Hawaii before the 20th century

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

Let's do the 19th century in chunks, and start by posing the question, "why was Kamehameha I such a badass?"

Let's just skip to the end.

Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana,
Kamehameha I was a lucky badass.
He was a mighty warrior. Dropped bodies off of Nu'uanu, Iao, Puna. He was rude, then shrewd, and then later, developed a sense of benevolence (Mamalahoe), and society felt safe knowing that nobody. Messes. With the Mo'i (or somebody's gonna be brushing his teeth with a spear).

He was in his later 40s-50s when he wedded Ka'ahumanu, who was about 19. In many ways, she was his match.

[Miulang]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

I like this! Cliff Notes for Hawaiian History.
Pu'ai, of all the consorts of the ali'i, was Kaahumanu one of the most powerful in all of early Hawaiian history? Wasn't she kind of a feminist in her own way?

Mahalos,
Miulang

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

...moving on....

now, when your daddy is who Liholiho's daddy is, its no wonder if you grow up to be a second-guessing wuss. Cutting him some hindsight slack, Liholiho was dealing with several new types of malihini; religious ones (the missionaries), irreligious ones (the whalers). In addition, not all malihini were from the same side of the planet.

Let's go back to Liholiho's sassy, brazen stepmonster, Ka'ahumanu. Girlyfriend had molten ovaries. She stepped up on Liholiho in front of his full court and told him that his father would have wanted her to be the Kuhina Nui, in effect sharing power with Liholiho. Now, if she had done that in front of her husband, he might have blinked twice and fired up the imu.

But Liholiho acquiesed. He just didn't have the same brass ones, which is not unusual (father/son paradigms; another post for another thread).

There were two kings who died abroad. Liholiho was the first; he and his wife, Kamamalu, died in England in 1823, from measles. He ruled a mere four years and was 27 years old.

Ka'ahumanu ruled as Kuhina Nui for many years; she held half of the powers, and after this first stepson died, Kauikeaoli (K III) was still young, which meant that she ruled completely until he became old enough and wrestled back his powers.

Kamehameha III is the mo'i who never ceases to fascinate me.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

I like this! Cliff Notes for Hawaiian History.
Pu'ai, of all the consorts of the ali'i, was Kaahumanu one of the most powerful in all of early Hawaiian history? Wasn't she kind of a feminist in her own way?

Mahalos,
Miulang

Ka'ahumanu is a great study, because when she was young she was one gutsy wahine. As she grew older, she became more cunning. Upon her reign as Kuhina Nui, she converted to Christianity and became increasingly rigid.

From where I sit, I think of leadership principles and see that her rigidity did not strengthen, but rather weakened Hawai'i. To be fair to her, what role models did she have? Ruling from the na'au is very Hawaiian; that is what ali'i did before her time. And look at who she married.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

....I will come back to this in a few days, but before I go (((waves Hawaiian silk scarf, which as we all know is made by taking tapa beaters and pounding those Chinese worms, Hawaiian-style)))

Imagine Kauikeaouli. He becomes king at 10. His reign lasts 29 years; the longest of any mo'i. His stepmonster is now a RWCC; and she has the mana to do just about anything. His daddy, who died when he was he was in kindergarten (21century perspective there).

In his lifetime, the kapu is a recent abolishment. The religious structures are new. The old social systems that kept Hawaiian society together are now changed, and the disarray is chaotic for the people. This causes difficulties with other nations on a whole bunch of levels.

In his lifetime, the people who only knew the ahapua'a, and sustenance living, now have to deal with complexities such as land ownership, local and international trade, lines of credit.

But Kamehameha III is the man™. He reigns during the hardest times of Hawaii's history. He wrote the first Constitution, progressing Hawaii from an autocracy into a constitutional monarchy. His were the first introductions of democracy, affording his governors of each isle to appoint judges and so forth. The first immigrants to become naturalized citizens swore their allegiance to K III.

Nevermind that the buggah had issues with his sister. I would rather focus on his contributions as mo'i.

more later...

[pzarquon]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

Here's a Hawaiian History 101 question that came up over lunch, and I was embarassed I didn't know the answer. Could a patient scholar here humor me with some insights?

Why is 1810 used as the cutoff for determining ancestry or for similar purposes when it comes to some native Hawaiian programs? That's the year Kamehameha unified all the Hawaiian islands, but philosophically, why is that the key date versus, say, Western contact, or establishment of governing bodies or treaty signings and the like?

There was another question, but it just slipped my mind... er... that should suffice for now, though!

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

Why is 1810 used as the cutoff for determining ancestry or for similar purposes when it comes to some native Hawaiian programs? That's the year Kamehameha unified all the Hawaiian islands, but philosophically, why is that the key date versus, say, Western contact, or establishment of governing bodies or treaty signings and the like?

Errrr. Maybe because before then, the smaller island kingdoms didn't have international recognition the way that Kamehameha's kingdom did? Or maybe because they didn't have codified laws and a census and citizenship criteria?

[Rickyrab]

Re: Hawaii before the 20th century

I've read that Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i, and Kahoolawe were once parts of a bigger island, which people have called Maui Nui. I've also read that Oahu formed from two major volcanoes, with some later eruptions and a north-coast landslide helping to define Oahu in recent millennia.