KA‘AHUMANU - HAWAIʻI’S AMBITIOUS QUEEN
KA‘AHUMANU WAS FROM the island of Maui. Her aliʻi father gave her to Kamehameha early in his campaign to unite the Hawaiian Islands.
She was much younger than Kamehameha but became his favorite wife and was a natural politician.
Ka‘ahumanu didn’t have any children, and Kamehameha’s sacred wife, Keōpuolani, outranked her. When Kamehameha died, he was succeeded by his son with Keōpuolani, Liholiho.
Ka‘ahumanu prevented losing her power by claiming the dying Kamehameha appointed her Kuhina Nui, which was similar to a prime minister and equal in power to Kamehameha.
She could not prove Kamehameha made this statement, but everyone accepted it. So Ka‘ahumanu became Hawaiʻi’s Kuhina Nui, equal to King Kamehameha II, Liholiho, and his mother, Keōpuolani,
