Vacation Rental in Princeville Kauai
and Kauai Travel Guide
©B.Pruitt 2009-
History of Kauai and Hawaii
From Force and Might Come Unity
Captain Cook met his end trying to capture chief Kalaniopu‘u. Injured by gunfire
in the skirmish was Kamehameha, nephew of the Hawaiian chief. Towering above others
at six feet, six inches, Kamehameha was soon to become Hawaii’s greatest warrior-
Hawaii became a port-
After the death of his uncle, Kalaniopu‘u, from whom he received his early military training, Kamehameha formed a shaky truce with his cousins. Kamehameha, now with complete control over the island of Hawaii, invaded and easily conquered Maui and then Molokai. When a small civil war broke out on Oahu, Kamehameha took advantage of the disorder. Landing at Waikiki in 1795, Kamehameha’s warriors steadily drove the defenders back into the surrounding mountains. The beleaguered army from O‘ahu made its last stand at Nu‘uanu Pali, a great precipice in the mountains behind present day Honolulu. Kamehameha’s army claimed final victory by literally pushing the retreating warriors over the top.
Immediately after completing his conquest of Oahu, Kamehameha prepared for an invasion of Kauai. He assembled a fleet of war canoes and an army of soldiers larger than anything the islands had ever seen. There were between 1,200 and 1,500 canoes and thousands of warriors, with perhaps half of them armed with muskets. The armada set sail in the spring of 1796 from the Waianae shore. They departed at night, planning on reaching the Wailua area of Kauai at daybreak. Strong winds arose during the night as the forces crossed the Kauai Channel, capsizing some of the canoes. With canoes sinking and men drowning, Kamehameha order the fleet to return to Oahu. Following his defeat to the forces of nature, Kamehameha returned to Hawaii to put down a rebellion. He remained there for six years.
Kaumuali‘i, the king of Kauai was 16 or 17 at the time of Kamehameha's invasion attempt.
He worked hard to secure arms and prepare for the defense of his island but his
resources were not as great as his opponent's.
In 1804, Kamehameha prepared for another invasion of Kauai. He assembled an army even more potent than before. While assembling on the eastern shore of Oahu, disaster once again struck Kamehameha's forces. This time it came in the form of a devastating foreign disease, likely typhoid fever. Kamehameha contracted the illness but was one of the fortunate few who survived. His forces were so decimated that Kamehameha had to scuttle the invasion.
After six years of negotiations, Kaumuali‘i agreed to meet with Kamehameha in Honolulu. New England merchant, Captain Nathan Winship, brokered the meeting. His ulterior motive was establishing a sandalwood trade monopoly with both great kings. In April 1810 Kaumuali‘i conceded to Kamehameha that he was the ruler of all Hawaiians and thereby spared his people the ravages of a needless war. Kamehameha undisputedly ruled all the islands—a first in Hawaiian history.
United under Kamehameha’s rule, the islanders enjoyed a time of peace unlike any they had ever experienced. Although Kamehameha retained the kapu system and readily applied its punishments, he also learned the ways of the foreigners whose ships he supplied with provisions. To reap the greatest gain from trading sandalwood with China, the king made the business a government monopoly, requiring all trade to go through him. Realizing that the forests would soon be depleted, he put kapus on young trees to protect them. Even so, the depletion that would eventually decimate the sandalwood forests had begun.