Kaahumanu IV
Encyclopedia
Victoria Kamāmalu Kaahumanu IV (1838–1866), was Kuhina Nui
of Hawaii
and its crown princess. Princess Kamāmalu is one of Hawaii's less notable historical figures. She was largely overshadowed by her female contemporaries including her sister-in-law, Queen Emma Kaleleonalani; her schoolmate, Liliuokalani whose fame exceeded hers much later on; her half-sister, Ruth Keelikolani, known for her tragedy and large landholding; and her first-cousin-once removed, Bernice Pauahi famous for her legacy to the Hawaiian people, Kamehameha Schools
. She was the last true Princess of the House of Kamehameha
. Although not agreed upon by most, she was the first female to become the monarch of Hawaii, reigning from for a day in November 30, 1863.
. She was the only daughter of Kaahumanu II
and her third husband Mataio Kekūanāoa. Through her mother she was granddaughter of King Kamehameha I
, founder of the kingdom. Her two brothers were kings of Hawaii as Kamehameha IV
and Kamehameha V
. She was named after her maternal aunt Queen Kamāmalu
, the consort of Kamehameha II
, who died in London
from the measles. The Christian name Victoria signified the close friendship of the British monarchs and the Hawaiian monarchs for it was Queen Victoria
who returned the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to her uncle, Kamehameha III
, after the Paulet Affair.
Having given away her previous four sons, Kaahumanu II refused to give only remaining daughter in hānai to John Adams Kuakini
who wanted to take her to raise on the Big Island. She defied customs of the time and personally nursed
her daughter.
Victoria's mother died not long after her birth. She was the highest female chief in Hawaii at the time. Her kahu (attendants) were John Papa Īī and his wife Sarai. They later followed Victoria to school due to her age at the time.
Her father Kekūanāoa raised her. He was the royal governor of Oahu. In Honolulu her father built her a Greek-revival mansion which was the largest house in the town of Honolulu, or anywhere in Hawaii, at the time. Her father was in debt to the foreigners, so Kamehameha III bought the palace from him. He made it his royal palace and call it Hale Alii (House of the Chiefs) and this was the first Iolani Palace.
She was two months younger than Lydia Liliuokalani. They were close friends and aikane or foster-siblings. At the birth of Princess Victoria, Lydia's foster mother Laura Kōnia
brought her to Kinau. While Victoria was at her mother's breast, Kinau always preferred to take Lydia into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose. So she frequently declared in the presence of Kōnia, that a bond of the closest friendship must always exist between her own baby girl and her foster child as aikane or foster-children of the same mother, and that all she had would also appertain to her just as if she had been her own child; and that although in the future Liliu might be her child's rival, yet whatever would belong to Victoria should also be Lydia's. This insistence on the part of the mother was never forgotten; it remained in the history of Victoria's girlhood that she would share almost everything with Lydia. On any occasion Victoria visited her aunt Kekāuluohi, Liliu would be invited to join her. Victoria was destined to become the first Queen of Hawaii, but it would be Liliuokalani who would one day become the first Queen of Hawaii due to Victoria's own death.
As the descendant of a long line of chiefs, stretching back to the days of her mythical ancestor Pii, she was of the highest rank. As Mark Twain stated on his visit to Hawaii: The natives have always been remarkable for the extravagant love and devotion they show toward their Chiefs - it almost amounts to worship. When Victoria was a girl of fifteen she made an excursion through the island of Hawaii (the realm of the ancient founders of her race), with her guardian and a retinue of servants, and was everywhere received with wild enthusiasm by her people. In Hilo, they came in multitudes to the house of the missionary, where she was stopping, and brought with them all manner of offerings - poi, taro, bananas, pigs, fowls - anything they could get hold of which was valuable in their eyes - and many of them stinted and starved themselves for the time being, no doubt, to do this honor to a Princess who could not use or carry away the hundredth part of what they lavished upon her. And for hours and even days together the people thronged around the place and wept and chanted their distressing songs, and wailed their agonizing wails; for joy at the return of a loved one and sorrow at his death are expressed in precisely the same way with this curious people.
as Kuhina Nui. Princess Kamāmalu was appointed as Heiress Presumptive to the title of Kuhina-Nui in 1850, successor to Keoni Ana. Since 1845, by legislative act, the office of Kuhina Nui had been joined with that of the Minister of Interior. Given her young age, it would have been clear to the King, Privy Council, and Legislative Council that Victoria was not suited to be Minister of Interior. Therefore, on January 6, 1855, an act was passed to repeal the earlier legislation. She received her appointment ten days later. An Act to separate the office of Kuhina Nui from that of Minister of Interior Affairs, was approved January 6, 1855, Session of 1854.
