 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kaʻahumanu" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Kaʻahumanu[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Queen Ka'ahumanu of Hawaii | |||||
| Queen consort of theHawaiian Kingdom | |||||
| Tenure | 1795–1819 | ||||
| Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Kingdom | |||||
| Tenure | May 20, 1819 – June 5, 1832 | ||||
| Predecessor | Office Established | ||||
| Successor | Kaʻahumanu II | ||||
| Born | March 17, 1768 Puu Kauiki,Hāna,Maui | ||||
| Died | (1832-06-05)June 5, 1832 (aged 64) Mānoa Valley, nearHonolulu,Oʻahu | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Kamehameha I Kaumualiʻi Kealiʻiahonui | ||||
| Issue | David Kamehameha(hānai) Keʻelikōlani(hānai) Theresa Owana Kaheiheimālie Rives(hānai) Virginia Kahoa Kaʻahumanu Rives(hānai) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Kamehameha Kekaulike | ||||
| Father | Keʻeaumoku Pāpaʻiahiahi | ||||
| Mother | Nāmāhāna i Kaleleokalani | ||||
Kaʻahumanu ("The Feathered Mantle", March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) wasqueen consort and acted asregent of theHawaiian Kingdom asKuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife ofKing Kamehameha I and also the most politically powerful, and continued to wield considerable power as co-ruler in the kingdom during the reigns of his first two successors.
Kaʻahumanu was born in a cave called Puu Kauiki inHāna on theHawaiian island ofMaui. She was born on March 17, 1768. The presentKaʻahumanu Society celebrates her birthday on March 17.[2]: 174
Kaʻahumanu's father wasKeʻeaumoku Pāpaʻiahiahi, a fugitivealiʻi (noble) from theisland of Hawaiʻi, and her mother was Nāmāhānaikaleleokalani, daughter of Mō'ī Kekaulike Kalaninui Kui Hono and wife of her half-brother, the late king of Maui,Kamehamehanui. Through her mother, she was related to manyaliʻi nui of Maui. Through her father, she was the third cousin ofKamehameha I, both sharing the common ancestor, PrincessKalanikauleleiaiwi of the island of Hawaiʻi. She was named after her father's rival,Kahekilinuiʻahumanu, because it was from him that her father was fleeing at the time.
Her siblings include Governor John AdamsKuakini of the island Hawaiʻi, QueenKalākua Kaheiheimālie, and Governor GeorgeKeʻeaumoku II of Maui.[citation needed]
Her father became an advisor and friend to Kamehameha I, eventually serving as the royal governor of Maui. He arranged for Kaʻahumanu to marry him when she was thirteen years old. Kamehameha had numerous wives, but Kaʻahumanu would become a favourite and encouraged his war to unify the islands.
Kaʻahumanu was one ofKamehameha I's favorite wives and his most powerful. Upon Kamehameha's death on May 8, 1819, Kaʻahumanu announced that late king had wished that she share governance over the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi with his 22-year-old sonLiholiho, who took the name of Kamehameha II. The council of advisors agreed and created the post ofkuhina nui for her, which was similar toco-regent or modern-dayprime minister. Her power base grew and she ruled as Queen Regent during the reigns of both Kamehameha II andKauikeaouli, who assumed the throne as Kamehameha III.
In some ways Kaʻahumanu was ahead of her time and championed the rights of native Hawaiian women, although this was to her own advantage. In what became known as the'Ai Noa (free eating), Kaʻahumanu conspired withKeōpūolani, another of her late husband's wives who was also Kamehameha II's mother, to eat at the same table with the young king. Notably, she also convinced theKahuna-nui (translatable to High Priest) of the kingdom,Hewahewa, to support her efforts to abolish thekapu. While breaking a majorkapu was a death penalty offence, Kamehameha II refused to kill his mother, Keōpūolani; this event effectively broke the monarchy's support of thekapu, and resulted in the system being outlawed.
The island ofKauaʻi and its subject islandNiʻihau had never been forcibly conquered by Kamehameha. After years of resistance they negotiated a bloodless surrender in the face of Kamehameha's armada. In 1810 the island's King,Kaumualiʻi, became a vassal to Kamehameha. When Kamehameha I died, Kamehameha II and Kaʻahumanu feared Kauaʻi would break away from the kingdom. To preserve the union they kidnapped Kaumualiʻi on October 9, 1821, and Kaʻahumanu married him by force. After Kaumualiʻi died in 1824, and a rebellion by Kaumualiʻi's sonHumehume was put down, she married his other sonKealiʻiahonui.
