The Battle of Nu?uanu (Hawaiian: Kaleleka?anae; literally the leaping mullet), fought in May 1795 on the southern part of the island of O?ahu, was a key battle in the final days of King Kamehameha I's wars to unify the Hawaiian Islands. It is known in the Hawaiian language as Kaleleka?anae, which means "the leaping mullet", and refers to a number of Oahu warriors driven off the cliff in the final phase of the battle. There are "varied and sometimes conflicting histories of the Battle of Nu?uanu."
Video Battle of Nu?uanu
Prior to the battle
O?ahu
Around the year 1792 (the exact date is unknown; the landing could have been as late as February 1795), Captain William Brown, an English merchant, landed in the harbor of Honolulu. As a Maritime Fur Trader and gun seller, he made several voyages before from the Pacific Northwest coast to the Hawaiian islands in command of the Butterworth Squadron. Captain Brown landed several vessels on the island; the ones noted are the two sloops Prince Lee Boo and the Jackall.
After landing, he made an agreement with Kahekili II (the chief of the island at that time) that he would offer his military assistance against Kamehameha for use of the harbor. Likewise, Kamehameha requested military assistance and the use of artillery from Captain George Vancouver and in exchange "ceded" the island of Hawaii to Great Britain in February 1794.
The two rival chiefs never met again, as Kahekili II died in mid-1794. At this point, Kahekili's son, Kalanikupule, had control of the island of O?ahu and his half-brother, Ka?eokulani, had control of the islands of Kaua?i (through his wife), Maui, Lana?i, and Moloka?i.
After Kahekili's death, Ka?eokulani decided to visit Kaua?i, his home island. In order to accomplish this, he had to travel through the way of O?ahu. Kalanikupule then set up trenches and earthworks on the windward side of O?ahu, where Ka?eokulani's canoes would pass. Both sides fought, but the battle was stopped by Kalanikupule and the two chiefs met to mourn over the death of Kahekili.
Ka?eokulani then discovered a plot to be thrown overboard by his chiefs on the way to Kaua?i. To resolve the issue, he proposed war against Kalanikupule. This war was called Kuki?iahu and lasted from November 16 until December 12, 1794. He ordered his men to make a land march to where Kalanikupule was stationed. In the early part of December 1794, Ka?eokulani's army was confronted by Kalanikupule's, along with the artillery of Captain Brown's ships. With Ka?eokulani being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, his forces fled and scattered to the mountains. Nevertheless, Ka?eokulani's army was destroyed.
After Ka?eokulani's defeat, a dispute arose with Captain Brown over payment. Brown and several of his men were killed, and Kalanikupule took possession of the Jackal and the Prince Lee Boo, together with all their arms. After 3 weeks of preparation, on January 4, 1795 Kalanikupule set sail for Hawaii with a fleet of canoes and the two ships, intending to make war on Kamehameha.
But the ships' crews recaptured the vessels while they were at anchor off Waikiki. They sailed for Hawaii where they told Kamehameha all that had happened. They traded Kamehameha all of Kalanikupule's weapons, which had remained in the ships, in return for supplies.
Kalanikupule had received prior warnings of the impending invasion from the chiefs of Maui and Moloka?i and had begun building several lines of fortifications on O?ahu. He had already begun buying muskets and cannons from European traders, but had far fewer than Kamehameha. He was also assisted by one of Kamehameha's chiefs, Kaiana, who defected before the battle began. Kaiana had fallen out of favor with Kamehameha's inner circle and feared that he was being plotted against. On the voyage to O?ahu, his army split off from the Hawaiian armada and landed on the north side of the island. There, they began cutting notches into the Nu?uanu mountain ridge, which would serve as gunports for Kalanikupule's cannons.
Kamehameha
Kamehameha I had begun his campaign to unify Hawaii in 1783, but prior to 1795 had only managed to unify the Big Island. However, in 1794 a civil war broke out when the chief of O?ahu, Kahekili II, died. The civil war was fought between his half-brother Ka?eokulani and his son Kalanikupule. Kalanikupule ultimately won, but emerged from the war greatly weakened.
During this time, Kamehameha had been equipping his army with modern muskets and cannon, as well as training his men in their use under direction of British Sailor John Young. In February 1795 he assembled the largest army the Hawaiian islands had ever seen, with about 12,000 men and 1,200 war canoes (at this time, the British estimated the entire population of the Hawaiian Islands at less than 300,000; modern anthropologists believe it was closer to one million). Kamehameha initially moved against the southern islands of Maui and Moloka?i, conquering them in the early spring. Then he invaded O?ahu.
Maps Battle of Nu?uanu
Battle
The Battle of Nu?uanu began when Kamehameha's forces landed on the southeastern portion of O?ahu near Wai?alae and Waikiki. After spending several days gathering supplies and scouting Kalanikupule's positions, Kamehameha's army advanced westward, encountering Kalanikupule's first line of defense near the Punchbowl Crater. Splitting his army into two, Kamehameha sent one half in a flanking maneuver around the crater and the other straight at Kalanikupule. Pressed from both sides, the O?ahu forces retreated to Kalanikupule's next line of defense near La?imi. While Kamehameha pursued, he secretly detached a portion of his army to clear the surrounding heights of the Nu?uanu Valley of Kalanikupule's cannons. Kamehameha also brought up his own cannons to shell La?imi. During this part of the battle, both Kalanikupule and Kaiana were wounded, Kaiana fatally. With its leadership in chaos, the O?ahu army slowly fell back north through the Nu?uanu Valley to the cliffs at Nu?uanu Pali. Caught between the Hawaiian Army and a 1000-foot drop, over 700 O?ahu warriors either jumped or were pushed over the edge of the Pali (cliff). In 1898 construction workers working on the Pali road discovered 800 skulls which were believed to be the remains of the warriors that fell to their deaths from the cliff above.
Aftermath
Though he escaped the battle, Kalanikupule was later captured. This battle was the climax of Kamehameha's campaign, after this battle his kingdom was for the first time referred to as the Kingdom of Hawai?i. The islands were still not united. He had to capture the remaining neighboring islands of Kaua?i and Ni?ihau. First he had to put down an uprising on the Big Island, and then he began his preparations for the conquest of Kaua?i. However, before this battle could be fought the king Kaumuali?i of Kaua?i submitted to Kamehameha, giving him effective control over the Hawaiian Islands.
Notes
References
- "Nu?uanu, O?ahu -- A Native Place: Battle of Nu?uanu". 2003. Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- James, Rob (2002). "Battle of Nuuanu". Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- Burlingame, Burl (September 12, 2004). "New releases from Hawaii authors: The Battle of Nu'uanu -- May, 1795". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
- The Hawaiian Kingdom (1778-1854), by Ralph S. Kuykendall, c. 1938
- The Warrior King, by Richard Tregakis, c. 1973
- Kamehameha and his Warrior Kekuhaupio, by Stephen L. Desha, c. 2000
- Hawaii's Royal History, by Helen Wong, c. 1987
- Kamakau, Samuel (1992) [1961]. Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii (Revised ed.). Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press. ISBN 0-87336-014-1.
- An account of the Polynesian Race..., by Abraham Fornander, c. 1969
- The Napoleon of the Pacific, by Herbert Gowden, c. 1919
- Kamehameha the Great, by Paea Kamaka, c. 1966
External links
- A Native Place: Battle of Nu?uanu
- Battle of Nu`uanu
Source of article : Wikipedia
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