She became Kuhina Nui in 1855 mainly due to her brother, Kamehameha IV's, ascension to the throne and the death of her uncle. It is probable that Kamehameha III had meant for Keoni Ana to hold the office till his death. She presided over the King’s Privy Council. She constitutionally assumed the power of the monarch for a day when her brother Kamehameha IV died leaving no legal heirs in 1864. Section II Article 47 of the 1852 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom provided that the Kuhina Nui (Premier), in absence of a Monarch, would fill the vacant office.
As the first female Head of State of Hawaii, after consulting with the Privy Councilors, she proclaimed in front the Legislature:
Princess Victoria is often overlooked in Hawaiian history and rarely recognized as a Queen of Hawaii. She was literally a "Queen for a day."
They were forbidden to marry by her brothers Kamehameha IV
and Kamehameha V
. The reason was because their children would have a higher rank or mana
than their own lines. This offended Lunalilo so deeply he refused to be buried with Hawaiian royalty, choosing to be laid to rest on the grounds of Kawaiahao Church, alone and away from the Kamehameha
dynasty.
Her brother, Kamehameha IV, had tried to split them apart by engaging Victoria to David Kalākaua
, and Lunalilo to Lydia Kamakaeha.
As Kuhina Nui she had to sign the papers that would banish him from Hawaii:
Later when Monsarrat returned, the King had him imprisoned and exiled again.
Often accounts as Princess Kamāmalu's misbehavement and a love affair between the two, the comtemporary Charles de Varigny
defended the princess by saying Monsarrat "had acted so boldly that she called for help".
Her brother attempted to marry her to Kalākaua, but she refused; she remained a spinster
for the remaining part of her life.
in 1863. She could have become queen of Hawaii upon her brother's death but she predeceased him. It was said that she was pro-American and had a close friendship with the American missionaries. She became an accomplished pianist
and vocalist, and for many years sat at the melodeon and led the choir of Kawaiahao Church. Robert Wyllie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, once sent for Mr. Ii, and endeavored to get him to use his influence in dissuading the Princess and Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop
from further attendance upon the church choirs. He said it was very improper and out of character for Princesses to sing in a choir, and that such personages in England
would not do such a thing. The effort was fruitless, however; Victoria continued her former course, and remained faithful to her early friends, the missionaries at Kawaiahao. She was urged to desert them and go over to the Reformed Catholic Church
or Anglican Church of Hawaii
, but she steadfastly refused.
In 1863, she founded the Kaahumanu Society
, officially establishing it in 1864, an organization concerned with the welfare of the ill and elderly Hawaiians, originally to nurse the victims of the smallpox
epidemic.
, Honolulu, in February of 1866. The illness continued and resulted in paralysis
in early May.
Kamāmalu did not recovered and died on May 29, 1866, at the age of 27. Īī recorded her death in his journal:
Her childless death left her brother the king without obvious heirs. The Legislature took $6,000 to defray the funeral expenses of the Princess. Her coffin was fashioned out of the native woods, kou and koa. The former is nearly as dark as ebony; the latter is like fine California laurel, richly grained and clouded with mahogany. Both woods had an iron-like hardness, and were exceedingly close in grain, and when highly polished and varnished nothing in the shape of wood can be more brilliant, more lustrous, more beautiful. There was nothing extraordinary about the fashioning - the planning and construction - of this coffin, but still it was beautiful. The wood was so splendidly burnished, and so gracefully grained and clouded. The silver tablet upon the coffin, upon which is to be inscribed the name and title of the deceased, is to cost $500. This proves the royal state in the Kingdom of Hawaii approaches as near to its European models as the circumstances of the case will admit.
