Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui;[2] December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872[3]), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief.[4]
This article is about the fifth King of Hawaii. For other kings of the same name, see King Kamehameha (disambiguation). For other uses, see Kamehameha (disambiguation).Kamehameha V
November 30, 1863 — December 11, 1872
December 11, 1872 (aged 42)
Honolulu, Oahu
January 11, 1873[1]
Keanolani (illegitimate)
Kekūanaōʻa
Ulumāheihei Hoapili (hānai)
Kīnaʻu
Nāhiʻenaʻena (hānai)
Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (hānai)
Career[edit]
From 1852 to 1855 he served on the Privy Council of State, and from 1852 to 1862 in the House of Nobles. He was Minister of the Interior from 1857 to 1863, chief justice of the supreme court from 1857 to 1858, and held other offices.[10] His more charismatic younger brother Prince Alexander Liholiho was chosen to become King Kamehameha IV in 1854.[11] In 1862, he was officially added to the line of succession in an amendment to the 1852 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Lot and his heirs, follow by his sister Princess Victoria and her heirs, would succeed in the case his brother died without any legitimate heirs.[12] The change was made shortly before the death of Prince Albert Kamehameha, the only son of Kamehameha IV, on August 23, 1862.[6]
New constitution and new laws[edit]
He came to power on November 30, 1863, after his brother's death, but refused to uphold the previous constitution of 1852.
He objected, in particular, to that constitution's grant of universal male suffrage in elections for the lower House of Representatives.[13] In May 1864 he called for a constitutional convention. On July 7, 1864, he proposed a new constitution rather than amending the old one. The convention ran smoothly until the 62nd article. It limited voters to being residents who passed a literacy test and possessed property or had income qualifications. On August 20, 1864, he signed the 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii and took an oath to protect it.
The constitution was based on the original draft, but 20 articles were deleted. When he appointed Charles de Varigny, a French national, as minister of finance in December 1863,[14] Americans in Hawaiʻi were convinced that he had adopted an anti-American policy. In reality, his foreign policy remained the same. Later de Varigny became minister of foreign affairs from 1865 to 1869.
He was the first king to encourage revival of traditional practices. Under his reign, the laws against "kahunaism" were repealed. A Hawaiian Board of Medicine was established, with kahuna members, and la'au lapa'au or Hawaiian medicine was again practiced.[15] He brought kahuna practitioners to Honolulu to document their remedies.[16]
In 1865, a bill was brought before the legislature giving foreign merchants the right to sell liquor directly to Native Hawaiians. Kamehameha V surprised supporters of the bill by refusing to grant his assent, saying: "I will never sign the death warrant of my people." Alcoholism was one of the many causes of the already declining population of the native Hawaiians.[17][18]
Legacy[edit]
He founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha I society on April 11, 1865, named to honor his grandfather.[25]
The Prince Lot Hula Festival is named for him. It was held the third Saturday in July since 1977 at his former home called Moanalua Gardens.[26]
In February 1847, a female student at the Royal School Abigail Maheha was expelled and wed in a hastily arranged marriages due to a scandalous pregnancy.[27] Some speculate that the sixteen year-old Kamehameha V or his seventeen-year-old brother Moses Kekūāiwa was the father of Abigail's daughter Keanolani, who left living descendants. Evidence to support this claim include his financial support of Abigail's husband Keaupuni, veiled conversations the Cookes had with Abigail and Lot dated months before the pregnancy was discovered, and entries from the period which were torn out of his school journal.[28][29][30][31]
