Kauikeauoli once proudly declared, "He aupuni palapala koʻu," mine is a kingdom of literacy. It was because of his promise and the people's commitment to ʻŌlelo Hawaii and the Newspapers that made Hawaii the most literate nation of its time. Moʻohonua is commitment to Kauikeauuliʻs promise of literacy and the perpetuation of Hawaiian Culture and history. He hana kuʻe ka aʻo a paʻanaʻao ʻana. To educate oneself is an act of resistance. E kū pono kākou a hoʻomau I kēia hahana koʻikoʻi.
Moʻo refers to a story, tradition, or legend, as in the term moʻolelo. It is also a reference to lineage or genealogy, as in moʻokuʻauhau. Honua means earth, land or world. It is a background, as in quilt designs. It is also a word for a foundation. So this is our moʻohonua, our story of the world.
This moʻohonua serves as the foundation for a Hawaiian understanding of our world. It extends out across the globe, because our interaction with the world was in fact global. Contrary to popular belief, we explored not only our island home, but the larger world beyond that.
We believe that Hawaiʻi possesses a unique ability to bring the world together. We believe it is a center, a piko, of peace and understanding. We believe this timeline is only our beginning of the retelling of this story; a tradition started by our kūpuna and carried on by Hawaiians today. It is a loving tribute to those who have come before, and intended to be a stepping stone for the many who will come after.
| DATE | EVENT | SHORT NARRATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 200 | First Settlement | The first ancestors of the Hawaiian race arrive in Hawaiʻi Pae ʻAina |
| 593 | Birthing of Islands | Time of Papahānaumoku and her mate Wākea: Hawaiʻi and Maui are born followed by the wahine Hoʻohōkūkalani |
| 630 | ʻAikapu | Wākea creates the ʻaikapu ritually separating men and women from eating together and during a womanʻs menses. Observing the ʻaikapu allows Wākea the opportunity to mate with Hoʻohōkūkalani and begins the practice of nīʻaupio mating among the aliʻi |
| 634 | Hāloanaka is born | Hāloa is born to Wākea and Hoʻohōkūkalani |
| 634-828 | The Piʻo chiefs | Generation after generation of aliʻi nui are born to closely related parents, often siblings |
| 828 | Nanaʻulu and Ulu are born, descendents of Papa and Wākea | Two major chiefly lines are established at this point, with the Nanaʻulu lineage associated with Oʻahu, Kauaʻi and Niʻihau and ʻUlu chiefs with Hawaiʻi and Maui islands |
| 1194 | Birth of Māweke | Māweke: great ruling chief on Oʻahu and voyager. Māweke's descendents would rule Oʻahu virtually as a dynasty until the time of Kahekiliahumanu |
| 1219 | Birth of Moikeha | Closing the age of great voyages between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti |
| 1444 | Birth of Māʻilikūkahi | The institution of ahupuaʻa on Oʻahu |
| 1492* | Cristobal Colon crosses the Atlantic | Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Hispaniola discovering the New World for 15th century Europe |
| 1519 | Birth of Kukaniloko | Ushers in of series of female Mōʻī on Oʻahu |
| 1544 | Birth of Kalanimauluaia | |
| 1544 | Birth of Kanehoalani | |
| 1594 | Birth of Kakuihewa | Oʻahu |
| 1619* | Slavery introduced to the Colony of Virginia. |
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| 1636* | Harvard College founded. | |
| 1694 | Birth of Kualii | A powerful Oʻahu Aliʻi Nui who strengthened the authority of the Mōʻī and defended the island from invasion |
| 1695 | The Kumulipo is chanted | Approximate birth year of Kalaninuiʻīamamao, son of Keawe and father of Kalaniōpuʻu. Birth chant traces his ancestry to the beginning of life |
| 1713 | Birth of Kahekili | This descendent of the renown Maui chief Piʻilani would become the greatest warrior chief before Kamehameha |
| 1753 | Birth of Kamehameha I | Earliest estimated year of his birth |