Her funeral also revived many funeral rites of the Native Hawaiians including the kanikau (grief wailing). The wailing lasted for weeks. Many loyal Hawaiians walked as much as 50 miles to pay their last respects to their princess. Writing in high revolutionary fervor of the days immediately following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Professor William DeWitt Alexander
remarked:
Mark Twain
was in attendance but was decidedly unsympathetic. He denounced the grief of the Hawaiians as "pagan orgies." Mark twain had sent letters to his newspaper in Sacramento
, describing the "Pagan orgies" in such a way that considerable venom crept through his mawkish sentences intended, no doubt, to produce a humorous picture of Princess Kamāmalu's burial. Outsider that he was, Twain lay the blame for the heathen spectacle at the feet of Bishop Staley and the Episcopal Church. They were, in Twain's views, the king's Christian conscience, and as such they should have prevailed upon that monarch to direct the proceedings of his sister's burial in a fashion more acceptable to the foreign community. Twain's attitude reflects the contempt in which the native practices of any people who lived outside the pale of the Anglo-Saxon complex, were held. He knew his reading audience all too well when he fashioned his statements in the guise of ridicule, some of it assuming the same character as the "Hickey, Pokey, Winky Wum..." jewel, which was composed, they say, in honour of King Kalākaua.
Actually, Twain's remarks concerning Victoria Kamāmalu's burial captured some of the truth, but unfortunately he knew nothing of the underlying circumstances, or he might have been more charitable. Princess Kamāmalu had turned away from Western influences after a humiliating scandal involving her love for a married white man. She had retreated to the ways of her ancestors, such as this was possible in the 1860s. Her brother, Kamehameha V, may have been paying his sister the final respect of recognizing the last despairing years of her life for what they were in allowing her burial rites to be celebrated somewhat in line with ancient tradition. On the other hand, the spontaneous kanikau (grief wailing) that began when news of her death spread through the city may have influenced the king to allow native subjects to show grief as they would in honoring the demise of this high ranking chiefess.
Twain's lengthy polemic concerning the burial of the Princess Kamāmalu actually described the proceedings in a more detailed way than any other account that has come down in print. As a sociological document, it reflected certainly the "recrudescence" of native practices that Professor Alexander wrote about in 1893. So far as the Hawaiians were concerned, it can be seen as another thoughtless attack upon a people who at this stage were scarcely able to find a plausible reason for reproducing themselves, or staying alive. The long years of tension between the Hawaiians and white settlers had reached at last a crisis, the main causes of which can easily be traced. Kamehameha V had refused to take the oath of office as king in 1864 until the constitution of 1852 was revised to restore hereditary powers to the throne, and to establish property qualifications for the right to vote and to hold certain offices in the government. In time, the constitution under dispute was revoked. Professor Alexander made direct reference to the revised Constitution of 1864 when he wrote (in language quaintly suggesting a Marx or Eagle's tract) of the "reactionary policy of that Monarch."
Her brother had remained a bachelor throughout his life, intending that she should be his heir. Her death left her brother without an obvious successor. After his brother's death an election was held between Kalākaua and Lunalilo, both former suitors of the princess. Lunalilo easily won the election, yet his reign lasted less than a year.
Her vast landholdings were eventually inherited by her half-sister Keelikōlani
who willed them to Bernice Pauahi Bishop
and became part of the Kamehameha Schools
. The Kaahumanu Society went on the wayside after her death, but in 1905, Lucy Peabody reorganized the club, and it continues to this day.
Kuhina Nui
Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent.- Origin of the office :...
of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and its crown princess. Princess Kamāmalu is one of Hawaii's less notable historical figures. She was largely overshadowed by her female contemporaries including her sister-in-law, Queen Emma Kaleleonalani; her schoolmate, Liliuokalani whose fame exceeded hers much later on; her half-sister, Ruth Keelikolani, known for her tragedy and large landholding; and her first-cousin-once removed, Bernice Pauahi famous for her legacy to the Hawaiian people, Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...
. She was the last true Princess of the House of Kamehameha
House of Kamehameha
The House of Kamehameha , or the Kamehameha Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaii between the unification of the islands by Kamehameha I in 1810 and the death of Kamehameha V in 1872...
. Although not agreed upon by most, she was the first female to become the monarch of Hawaii, reigning from for a day in November 30, 1863.
Family
She was born on November 1, 1838 in Honolulu, two months after Liliuokalani. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaahumanu-a-Kekūanaō‘a and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly referred to as Victoria Kamāmalu or Kaahumanu IV, when addressing her as the kuhina nuiKuhina Nui
Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent.- Origin of the office :...
