Hawaiian Kingdom

Pacific Ocean · Hawaiian history · island kingdom

Kamehameha I unified. A brilliant warrior leader named Kamehameha I conquered and connected the Hawaiian Islands starting in 1795, bringing them all under one kingdom for the first time ever.

Island by island. Kamehameha I first took over Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi through conquest, then in 1810 the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined peacefully to complete the unified kingdom.

Two royal families. The Hawaiian Kingdom was ruled by two major dynasties: the House of Kamehameha and later the House of Kalākaua, which kept the kingdom going for nearly 100 years.

Archipelago powerhouse. The Hawaiian Kingdom was a real country made up of all the inhabited islands spread across the Pacific Ocean, not just one place.