| Kamehameha III | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Photograph of Kamehameha III, c. 1853. | |||||
| King of the Hawaiian Islands (more...) | |||||
| Reign | June 6, 1825 – December 15, 1854 | ||||
| Predecessor | Kamehameha II | ||||
| Successor | Kamehameha IV | ||||
| Kuhina Nui | Kaʻahumanu I Kaʻahumanu II Kaʻahumanu III Keoni Ana | ||||
| Born | Kauikeaouli (1814-03-17)March 17, 1814 Keauhou Bay at NorthKona,Hawaiʻi island | ||||
| Died | December 15, 1854(1854-12-15) (aged 40) Hoihoikeʻea,Honolulu,Oʻahu | ||||
| Burial | (1855-01-10)January 10, 1855[1][2] | ||||
| Spouse | Kalama | ||||
| Issue | Keaweaweʻulaokalani I Keaweaweʻulaokalani II Kīwalaʻō(illegitimate) Albert Kūnuiākea(illegitimate) Kamehameha IV(hānai) Kaʻiminaʻauao(hānai) | ||||
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| House | Kamehameha | ||||
| Father | Kamehameha I | ||||
| Mother | Keōpūolani | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Kamehameha III (bornKauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of theKingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name wasKeaweaweʻula Kīwalaʻō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened toKeaweaweʻula Kīwalaʻō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kīwalaʻō i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.
Under his reign, Hawaii evolved from anabsolute monarchy to aconstitutional monarchy with the signing of both the1840 Constitution, which was the first Hawaiian Language Constitution, and the1852 Constitution. He was thelongest 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 aregency byQueen Kaʻahumanu and later byKaʻahumanu II.His goal was the careful balancing of modernization by adopting Western ways while keeping his nation intact.
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Kauikeaouli was born atKeauhou Bay, onHawaiʻi island, the largest island of theHawaiian Islands archipelago. He was the second son of KingKamehameha I and his highest ranking wife,Queen Keōpūolani, born in Maui. Early historians suggested June or July 1814, but one accepted date is August 11, 1813.[3] Biographer P. Christiaan Klieger cites 17 March 1814 as his birthday,[4] which is the date declared by the Privy Council as the official birthday in its meeting of March 16, 1846.[5]He was of the highestkapu lineage. Kauikeaouli was about 16 years younger than his brother Liholiho, who ruled asKamehameha II starting in 1819. He was namedKauikeaouli (placed in the dark clouds)Kaleiopapa Kuakamanolani Mahinalani Kalaninuiwaiakua Keaweaweʻulaokalani (the red trail or the roadway by which the god descends from heaven) after his maternal grandfatherKīwalaʻō. He was promised toKuakini inadoption, but as at birth he appeared to be delivered stillborn, Kuakini did not wish to take him. But Chief Kaikioʻewa summoned hiskaula (prophet) Kapihe who declared the baby would live.[6]: 8 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 toKaʻōnohiokalā, "Child of God". The rock is preserved as a monument at Keauhou Bay.[7] He was given to Kaikioʻewa to raise.[citation needed]
He was torn between the Puritan Christian guidelines imposed on the kingdom by thekuhina nui (Queen Regent) who was his stepmotherKaʻahumanu, and the desires to honor the old traditions. Under the influence of Oʻahu's then governor,Boki, and a young Hawaiian-Tahitian former priest namedKaomi, Kauikeaouli'saikāne partner, he rebelled against his partial Christian upbringing.
When Kauikeaouli came to the throne in 1825, the native population numbered about 150,000, which was already less than one-third of the Hawaiian population at the time ofCaptain Cook's arrival to Hawaii in 1778. During his reign, that number would be halved again, due to a series of epidemics.
