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King of Kings - by Lewis Lavoie
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| Wikipedia: Kamehameha I, also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawai i in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawai's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Mamalahoe Kanawai, Law of the Splintered Paddle, which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. Although there is some debate as to the precise year of his birth, Hawaiian legends claimed that a great king would one day unite the islands, and that the sign of his birth would be a comet. Halley's comet was visible from Hawaii in 1758, and it is therefore assumed that Kamehameha was born shortly after its appearance. Other accounts state that he was born in November 1737. As king, Kamehameha took several steps to ensure that the islands remained a united realm even after his death. He unified the legal system and he used the products he collected in taxes to promote trade with Europe and the United States. Kamehameha did not allow non-Hawaiians to own land; they would not be able to until the Great Mahele of 1848. This edict ensured the islands' independence even while many of the other islands of the Pacific succumbed to the colonial powers. In fact, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi that Kamehameha established retained its independence, except for a five-month British occupation in 1843, until it was annexed by the United States in 1898. It was this legacy that earned Kamehameha the epithet "Napoleon of the Pacific." |
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