House of Kamehameha

The House of Kamehameha, or the Kamehameha Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawai'i between the unification of the islands by Kamehameha the Great in 1810 and the death of Kamehameha V in 1872. Their most important contributions were the institution of a constitutional form of government, abolition of ancient Hawaiian kapu systems in favor of westernized laws, proclamation of the Edict of Toleration giving all Hawaiians freedom of religion and the promulgation of the Great mahele, appropriating lands to native Hawaiians who could for the first time in history own private property. Today, the Kamehameha dynasty itself does not survive - all descent from Kamehameha I seems to have gone extinct. There are surviving members of a collateral branch - descent from Kalokuokamaile, the eldest brother of King Kamehameha I, is extant in the descendants of Kalokuokamaile's great-great-granddaughter, Theresa Laanui, who had 14 grandchildren.

Origins

The dynasty developed from chiefs of Kona (seat at Kailua), as their chief Kamehameha (I) succeeded in subjugating gradually all other chiefdoms on the island of Hawaii and then also other islands of the archipelago. Chiefs of Kona were rulers of only a part of their island, the earlier island-wide monarchy having some decades earlier (presumably as result of death of Kamehameha's great-grandfather) dissolved into smaller independent chieftainships.

Relations were wide: e.g Kamehameha's mother had secondly married a king of Kauai island, after his father, the previous chief of Kona.

Kamehameha himself descended also from chiefs of Oahu, Maui and Kauai, since the princely or chief class (alii) of the islands was rather intermarried, and legendarily all descended from a common ancestor, chief Wakea.

Expansion of realm

Kamehameha I started a series of wars of conquest and strategic alliances. Succeeding his brother as Alii of Kohala and Kona in 1782, he set out to unify Hawaii proper, and later to subdue the neighbouring islands. He ultimately unified the whole of the Hawaiian, or Sandwich, islands into a single kingdom by 1810. His descendants ruled the united kingdom, until the extinction of his male line in 1874.

At the extinction of the male line of Kamehameha, the nobles and chiefs chose David Kalakaua, a great noble of high standing and a descendant of Kamehameha the Great's grandfather. He died without issue having nominated his sister, Liliu-o-kalani, as is successor. She was deposed by an armed coup d'etat primarily driven by local American and European businessmen in 1893.

Preserving Independence

The House of Kamehameha also is responsible for maintaining and preserving the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Hawai'i from the encroachment of European colonial powers in the Pacific Ocean. It secured treaties with Austria, Belgium, Bremen (present-day Germany), Denmark, France, Germany, Hamburg (present-day Germany), Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, New South Wales (present-day Australia), Portugal, Russia, Samoa, Swiss Confederation, Sweden, Norway, Tahiti (present-day France), United Kingdom and United States.

Kamehameha Monarchs

Kamehameha I, (1795-1819)
Kamehameha II, Liholiho, (1819-1824)
Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, (1825-1854)
Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho, (1854-1863)
Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuāiwa, (1863-1872)

Last survivors of Kamehameha Dynasty

The name Kamehameha originally was the personal name of king Kamehameha I. Thus, the dynasty is understood as his descendants, but not his siblings nor collateral relatives, since none of them descended from anyone called Kamehameha. After King Kamehameha V's death, there survived only two descendants of Kamehameha I, Kamehameha V's female cousins:

Ruth Keelikolani d 1883, who was daughter (born problematically after divorce and mother's remarriage) (1) of prince Kahalaia Luanuu, himself only son of prince Kahoanuku Kinau, third son of Kamehameha I; and (2) of princess Kalani Pauahi, herself elder daughter of lord Alii Pauli Kaoleioku (eldest but just legimated natural son of Kamehameha I) by his secondary wife Alii Luahine Kahailiopua.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop d 1884, who was granddaughter of Kamehameha I's eldest but just legitimated natural son, Lord Pauli Kaoleioku, aforementioned. She was Keelikolani's first cousin and heiress.

Both of these ladies died without surviving issue.

Brothers of Kamehameha I

Prince Kealiimaikai, whose last surviving descendant was Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV
Prince Kalaimamahu, whose last surviving descendant was King Charles Lunalilo, successor of Kamehameha V and predecessor of king Kalakaua.
Prince Kalokuokamaile, whose great-greatgranddaughter Theresa Owana Kaohelelani Laanui has surviving descendants currently.