrollment of over twelve-thousand-students. Most of the schools were elementary schools using Hawaiian as the language of instruction.

Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) died December 15, 1854 (at the age of 41.)

Kauikeaouli’s exact birth date is not known; however, the generally accepted date is August 11, 1813.  Never-the-less, Kauikeaouli was apparently an admirer of Saint Patrick and chose to celebrate his birthday on March 17.  Happy Birthday and Cheers to Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Kamehameha_III,_1825
Kauikeaouli Birthsite
Kaniakapupu-KamehamehaII_home_in_Nuuanu
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Kamehameha_III_and_Kalama,_ca._1850
Kamehameha_III,_retouched_photo_by_J._J._Williams_(PP-97-7-011)-ca_1850
Guinness
Kamehameha_I
Royal School ,_probably_after_1848
Ke_Kumu_Kanawai-Constitution-1840
Great Mahele Book
Keōpūolani-(1778–1823)mother Kamehameha II, Kamehameha III-1790
Kamehameha_Dynasty_Tomb_-_Royal_Mausoleum,_Honolulu,_HI
Saint_Patrick

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Kamehameha, Great Mahele, Hawaiian Constitution, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Keopuolani, Hawaii, Kona

March 6, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Wai O Keanalele

“Wai o ke ola! Wai, waiwai nui! Wai, nā mea a pau, ka wai, waiwai no kēlā!”  (Water is life! Water is of great value! Water, the water is that which is of value for all things!) (Joe Rosa; Maly)

Water was so valuable to Hawaiians that they used the word “wai” to indicate wealth. Thus, to signify abundance and prosperity, Hawaiians would say waiwai.

“Kekaha wai ‘ole na Kona” (“waterless Kekaha of the Kona district”) speaks of Kekaha, the portion of North Kona extending north of Kailua Bay from Honokōhau to ʻAnaehoʻomalu.  It is described as “a dry, sun-baked land.”)

Kamakau notes during the 1770s, “Kekaha and the lands of that section” were held by descendants of the Nahulu line, Kameʻeiamoku (living at Kaʻūpūlehu) and Kamanawa (at Kīholo,) the twin half-brothers of Keʻeaumoku, the Hawai‘i island chief.

It is the home of Kamanawa, at Kīholo, and its fresh water resources that we look at today.

Situated within the ahupuaʻa of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa, this area has ancient to relatively recent (1801 Hualālai eruption and the 1859 Pu‘u Anahulu eruption.)

Kīholo (lit. the Fishhook) refers to the legend which describes how in 1859 the goddess Pele, hungry for the ‘awa and mullet, or ʻanae, which grew there in the great fishpond constructed by Kamehameha I, sent down a destructive lava flow, grasping at the fish she desired.  (DLNR)

This place name may have been selected as a word descriptive of the coastline along that part of the island where the east-west coast meets the north-south coast and forms a bend similar to the angle between the point and the shank of a large fishhook.

There is no confirmation for this theory, except for our knowledge that Hawaiian place names have a strong tendency to be descriptive.  (Kelly)

While only a handful of houses are here today, in ancient times, there was a village that with many more that called Kiholo home.

“This village exhibits another monument of the genius of Tamehameha (Kamehameha I.) A small bay, perhaps half a mile across, runs inland for a considerable distance. From one side to the other of this bay, Tamehameha built a strong stone wall, six feet high in some places, and twenty feet wide, by which he had an excellent fish-pond that is not less than two miles in circumference.”

“There were several arches in the wall, which were guarded by strong stakes driven into the ground so far apart as to admit the water of the sea; yet sufficiently close to prevent the fish from escaping. It was well stocked with fish, and water-fowl were seen swimming on its surface.” (Ellis, 1823)

Where it was feasible, sometimes in small embayments, and other times directly on the coastal reefs, Hawaiians built walled ponds (loko kuapā) by building a stone wall, either in a large semicircle – from the land out onto the reef and, circling around, back again to the land—or to connect the headlands of a bay, they enclosed portions of the coastal waters, often covering many acres.