| 1737 | The Peace at Nāonealaʻa | After beginning attacks on Māui and Molokaʻi, Alapaʻi Nui, Hawaiʻi Mōʻī from Kohala agrees to end his invasion of Oʻahu in a parley with Kauaʻi Mōʻī Peleiōholani |
| 1754 | Alapaʻi Nui dies on Hawaiʻi island | Ends a period of political stability with long standing dynasties of ruling Mōʻī controlling the major islands |
| 1759 | Kalaniʻōpuʻu takes Kauwiki on Maui | Begins a 20 year warfare between Hawaiʻi and Maui Aliʻi |
| 1766 | Kahekiliahumanu becomes Mōʻī of Maui | The death of Kamehameha Nui leads to the ascent of his brother Kahekili. One of Kamehameha Nui's widows Nāmahana takes up with Hawaiʻi island chief Keʻeaumoku. The high chiefess Kaʻahumanu is born to them in 1768 |
| 1768-1771* | Cook takes first “discovery” through south pacific | |
| 1770* | Boston Massacre (March 5) |
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| 1773* | Boston Tea Party (December 16) | |
| 1775 | Kahekili defeats Kalaniʻōpuʻu at Kalaeokaʻīlio. | Kalaniʻōpuʻu loses his fort on Maui and begins preparation of a larger invasion. Kamehameha earns reputation as a fierce warrior |
| 1776 | Ahulau ka Piʻipiʻi i Kakanilua | Kalaniʻōpuʻu's invasion of Maui is thoroughly defeated by Kahekiliʻs ambush and Kalaniʻopuʻu is forced to beg for his life |
| Jan. 20, 1778 | Cook and Clerke anchor at Waimea | |
| 1778 | Keōpūolani is born | |
| Feb.14, 1779 | Battle in Kealakekua. Kanaka and James Cook killed | |
| 1780 | Final Campaigns of Kalaniʻōpuʻu | 1780—Kalani‘ōpu‘u, the ruler of the island of Hawai‘i, meets with chiefs in Waipi‘o Valley, telling them that, that after he dies: his oldest son, Kīwala‘ō will be the new ruler of Hawai‘i Island; his; and Kamehameha will also be given guardianship of the family’s feathered war god,. This action by Kamehameha causes controversy and leads to a rift between Kīwala‘ō Kauikeaouli [Kīwala‘ō Kauikeouli] and Kamehameha, who then returns to Kohala. |
| 1782 | Battle of Mokuʻōhai | Kamehameha, aided by Hawaiʻi island Aliʻi nui defeats Kīwalaʻō and begins a decade long struggle for primacy on Hawaiʻi island with rival Mōʻī, Keawemaʻuhili and Keoua Kūʻahuʻula |
| 1783* | The Treaty of Paris (1783) ends the American Revolutionary War (September 3) | |
| 1783 | Kahekili invades Oʻahu | Kahekili dupes his nephew Kahahana, Mōʻī of Oʻahu into killing his Kahuna nui, opening the island to conquest |
| 1785 | Kimo Pō (Night of the assassins) | Following the slaying of Kahahana, Oʻahu and some Maui Aliʻi rebel against Kahekili on Oʻahu. Kahekili puts down the rebellion and slaughters the Oʻahu chiefly families. Kahekili controls Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu |
| 1787* | Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia | |
| 1789 | Hawai'i becomes a standard port of call | By this date, traders and explorers from America and Europe are making the Hawaiian Islands a standard port of call for provisions and rest |
| 1790 | Kēpaniwai | The Battle of Kepaniwai—Kamehameha Invades Maui with perhaps the largest invasion force (16,000) in history. Defeats Kalanikūpule at Iao valley. |
| 1790 | The Olowalu Massacre | The Eleanora under the command of Simon Metcalf opens fire on unarmed Kanaka at Oluwalu, killing dozens. Metcalfʻs son Thomas is later murdered by Hawaiʻi chief Kameʻeiamoku and his ship The Fair American becomes a ship of war for Kamehameha |
| 1791 | Sandalwood trade begins | “discovery” of Sandalwood in Hawaiʻi attributed to China Trader John Kendrick |
| 1791* | Bill of Rights ratified (see ratification timeline) | |
| 1792 | Birth of Ōpūkahaʻia | Orphaned by the wars on Hawaiʻi island, he would eventually be responsible for bringing the ABCFM mission and literacy to Hawaiʻi |
| 1794 | Death of Kahekili | Kamehameha apparently delayed his invasion of Oʻahu until the old chief had passed reinforcing the belief that Kahekili was his true parent |
