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| King Kamehameha I |
The end of the unification campaign came in 1794 with the death of the last powerful rival mo’i or King Kalanikupule. After which, Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Oahu fell to the hands of Kamehameha. Only the far flung islands of Kauai and Nihau remained independent. Nevertheless, Kamehameha virtually ruled most of Hawaii and the island finally saw peace. Kamehameha then had to preside over the changing dynamics of his new united kingdom. He had to alter the administration of the kingdom to strengthen central control but still keeping high chiefs satisfied in order to prevent any rivalry and civil war. The flow of foreigners and their goods also started to change Hawaiian economy. Henceforth, the end of the unification war marked the beginning of a new Hawaii – a peaceful and transforming Hawaii – and Kamehameha had to make sure it benefited his rule and his people.
Administration was key in
transforming Hawaii from divided islands and chiefdoms and into a united
kingdom with Kamehameha as the central figure of power. For centuries Hawaiian Islands
had been divided into different kingdoms with a mo’i or King ruling it. Then the King divided his land into ahupu’a, which were self-sustaining lands stretching from
the mountains to the shores and ruled by an ali’i or a chief. Each ali’i
commanded the people within each ahupu’a and conducted military campaigns
against neighboring ali’I to extend their own power and territory. For Kamehameha, he had to alter this order to maintain the internal stability of his new
Kingdom. To prevent various chiefs from waging wars against one another, he
ordered them to reside next to him in the capital. This way, he monitored their activities, checked their loyalties, and most importantly
cutting them off from their ahupu’a and effectively weakening their powers
within their own holdings. In replacement to the chiefs in administering
different lands, Kamehameha appointed and sent governors and deputies to
monitor each localities. They had the task of collecting taxes and made sure
that the people obeyed Kamehameha’s laws. In consolation to the chiefs and to prevent them from feeling deprivation, Kamehameha allowed them to send also
their own deputies to their own ahupu’a, which became known as konohiki.
Nevertheless, local power remained under Kamehameha’s governors, shifting the
center of local power from chiefs to governors.
At the center of Hawaii, Kamehameha
establish his central government. As the king of the unified Hawaiian Kingdom,
he wielded enormous power. People can’t look even to the shadow of him. They
saw him as a god on earth. Mere gaze to a king sometimes led to instant execution. But even
as a great military leader, he still needed the help of advisers in governing
the kingdom. He formed a council of advisers headed by a chief adviser who
worked similarly to a prime minister in western governments. Kamehameha
appointed Kalanimoku as his chief adviser. Kalanimoku wielded great power only
next to the king off course. He served as the commander of the army. As a
politician Kalanimoku had a great skill as a diplomat and a statesman. He
assisted Kamehameha in transforming Hawaii into a prosperous Kingdom. Foreigners
respected Kalanimoku and they dubbed him after the great Prime Minister of
Great Britain at that time – William Pitt. They addressed Kalanimoku as the
William Pitt of Hawaii or simply Billy Pitt.
When it came to laws, Kamehameha made
a lasting impression in Hawaii and if not in legal history. In traditional
terms, he respected and maintained the importance and significance of local
kapu or prohibitions. At that time, radical changes in legal systems could not
be made due to the fact that the kingdom transitioned from war torn islands to
a peaceful kingdom. Any attempt to radically change local tradition might spark
rebellions and other types of instability from conservative chiefs. Kamehameha,
however, enacted one new law that brought him fame – the Kanawai Mamalahoe or
the Law of the Splintered Paddle.
The Kanawai Mamalahoe or the Law of
the Splintered Paddle was one of the greatest acts of Kamehameha. It had been
hailed as a law that protected children, elderly, and women from harm. The law
emerged from the brutality as well as act of forgiveness in part of Kamehameha.
The background of the law dated around 1785 during the time that the island of
Hawaii had been divided and each faction raided the lands of the other. On that
year, Kamehameha sailed to Laupahoehoe. He prepared to land in Papai in the
Puna coast. However, before Kamehameha arrived to the coast, he saw a group of
fishermen and their families in the coastline. The people had been under
Keawemauhili, a rival of Kamehameha. Kamehameha intended to capture as much as
he can. And so he plunge to the water ahead of his canoe and rush in order to take the
fishermen and their families down. Two fishermen faced him while the rest
rushed inland and into safety. The two fisherman recognized Kamehameha and his
skills as a warrior. In the ensuing fight, Kamehameha hit bad luck when his
feet got trapped in an underwater crevice. One fisherman hit him with a paddle,
which upon impact, splintered. One of the fisherman carried a baby at his back
and when Kamehameha’s canoe came nearing, he convinced the other to withdrew and to escape to safety. Kamehameha remembered that event and even the face of the men
who attacked him with a paddle. Twelve years later, returning to the coast
where the incident happened, they came upon a village and searched for those
men. Luckily, he identified them and the two fishermen remembered their
previous action with fear of vengeance. Kamehameha had realized his past action
had been wrong as he targeted the weak for political and military gains. And
so, to the surprise of many and the two fishermen, Kamehameha declared an edict
that anyone who harmed any elderly, women, or children during their course of
travel would be punish by death. The edict became known as the Law of Splintered Paddle it came to be
known as a milestone in legal history as it protected the rights of those who
were innocent and incapable of fighting. This act of Kamehameha earned him the
respect of his people as well as history.
As Kamehameha organized his government, the people turned their attention from war to economic activities. And even on this field, a great transformation occurred with the arrival of westerners.
As Kamehameha organized his government, the people turned their attention from war to economic activities. And even on this field, a great transformation occurred with the arrival of westerners.
See also:
Bibliography:
McGregor, Davianna Pomaika'i. Na Kua'aina: Living Hawaiian Culture. Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press, 2007.
Oaks, Robert. Hawai'i: A History of the Big Island. Chicago, Ilinois: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
Potter, Norris, et. al. History of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bess Press, 2003.
Wong, Helen, & Kayson, Ann. Hawaii's Royal History. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bess Press, 1987.
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