These ponds provided sanctuaries for many types of herbivorous fish. One or more sluice gates (mākāhā) built into the wall of a pond allowed clean, nutritious ocean water and very young fish to enter the pond. This was the type of fishpond that was reported to have been built at Kīholo by early visitors to the area.  (Kelly)

While Ellis credits Kamehameha with building Ka Loko o Kīholo (The Pond of Kīholo,) it is more likely that the fishpond was built in the fifteenth to the early part of the seventh centuries and that Kamehameha later repaired and rebuilt it.  (Kelly)

It was in operation well after that.  “Took the road from Kapalaoa to Kailua on foot. Passed the great fish pond at Kīholo, one of the artificial wonders of Hawaiʻi; an immense work! A prodigious wall run through a portion of the ocean, a channel for the water etc. Half of Hawaii worked on it in the days of Kamehameha.”  (Lorenzo Lyons, August, 8, 1843; Maly)

Fishing and fish from the pond provided much of the food for the villagers.  In addition, due to the limited rainfall and no surface streams, they also planted sweet potatoes, at least seasonally (probably just before the winter rains were expected, whatever soil was available was piled in heaps and nourished with leaves and other vegetable matter.)  (Kelly)

Kīholo and other ponds (ie Pā‘aiea (once where the Kona Airport is situated)) would have supplied food for Kamehameha’s warriors when they sailed off in the great canoe fleet to conquer the chiefs on the Islands of Maui, Moloka‘i and O‘ahu in 1794 and 1795. (Kelly)

“The natives of this district (also produced) large quantities of salt, by evaporating sea water. We saw a number of their pans, in the disposition of which they display great ingenuity. They have generally one large pond near the sea, into which the water flows by a channel cut through the rocks, or is carried thither by the natives in large calabashes.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“After remaining there some time, it is conducted into a number of smaller pans about six or eight inches in depth, which are made with great care, and frequently lined with large evergreen leaves, in order to prevent absorption. Along the narrow banks or partitions between the different pans, we saw a number of large evergreen leaves placed.”

“They were tied up at each end, so as to resemble a shallow dish, and filled with sea water, in which the crystals of salt were abundant. … it has ever been an essential article with the Sandwich Islanders, who eat it very freely with their food, and use large quantities in preserving their fish.”  (Ellis, 1823)

“Salt was one of the necessaries and was a condiment used with fish and meat, also as a relish with fresh food. Salt was manufactured only in certain places. The women brought sea water in calabashes or conducted it in ditches to natural holes, hollows, and shallow ponds (kaheka) on the sea coast, where it soon became strong brine from evaporation. Thence it was transferred to another hollow, or shallow vat, where crystallization into salt was completed.”  (Malo)

The 1850s saw several outbreaks of lava from Mauna Loa: in August 1851; in February 1852 (it came within a few hundred yards of Hilo;) and in August 1855, when it flowed for 16-months.

Then, in 1859, activity shifted to the northwestern side of the mountain. A flow started on January 23rd at an elevation of 10,500 feet; it came down to the sea on the northwest coast in two branches, at a point just north of Kīholo. On January 31st the stream had reached the sea, more than thirty-three miles in a direct line from its source – the first eruption in historic times from a high altitude to accomplish the extraordinary feat.  (Bryan, 1915)

The 1859 flow basically destroyed Kīholo and transformed it from a former residence of chiefs to a sparsely populated fishing village.  In the early 20th century, Kīholo became the port for Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Ranch, some 10 miles inland near Puʻuanahulu. Cattle were shipped from Kīholo to Honolulu until 1958. The construction of Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway in 1975 ended Kīholo’s former isolation.  (Kona Historical Society)

What about the water?

Today, evidence remains of the fresh groundwater flow through subterranean lava tubes and chambers out into the bay.   There is a series of caves in Puʻuwaʻawaʻa that was formed from lava tubes. The ceilings of lava tubes often collapsed in some places and were left intact in others, forming caves with relatively easy access through the collapsed areas.