| 1795 | Birth of David Malo | 19th century convert, author, advisor to Kaʻahumanu and member of the first legislature, Malo led a petition drive from Lāhaina to demand that foreigners not be given land or government offices |
| 1795 | Battle of Nu'uanu | Kamehameha invades Oʻahu, landing at Waikikī with more than 12,000 warriors |
| 1797 | Birth of Liholiho (Kamehameha II) | |
| 1797 | Kānāwai Mamalahoa | Kamehamehas's oft-cited kauoha directing that people may not be molested in their homes or on their travels. Ends the reprisals against Kamehameha's opponents by his own warriors |
| 1798* | United States presidential election, 1789 | |
| 1804 | Maʻi ʻōkuʻu | Many thousands die in an epidemic, possibly cholera, which strikes Oʻahu and causes Kamehameha to call off an invasion of Kauaʻi |
| 1804 | Death of the Kuhina Nui | Kamehameha's chief councilor Keʻeaumoku passes after advising Kamehameha to appoint Kaʻahumanu as his successor |
| 1808 | Birth of Konia and Paki | Parents of Bernice Pauahi BIshop |
| 1809 | Ōpūkahaʻia leaves for New England | |
| 1810 | The Aupuni: Hawaiʻi islands unified under Kamehameha | Kaumualiʻi agrees that Kauaʻi and Niʻihau will become Kamehameha's upon the Kauaʻi mōʻīʻs death |
| Aug. 1813 | Birth of Kauikeaouli (KIII) | Although Kauikeaouli adopts St. Patrick's day of 1814 as his official birthday |
| 1815 | Birth of Samuel M. Kamakau | |
| 1815 | Birth of Nāhīʻenaʻena | |
| 1818 | Ōpūkahaʻia dies | Literate in English, Hawaiian and Hebrew, he appropriates the latin alphabet for writing in Hawaiian and translates the book of Genesis from the Hebrew into Hawaiian |
| May 8, 1819 | Death of Kamehameha I | |
| May 20, 1819 | Liholiho proclaimed Mōʻī | Kaʻahumanu begins to consolidate her influence among the high chiefs. Liholiho leaves for Kohala and stays with his cousin Kekuaokalani |
| Nov. 1819 | ʻAinoa (Free eating) | Liholiho is persuaded to leave Kekuaokalani, return to Kona and eat together with mother and Kaʻahumanu, breaking the millennium old ʻAikapu Tradition |
| Dec. 1819 | The Battle of Kuamoʻo | Kekuaokalani attacks the heirs of Kamehameha for breaking the ʻaikapu. But he is defeated and killed |
| Mar. 31, 1820 | First missionaries arrive | from Boston on the Thaddeus, docking at Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawai‘i where they begin congregational mission work. |
| Sep. 15, 1821 | Charles Reed Bishop Born | Later marries Pauahi |
| 1823 | Hale Paʻi opened | Constructed in Honolulu near the Hale Pule (Mission House) and becomes the home of the Mission Press, which eventually prints millions of pages in the Hawaiian language. The first book is published in 1823, entitled Na Himeni Hawaii (Hymns of Hawai‘i). (See The Mission Houses, Chapter 12.) |
| 1824 | The Passing of the Ruling family | On a visit to the British monarch and Parliament In London Kamāmalu succumbs to measles. Liholiho dies a few days after. Keōpūolani dies in Lāhaina of an illness |
| 1825 | The Mōʻī Kauikeaouli is 9 years old, but Kaʻahumanu declares herself regent | “He aupuni palapala ko‘u; o ke kanaka pono ‘oia ko‘u kanaka.” (“Mine is the kingdom of education; the righteous man is my man.”) Kauikeaouli’s motto |
| 1826 | Ruth Keʻelikōlani born | |
| 1827 | Kaʻahumanu baptized by the ABCFM—becomes Elizabeth Kaʻahumanu | Presiding over a council of Aliʻi Nui between 1823 and 1829, Kaʻahumanu enacts a number of prohibitionary laws based on Protestant values |
| 1827 | The Bachelot Affair | Marist missionary Father Bachelot is denied permission to establish a Catholic mission in Hawaiʻi |
| Dec. 11, 1830 | Lot Kapuaiwa K5 born | |
| 1830* | Indian Removal Act | |
| 1831 | Lāhaināluna school established | The opening of the seminary leads to an explosion in literacy among Kānaka |
| 1832 | Kaʻahumanu dies | An epidemic of whooping cough in the Hawaiian Islands kills thousands of residents |
| 1832* | Department of Indian Affairs established | |
