Kaumauali’i, Last King of Kaua’i

The Kauai Museum is a Jewel.

King Kaumauali’i and Queen Kekaiha’akūlou (Deborah Kapule) greet you at the entrance to the Kaua’i museum. He was the last ali’i nui (supreme ruler) of Kaua’i and Ni’hau, ruling from 1794 until 1810. His mother Queen Kamakahelei was the ali’i nui of Kaua’i and Ni’hau before him. His father was regent of Maui and Moloka’i. Upon her death, the titles of both passed to him.

Above: King Kaumauali’i’s mother.

There is quite a story behind Kaumauali’i and his fourth wife, Kekaiha’akūlou (Deborah Kapule).

At the time Kaumauali’i became ruler of Kauai and Nihau, the rest of Hawaii was ruled by King Kamehameha I following his conquests of Oahu and Maui. In 1795 Kamehameha prepared to invade Kauai, the last remaining independent island kingdom, but strong winds and rough seas capsized much of his fleet.

King Kamehameha prepared to invade again in 1810 with both western cannon and his native forces, but King Kaumauali’i negotiated a peace with Kamehameha and then ruled as a vassal of Kamehameha I.

When Kamehameha I died, his son Kamehameha II and his widow, Queen Ka’ahumanu, kidnapped Kaumauali’i and forcibly married him to Kamehmeha’s widow, Queen Ka’ahumanu. They had no children together.

After King Kaumauali’i was kidnapped and taken from Kauai, his now ex-wife, shown above, married the son of her husband by an earlier wife. But Queen Ka’ahumanu, widow of King Kamehameha, married this husband too, again leaving Kekaiha’akulou without a husband!

In 1836 she was arrested by the then governor of Hawaii, who was jealous of her popularity on Kaua’i, and she was taken to O’ahu where she was held for two years. Finally in 1838 she was permitted to return to Kaua’i, where she lived until her death in 1853. Her final burial place is unknown.

King Ka’ahumuali’i was buried at his request next to Queen Keōpuolani, the highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I, whom he no doubt got to know during his forced marriage to Queen Ka’ahumanu. If you can follow this twisted story, congratulations! All is not as it may first appear on the surface!

There is a lot to see in this small museum, and I won’t try to describe it all. Pre-western contact life, sugar cane cultivation, and World War II are particularly well documented.

Poi was a basic staple of the original people.

Photo showing an original Hawaiian making poi with a stone pounder.

Above, a game similar to checkers.

Diorama depicting a native home.

Feather war cape of King Kaumauali’i.

One western commentator who knew King Kaumauali’i, John Turnbull, part owner of a ship that traded for salt in Kaua’i, wrote that he wished George Vancouver had supported Kaumauali’i rather than Kamehameha, because Kaumauali’i “bears a character infinitely superior to that of his more powerful rival.”

“He appears to be loved almost to adoration, and his authority from influence seemed to be increased almost in the same proportion as his actual power had become diminished.” I am on alert for the book, Kaumauali’i and the Last of Hawaii’s God Kings, by Lee B. Croft.

The trade winds caress the island today, puffy clouds sweeping across the blue. The sweet calls of the Sharma echo while the red-crested cardinals patrol.

Mahalo for reading~!