Today is a King Kamehameha Day in Hawaii. It is a holiday commemorating Hawaii’s first, most powerful and influential monarch. He is renowned as the king that unified the Hawaiian Islands. Prior to that point, the islands were their own separate kingdoms. Kamehameha of the Big Island conquered all of the remaining islands with the exception of Kauai and Ni’ihau in the late 1700s. Those islands eventually negotiated with Kamehamea with the King of Kauai becoming a vassal to Kamehameha. He established a new royal capital in Lahaina on Maui. Kamehameha was renowned for maintaining Hawaii’s independence while many of the Pacific Islands were being colonized. Every 11th of June is Kamehameha day in Hawaii with many businesses and government organizations closed.