| 1833 | Kauikeaouli invested as Mōʻī | For more than a year, the Mōʻī rejects the missionary leadership, and eventually attempts a Nīʻaupiʻo union with his sister Nāhīʻenaʻena |
| 1834 | Birth of Kapiʻolani | |
| 1835 | Birth of Leleiohōkū | |
| Jan. 31, 1835 | Birth of William Charles Lunalilo | Succeeds K5 |
| 1835 | Kōloa Sugar Plantation is established | Kōloa Sugar Plantation is established by Missionary William Ladd on Kaua‘i, becoming the first successful exporter of sugar in the Aupuni |
| 1836 | Birth of Emma Kaleleonālani Rooke | |
| Sep. 2, 1838 | Birth of Lydia Kamakaʻeha Liliʻuokalani | Ruling Queen of Hawaiʻi |
| 1838 | Birth of Victoria Kamāmalu | |
| Jun. 7, 1839 | Entire Bible translated and printed | |
| 1839 | Unequal Treaty with France | French Commander Laplace extorts the Kingdom with a list of demands and threat to bombard Honolulu |
| 1839 | Death of Kīnaʻu | Kekuaokalani attacks the heirs of Kamehameha for breaking the ʻaikapu. But he is defeated and killed |
| Oct. 8, 1840 | Kumu Kānāwai | Kamehameha III replaces the chiefly form of government with Hawai‘i’s first constitution, drafted in the Hawaiian language in 1839 and proclaimed (enacted) in 1840. The new constitution is a departure from the traditional chiefly form of government |
| 1840 | KIII establishes a public schooling system | Kekuaokalani attacks the heirs of Kamehameha for breaking the ʻaikapu. But he is defeated and killed |
| 1841 | Punahou and O'ahu College established for missionary children | Hiram Bigham is the founder |
| 1842 | Makaʻāinana Petitions | Beginning in 1842 thousands of Kanaka petition the King and Kūhina Nui not to allow foreigners to become subjects, occupy governent positions or own land |
| Apr. 1842 | Diplomatic mission for recognition | William Richards and Timoteo Haʻalilio are commissioned special envoys to Europe and the US |
| Feb.10, 1843 | British Captain Paulet takes over the Kingdom | Lord George Paulet of Britain arrives in the Hawaiian Islands on the frigate Carysfort. Using the threat of military might, Paulet demands a formal “provisional cession” of the Hawaiian Islands to Britain. King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) acquiesces to avoid bloodshed, and the British flag is raised in Honolulu |
| Jul. 31, 1843 | The British withdraw | The provisional cession of the Hawaiian Islands to Britain is rescinded by Admiral Richard Thomas (1777-1851) of Britain, sent by Queen Victoria to restore control of the Hawaiian Islands to King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) |
| Nov. 28, 1843 | Hawaii's independence recognized by England and France | Great Britain and France issue a joint declaration, signed in London, formally recognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i (referred to at the time as the Sandwich Islands). (See Restoration Day, Chapter 12.) |
| Apr. 23, 1844 | Birth of Sanford B. Dole | from Boston on the Thaddeus, docking at Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawai‘i where they begin congregational mission work |
| 1845 | First Hawaiian/English dictionary published | By Lahainaluna seminary press |
| Mar. 1846 | Organic Acts of the Kingdom | Divides the executive into cabinet ministries and creates the Commission to Quiet Land Titles |
| Jan. 27, 1848 | Mahele | The Mōʻī and Konohiki divide out their interests in the land as an integral step in creating private property in Hawaiʻi. This was a legal process |
| Dec. 12, 1850 | First mormon missionaries arrive | |
| Jul. 1850 | Kuleana Act | The Kuleana Act is passed to encourage makaʻāinana to claim title to their house and farm lots just after legislation allowing foreigners to own and sell property results in the accelerating alienation of land |
| 1852 | New constitution | King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) adopts a new Hawaiian constitution, allowing foreigners to vote and be elected to the legislature. Also specifically designates males as voting subjects |
