When Kauikeaouli came to the throne in 1825, the native population numbered about 150,000, which was already less than one-third of the Hawaiian population at the time of
Captain Cook's arrival to Hawaii in 1778. During his reign, that number would be halved again, due to a series of epidemics.
Marriage and children In
ancient Hawaii, the upper classes considered a marriage with a close royal family member to be an excellent way to preserve pure bloodlines. His brother Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) and his Queen
Kamāmalu were a half-sister and brother couple. He had loved his sister
Nāhienaena and planned to marry her since childhood, but the union was opposed by the missionaries due to their perceptions of
incest. It was proposed in 1832 that
Kamanele, the daughter of Governor
John Adams Kuakini, would be the most suitable in age, rank, and education for his queen. Kamanele died in 1834 before the wedding took place. Instead Kamehameha III chose to marry
Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, against the wishes of Kīnau. Kalama's father was
Naihekukui. After his sister's death in late 1836, he married Kalama on February 14, 1837, in a Christian ceremony. Kamehameha III and Kalama had two children:
Prince Keaweaweulaokalani I and
Prince Keaweaweulaokalani II who both died while infants. He and his
mistress Jane Lahilahi, a daughter of his father's advisor
John Young, had twin illegitimate sons: Kīwalaʻō, who Kamehameha initially took to raise, died young, while the other twin
Albert Kūnuiākea survived and was later adopted by Kamehameha and his wife Queen Kalama. Kūnuiākea lived to adulthood but died childless (1851–1902).
Government Kamehameha III led the development of Hawaii's first formal written laws. In 1838, senior advisor
Hoapili convinced former missionary
William Richards to resign from the church and become a political advisor. Richards (although he had no legal training himself) gave classes to Kamehameha III and his councilors on the Western ideas of rule of law and economics. Their first act was a declaration of human rights in 1839. This laid the groundwork for the establishment of judicial and executive branches of government, and a system of land ownership was implemented under the Mahele in 1848. The 1839 declaration of rights, the 1840 constitution, and various laws enacted from 1840 to 1842 came to be collectively called the Kumu Kānāwai or "foundation of law." from the
United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 under
Charles Wilkes Paulet affair In February 1843, British Captain
Lord George Paulet pressured Kamehameha III into surrendering the Hawaiian kingdom to the British crown, but Kamehameha III alerted London of the captain's rogue actions which eventually restored the kingdom's independence. Less than five months later, British Admiral
Richard Thomas rejected Paulet's actions and the kingdom was restored on July 31. It was at the end of this period of uncertainty that the king uttered the phrase
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, "the sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness". July 31 was celebrated thereafter as
Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, an official national holiday of the kingdom. Later that year, on November 28, Britain and France officially recognized the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and that too became a national holiday,
Lā Kūʻokoʻa — Independence Day.
Government reform Through the 1840s a formal
legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom and
cabinet replaced the informal council of chiefs. The chiefs became the House of Nobles, roughly modeled on the British
House of Lords. Seven elected representatives would be the start of a democratic government. The cabinet consisted of a
Privy Council and five powerful government ministers. Judd was appointed to the most powerful post of Minister of Finance. Frontier lawyer
John Ricord was
Attorney General,
Robert Crichton Wyllie was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Richards Minister of Public Instruction, and
Keoni Ana was Minister of the Interior. Kamehameha III also presided over the formalization of the court system and land titles. Cases such as those of
Richard Charlton and
Ladd & Co. had prompted the incidents of 1843 and subsequent litigation. Under Kamehameha III, Hawaii rapidly transitioned from indigenous traditions to a new legal system based on Anglo-American common law.
Lorrin Andrews became a judge for foreign cases in 1845.
William Little Lee (the first to actually graduate from law school) became the first chief justice. A commission to
Quiet Land Titles was formed on February 10, 1846. This led to what is called the
Great Mahele of 1848 which redistributed land between the government, king, nobles, and commoners. Foreigners were allowed to own land
fee simple in Hawaii for the first time. Many commoners were unaware of the program and lost out on the distribution. The domination of his cabinet by Americans (balanced only by Scot Wyllie and half-Hawaiian Keoni Ana) also discouraged the people. This was not the end of foreign conflicts either. In 1849, Admiral
Louis Tromelin led a
French invasion of Honolulu. The French sacked and looted the city after the king refused his demands. In September 1849, Judd was sent with the heir apparent
Prince Alexander Liholiho and
Kamehameha V on a diplomatic mission. They returned with a new treaty with the United States but failed in visits to London and Paris. The
Constitution of 1852 and subsequent legislation continued to liberalize politics. The court system was unified, instead of having separate courts for Hawaiians and foreigners. Local Hawaiian magistrates became Circuit Judges, and a Supreme Court was formed with Lee, Andrews, and
John Papa ʻĪʻī as members. Voting rules were formalized and the role of the House of Representatives was strengthened. Hawaii became a popular winter destination for frustrated prospectors in the 1850s. Some were rumored to be
filibusters hoping to profit from a rebellion. One of the first was a group led by
Samuel Brannan, who did not find the popular support for an uprising that they expected. By the end of 1853 the threats, whether real or imagined, caused petitions for the king to consider annexation to the United States. Wyllie and Lee convinced the king to insist that annexation would only be acceptable if Hawaii became a U.S. state. In 1852, a group of missionaries set out from Hawaii for the islands of Micronesia. They carried with them a letter of introduction that bore the official seal of King Kamehameha III, the then-ruling monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. This letter, originally written in Hawaiian and addressed to the various rulers of the Pacific Islands, said in part: "There are about to sail for your islands some teachers of the Highest God, Jehovah, to make known unto you His Word for your eternal salvation. . . . I commend these good teachers to your esteem and friendship and exhort you to listen to their instructions. . . . I advise you to throw away your idols, take the Lord Jehovah for your God, worship and love Him and He will bless and save you." On May 16, 1854, King Kamehameha III proclaimed the Hawaiian Kingdom neutral in the
Crimean War in Europe. The present crises had passed, but the king's health declined, often attributed to his renewed drinking. The annexation question also did not go away. The British minister
William Miller and French representative Louis Emile Perrin objected to the plan. New U.S. Commissioner
David L. Gregg received instructions from Secretary of State
William L. Marcy and negotiated a treaty of annexation with Wyllie by August 1854. It was never signed, and might not have been ratified by the
Senate. it would take 105 more years before full statehood of Hawaii. == Death and funeral ==