Such caves were used for shelters by Hawaiians, perhaps during the summer months when they came to gather salt or to fish. The place name Keanalele (the discontinuous cave) is descriptive of caves found just inland of the coast in the ahupua‘a of Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a between Kīholo and Luahinewai.

Some of the caves contain fresh or brackish water, particularly those located toward the makai (seaward) end of the cave series. Caves that contained water were precious to the inhabitants of the area, even if the water in them was slightly brackish.  (Kelly)  One of these is identified as Wai O Keanalele, with three feet of almost fresh water..

On January 25, 2002 the Board of Land and Natural Resources transferred responsibility for State-managed lands within the ahupua‘a of Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a and Pu‘u Anahulu from its Land Division to the Divisions of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and State Parks.

The portion that was made the responsibility of the Division of State Parks was designated the Kīholo State Park Reserve.  The Kīholo State Park Reserve is comprised of 4,362 acres and includes an 8-mile long wild coastline along the Kona Coast of the Island of Hawai‘i (bounded by Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway on the east, the Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a/Kaʻupulehu district boundary on the south, the shoreline on the west and the Pu‘u Anahulu/ʻAnaehoʻomalu ahupua‘a boundary on the north.)

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Place Names Tagged With: Kamehameha, Kekaha, Kiholo, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kameeiamoku, Kamanawa, Kona

January 3, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaʻōleiokū

At the time of ‘contact’ (Captain Cook’s arrival (1778,)) the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

On the Big Island, one of Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s wives was Kānekapōlei (Kāne in the circle of beloved ones (ksbe.))  She is claimed by some to have been the daughter of Kauakahiakua of the Maui royal family and his wife Umiaemoku; some suggest she is said to have been of the Kaʻū family of chiefs.

According to Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau, her father Kauakahiakua owned the sea cucumber (loli) ovens of the district of Kaupo on the island of Maui.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu was born about 1729.  His brother was Keōua.  When Keōua (the father of Kamehameha) died, he commended Kamehameha to the care of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who received him, and treated him as his own child. (Dibble)

Kalaniʻōpuʻu and Kānekapōlei had two sons, Keōua Kuʻahuʻula and Keōua Peʻeale.

In accordance with the ways of the high chiefs at the time, in his youth, Kamehameha had sexual relations with Kānekapōlei and had a son, Pauli Kaʻōleiokū (1767.)

(Among the chiefs, a boy was not only trained in warfare and government but when he was grown physically, a matured chiefess was chosen to train him in sexual practices. This was part of his education. Should a child result, he or she was reared by the mother.  (Handy & Pukui))

Thus it was that Kamehameha claimed Kaʻōleiokū as “the son of my beardless youth,” at the dedication of the heiau of Puʻukohola. This was the son borne to him by Kānekapōlei, one of the wives of his uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu.  (Handy & Pukui)  He was known as ‘keiki makahiapo’ (first-born child) of Kamehameha.  (Stokes)

On December 1, 1778, Kaʻōleiokū, his brother Keōua Kuʻahuʻula and cousin Kamehameha, slept on board Captain Cook’s vessel ‘Resolution,’ when off the Maui coast. Since Cook’s vessels were regarded as “temples,” the stay overnight probably had a religious significance to the Hawaiians, because their worship ordained spending certain nights in the temples.  (Stokes)

Lieut. King says Kaʻōleiokū was about twelve years old in 1779, and “used to boast of his being admitted to drink ava, and shewed us, with great triumph, a small spot in his side that was growing scaly. … (the) young son pointed to us some places on his hips that were becoming scaly, as a mark of his being long indulged in this Liquor.”

