Kamehameha I

Kamehameha was born in Kohala in the north of the island of Hawaiʻi. His year of birth is uncertain; traditions and estimates range from about 1736 to 1761, and around 1758 is often given. His parents, Keōua and Kekuʻiapoiwa II, were both of high rank. A later tradition links his birth with a comet, possibly Halley's Comet of 1758.

According to tradition he was raised in hiding as a child for fear of rival chiefs. He grew up at the court of his uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu, ruler of the island of Hawaiʻi, and was trained in warfare, genealogy, religion and the management of land and people. He was known for his physical strength and determination.

When Kalaniʻōpuʻu died in 1782, his son Kīwalaʻō inherited authority, while Kamehameha was given custody of the war god Kūkāʻilimoku. In the fighting that followed, Kīwalaʻō was killed at Mokuʻōhai. A decade of war among chiefs on Hawaiʻi and with Maui followed, in which Kamehameha built up his position step by step.

Kamehameha made use of Western ships, cannon and firearms, and of the British sailors John Young and Isaac Davis, whom he retained as advisers. After the building of the temple of Puʻukoholā, where his rival Keōua Kūʻahuʻula was killed in 1791, he controlled the whole island. In 1795 he conquered Maui and Oʻahu; at Nuʻuanu, according to tradition, opponents were driven over the cliffs.

Kauaʻi, protected by a wide channel, withstood two invasion attempts. In 1810 King Kaumualiʻi of Kauaʻi recognised Kamehameha's authority through negotiation. As king, Kamehameha distributed land among loyal chiefs, had governors rule the islands and imposed a royal monopoly on the lucrative sandalwood trade.

Hawaiʻi was a stratified society of chiefs (aliʻi), priests (kahuna) and commoners (makaʻāinana), bound by the kapu system of religious rules and prohibitions. Land was managed in ahupuaʻa, strips running from the mountains to the sea. War between chiefs of the different islands was common.

After James Cook's arrival in 1778 the islands became an important stopover for trading and whaling ships in the Pacific. Europeans and Americans brought weapons, goods and new ideas, but also diseases to which the population had no resistance; the number of Hawaiians fell sharply in the following decades.

Unification made Hawaiʻi a recognised kingdom with a single government, which in the 19th century established diplomatic relations with European states and the United States. The 'Law of the Splintered Paddle' (Kānāwai Māmalahoe), which protected the safety of ordinary travellers, is attributed to Kamehameha and appears in the constitution of the State of Hawaii.

The wars of unification cost thousands of lives. Kamehameha upheld the kapu system, but shortly after his death his widow Kaʻahumanu and his son Liholiho, Kamehameha II, abolished it in 1819. The first American missionaries arrived in 1820, after which the kingdom changed rapidly.

Kamehameha died on 8 May 1819 in Kailua-Kona. According to custom his bones were hidden by trusted companions in a secret place that has never become known. His son Liholiho succeeded him as Kamehameha II. The dynasty he founded ruled until 1872.

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi remained independent until the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893 by American businessmen backed by US Marines, after which the United States annexed the islands in 1898. Kamehameha Day on 11 June is an official holiday in the State of Hawaii; statues of him stand in Honolulu, Kohala, Hilo and the US Capitol in Washington.