Early Hawaiian Monarchy

Kamehameha I, Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819)
Born in North Kohala on the Big Island, Kamehameha united all the major islands under one rule in 1810. The king continued to trade with foreign ships arriving in the islands and enlisted some of the foreigners into his service. During his reign, the export of sandalwood to the Orient brought about the ability for island chiefs to purchase merchandise from abroad. Kamehameha successfully defended the islands against invading Russian forces in 1816 and 1817.

Kamehameha II, Liholiho (1796-1824)

The son of Kamehameha and his sacred wife Keopuolani, Liholiho overthrew the ancient kapu system by allowing men and women of the court to eat at the same table. At the same time, he announced that the heiau (temples) should be destroyed with all the old idols. Chiefs continued to prosper in the trade of sandalwood, whaling began in the islands and missionaries came to spread Christianity. Believing like his father that the islands were under the protection of Great Britain, Liholiho and his favorite wife Kamamalu traveled to England in May of 1824, where they were received by the government of King George IV. However, measles afflicted the royal party and Kamamalu died on July 8 followed by Liholiho on July 14.

Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli (1813-1854)

The younger brother of Liholiho had the longest reign in Hawaiian history. He was 10 years old when he was proclaimed king in 1825 under a regency with Kaahumanu, his father's favorite queen, as kuhina nui or joint ruler. She was later succeeded by Kinau, the king's half-sister. Realizing the need for written laws to control growing problems brought about by increasing numbers of foreigners settling in the kingdom, the council of chiefs employed William Richards to teach them political science. The declaration of rights, called the Hawaiian Magna Charta, was issued on June 7, 1839. Persecution of Catholics stopped when the king issued an oral "edict of toleration" the same month. The rights of residents were repeated in the Constitution of 1840. The Great Mahele (division), the first legal basis for land ownership in the kingdom, was enacted and divided the land between the king and his chiefs. Sandalwood trading and whaling declined during this time, but the sugar industry began to grow. Churches and schools were built.

Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho (1834-1863)

The nephew of Kauikeaouli, Alexander Liholiho was the son of Kekuanaoa and his wife Kinau, the grandson of Kamehameha I, younger brother of Lot Kamehameha and elder brother of Victoria Kamamalu. He ascended to the throne after the death of his uncle in December of 1854. On June 19, 1856, he married Emma Rooke, who had been adopted by her aunt and English doctor T.C. B. Rooke. They would have a son, Albert, but he would eventually succumb to meningitis at the age of four. Concerned about the toll that foreign diseases were taking on his subjects, the king signed a law on April 20, 1859 that established a hospital in Honolulu for sick and destitute Hawaiians. He and Emma personally solicited funds to erect Queen's Hospital, which was named in honor of Emma. The king also established the Anglican Church of Hawaii. Fluent in both English and Hawaiian, he translated the English Book of Common Prayer to his native language. Weakened by his chronic bouts with asthma and the death of his son in August of 1862, the king passed away on November 30, 1863, at the age of 29 and after a reign of only nine years.

Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuaiwa Kamehameha (1830-1872)

Four years older than his brother Kamehameha IV, Lot would also rule for just nine years. Like his brother, he was educated at Royal School and had the opportunity to travel to Paris, London and the United States. He believed the example of his grandfather, Kamehameha I, gave him the right to lead the Hawaiian people, and he favored a stronger monarchy that bordered on despotism. Wanting to protect his people from waste and idleness, he defeated a proposal to repeal the law against selling strong liquor to Hawaiians, saying: "I will never sign the death warrant of my people." He tried to restrict hula dances and parties that would keep workers from their crops. In 1864, when it appeared that a new constitution could not be agreed upon, he declared that the Constitution of 1852 be replaced by one he had written himself, one that freed the king from control of the privy council and the kuhina nui and limited the privilege of voting. Known as "the bachelor king," Lot Kamehameha did not name a successor, which led to the invoking of the constitutional provision for electing kings of Hawaii.

William Charles Lunalilo (1833-1874)

The grandson of a half-brother of Kamehameha I, Lunalilo was the son of Charles Kanaina and Kekauluohi, a sister of Kinau. He defeated David Kalakaua in 1873 to become the first king to be elected. He offered many amendments to the Constitution of 1864, such as abolishing the property qualifications for voting. During his reign, the Household Troops staged a Sunday mutiny, rebelling against their officers and remaining in their barracks until a carefully worded message from the king persuaded them to lay down their arms six days later. The king them disbanded the troops. Lunalilo died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1874, a little more than a year after his election. He became the first Hawaiian to leave his property to a work of charity. His will created the Lunalilo Home, which accommodates elderly Hawaiians who are poor, destitute and infirm.

David Kalakaua (1836-1891)

Kalakaua was born in Honolulu at the foot of Punchbowl Crater and educated at the Royal School. He married Kapiolani in 1863. He was a candidate for the crown in 1872, after the death of Kamehameha V, but was badly defeated by Lunalilo in the islands' first-ever election of a king. After the death of Lunalilo, Kalakaua ran against the queen dowager, Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV. Legislators gave Emma only six of the 45 votes, and the courthouse became the scene of a bloody riot by Emma's supporters. Armed American and British marines were required to quell the disturbance. Kalakaua was the first king in history to visit the United States, and in 1881 set out on a world tour to visit other heads of state. "The Merry Monarch" was fond of old Hawaiian customs, and he attempted to restore the people's lost heritage. But the latter half of his reign was marred by corruption, including land deals benefiting his poker player friend Claus Spreckels, repeal of the laws against furnishing Hawaiians with liquor, a lottery, licensing of the sale of opium and revival of the ancient kahuna's role. Such actions gave rise to anti-monarchy movements, such as the Reform Party. In 1887, Kalakaua signed the "Bayonet Constitution," so named because it was signed under threat of an armed uprising. The constitution stripped the king of most of his power and permitted foreigners the right to vote provided they took an oath to support the constitution. Kalakaua died while on a trip to San Francisco on January 20, 1891, leaving his younger sister Liliuokalani to ascend the throne.

Queen Lydia Kamakaeha Kaolamalii Liliuokalani (1839-1917)

Born in Honolulu, Liliuokalani was one of seven children born to Kapaakea and his wife Keohokalole. She was two years younger than her brother Kalakaua. She married John Owen Dominis in 1862, shortly before he was made governor of Oahu. They lived at his mother's home, Washington Place. After Kalakaua died, she was proclaimed queen. Her husband died seven months into her reign. Liliuokalani had a strong desire to restore the old authority of the crown that had been signed away in the "Bayonet Constitution" of 1887. Her efforts to overthrow the constitution that she was supposed to maintain as queen was only one of the complicated causes of the overthrow of the monarchy. She was deposed on January 17, 1893, signing a formal abdication and pledging her allegiance to the Republic of Hawaii. In 1911, she attended the opening of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, where she was seated with her successor Sanford B. Dole. When the United States entered World War I, she flew the Stars and Stripes over Washington Place for the first time. The queen authored a number of songs, the best known of which is "Aloha Oe." The words to the song are preserved on a bronze plaque set in a lava boulder at Washington Place.