Kamehameha III

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Kamehameha III
King of the Hawaiian Islands
Reign	June 6, 1824 — December 15, 1854 (&0000000000000029.00000029 years, &0000000000000192.000000192 days)
Predecessor	Kamehameha II
Successor	Kamehameha IV
Spouse	Queen Kalama Jane Lahilahi Young unmarried Nāhiʻenaʻena unmarried
Issue
Prince Keawe Aweʻula-o-Kalani Prince Keawe Awe'ula-o-Kalani II Albert Kuka'ilimoku Kunuiakea
Full name
Keaweawe`ula Kiwala`o Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwala`o i ke kapu Kamehameha
House	Kamehameha
Father	Kamehameha I
Mother	Queen Keōpūolani
Born	August 11, 1813(1813-08-11) Keauhou Bay at North Kona, Hawaiʻi island
Died	December 15, 1854 (aged 41) Honolulu, Oahu
Burial	Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum

Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli), (August 11, 1813–December 15, 1854) was the King of Hawaii from 1824 to 1854. He was Hawaii's longest-reigning monarch. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweʻula Kiwalaʻo Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweʻula Kiwalaʻo Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalaʻo i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne. He was Hawaii's first Christian king and it was under him that Hawaii transitioned from a secular Hawaiian monarchy to a Christian constitutional monarchy with the signing of of both the 1840 Constitution and 1852 Constitution. He was the longest reigning monarch in the history of the Kingdom, ruling for 29 years and 192 days, although in the early part of his reign he was under a regency by Queen Kaʻahumanu and later by Kaʻahumanu II.

Early life

Kauikeaouli was born at Keauhou Bay, on the Big Island of Hawaii, was the second son of King Kamehameha I and Queen Keōpūolani of Maui. The precise date is not known. Early historians suggested June or July of 1814, but the generally accepted date is August 11, 1813 ^[1] He was of the highest kapu lineage. Kauikeaouli was about 11 years younger than his brother Liholiho, who ruled as Kamehameha II in 1819. He was named Kauikeaouli (placed in the dark clouds) Kaleiopapa Kuakamanolani Mahinalani Kalaninuiwaiakua Keaweaweʻulaokalani (the red trail or the roadway by which the god descends from heaven). He appeared to be delivered stillborn, but Kapihe, the kaula (prophet) of Chief Kaikioʻewa was summoned and declared the baby "alive". Kauikeaouli was cleansed, laid on a rock, fanned, prayed over and sprinkled with water until he breathed, moved and cried. The prayer of Kapihe was to Kaʻōnohiokalā, "Child of God". The rock is preserved as a monument. Kamehameha III chose to celebrate his birthday on March 17 in honor of his admiration for Saint Patrick of Ireland.

Portrait of the young king, oil on canvas painting by Robert Dampier, 1825, Honolulu Academy of Arts

Kauikeaouli had a troubled childhood. He was torn between the Christian guidelines imposed on the kingdom by the kuhina nui (prime minister) Kaʻahumanu and the desires to return to the ways of old Hawaii. Under the influence of Oahu governor Boki, who owned a liquor store, Kauikeaouli turned to alcohol in a clear rejection of the Christian standards of morality.

Reign

Kauikeaouli was only about 11 when he ascended to the throne in June 6, 1825, 11 months after the death of Liholiho. For the next seven years, from 1824 to 1832, real political power was in the hands of his stern adoptive mother and regent, Queen Kaʻahumanu. When Kaʻahumanu died in 1832, she was replaced as regent by Kauikeaouli’s half-sister, Elizabeth Kinaʻu, who took the title Kaʻahumanu II. Kinaʻu died when Kauikeaouli was only 25, and the young king found himself consumed by the burdens of kingship.

When Kauikeaouli came to the throne, the native population numbered about 150,000, which was already less one third of the Hawaiian population at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival to Hawaii in 1778. During his reign, that number would be halved again, due to a smallpox epidemic.

In 1839, under a French threat of war, Roman Catholicism was legalized in the Edict of Toleration and the first statutory law code was established. He also enacted the Constitution of 1840, Hawaii's first. Two years later, he moved the capital from Lahaina to Honolulu.

