Keōua Kūahuula was an '' Alii'' (member of the royal class) during the time of the unification of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

Family

His name means "rain cloud of the red

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

".Kamehameha Genealogy
on Hawaiian Roots web site His father was

Kalaniʻōpuʻu Kalaniōpuu-a-Kaiamamao (c. 1729 – April 1782) was the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch) of the island of Hawaiʻi. He was called ''Terreeoboo, King of Owhyhee'' by James Cook and other Europeans. His name has also been written as Kaleiopuu. Bio ...

, the king at the time of the arrival of

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

. His mother was Kānekapōlei, one of the later wives of Kalaniōpuu, and mother of Pauli Kaʻōleiokū, the grandfather of

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop KGCOK RoK (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884) was an '' alii'' (noble) of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well known philanthropist. Ancestry, birth and early life Pauahi was born in Hon ...

and Ruth Keelikolani. This meant his older half-brother

Kīwalaʻō Kīwalaʻō (c. 1760 – July 1782) was the aliʻi nui of the island of Hawaii in 1782 when he was defeated at the Battle of Mokuohai and overthrown by Kamehameha I. Early life Kīwalaʻō was born in 1760 to Aliʻi Nui, Kalaniʻōpuʻu and ...

was in line to inherit the kingdom.

Later life

He was not happy, however, to receive no lands after his father died in 1781. He challenged his cousin

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

, resulting in the Battle of Moku'ohai. He escaped the battle to relatives in the Kaū district to the South in 1782. Although Kamehameha controlled the West side of the island, repeated raids never resulted in a clear victory for either side. In 1790, after escaping another attack, his party was caught in an eruption of Kilauea, and lost two thirds of his army to lava. He was killed in 1791 when Kamehameha invited him to the Puukoholā Heiau in Kohala. He was captured in what is sometimes called the Battle of Kawaihae, and Keōua's body offered as a sacrifice to sanctify the new temple. He may have mutilated himself before landing so as to render himself an inappropriate sacrificial victim. As he stepped on shore, one of Kamehameha's chiefs threw a spear at him. By some accounts he dodged it, but was then cut down by musket fire. Caught by surprise, Keōua's bodyguards were killed. Keoua had many wives including Kaʻiolaniokaʻiwalani, Hiʻileiohiiaka, Nalaniewalu and Luahiwa. He had several daughters and two sons. He was the last independent district ruler on the

island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuahuula, Keoua 1791 deaths Royalty of Hawaii (island) House of Keawe Hawaiian military personnel Year of birth unknown Human sacrifice victims