The History of Kamehameha

"Ka..me..ha..me...ha!" It's a phrase you hear a lot during the Dragon Ball series, after all; it is one of the most used moves in the  series. But how did Akira Toriyama come up with it? Truth is, he didn't. While thinking of a name for the move, he asked his wife, who suggested Kamehameha. Kamehameha was actually the name of a Hawaiian King, and that's what this section is here to tell you about.

King Kamehameha I (c. 1758–May 8, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaiʻi's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kanawai Mamalahoe, the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.

Legendary Birth?

Although there is some debate as to the precise year of his birth, Hawaiian legends claimed that a great king would one day unite the islands, and that the sign of his birth would be a comet. Hailey's comet was visible from Hawaiʻi in 1758 and it is likely Kamehameha was born shortly after its appearance. Other accounts state that he was born in November 1737. The 1758 date is most likely, since his eldest son was born in 1797.He was known as Paiea, which means "hard-shelled crab". His father by blood was Chief Keōua Nui. His mother was Chiefess Kekuʻiapoiwa of the Kohala district on the island of Hawaiʻi. In ancient Hawaiian culture it was common for royalty to mentor or "adopt" other children, so they can have another honorary parent. The ruler of the adjacent island of Maui, Kahekili II took Kamehameha into his court.His father Keōua was the grandson of Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawaiʻi island. When Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku died, war broke out over succession between his sons, Kalani Kama Keʻeaumoku Nui and Kalaninuiʻamamao, and a rival chief, Alapaʻinuiakauaua. Alapaʻi emerged victorious over the two brothers, and their orphan sons (including Kamehameha's father) were absorbed into his clan. he may also be the son of the chief of maui named kahikili.

When Kamehameha (Paiea) was born, Alapaʻi ordered the child killed. One of his priests (kahuna) had warned him that a fiery light in the sky would signal the birth of a "killer of chiefs". Alapaʻi, nervous at the thought of this child eventually usurping his rule, decided to take no chances. Paiʻea's parents, however, had anticipated this. As soon as he was born, he was given into the care of Naeʻole, another noble from Kohala, and disappeared from sight. Naeʻole raised Paiʻea for the first few years of his life. Five years after his birth, Alapaʻi, perhaps remorseful of his actions, invited the child back to live with his family. There under the guidance of his kahu (teacher), Kekuhaupiʻo, he learned the ways of court diplomacy and war. Kekuhaupiʻo remained a faithful and trusted advisor to Paiʻea until the accidental death of the loyal kahu during a sham battle.

Another story says the name Paiʻea was given to Kamehameha after he first distinguished himself as a warrior in a battles between Maui and Hawaiʻi island in 1775–1779.

Paiʻea is said to have had a dour disposition, and acquired the name he is best known for today: Kamehameha, from the Hawaiian language for "the lonely one"

The Hawaiian Islands union

Raised in the royal court of his uncle, Kamehameha achieved prominence in 1782, upon Kalani'opu'u's death. While the kingship was inherited by Kalaniopuu's son Kiwalao, Kamehameha was given a prominent religious position, guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kukailimoku, as well as the district of Waipio. Nevertheless, there was already bad blood between the two cousins, caused when Kamehameha presented a slain ali'i's body to the gods instead of Kiwalao, and when a group of chiefs from the Kona district offered Kamehameha the kingship instead of Kiwalao, he accepted eagerly. Kiwalao was soon defeated in the battle of Mokuohai, and Kamehameha took control of the districts of Kohala, Kona, and Hamakua on Hawai'i, but Kiwalao's brother Keoua-of-the-Flaming-Cloak escaped.

Kamehameha then moved against the district of Puna in 1790 deposing its chief Keawemauhili. Keoua, exiled to his home of Ka'u, took advantage of Kamehameha's absence and led an uprising. When Kamehameha returned with his army to put down the rebellion, Keoua fled past the volcano, which erupted and killed nearly a third of his warriors from poisonous gas.

Questioning a kahuna on how best to go about securing the rest of the island., Kamehameha resolved to construct a heiau to Kukailimoku, as well as lay an ali'i's body on it.

When the temple was completed the following, Kamehameha invited Keoua to meet with him. Keoua was no fool, and brought the greater part of his remaining army with him. As he stepped on shore, one of Kamehameha's chief's threw a spear at him. By some accounts he dodged it, but was then cut down by musket fire. Caught by surprise, Keoua's bodyguards were killed. With Keoua dead, and his supporters captured or slain, Kamehameha became ali'i nui of all Hawaii.

Kamehameha's dreams included far more than the island of Hawai'i. Help came from British and American traders, who sold guns and ammunition to Kamehameha. Two westerners who were resident on Hawai'i, Isaac Davis and John Young, trained Kamehameha's troops in use of the firearms.

With his new weapons, Kamehameha felt confident enough to move on the neighboring islands of Maui and Oahu, already weakened by a war of succession that broke out between King Kahekili's sons. Kamehameha may or may not have known that his rival, Kalanikupule, also possessed firearms, and was planning a move against Kamehameha when the ali' nui of Hawaii invaded the western islands.