. She was the only daughter of Kaahumanu II
Kaahumanu II
Princess Kalani Ahumanu i Kaliko o Iwi Kauhipua o Kīnau, also known as Elizabeth Kīnau was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kaahumanu II, Queen regent and Dowager Queen.-Life:...
and her third husband Mataio Kekūanāoa. Through her mother she was granddaughter of King Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
, founder of the kingdom. Her two brothers were kings of Hawaii as Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
and Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
. She was named after her maternal aunt Queen Kamāmalu
Kamamalu
Kamāmalu Kalani-Kuaana-o-Kamehamalu-Kekuaiwa-o-kalani-Kealii-Hoopili-a-Walu was Queen consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii as the wife of King Kamehameha II. She is not to be confused with Princess Victoria Kamāmalu who was her niece...
, the consort of Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II
Kamehameha II was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu Iolani...
, who died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from the measles. The Christian name Victoria signified the close friendship of the British monarchs and the Hawaiian monarchs for it was Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
who returned the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to her uncle, Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
, after the Paulet Affair.
Having given away her previous four sons, Kaahumanu II refused to give only remaining daughter in hānai to John Adams Kuakini
John Adams Kuakini
John Adams Kiiapalaoku Kuakini was an important adviser to Kamehameha I in the early stages of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was responsible for much building and other changes in the Kona District during this era.-Family life:...
who wanted to take her to raise on the Big Island. She defied customs of the time and personally nursed
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
her daughter.
Victoria's mother died not long after her birth. She was the highest female chief in Hawaii at the time. Her kahu (attendants) were John Papa Īī and his wife Sarai. They later followed Victoria to school due to her age at the time.
Early life
She was educated at Royal School along with all her cousins and brothers. She was expected from birth to one day succeed to the position of Kuhina Nui if not the office of Monarch, so she was educated by the Cooke with full attention to what political scheme she would play in the near future. In the school, they were permitted to visit with relatives from time to time. When the students fell ill, their kahu and families went to the school and stayed for a while to attend to the patient. Victoria's kahu, John Papa Īī, eventually was appointed kahu for all the students at the Chief's Children's School and visited in that capacity, though his political services were in such demand by the court that he was often absent.Her father Kekūanāoa raised her. He was the royal governor of Oahu. In Honolulu her father built her a Greek-revival mansion which was the largest house in the town of Honolulu, or anywhere in Hawaii, at the time. Her father was in debt to the foreigners, so Kamehameha III bought the palace from him. He made it his royal palace and call it Hale Alii (House of the Chiefs) and this was the first Iolani Palace.
She was two months younger than Lydia Liliuokalani. They were close friends and aikane or foster-siblings. At the birth of Princess Victoria, Lydia's foster mother Laura Kōnia
Konia
Konia may refer to:* Kōnia a Hawaiian princess* Konia , a cichlid genus containing the Dikume and the Konye * Konia, Guinea* Konia, Paphos, a village in Cyprus* Konia Water, leaders in Water from Air technology...
brought her to Kinau. While Victoria was at her mother's breast, Kinau always preferred to take Lydia into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose. So she frequently declared in the presence of Kōnia, that a bond of the closest friendship must always exist between her own baby girl and her foster child as aikane or foster-children of the same mother, and that all she had would also appertain to her just as if she had been her own child; and that although in the future Liliu might be her child's rival, yet whatever would belong to Victoria should also be Lydia's. This insistence on the part of the mother was never forgotten; it remained in the history of Victoria's girlhood that she would share almost everything with Lydia. On any occasion Victoria visited her aunt Kekāuluohi, Liliu would be invited to join her. Victoria was destined to become the first Queen of Hawaii, but it would be Liliuokalani who would one day become the first Queen of Hawaii due to Victoria's own death.
As the descendant of a long line of chiefs, stretching back to the days of her mythical ancestor Pii, she was of the highest rank. As Mark Twain stated on his visit to Hawaii: The natives have always been remarkable for the extravagant love and devotion they show toward their Chiefs - it almost amounts to worship. When Victoria was a girl of fifteen she made an excursion through the island of Hawaii (the realm of the ancient founders of her race), with her guardian and a retinue of servants, and was everywhere received with wild enthusiasm by her people. In Hilo, they came in multitudes to the house of the missionary, where she was stopping, and brought with them all manner of offerings - poi, taro, bananas, pigs, fowls - anything they could get hold of which was valuable in their eyes - and many of them stinted and starved themselves for the time being, no doubt, to do this honor to a Princess who could not use or carry away the hundredth part of what they lavished upon her. And for hours and even days together the people thronged around the place and wept and chanted their distressing songs, and wailed their agonizing wails; for joy at the return of a loved one and sorrow at his death are expressed in precisely the same way with this curious people.