Kaʻōleiokū witnessed Cook’s death on February 14, 1779, with Kalaniʻōpuʻu and Keōua; he had already accepted Cook’s invitation to spend the day on board and proceeded ahead to the pinnace (a tender boat,) where he was seated at the time of the massacre. Greatly frightened at the firing, he asked to be put ashore again, which was done.  (Stokes)

Keōua Kuʻahuʻula and his younger brother Kaʻōleiokū had for many years resisted Kamehameha’s attempts to conquer the whole of Hawaiʻi Island, after the death of Kiwalaʻo in the Battle of Mokuʻōhai (1782.)  Keōua escaped the battle to relatives in the Kaʻū district to the South.  (Stokes)

Keōua was killed in 1791, when Kamehameha invited him to the Puʻukoholā Heiau in Kohala.  Kamakau tells of how Pauli Kaʻōleiokū was spared:
“On the arrival of the canoe of Pauli Kaʻōleiokū, in the vicinity where Keōua was killed … Kamehameha said: ‘He shall not die, as he is the son of my youth and this is the payment for my food on which I was reared.’ … (he then) proclaimed the Māmalahoe Law: the law of life in Kamehameha’s kingdom. When the people on board Pauli Kaʻōleiokū’s canoe heard the law proclaimed, they came ashore, and wails of mourning for the death of Keōuakū‘ahu‘ula resounded.”

Kamehameha had been living on Hawai‘i for four years when the news of the attempts of the Russians to set up a compound at Honolulu Harbor reached him (1815.) He sent Kalanimōku, Ulumāheihei, Nāihe, Kaikioʻewa, Kaʻōleiokū and Keʻeaumoku with numerous warriors equipped with foreign weapons. (Desha)

These aliʻi were commanded to go and fight with those foreigners if they opposed them, and to expel them from the land.  They expelled the Russians. Kalanimōku, with the help of Kaʻōleiokū and other high chiefs built a fort at Honolulu, setting up some cannons on it. (Desha)

Pauli Kaʻōleiokū is said to have married twice, first Keōuawahine and then Luahine.  With Luahine they had one child, Princess Konia; Princess Konia married Abner Paki, they had one child, Princess Bernice Pauahi. (He was also the maternal grandfather of Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani.)

Great granddaughter of Kamehameha I and granddaughter of Kānekapōlei, Princess Bernice Pauahi officially was eligible to the throne by order of Kamehameha III; she was offered the throne by Kamehameha V, but refused it.  (Stokes)

In 1850, the princess was married at the Royal School to Mr Charles Reed Bishop of New York, who started the bank of what is now known as First Hawaiian Bank. A small wedding was conducted with only a few attending.

Princess Bernice Pauahi died childless on October 16, 1884.  She foresaw the need to educate her people and in her will she left her large estate of the Kamehameha lands in trust to establish the Kamehameha Schools for children with Hawaiian blood.

(Some suggest Kaʻōleiokū was the son of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, not Kamehameha.  Kalākaua suggests Kaʻōleiokū had four fathers, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, Kamehameha, Keawemauhili and Kaukamu, suggesting Kānekapōlei was sleeping with all of them.) The image shows Konia, daughter of Kaʻōleiokū.  

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Kalaniopuu, Paki, Konia, Princess Ruth, Hawaii, Princess Ruth Keelikolani, Hawaii Island, Kanekapolei, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kaoleioku, Charles Reed Bishop, Captain Cook, Kamehameha, Kalanimoku

November 23, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Keaweaheulu

After a struggle of more than ten years, in 1791, Kamehameha succeeded in securing control over that island of Hawaiʻi (and later, the entire Hawaiian Islands chain.)

In getting there, he appointed Keʻeaumoku, Keaweaheulu, Kameʻeiamoku and Kamanawa to be his secret advisors (hoa kuka malu) and counselors (hoaʻahaʻolelo) in ruling the island. They alone were consulted about what would be for the good or the ill of the country.  (Kamakau)

Keaweaheulu Kaluaʻapana was a Hawaiian high chief and maternal great-grandfather of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. He was among Kamehameha I’s council of chiefs and was one of the “Kona Uncles.”  His father was the High Chief Heulu. He belonged to the ʻI, Mahikukulu and the Mahiʻololi families.  (Kamakau)

Late in 1790, Kamehameha sent an emissary to the famous kahuna (priest) Kapoukahi, to determine how Kamehameha could conquer all of the island of Hawaiʻi.  Kapoukahi prophesized that war would end if Kamehameha constructed a heiau dedicated to the war god Kū at Puʻukoholā.  (This was at about the same time that George Washington was serving as the US’s first president (1790.))