In 1795, Kamehameha set sail with an armada of 1,200 war canoes and 10,000 soldiers - an incredible number for an island chain whose population had never exceeded 300,000. Kamehameha quickly secured the lightly defended islands of Maui and Molokai, and moved on the island of Oahu, landing his troops at Waialae and Waikiki. What Kamehameha did not know was that one of his commanders, a high-ranking ali'i named Kaiana, had defected to Kalanikupule. Kaiana assisting the cutting of notches into the Nu'uanu Pali mountain ridge; these notches, like those on a castle turret, would serve as gunports for Kalanikupule's cannon.

When Kamehameha moved on the Pali, his troops took heavy fire from the cannon. In desperation, he assigned two divisions of his best warriors to climb to the Pali. Converging on the cannons from behind, they surprised Kalanikupule's gunners and took control of the cannons. With the loss of their guns, Kalanikupule's troops fell into disarray, and many were driven off the cliffs of the Pali. Kaiana was killed during the action; Kalanikupule was captured some time later and sacrificed to Kukailimoku.

Kamehameha was now ali'i nui of all of Hawaii east of Oahu, but the islands of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau continually eluded him. When he attempted to invade the islands in 1796, his governor on Hawai'i, Namakeha, led a rebellion against his rule, and Kamehameha was forced to return. In 1803 he tried again, but this time disease broke out among his warriors, and Kamehameha himself fell ill, though he later recovered. During this time, Kamehameha was amassing the largest armada Hawai'i had ever seen - foreign-built schooners and massive war canoes, armed with cannon and carrying his vast army. Kaumualii, ali'i nui of Kaua'i, watched as Kamehameha built up his invading force and decided he would have a better chance in negotiation than battle.He may also have been influenced by foreign merchants, who saw the continuing feud between Kamehameha and Kaumualii as bad for the sandalwood trade.

In 1810, Kaumualii became a vassal of Kamehameha, who therefore emerged as the sole sovereign of the island chain of Hawai'i.

The First King of Hawaii

As king, Kamehameha took several steps to ensure that the islands remained a united realm even after his death. He unified the legal system and he used the products he collected in taxes to promote trade with Europe and the United States. Kamehameha did not allow haoles (non-Hawaiians) to own land; the would not be able to until the Great Mahele of 1848. This edict ensured the islands' independence even while many of the other islands of the Pacific succumbed to the colonial powers.

In fact, the Kingdom of Hawai'i that Kamehameha established retained its independence, except for a five-month British occupation in 1843, until it was annexed by the United States in 1898. It was this legacy that earned Kamehameha the epithet "Napoleon of the Pacific."

Kamehameha also instituted the Mamalahoe, or "law of the splintered paddle". Its origins derived from before the unification of the Island of Hawai'i, in 1782, when Kamehameha, during a raid, caught his foot in a rock. A local fisherman, fearful for his family, hit Kamehameha hard on the head with a paddle, which splintered. Kamehameha was stunned and left for dead, allowing the fisherman and his companion to escape. Chastened by this experience, Kamehameha declared, "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety". This law, which provided for the safety of noncombatants in wartime, is estimated to have saved thousands of lives during Kamehameha's campaigns. It became the first written law of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, and remains in the state constitution to this day.

Although he ended human sacrifice, Kamehameha was to the last a follower of the Hawaiian religion, executing his subjects for breaches of the kapu. Although he entertained Christians, he did not appear to take them seriously.

When Kamehameha died in 1819, his body was hidden by his kahuna. To this day his final resting place remains a mystery.

Legacy

Five statues exist, where each of the statues vary slightly from each other in details such as having different weaponry, gilding or painting, yet the original cast has been restored to its original painting:

• The original cast– the ship, bound for Honolulu on which it was being shipped from Europe sank off the Falkland Islands but in 1912 the original was salvaged, repaired and erected in Kapaʻau on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi;

• The replacement Kamehameha Statue was erected in his honor by King David Kalākaua in 1883 at Aliʻiōlani Hale, the center of Hawaiʻi's judicial system in Honolulu;

• One is located in Hilo, Hawaiʻi at the north end of the Wailoa State Recreation area, where it enjoys a king's view of Hilo Bay;

• One of smaller size is located in an outdoor Polynesian shopping center, across from the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada; and

• One in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol as a representation of the State of Hawaiʻi. This is now located in the New Visitors Center in the Capitol.

There are more legacy of the King himself. However, it is statue-related.

• In 1865 King Kamehameha V created the Royal Order of Kamehameha I society in his honor.[11]

• In 1871 Kamehameha V decreed a holiday, Kamehameha Day, in his honor. This holiday is still celebrated annually on June 11.

• Kamehameha Schools were founded in the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, at the time of her death in 1884 the last direct descendant of Kamehameha I. Her intention was to bring education and thus hope for a future to the rapidly declining number of native Hawaiians. The first school opened in 1887.

• A C-17 Globemaster III, P-153, was named the "Spirit of Kamehameha", while a Benjamin Franklin class submarine, launched in 1965 and decommissioned in 2002, was christened the USS Kamehameha.

• In the introduction to the Dragon Ball manga, creator Akira Toriyama said that he named Goku's energy attack after Kamehameha after visiting Hawaii on vacation and seeing a statue of the king.

There is a tribute video created by Scott Morgan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfXq0OPkPRE

Thanks to Scott's sister-in-law Lauren Dobbs for helping out with her awesome voice! Others by his Synth choir is the Voices of the Apocalypse library.