Kuhina Nui
As the daughter of Kīna‘u, the second Kuhina Nui, and as the highest ranking female chief of the day, it had long been her destiny to assume the responsibilities of the office. While she was a minor, her aunt Kekāuluohi became a place-holder for her niece Victoria using the name Kaahumanu III. She died while her niece was still too young, so Kamehameha III appointed John Kaleipaihala Young II, also known as Keoni Ana, the son of John YoungJohn Young
-Sports:* John Young , American baseball first baseman* John Young , English cricketer* John Young , English cricketer* John Young , soccer player...
as Kuhina Nui. Princess Kamāmalu was appointed as Heiress Presumptive to the title of Kuhina-Nui in 1850, successor to Keoni Ana. Since 1845, by legislative act, the office of Kuhina Nui had been joined with that of the Minister of Interior. Given her young age, it would have been clear to the King, Privy Council, and Legislative Council that Victoria was not suited to be Minister of Interior. Therefore, on January 6, 1855, an act was passed to repeal the earlier legislation. She received her appointment ten days later. An Act to separate the office of Kuhina Nui from that of Minister of Interior Affairs, was approved January 6, 1855, Session of 1854.
She became Kuhina Nui in 1855 mainly due to her brother, Kamehameha IV's, ascension to the throne and the death of her uncle. It is probable that Kamehameha III had meant for Keoni Ana to hold the office till his death. She presided over the King’s Privy Council. She constitutionally assumed the power of the monarch for a day when her brother Kamehameha IV died leaving no legal heirs in 1864. Section II Article 47 of the 1852 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom provided that the Kuhina Nui (Premier), in absence of a Monarch, would fill the vacant office.
"Whenever the throne shall become vacant by reason of the King¹s death, or otherwise, and during the minority of any heir to the throne, the Kuhina Nui, for the time being, shall, during such vacancy or minority, perform all the duties incumbent on the King, and shall have and exercise all the powers, which by this Constitution are vested in the King."
As the first female Head of State of Hawaii, after consulting with the Privy Councilors, she proclaimed in front the Legislature:
It having pleased Almighty God to close the earthly career of King Kamehameha IV, at a quarter past 9 o'clock this morning, I, as Kuhina Nui, by and with the advice of the Privy Council of State hereby proclaim Prince Lot Kamehameha, King of the Hawaiian Islands, under the style and title of Kamehameha V. God preserve the King!
Princess Victoria is often overlooked in Hawaiian history and rarely recognized as a Queen of Hawaii. She was literally a "Queen for a day."
Betrothal
She was betrothed to William Charles Lunalilo. Their parents had planned out their marriage from infancy and it was popular among the Hawaiians. The date was set, but interference from her brothers cancelled the wedding.They were forbidden to marry by her brothers Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
and Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
. The reason was because their children would have a higher rank or mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
than their own lines. This offended Lunalilo so deeply he refused to be buried with Hawaiian royalty, choosing to be laid to rest on the grounds of Kawaiahao Church, alone and away from the Kamehameha
House of Kamehameha
The House of Kamehameha , or the Kamehameha Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaii between the unification of the islands by Kamehameha I in 1810 and the death of Kamehameha V in 1872...
dynasty.
Her brother, Kamehameha IV, had tried to split them apart by engaging Victoria to David Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, and Lunalilo to Lydia Kamakaeha.
Scandal
In 1857, a scandal involved her and Marcus Cummins Monsarrat (1828-1870), a married English auctioneer. Monsarrat had been a friend her two brothers and was a friend dinner guest. One night, Prince Lot was informed that Monsarrat was in the Princess' bedroom. He immediately went to her room and caught him the act of "arranging his pantaloons". The enraged Prince told him to leave or he would kill him. When Kamehameha IV found out about the incident, he blamed Lot for not "shooting Monsarrat down like a dog."As Kuhina Nui she had to sign the papers that would banish him from Hawaii:
Whereas, Marcus C. Monsarrat, a naturalized subject of this Kingdom, is guilty of having perpetuated a grievous injury to Ourselves and to Our Royal family, And Whereas, such injury is of such a character as in Our judgement, to authorize and require the expulsion of the said M. C. Monsarrat from Our Dominions...Now, therefore, know that We, in the exercise of the Power vested in Us by virtue of Our office as Sovereign of this Kingdom...do hereby order that the said Marcus C. Monsarrat be forthwith expelled from this Kingdom; and he is hereby strictly prohibited forever, from returning to any part of Our Dominions, under penalty of Death.