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Inancient Hawaii, the upper classes considered a marriage with a close royal family member to be an excellent way to preserve pure bloodlines. His brother Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) and his QueenKamāmalu were a half-sister and brother couple. He had loved his sisterNāhiʻenaʻena and planned to marry her since childhood, but the union was opposed by the missionaries due to their perceptions ofincest.[8]
It was proposed in 1832 thatKamanele, the daughter of GovernorJohn Adams Kuakini, would be the most suitable in age, rank, and education for his queen.[9] Kamanele died in 1834 before the wedding took place.[10]: 339 Instead Kamehameha III chose to marryKalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, against the wishes of Kīnaʻu. Kalama's father wasNaihekukui. After his sister's death in late 1836, he married Kalama on February 14, 1837, in a Christian ceremony. Kamehameha III and Kalama had two children:Prince Keaweaweʻulaokalani I andPrince Keaweaweʻulaokalani II who both died while infants.[11]He and hismistressJane Lahilahi, a daughter of his father's advisorJohn Young, had twin illegitimate sons: Kīwalaʻō, who Kamehameha initially took to raise, died young, while the other twinAlbert Kūnuiākea survived and was later adopted by Kamehameha and his wife Queen Kalama. Kūnuiākea lived to adulthood but died childless (1851–1902).[12][13]
Kamehameha III led the development of Hawaii's first formal written laws.[14] In 1838, senior advisorHoapili convinced former missionaryWilliam Richards to resign from the church and become a political advisor. Richards (although he had no legal training himself) gave classes to Kamehameha III and his councilors on the Western ideas of rule of law and economics. Their first act was a declaration of human rights in 1839.[10]: 343
In 1839, under a French threat of war,Roman Catholicism was legalized in theEdict of Toleration and the first statutory law code was established. Kamehameha III also enacted theConstitution of 1840, Hawaii's first.[15] This laid the groundwork for the establishment of judicial and executive branches of government, and a system of land ownership was implemented under the Mahele in 1848.[16] The 1839 declaration of rights, the 1840 constitution, and various laws enacted from 1840 to 1842 came to be collectively called the Kumu Kānāwai or "foundation of law."[14] They were published together in a dual Hawaiian/English book with a blue cover, similar to the statutory laws of the New England states at the time, and like them became known in English as the Blue Laws.[14] The Kumu Kānāwai was primarily based on Hawaii'sindigenous traditions, various laws enacted since 1823, and the principles of the Christian Bible.[14]
Over the next few years, Kamehameha III moved the capital fromLahaina toHonolulu. In September 1840Charles Wilkes arrived on theUnited States Exploring Expedition. Kamehameha III was happy to support the explorers, and appointed missionary doctorGerrit P. Judd to serve as translator. Judd treated many of the sailors who suffered from altitude sickness on their ascent ofMauna Loa. Wilkes vastly underestimated the task and did not leave until March 1841.[17]
In February 1843, British CaptainLord 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 AdmiralRichard 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 phraseUa Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, "the sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness". July 31 was celebrated thereafter asLā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, an official national holiday of the kingdom.[18] Later that year, on November 28, Britain and France officially recognized the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and that too became a national holiday,Lā Kūʻokoʻa — Independence Day.[19]
Through the 1840s a formallegislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom andcabinet replaced the informal council of chiefs. The chiefs became the House of Nobles, roughly modeled on the BritishHouse of Lords. Seven elected representatives would be the start of a democratic government.[20]: 228 The cabinet consisted of aPrivy Council and five powerful government ministers. Judd was appointed to the most powerful post of Minister of Finance. Frontier lawyerJohn Ricord wasAttorney General,Robert Crichton Wyllie was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Richards Minister of Public Instruction, andKeoni Ana was Minister of the Interior.
Kamehameha III also presided over the formalization of the court system and land titles. Cases such as those ofRichard Charlton andLadd & Co. had prompted the incidents of 1843 and subsequent litigation. Under Kamehameha III, Hawaii rapidly transitioned from indigenous traditions to a new legal system based on Anglo-American common law.[21]Lorrin Andrews became a judge for foreign cases in 1845.William Little Lee (the first to actually graduate from law school) became the first chief justice.[22]
A commission toQuiet Land Titles was formed on February 10, 1846.[23]This led to what is called theGreat Mahele of 1848 which redistributed land between the government, king, nobles, and commoners. Foreigners were allowed to own landfee simple in Hawaii for the first time.Many commoners were unaware of the program and lost out on the distribution. The domination of his cabinet by Americans (balanced only by Scot Wyllie and half-Hawaiian Keoni Ana) also discouraged the people. This was not the end of foreign conflicts either. In 1849, AdmiralLouis Tromelin led aFrench invasion of Honolulu. The French sacked and looted the city after the king refused his demands.In September 1849, Judd was sent with the heir apparentPrince Alexander Liholiho andKamehameha V on a diplomatic mission. They returned with a new treaty with the United States but failed in visits to London and Paris.
