Kaumualiûi (c. 1778âÂÂMay 26, 1824) was the last independent aliûi nui of Kauaûi and Niûihau before becoming the vassal of Kamehameha I within the unified Hawaiian Kingdom in 1810. He was the 23rd high chief of Kauaûi and reigned from 1794 to 1810.
Although he was sometimes known as George Kaumualiûi, he should not be confused with his son, who is more commonly known by that name.
In HanamÃÂûulu, Hawaii, King Kaumuali'i Elementary School is named after him.
Kaumualiûi was the only son of the queen regnant (aliûi nui or aliûi aimoku) of Kauaûi and Niûihau, Kamakahelei, and her husband, Aliûi KÃÂûeokà «lani (c. 1754âÂÂ1794), regent of Maui and Molokaûi. KÃÂûeokà «lani was the younger son of Kekaulike, the 23rd aliûi aimoku and mà Âûë of Maui. He became the co-king and effective ruler of Kauaûi by his marriage.
When Kamakahelei died in 1794, she passed their titles and positions to the 16-year-old Kaumualiûi, who reigned under the regency of Chief Inamoûo until he came of age. His first wife and consort was his half-sister Kawalu of Oûahu. His second wife was his half-sister Kaûapuwai Kapuaûamohu of Kà Âloa; his third and final wife was the queen regent Kaûahumanu (1768âÂÂ1832), Kamehameha's widow.
Kauaûi and Niûihau had eluded Kamehameha's control since he first tried to add them to his kingdom in 1796, a year after Kaumualiûi became king. At that time, the governor of the Island of Hawai'i led a rebellion against Kamehameha, forcing him to return home. Kamehameha tried again in 1803, but disease ravaged his armies, and he called a retreat to heal his men and work on his strategy. Over the next years, Kamehameha amassed the largest armada Hawaiûi had ever seen: foreign-built schooners and massive war canoes armed with cannons to carry his vast army. Kaumualiûi decided to negotiate a peaceful resolution rather than resort to bloodshed. The move was supported by Kamehameha as well as the people of Kauaûi and the foreign sandalwood merchants on the island, whose trade was hurt by the constant feuding. In 1810, Kaumualiûi met face to face with Kamehameha in Honolulu and negotiated a peaceful surrender, acknowledging Kamehameha as supreme ruler, Kauaûi as a tributary domain under Kingdom of Hawaiûi and was able to remain in power to govern the island. He agreed that Kamehameha's heir would rule Kauaûi after his own death.
In 1815, a ship from the Russian-American Company, the Bering, was wrecked on Kaua'i. RAC Governor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov dispatched another ship, the Isabella, to retrieve the cargo from the Bering. In 1816, Kaumualiûi signed an agreement to let Georg Anton Schäffer and his Russian crew build the forts Alexander and Barclay-de-Tolly. The Hawaiian fort, Paûulaûula o Hipo, was renamed Fort Elizabeth in later decades and attributed to the Russians. Construction began in 1817 but, by fall of that year, the Russians were expelled.
In 1817, Kaumuali'i married Kekaihaûakà «lou, who became known as Deborah Kapule.
Kamehameha I died in 1819, and the Hawaiians grew fearful that Kaumualiûi would sever Kauaûi's relationship with the united Hawaiûi. Kamehameha's widow, Kaûahumanu, was the effective political force in the kingdom. On September 16, 1821, the new young King Kamehameha II arrived and invited Kaumualiûi aboard his ship. That night, they sailed to Honolulu, where Kaumualiûi was effectively under house arrest. To make the domination clear, Kaûahumanu forced him to marry her to ensure the island chain's stable union. They remained officially married until his death on May 26, 1824, but had no children. By his wishes, his body was taken to Maui, and buried next to Queen Keà Âpà «olani at the tomb of Halekamani in Lahaina. Their remains were transferred to a tomb on the island of Mokuûula sometime in 1837 and to the cemetery of Waiola Church in 1884.
Kaumualiûi was popular among both his people and foreigners who visited and worked on his islands. Captain George Vancouver, who gave the young king a flock of sheep as a gift in 1792, was thanked with a lavish banquet and described his host glowingly. Kaumualiûi was described as handsome, likeable, and courteous, as well as a capable leader. Upon his death, the people of Kauaûi sincerely mourned him.
After Kaumualiûi's death in 1824, his son by sacred wife Kawalu, daughter of Kamakahelei and ali'i Kiha of Ni'ihau, George "Prince" Kaumualiûi Humehume (1797âÂÂ1826), also known as George Tamoree, attempted to reestablish the independence of Kauaûi but was also eventually captured and taken to Honolulu, where he died of influenza. He had three offspring, a son who died young, a daughter born in 1821 who was given away to another chiefess on Kaua'i, and Harriet Kawahinekipi Kaumualiûi. Humehume's half-brother Kealiûiahonui was also forced to marry Kaûahumanu. Kaûahumanu later abandoned Kealiûiahonui and embraced Christianity. Kealiûiahonui later married Princess Kekauà Ânohi, the governess of Maui and Kauaûi and a widow of Kamehameha II.
King Kaumualiûi's granddaughter Kapiûolani of Hilo (eldest daughter of Kaumualiûi's daughter Kekaulike Kinoiki) married King KalÃÂkaua. In 1874, the Hawaiian legislature elected the couple king and queen of the Hawaiian Islands as King KalÃÂkaua and Queen Kapiûolani. Kapi'olani's youngest sister, Princess Victoria Kuhio Kinoike Kekaulike of Hilo, was later appointed governor of Kauaûi, princess and royal highness. Princess Victoria's other sister, Princess Virginia Kapoûoloku Poûomaikelani, succeeded her sister as governor of Kauaûi and was made Guardian of the Royal Tombs.
Hawaii Route 50 on Kauaûi is named "Kaumualiûi Highway" in honor of Kaua'i's last high chief.