Later when Monsarrat returned, the King had him imprisoned and exiled again.
Often accounts as Princess Kamāmalu's misbehavement and a love affair between the two, the comtemporary Charles de Varigny
Charles de Varigny
Charles Victor Crosnier de Varigny was a French adventurer, diplomat, and writer.He was born November 25, 1829 in Versailles.He was educated at Lycée Bourbon. He came with his father to the California Gold Rush...
defended the princess by saying Monsarrat "had acted so boldly that she called for help".
Her brother attempted to marry her to Kalākaua, but she refused; she remained a spinster
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
for the remaining part of her life.
Crown Princess
From her infancy it was expected that she would one day fill the throne, and therefore great importance was attached to her acts, and they were duly observed and noted as straws calculated to show how the wind would be likely to set in her ultimate official life. Princess Victoria was appointed as Heiress-Apparent and crown princess of Hawaiian monarchy by her brother king Kamehameha VKamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
in 1863. She could have become queen of Hawaii upon her brother's death but she predeceased him. It was said that she was pro-American and had a close friendship with the American missionaries. She became an accomplished pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and vocalist, and for many years sat at the melodeon and led the choir of Kawaiahao Church. Robert Wyllie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, once sent for Mr. Ii, and endeavored to get him to use his influence in dissuading the Princess and Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop , born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was a Hawaiian princess, philanthropist, alii, and direct descendant of the royal House of Kamehameha. She was the great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I and last surviving heir...
from further attendance upon the church choirs. He said it was very improper and out of character for Princesses to sing in a choir, and that such personages in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
would not do such a thing. The effort was fruitless, however; Victoria continued her former course, and remained faithful to her early friends, the missionaries at Kawaiahao. She was urged to desert them and go over to the Reformed Catholic Church
Reformed Catholic Church
Reformed Catholic Church may refer to:* Reformed Catholic Church - A denomination of the Old Catholic Church* Reformed Catholic Church - A denomination active in Venezuela that was founded by Catholic and Anglican clerics...
or Anglican Church of Hawaii
Church of Hawaii
The Church of Hawaii, originally called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, was the national church of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a member of the Anglican Communion from 1862 to 1893.-History:...
, but she steadfastly refused.
In 1863, she founded the Kaahumanu Society
Kaahumanu Society
The Ahahui Kaahumanu Society is a civic club in Hawaii formed by Princess Victoria Kamamalu in 1864 for the relief of the elderly and the ill. The club celebrates the life of Queen Kaahumanu and the preservation of the monarchy in Hawaii....
, officially establishing it in 1864, an organization concerned with the welfare of the ill and elderly Hawaiians, originally to nurse the victims of the smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic.
Death and legacy
She became ill during a party given at the Bishop's residence in HaleākalaHaleakala
Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...
, Honolulu, in February of 1866. The illness continued and resulted in paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
in early May.
Kamāmalu did not recovered and died on May 29, 1866, at the age of 27. Īī recorded her death in his journal:
Kamāmalu died at 10 a.m. on May 29, 1866, at Papakanene house at Mokuʻaikaua...She was in bed for three weeks before she was taken. On Sunday evenings the members of her two churches pleaded with the Lord, but the trouble was too grave for their petitions. The doctors, too, were unable to make her well. The length of her life was 27 years and seven months.
Her childless death left her brother the king without obvious heirs. The Legislature took $6,000 to defray the funeral expenses of the Princess. Her coffin was fashioned out of the native woods, kou and koa. The former is nearly as dark as ebony; the latter is like fine California laurel, richly grained and clouded with mahogany. Both woods had an iron-like hardness, and were exceedingly close in grain, and when highly polished and varnished nothing in the shape of wood can be more brilliant, more lustrous, more beautiful. There was nothing extraordinary about the fashioning - the planning and construction - of this coffin, but still it was beautiful. The wood was so splendidly burnished, and so gracefully grained and clouded. The silver tablet upon the coffin, upon which is to be inscribed the name and title of the deceased, is to cost $500. This proves the royal state in the Kingdom of Hawaii approaches as near to its European models as the circumstances of the case will admit.