In April 1824, Kaʻahumanu publicly acknowledged her conversion toProtestant Christianity and encouraged her subjects to bebaptized into the faith.[3] That same year, she presented Hawaiʻi with its first codified body of laws modeled after Christian ethics and values, and theTen Commandments. Kaʻahumanu wasbaptized on December 5, 1825, at the site whereKawaiahaʻo Church stands today, taking the name “Elizabeth”.[4]: 278
Missionaries persuaded Kaʻahumanu that theRoman Catholic Church, which had established theCathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, should be removed from the island nation. On July 7, 1827, she ordered the first Catholic missionaries to leave. In 1830, Kaʻahumanu signed legislation that forbade Catholic teachings and threatened to deport whoever broke the law.
In 1832, Kaʻahumanu visited Maui, and came to the site of what is nowKaʻahumanu Church, witnessing services being presided byJonathan Smith Green. Upon seeing this, Ka‘ahumanu asked theCongregationalist mission to name the permanent church structure after her.[5] However, this request was not honored until 1876, when Edward Bailey built the fourth and current structure on the site, naming it after the Queen.[5]
As regent of Hawai'i after the death of her husband,King Kamehameha I, Ka'ahumanu took it upon herself to enforce Christian policies with her power, banning of the Hawaiian Dancehula in 1830.[6] After her death in 1832, some chiefs ignored this ban, includingKing Kamehameha III. However it was not untilKing Kalakaua's reign in 1886 that hula was celebrated openly once again: "Hula is the language of the heart and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people."[7] Ka'ahumanu's policies on hula have had a ripple effect on the acceptability of the art form ever since.
Kaʻahumanu and King Kamehameha III negotiated the first treaty between the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and theUnited States in 1826, under the administration of PresidentJohn Quincy Adams. The treaty assumed responsibility on behalf of native Hawaiians with debts to American traders and paid the bill with $150,000 worth of sandalwood; this won her the support of chiefs who owed money to the traders. The same document was also afree trade treaty, ensuring Americans had the right to enter all ports of Hawaiʻi to do business. Americans were also afforded the right to sue in Hawaiian courts and be protected by Hawaiian laws.
In 1827, after Kaʻahumanu returned from a tour of the windward islands, her health steadily declined. During her illness missionaries printed the first copy, bound in red leather with her name engraved in gold letters, of the New Testament in the Hawaiian language.[8] She kept it with her until her death of intestinal illness, June 5, 1832, in theMānoa Valley near Honolulu.[9] Her funeral was held at Kawaiahaʻo Church, often referred to as theWestminster Abbey of Hawaiʻi. Services were presided byHiram Bingham. She was laid to rest on ʻIolani Palace grounds but was later moved to theRoyal Mausoleum. The monument ofKaumualiʻi inWaiola Church cemetery includes the inscription, "Kaahumanu was his wife, Year 1822," leading some to mistakenly conclude that she is buried there.
A portion of theHawaii Belt Road, state highway 19, on theBig Island of Hawaiʻi is named in her honor. It connects the towns ofKailua-Kona andKawaihae.Often referred to by locals as "the Queen K," it is used for the bicycle and running portions of theIronman World ChampionshipTriathlon.[10] It also provides access to theKona International Airport.
Queen Kaʻahumanu Center shopping mall is located at 275 West Kaʻahumanu Avenue (Hawai state route 32) inKahului,Maui,20°53′12″N156°28′30″W / 20.88667°N 156.47500°W /20.88667; -156.47500 (Queen Kaʻahumanu Center).[11]
Kaʻahumanu Society, a Hawaiian civics club, was founded and named in her honor in 1864 to celebrate her legacy, serve the poor and sick and promote the importance of Hawaiian female leadership.[12][13][14][15]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Ancestors of Kaʻahumanu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Queen consort of the Hawaiian Islands 1810–1819 | Succeeded by |
| Queen dowager of the Hawaiian Islands 1819–1832 | Succeeded by | |
| Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands May 20, 1819 – June 5, 1832 | Succeeded by | |
| Queen regent of Hawaiʻi 1824–1832 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
