Hawaii at one time was ruled by various kings on each island until the time of Kamehamehia the Great. The legend of this infamous king is one that has been passed down from generation to generation.

In Hawaiian society, long before settlers came, the role of a person’s life was determined by what class you born into. The union of family members such as brother and sister was thought to bring forth superior children and these children were expected to become great chiefs. However, some children of these unions had the misfortune of being killed at birth due to disfigurement or other genetic problems. The farther separated the family members were from one another the rank in class went down. Kamehamehia’s father and mother were cousins, thus his chance of becoming king was not expected and he would have to work very hard if this were to occur.

The legend of Kamehamehia’s mother is that she had a very strange and unusual craving while pregnant. Her craving was to eat the eyeball of a chief and along with identity of the father sent rumors throughout the land and to the ears of the king of the Big Island. The king of Maui was the father of the unborn child, which was the sworn enemy of the king of the Big Island. He was so very disturbed about the rumors regarding the cravings that the king of the Big Island asked his adviser to interrupt the meaning of this craving. The interpretation brought even more disturbing news to the king of the Big Island. The meaning brought to the king was that the unborn child would be a rebel like no one had ever seen and the child would grow up to be a killer of chiefs. Since this was the answer, he declared the child must die as soon as it he was born. However, Kamehamehia’s parents had other ideas and as soon as he was born took away quickly to be raised in a remote valley so he would not be discovered. All of this occurred around 1758 on the Big Island.

As Kamehamehia grew into a young man, he became fascinated with Captain Cook whom he met on the captain’s first voyage around Maui. During his first visit with Captain Cook, he stayed on the captain’s ship and began to learn from the westerners. He not only learned the ways of the westerners but also began to use some of their shrewd battle techniques and even their weapons. As he went into each battle, he would learn from his mistakes and change his battle plan. His fight was not easy just as it was known at his birth; his role in Hawaiian society made it so. However, Kamehamehia was not one to give up; he fought battle after battle until he finally achieved the rule of the Big Island. However, Kamehamehia was not satisfied with this accomplishment and desired to rule all the islands.

During the 1790’s Kamehamehia and his troops along with western armaments and advisers, he conquered Maui, Moloka’I, Lana’I, and O’ahu. On the last island, the king of Kaua’i and his troops fought hard, however, their defeat was inevitable, the king surrendered, and Kamehamehia became the king of all islands uniting Hawaii.

Kamemamehia lived out the rest of his life on the Big Island ruling over all the islands until his death in 1819.

Kamehamehia the great has been regarded as a powerful and very influential king. Many believed he possessed the strength that can only be compared to that of Hercules.

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