TheConstitution of 1852 and subsequent legislation continued to liberalize politics. The court system was unified, instead of having separate courts for Hawaiians and foreigners. Local Hawaiian magistrates became Circuit Judges, and a Supreme Court was formed with Lee, Andrews, andJohn Papa ʻĪʻī as members. Voting rules were formalized and the role of the House of Representatives was strengthened.[22]
TheCalifornia Gold Rush brought increased trade, but also some unwelcome visitors. Previously the long trips aroundCape Horn or from Europe meant infected sailors were either recovered or buried at sea by the time they arrived. The short voyage from California brought several waves of diseases that decimated thenative Hawaiians who had no immunity.In the summer of 1853, an epidemic ofsmallpox caused thousands of deaths, mostly on the island of Oʻahu. Judd, always at odds with Wyllie, lost the backing of others who blamed him for not containing the disease (or had other political reasons to want him out of power). Judd was forced to resign on September 3 and was replaced byElisha Hunt Allen as Minister of Finance.[20]: 415
In 1851, Scottish-Australian entrepreneur and sailorBenjamin Boyd convinced King Kamehameha III to becomeregent of a Pacific empire ranging from Hawaii and theMarquesas toSamoa andTonga. Boyd was killed in Guadalcanal shortly after.[24]
Hawaii became a popular winter destination for frustrated prospectors in the 1850s. Some were rumored to befilibusters hoping to profit from a rebellion. One of the first was a group led bySamuel Brannan, who did not find the popular support for an uprising that they expected. By the end of 1853 the threats, whether real or imagined, caused petitions for the king to consider annexation to the United States. Wyllie and Lee convinced the king to insist that annexation would only be acceptable if Hawaii became a U.S. state.[25]
In 1852 a group of missionaries set out from Hawaii for the islands of Micronesia. They carried with them a letter of introduction that bore the official seal of King Kamehameha III, the then-ruling monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. This letter, originally written in Hawaiian and addressed to the various rulers of the Pacific Islands, said in part: "There are about to sail for your islands some teachers of the Highest God, Jehovah, to make known unto you His Word for your eternal salvation. . . . I commend these good teachers to your esteem and friendship and exhort you to listen to their instructions. . . . I advise you to throw away your idols, take the Lord Jehovah for your God, worship and love Him and He will bless and save you."[26]
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On May 16, 1854, King Kamehameha III proclaimed the Hawaiian Kingdom neutral in theCrimean War in Europe.[27] The present crises had passed, but the king's health declined, often attributed to his renewed drinking. The annexation question also did not go away. The British ministerWilliam Miller and French representativeLouis Emile Perrin objected to the plan. New U.S. CommissionerDavid L. Gregg received instructions from Secretary of StateWilliam L. Marcy and negotiated a treaty of annexation with Wyllie by August 1854. It was never signed, and might not have been ratified by theSenate.[25] Although there was some support in the U.S.,[28] it would take 105 more years before full statehood of Hawaii.
Kamehameha III died suddenly on December 15, 1854, after a brief illness, which may have been related to astroke.[29]
He was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son Alexander Liholiho, who was styled as KingKamehameha IV.
In 1865, Kamehameha III was reburied in theRoyal Mausoleum of Hawaii known as Mauna ʻAla.[30]
The access to his birthplace at Keauhou Bay is via Kamehameha III Road from the north fromHawaii Belt Road, at19°34′7″N155°57′41″W / 19.56861°N 155.96139°W /19.56861; -155.96139 (Kamehameha III Road) and Kaleiopapa Street from the south at19°33′31″N155°57′41″W / 19.55861°N 155.96139°W /19.55861; -155.96139 (Kaleiopapa Street).
His successor described his reign:
The age of Kamehameha III was that of progress and of liberty—of schools and of civilization. He gave us a Constitution and fixed laws; he secured the people in the title to their lands, and removed the last chain of oppression. He gave them a voice in his councils and in the making of the laws by which they are governed. He was a great national benefactor, and has left the impress of his mild and amiable disposition on the age for which he was born.[31]
On July 31, 2018, a 12-foot bronze statue of Kamehameha III and a flagpole flying the Hawaiian flag was unveiled atThomas Square in a ceremony honoring the 175th anniversary of the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty in 1843. The statue was created by Oregon artist Thomas Jay Warren for $250,000 allotted by the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts and is part of MayorKirk Caldwell's plans to revamp the park.[32]
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| Preceded by | King of Hawaiʻi 1825–1854 | Succeeded by |
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