Kaua'i - Hawaii - page 1055

Bolstered with muskets and cannons, Kamehameha, a chief from the Big Island, began
a campaign in 1790 to conquer all of the Hawaiian Islands. Other chiefs had tried and
failed, but Kamehameha had Western guns; not only that, he was prophesied to succeed
and possessed an unyielding determination and exceptional personal charisma. Within
five years he united - bloodily - the main islands apart from Kauaʻi (which eventually
joined peacefully). The dramatic final skirmish in his campaign, the Battle of Nuʻuanu,
took place on Oʻahu in 1795.
Kamehameha was a singular figure who reigned over the most peaceful era in Hawaii-
an history. A shrewd politician, he configured multi-island governance to mute competi-
tion among aliʻi. A savvy businessman, he created a profitable monopoly on the sandal-
wood trade in 1810 while protecting the trees from overharvesting. He personally
worked taro patches as an example to his people, and his most famous decree - Kanawai
Mamalahoe, or 'Law of the Splintered Paddle' - established a kapu to protect travelers
from harm.
Most importantly, Kamehameha I absorbed growing foreign influences while fastidi-
ously honoring Hawaiʻi's indigenous customs. He did the latter even despite widespread
doubts among his people about the justice of Hawaii's kapu system and traditional
Hawaiian ideas about a divine social hierarchy. When Kamehameha died in 1819, he left
the question of how to resolve these troubling issues to his son and heir, 22-year-old Li-
holiho. Within the year, Liholiho had broken with the indigenous religion in one sweep-
ing, stunning act of repudiation.
Of Hawaiʻi's eight ruling monarchs, only King Kamehameha I begat children who eventu-
ally inherited the throne. His dynasty ended less than a century after it began with the
death of Kamehameha V in 1872.
Breaking Kapu & Destroying the Temples
One purpose of the kapu system Kamehameha I upheld was to preserve mana, or spiritu-
al power. Mana could be strong or weak, won or lost; it expressed itself in one's talents
and the success of a harvest or battle.The kapu system kept aliʻi from mingling with
commoners and men from eating with women. It also kept women from eating pork or
entering luakini heiau (sacrificial temples). Chiefs could declare temporary kapu to help
preserve their mana.
However, foreigners arriving in Hawaiʻi weren't accountable to the kapu system, and
lesser aliʻi saw they could possess power without following its dictates. Women saw that
breaking kapu - for example, by dining with sailors - didn't incur the gods' wrath.
Kamehameha the Great's most powerful wife, Kaʻahumanu, chafed under the kapu, as it