With Puʻukohola was completed in 1791, but, pending its formal consecration, Keaweaheulu and Kamanawa were dispatched to Kaʻū under a flag of truce, to invite Keōua to visit Kamehameha, with the view of arranging terms of peace.  (Kalākaua)

Kamehameha gave the order: “Go to Keōua Kuʻahuʻula and tell him that great is my desire to make friends (ike.) You are the best one to bear the message, for you are related to his mother, and he will heed your words sooner than anything I could say to him.”  (Pratt)

By the time Keōua’s canoes arrived at Kawaihae, it was clear that Keōua expected Kamehameha’s warriors would try to kill him and all his supporters travelling with him in his canoe (“the wind clouds are gathering in the heavens for a storm.”

Just as Keōua was stepping from the canoe onto the beach at Kawaihae, Keʻeaumoku and other chiefs of Kamehameha’s forces attacked and killed Keōua.

With Keōua dead, and his supporters captured or slain, Kamehameha became King of Hawaiʻi Island, an event that according to prophecy eventually led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

Keaweaheulu was at Kaʻawaloa at the time of Cook’s death; he assisted Kamehameha in his battles with Kiwalaʻo and Keōua on Hawaiʻi; he was at ʻIao in the Battle of Kepaniwai; he was at Molokaʻi when Kalola died and her granddaughter, Keōpūolani (Queen mother to Liholiho and Kauikeaouli) was given to Kamehameha.

Following the victories, Kamehameha made his Kona Uncles his governors (kuhina) and gave them large tracts of land from Hawaiʻi to Oʻahu in payment for their services; Kamehameha himself had no power to recover these lands. Keaweaheulu estates were the lands of Kapalilua, Kaʻawaloa and Kealakekua (South Kona.) (Kamakau)

Keaweaheulu was married to Ululani, one of the most renowned women of her day, being a chiefess of the Maui line and the outstanding poet of her generation.  She bore him two children who were to become equally famous.

They were Naihe, an accomplished Orator and athlete of Kona, and Keohohiwa.  It was through Keohohiwa that another legacy was founded in the Islands.

“My great-grandfather, Keawe-a-Heulu, the founder of the dynasty of the Kamehamehas, and Keōua (nui,) father of Kamehameha I, were own cousins (he was also brother of Mrs. Bishop’s ancestress, Hakau), and my great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiʻolani, one of the first converts to Christianity.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

“(Kapiʻolani) plucked the sacred berries from the borders of the volcano, descended to the boiling lava, and there, while singing Christian hymns, threw them into the lake of fire. This was the act which broke forever the power of Pele, the fire-goddess, over the hearts of her people.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

Since King Lunalilo did not nominate his successor, on his death an election of his successor was made by the legislature – Kalākaua became King by a count of 39 – 6 (over Queen Emma.)

“The contest for the succession which resulted in the elevation of my family – the Keawe-a-Heulu line – to royal honors is of course a matter of history.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

“The direct line of the “Kamehamehas” having become extinct, it was succeeded by the “Keawe-a-Heulu” line, its founder having been first cousin to the father of Kamehameha I.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

Kalākaua reigned from February 12, 1874 to January 20, 1891; his sister, Liliʻuokalani, reigned from January 29, 1891 to January 17, 1893.

Later, following the death of Liliʻuokalani, some lamented:
“Auwe, auwe, ua make kuu Aliʻi. Aole e hoi hou mai.”
(Alas, alas, dead is my chief. And no more will return.)

“Auwe, auwe, ua make kuu Aliʻi.”
(Alas, alas, gone is our chief, and now is the name no more.) (Hart)

© 2024 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Liliuokalani, Kamanawa, Kalakaua, Kamehameha, Keaweaheulu, Keeaumoku, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kameeiamoku

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