Kamehameha I, also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The state of Hawaii gave a statue of him to the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. as one of two statues it is entitled to install there.
Kaumualiʻi was the last independent aliʻi nui of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau before becoming a vassal of Kamehameha I within the unified Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810. He was the 23rd high chief of Kauaʻi and reigned during 1794–1810.
Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaiʻi about 12 miles (19 km) south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples (heiaus) and also includes the spot where the first documented European to reach the Hawaiian islands, Captain James Cook, was killed. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places listings on the island of Hawaii in 1973 as the Kealakekua Bay Historical District. The bay is a marine life conservation district, a popular destination for kayaking, scuba diving, and snorkeling.
The Battle of Kepaniwai was fought in 1790 between the islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The forces of Hawaiʻi were led by Kamehameha I, while the forces of Maui were led by Kalanikūpule. It is known as one of the most bitter battles fought in Hawaiian history.
John Young was a British subject who became an important military advisor to Kamehameha I during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was left behind by Simon Metcalfe, captain of the American ship Eleanora, and along with a Welshman Isaac Davis became a friend and advisor to Kamehameha. He brought knowledge of the western world, including naval and land battle strategies, to Kamehameha, and became a strong voice on affairs of state for the Hawaiian Kingdom. He played a big role during Hawaii's first contacts with the European powers. He spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi. Between 1802 and 1812, John Young ruled as Royal Governor of Hawaii Island while King Kamehameha was away on other islands. He organized the construction of the fort at Honolulu Harbor. The Hawaiians gave him the name ʻOlohana based on Young's typical command "All hands ".
John Kendrick (1740–1794) was an American sea captain during the American Revolutionary War, and was involved in the exploration and maritime fur trading of the Pacific Northwest alongside his subordinate Robert Gray. He was the leader of the first US expedition to the Pacific Northwest. He is known for his role in the 1789 Nootka Crisis, having been present at Nootka Sound when the Spanish naval officer José Esteban Martínez seized several British ships belonging to a commercial enterprise owned by a partnership of companies under John Meares and Richard Cadman Etches. This incident nearly led to war between Britain and Spain and became the subject of lengthy investigations and diplomatic inquiries.
Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located on the northwestern coast of the island of Hawaiʻi. The site preserves the National Historic Landmark ruins of the last major Ancient Hawaiian temple, and other historic sites.
The Battle of Nuʻuanu, fought in May 1795 on the southern part of the island of Oʻahu, was a key battle in the final days of King Kamehameha I's wars to conquer the Hawaiian Islands. It is known in the Hawaiian language as Kalelekaʻanae, which means "the leaping mullet", and refers to a number of Oʻahu warriors driven off the cliff in the final phase of the battle. There are "varied and sometimes conflicting histories of the Battle of Nuʻuanu."
Kalanikūpule (1760–1795) was the Mōʻī of Maui and King of Oʻahu. He was the last king to physically fight with Kamehameha I over the Hawaiian Islands. Kalanikūpule was the last of the longest line of aliʻi nui in the Hawaiian Islands. In Hawaiian his name means "the heavenly prayer of Kū".
Isaac Davis was a Welsh advisor to Kamehameha I, who recruited him to help conquer the other kingdoms in Hawaii, resulting in formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He arrived in Hawaii in 1790 as the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of the Fair American. Davis and John Young became friends and advisors to Kamehameha. Davis brought western military knowledge to Hawaii and played a prominent role during Hawaii's first contacts with the European powers. He spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi and was known as ʻAikake.
Kameʻeiamoku was a Hawaiian high chief and the Counselor of State to King Kamehameha I. He was called Kamehameha's uncle, but he was really the cousin of Kamehameha's mother, Kekuiapoiwa II.
This article summarizes the history of the island of Maui. Its relatively central location gave it a pivotal role in the history of the Hawaiian Islands.
Olowalu is a community on the west side of the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. It is located about 4 miles (6 km) south of Lahaina on the Honoapiʻilani Highway. It is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population at the 2020 census of 100.
Cleopatra's Barge was the first oceangoing yacht built in the United States. It was built in 1816 at Salem, MA by shipbuilder Retire Becket for owner George Crowninshield Jr. Crowninshield died in 1817 after a single pleasure voyage to the Mediterranean; his brother Richard bought it, used it for two coastal trading voyages, and then sold it to Boston China traders Bryant & Sturgis and Capt. John Suter in early 1820. Suter sailed it to Hawai'i and sold it to Hawaiian monarch Kamehameha II for slightly more than a million pounds of sandalwood. Liholiho used it as his private yacht, renaming it Haʻaheo o Hawaiʻi in 1822 after a rebuild. Under an all-Hawaiian crew, Ha'aheo wrecked in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i, Hawai'i in April 1824.
Simon Metcalfe was a British-born American surveyor and one of the first American maritime fur traders to visit the Pacific Northwest coast.
Kaʻūpūlehu is the site of a historic settlement on the west coast of Hawaiʻi island, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Devastated by a lava flow, the area is now the home of luxury hotels such as the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.
William Douglas was a Scottish ship captain and an oceanographer maritime fur trader during the late 18th century. He worked with the British trader and Captain John Meares, commanding the ship Iphigenia Nubiana. He was involved in the Nootka Crisis of 1789, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. A few years later he was captain of the American ship Grace. In 1791 he partnered with Captain John Kendrick in an attempt to open trade with Japan.
Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe was an American maritime fur trader who worked with his father, Simon Metcalfe. After being separated from his father in a storm, Thomas sailed a small schooner with a crew of four from the vicinity of China to Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island where he was arrested by the Spanish. After being released he sailed to Hawaii, hoping to find his father. Instead, he was attacked and killed by Native Hawaiians in revenge for misdeeds committed by his father just days before.
Fair American was a small American sailing vessel described variously as a schooner or sloop or brig. Purchased for use in the maritime fur trade on the Pacific Northwest coast, Fair American sailed from Macau to Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island in 1789. At Nootka Sound she was captured by the Spanish Navy during the Nootka Crisis. Taken to San Blas, Mexico, the vessel, its teenage skipper, Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe, and crew of four were soon released. Hoping to rendezvous with his father, Simon Metcalfe, Thomas Metcalfe sailed to Hawaii. Attacked by Native Hawaiians, Fair American was captured and all were killed except for crewman Isaac Davis. The vessel then came under the control of Kamehameha I, as did Isaac Davis and John Young, a crewman from Simon Metcalfe's ship Eleanora, and Isaac Ridler, a crewmember of John Kendrick's Columbia Rediviva, who had been left on Hawaii. The Fair American, crewed by Native Hawaiians under the advisement of Davis and Young, played an important role in Kamehameha's bloody conquest of Maui and Oahu, and the creation of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
John Boit Jr was one of the first Americans involved in the maritime fur trade. He sailed as fifth mate under Captain Robert Gray on the second voyage of the Columbia Rediviva, 1790–1793. During the voyage he wrote a short but important journal in which he described the discovery of the Columbia River.
