A comet blazes across the night sky, heralding the birth of a powerful king who will rule the Islands. Then a baby is spirited away to the mountains to escape a jealous chief wary of the prophecy. As dramatic as a Greek myth, the story of Kamehameha the Great, Hawaii's warrior king, is retold here for readers of all ages. From his childhood in exile to his return to court and the lifting of the great Naha Stone, we follow this brave and ambitious youth as he paves his way to becoming first conqueror and then monarch of a unified Hawaiian kingdom. Recommended for ages 9 and up
The Life and Times of Kamehameha presents a century-old series of articles by William Drake Westervelt, published in English language periodicals between 1903 and 1925. It reveals familial and diplomatic relationships among the chiefs of the various islands and districts. Fierce battles, pivotal moments, and political maneuvers paved the way for Kamehameha's consolidated rule of all the islands of Hawaii. The events described in this text open a window, not only into ancient Hawaii, but also into the early years of the Twentieth Century. Illustrations by Dietrich Varez depict Kamahemeha's legendary feats, mythological figures, and the lifestyle and activities of ancient times. Born under a stormy sky in Kohala, on the island of Hawaii, an infant chief was whisked away and raised in seclusion. No one is sure of the exact year of his birth, but it is known he arrived amid prophecies of greatness and change. Diligently trained in warrior arts, alii protocol, and priestly rituals, he became known as Kamehameha, The Lonely One. Legendary warrior and kingdom builder, he was a brilliant strategist and a shrewd negotiator, a man of vision and wisdom. Uniquely positioned by heredity, grooming, and timing he united war-torn lands, created codified laws, established trade with foreigners, and brought a time of peaceful prosperity to a swiftly changing society. The founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha I died on May 8, 1819, in Kailua Kona, leaving behind a unified realm and an extraordinary legacy.
Discover King Kamehameha The Great... They say that one cannot truly understand a man unless one has walked a mile in their shoes. How would that ideology apply to a nation? What if it were one man that seemingly built a nation? What if this one man did not exist? Many would say to shoulder one person with such responsibility is cruel. Others say this is the way of honor. Yet, for one man, this was the truth of his life. That man is King Kamehameha. Born a child like every other human being on the face of the planet, just like you and me, this man was born under a prophecy that would control the course of his life and set forth into motion the future of a kingdom that would affect the entire world. Hidden away from the age of four until the age of majority, he was taught the warrior ways of his people, unaware that every event in his life was to lay groundwork for him to rule one day. He was born destined to be the king that would trample all other kings. Upon assuming control of the lands inherited by him, Kamehameha used his unparalleled intelligence and skills of the time to begin immediately fulfilling the prophecy that surrounded his birth, but his goal was not always greatness. His goal was that of many kings-peace and prosperity for his subjects. Many of the battles he was involved in began over revenge for injustices done to him or his extended family. All he wanted was peace. Yet, had he not sought his honorable ways, Hawaii would have never been the state it was. Many people know of Hawaii for its beauty and as a tropical destination hotspot, but very few know that Hawaii is single-handedly responsible for cornering the market on the sandalwood trade, which funded his quest for peace. Without him, Hawaii never would have been unified under one rule. This would have left it open to be conquered by the visiting Europeans who began arriving in the late 1700's. Could you imagine a British Hawaii or a Chinese Hawaii? Imagine what might have happened had Kamehameha been eliminated as a child, as many tried to do. Find out why he was called 'The Lonely One'. Kamehameha was also a stout traditionalist. His 'Law of the Splintered Paddle' has transcended time and was later incorporated into the Constitution of Hawaii. As you peruse the pages of this book, you will see how King Kamehameha rose from birth to death and became one of the greatest monarchs of time. Discover how in one generation, all a man's achievements can be overturned, but his legacy will continue. Take an informational trip that describes the origins of the Hawaiian Islands, the similarities between the first settlers of the islands and the Vikings, and the birth of Hawaii's 'Great King'. Follow his battles and see how those battles impacted Hawaii's history and created the wonderful destination spot you know today. Discover King Kamehameha the Great. Purchase This Book Today““/b>
Waterman is the first comprehensive biography of Duke Kahanamoku (1890–1968): swimmer, surfer, Olympic gold medalist, Hawaiian icon, waterman. Long before Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz made their splashes in the pool, Kahanamoku emerged from the backwaters of Waikiki to become America’s first superstar Olympic swimmer. The original “human fish” set dozens of world records and topped the world rankings for more than a decade; his rivalry with Johnny Weissmuller transformed competitive swimming from an insignificant sideshow into a headliner event. Kahanamoku used his Olympic renown to introduce the sport of “surf-riding,” an activity unknown beyond the Hawaiian Islands, to the world. Standing proudly on his traditional wooden longboard, he spread surfing from Australia to the Hollywood crowd in California to New Jersey. No American athlete has influenced two sports as profoundly as Kahanamoku did, and yet he remains an enigmatic and underappreciated figure: a dark-skinned Pacific Islander who encountered and overcame racism and ignorance long before the likes of Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, and Jackie Robinson. Kahanamoku’s connection to his homeland was equally important. He was born when Hawaii was an independent kingdom; he served as the sheriff of Honolulu during Pearl Harbor and World War II and as a globetrotting “Ambassador of Aloha” afterward; he died not long after Hawaii attained statehood. As one sportswriter put it, Duke was “Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey combined down here.” In Waterman, award-winning journalist David Davis examines the remarkable life of Duke Kahanamoku, in and out of the water. Purchase the audio edition.
From the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn. Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight. Among the developments in these outposts of 1898, Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, their goal to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters: whalers who fired cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their God-given right to whores, an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband, sugar barons, lepers, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade. With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the off, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all.
The history of Hawaii may be said to be the story of arrivals -- from the eruption of volcanoes on the ocean floor 18,000 feet below to the first hardy seeds that over millennia found their way to the islands, and the confused birds blown from their migratory routes. Early Polynesian adventurers sailed across the Pacific in double canoes. Spanish galleons en route to the Philippines and British navigators in search of a Northwest Passage were soon followed by pious Protestant missionaries, shipwrecked sailors, and rowdy Irish poachers escaped from Botany Bay -- all wanderers washed ashore. This is true of many cultures, but in Hawaii, no one seems to have left. And in Hawaii, a set of myths accompanied each of these migrants -- legends that shape our understanding of this mysterious place. Susanna Moore pieces together the story of late-eighteenth-century Hawaii -- its kings and queens, gods and goddesses, missionaries, migrants, and explorers -- a not-so-distant time of abrupt transition, in which an isolated pagan world of human sacrifice and strict taboo, without a currency or a written language, was confronted with the equally ritualized world of capitalism, Western education, and Christian values.
This is the 4th edition, a hardcover version of 9780971181618. A complete biography of King Kamehameha III, longest ruling king of the Hawaiian Islands (1824-1854).
