Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
directions by vastly differing beliefs. Since he was royally born, he was bound by age-
old Hawaiian tradition to mate and produce an heir with the highest ranking
ali'i
in the
kingdom. This mate happened to be his younger sister, Princess Nahi'ena'ena. To the old
Hawaiian advisers, this arrangement was perfectly acceptable. To the influential mission-
aries, incest was an unimaginable abomination. The young king could not stand the mental
pressure imposed by conflicting worlds, and he became a teenage alcoholic too royal to be
restrained.
Meanwhile, Nahi'ena'ena was under even more pressure because she was a favorite of
the missionaries, having been baptized into the church at age 12. At times she was a pi-
ous Christian, at others she drank all night. As the prince and princess grew into their late
teens, they became even more attached to each other, and whenever possible, they lived
together in a grass house built for the princess by her father.
In 1832, the great Ka'ahumanu died, leaving the king on his own, and in 1833 Kame-
hameha III fell into total drunken confusion, one night attempting suicide. After this epis-
ode he seemed to straighten up a bit and mostly kept a low profile. In 1836, Princess
Nahi'ena'ena was convinced by the missionaries to take a husband, and though she mar-
ried Leleiohoku, a chief from the Big Island, she continued to sleep with her brother. It's
uncertain who fathered the child, but Nahi'ena'ena gave birth to a baby boy in September
1836, though the young prince survived for only a few hours and Nahi'ena'ena never re-
covered. She died in December 1836 and was laid to rest in Lahaina. After the death of his
sister, Kamehameha III became a sober and righteous ruler, and he governed longer than
any other king until his death in 1854.
Missionaries Take Over
In 1823 the first mission was established in Lahaina, and within a few years many of the
notable
ali'i
had been converted to Christianity. Construction began on Waine'e Church
in 1828, while a struggle brewed between missionaries and whalers centering on pub-
lic drunkenness and the servicing of sailors by native women. The missionaries placed a
curfew on sailors and prohibited native women from boarding ships. As can be expected,
the sailors were outraged. In 1825 the crew from the
Daniel
attacked the home of Rever-
end Richards, and in 1827, sailors from the whaler
John Palmer
fired their cannon at his
house, prompting the construction of the Lahaina fort.
The Great Mahele
In 1840, Kamehameha III instituted a constitutional monarchy, bringing about the Hawaii-
an Bill of Rights. The most far-reaching change was the transition to private ownership