Her funeral also revived many funeral rites of the Native Hawaiians including the kanikau (grief wailing). The wailing lasted for weeks. Many loyal Hawaiians walked as much as 50 miles to pay their last respects to their princess. Writing in high revolutionary fervor of the days immediately following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Professor William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander
William DeWitt Alexander was an educator, author and linguist in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.He then constructed maps for the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:...
remarked:
It is true that the germs of many evils of Kalakaua's reign may be traced to the reign of Kamehameha V. The reactionary policy of that monarch is well known. Under him the "recrudescence" of heathenism commenced, as evidenced by the Pagan orgies at the funeral of his sister. Victoria Kamāmalu, in June, 1866, and his encouragement of lascivious hula hula dancers and the pernicious class of Kahunas or sorcerers. Closely connected with this reaction was a growing jealousy and hatred of foreigners.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
was in attendance but was decidedly unsympathetic. He denounced the grief of the Hawaiians as "pagan orgies." Mark twain had sent letters to his newspaper in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, describing the "Pagan orgies" in such a way that considerable venom crept through his mawkish sentences intended, no doubt, to produce a humorous picture of Princess Kamāmalu's burial. Outsider that he was, Twain lay the blame for the heathen spectacle at the feet of Bishop Staley and the Episcopal Church. They were, in Twain's views, the king's Christian conscience, and as such they should have prevailed upon that monarch to direct the proceedings of his sister's burial in a fashion more acceptable to the foreign community. Twain's attitude reflects the contempt in which the native practices of any people who lived outside the pale of the Anglo-Saxon complex, were held. He knew his reading audience all too well when he fashioned his statements in the guise of ridicule, some of it assuming the same character as the "Hickey, Pokey, Winky Wum..." jewel, which was composed, they say, in honour of King Kalākaua.
Actually, Twain's remarks concerning Victoria Kamāmalu's burial captured some of the truth, but unfortunately he knew nothing of the underlying circumstances, or he might have been more charitable. Princess Kamāmalu had turned away from Western influences after a humiliating scandal involving her love for a married white man. She had retreated to the ways of her ancestors, such as this was possible in the 1860s. Her brother, Kamehameha V, may have been paying his sister the final respect of recognizing the last despairing years of her life for what they were in allowing her burial rites to be celebrated somewhat in line with ancient tradition. On the other hand, the spontaneous kanikau (grief wailing) that began when news of her death spread through the city may have influenced the king to allow native subjects to show grief as they would in honoring the demise of this high ranking chiefess.
Twain's lengthy polemic concerning the burial of the Princess Kamāmalu actually described the proceedings in a more detailed way than any other account that has come down in print. As a sociological document, it reflected certainly the "recrudescence" of native practices that Professor Alexander wrote about in 1893. So far as the Hawaiians were concerned, it can be seen as another thoughtless attack upon a people who at this stage were scarcely able to find a plausible reason for reproducing themselves, or staying alive. The long years of tension between the Hawaiians and white settlers had reached at last a crisis, the main causes of which can easily be traced. Kamehameha V had refused to take the oath of office as king in 1864 until the constitution of 1852 was revised to restore hereditary powers to the throne, and to establish property qualifications for the right to vote and to hold certain offices in the government. In time, the constitution under dispute was revoked. Professor Alexander made direct reference to the revised Constitution of 1864 when he wrote (in language quaintly suggesting a Marx or Eagle's tract) of the "reactionary policy of that Monarch."
Her brother had remained a bachelor throughout his life, intending that she should be his heir. Her death left her brother without an obvious successor. After his brother's death an election was held between Kalākaua and Lunalilo, both former suitors of the princess. Lunalilo easily won the election, yet his reign lasted less than a year.
Her vast landholdings were eventually inherited by her half-sister Keelikōlani
Keelikolani
Princess Ruth Luka Keanolani Kauanahoahoa Keelikōlani , was a member of the Kamehameha family, the founding dynasty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She served as Royal Governor of the Island of Hawaii. As primary heir to the Kamehameha family, Ruth became a landholder of what would become the Bernice...
who willed them to Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop , born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was a Hawaiian princess, philanthropist, alii, and direct descendant of the royal House of Kamehameha. She was the great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I and last surviving heir...
and became part of the Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...
. The Kaahumanu Society went on the wayside after her death, but in 1905, Lucy Peabody reorganized the club, and it continues to this day.