In February 1843, British Captain Lord George Paulet pressured Kamehameha III into surrendering the Hawaiian kingdom to the British crown, but Kamehameha III alerted London of the captain's rogue actions which eventually restored the kingdom's independence. Less than five months later, British Admiral Thomas rejected Paulet's actions and the kingdom was restored on July 31. It was at the end of this period of uncertainty that the king uttered the phrase that eventually became Hawaii’s motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono — "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." July 31 was celebrated thereafter as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, an official national holiday of the kingdom.^[2] Later that year, on November 28, Britain and France signed papers of recognition for the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and that too became a national holiday, Lā Kūʻokoʻa — Independence Day.^[3]

His image on a coin from 1847

One of his most important acts was the Great Mahele of 1848 which redistributed land between the government, king, nobles, and commoners. Many commoners were unaware of the program and lost out on the distribution. Foreigners were also allowed to own land in Hawaii for the first time. In 1849, French admiral Louis Tromelin sacked and looted Honolulu after the king refused his demands. Kamehameha III's last major act was the Constitution of 1852 which greatly liberalized politics.

On May 16, 1853 King Kamehameha III proclaimed the Hawaiian Kingdom neutral in the Crimean War in Europe.

Marriage and children

In ancient Hawaii, upper classes considered a marriage with a close family member to be an excellent way to preserve pure royal bloodlines. His brother Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) and his half-sister Kamamalu were a half-sister and brother couple. He had loved his sister Nāhiʻenaʻena and planned to marry her since childhood, but the union was opposed by the missionaries as sinful incest.^[4]

After his sister's death in 1836, he married Chiefess Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, of no relation to him. He and Kalama had two children: Prince Keaweaweʻulaokalani I and Prince Keaweaweʻulaokalani II who both died while infants. He and his mistress Jane Lahilahi, a daughter of his father's advisor John Young, had twin illegitimate sons: Keoua, who died young, and Albert Kunuiakea, who lived to adulthood (1853–1902).^[5]

Later years

As the years passed, Kauikeaouli found himself resigned to the changing landscape of Hawaii. His rebellious nature softened as his authority was compromised by outside influences. In 1854, he had his foreign minister, Robert Wyllie, "ascertain the views of the United States in relation to the annexation thereto of these Islands."

Kamehameha III died on December 15, 1854. Author Herman Melville in his book Typee painted an unsympathetic portrait,^[6] although this is widely seen as reflecting the racist views of the time.^[7] He was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son Alexander Liholiho, who was styled as King Kamehameha IV. Kamehameha III was buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii known as Mauna ʻAla.^[8]

The access to his birthplace at Keauhou Bay is via Kamehameha III Road from the north from Hawaii Belt Road, at 19°34′7″N 155°57′41″W / 19.56861°N 155.96139°W / 19.56861; -155.96139 (Kamehameha III Road) and Kaleiopapa Street from the south at 19°33′31″N 155°57′41″W / 19.55861°N 155.96139°W / 19.55861; -155.96139 (Kaleiopapa Street).

References

Further reading

• Jean Iwata Cachola (1995). Kamehameha III: Kauikeaouli. Kamehameha Schools Press. ISBN 0-87336-033-8. http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?c=ks9&l=en. 

External links

• "Kamehameha III". Biography from Hawaiʻi Royal Family web site. Kealii Pubs. http://www.keouanui.org/Kamehameha3.html. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
• Kenneth R. Conklin (2004). "Kauikeaouli chose St. Patrick's Day to be his official birthday". http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/kauikeaoulistpatricksday.html. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
• Kaiulani Kanoa-Martin (2007). "Traditional chant for Kauikeaouli". Hawaiian Music and Hula Archives. http://www.kalena.com/huapala/Kauikeaolani.html. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
• "Kaʻopa Spring - Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III". web site for maintainers of Kamehameha III's birthplace monument. Daughters of Hawaii. http://www.huliheepalace.org/history_kamehameha3.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
• "Photograph of Kamehameha III". Smithsonian Institution web site. http://2k.si.edu/2ksearch/Low_Artifacts.asp?ObjectData_Action=Find('ID','r717'). Retrieved 2010-03-01. 

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