Kamehameha IV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kamehameha IV
King of Hawaiian Islands
Reign 11 Jan 1855 — 30 Nov 1863
(8 years)
Predecessor Kauikeaouli King Kamehameha III
Successor Lot Kapuaiwa King Kamehameha V
Spouse Queen Emma Naea
Issue
Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa a Kamehameha
Full name
Alekanetero (Alexander) Liholiho Keawenui `Iolani
Titles and styles
HM The King
HRH The Crown Prince
Royal house House of Kamehameha
Father High Chief Mataio Kekuanaoa
Mother Princess Elizabeth Kinau
Born February 9, 1834
Honolulu, Oahu
Died 30 November 1863 (aged 29)
Honolulu, Oahu
Burial Mauna Ala Royal Mausoleum

Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Liholiho Keawenui ‘Iolani, reigned as the fourth king of the united Kingdom of Hawai‘i from 11 January 1855 to 30 November 1863. He served alongside Emma, Queen Consort of Hawai‘i. Alexander was born on 9 February 1834 in Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu to Mataio Kekuanaoa, Governor of Hawaiʻi, and Kīnaʻu, the Kuhina Nui or Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. He was the grandson of Kamehameha the Great, Hawaiʻi's first monarch. As a toddler, Alexander was adopted by his uncle, Kamehameha III. When Liholiho was born, his uncle, Kamehameha III came to visit and left a message on the door saying "This child is mine" He decree Alexander heir to the throne and raised him like a prince.

Contents

[edit] Education

Alexander was educated by Calvinist missionaries Mr. and Mrs. Amos Cooke at the Royal School in Honolulu. He was accompany by 30 attendants (kahus) but were sent home and for the first time Liholiho was on his own. The school survives today as public elementary school of the same name. Alexander Liholiho played the flute and the piano. He was interested in a lot of things like singing and acting. When he was 14, he left the Royal School and went to law school. When he was 15, he went on an official government trip to England, the United States, and Panama. Liholiho was able to record the events of his trip in a journal.

A diplomatic mission was planned following Admiral de Tromelin's attack on the fort of Honolulu, the result of the pressing onward certain French claims stemming back twenty years to the expulsion of Catholic missionaries. Contention had surrounded three issues: (1) regulations governing Catholic schools, (2) the high tax on French brandy, and (3) the use of French language in transactions with the consul and citizens of France. Although this struggle had gone on for many years, the Hawaiian king was finally driven to send Dr. Judd abroad to try for the second time to win a treaty from France. Previously Haalilio and William Richards had gone on the same mission. It was hoped that such a treaty would secure the islands against future attacks such as the one it had just suffered at the hands of Admiral de Tromelin. Often, advisors to Kamehameha III thought it best that the heir apparent, Alexander, and his brother, Lot, would benefit from education through extensive travel.

With the supervision of their guardian Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, Alexander and his brother sailed to San Francisco in September 1849. After their royal tour of California, they continued on to Panama, Jamaica, New York and Washington, D.C. They toured numerous countries in Europe and met with various heads of state. Speaking both French and English; Alexander was well received in European society. He met Louis Napoleon at the time the president of France. Sixteen year old Alexander Liholiho described a reception given at the Tuileries by Louis Napoleon:

"General La Hitte piloted us through the immense crowd that was pressing on from all sides, and finally we made our way u to the president...Mr. Judd was the first one taken notice of, and both of them made slight bows to each other. Lot and myself then bowed, to which the (Louis Napoleon) returned with a slight bend of the vertebras. he then advanced and said, "This is your first visit to Paris, to which we replied in the affirmative. He asked us if we liked Paris to which we replied, very much, indeed. He then said, I am very gratified to see you, you having come from so far a country, he then turned towards the doctor and said, I hope our little quarrel will be settled. to which the Doctor replied. "We put much confidence in the magnanimity and Justice of France."

Failing to negotiate a treaty with France during the three months spent in Paris, the princes and Judd returned to England where they had stopped prior to their arrival at Paris. At this time they met Prince Albert, Lord Palmerston, and numerous other members of the British aristocracy. They had an audience with Prince Albert since Queen Victoria was retired from public view, awaiting the birth of her seventh child, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.

Prince Alexander accounted:

"When we entered, the prince was standing a little aside of the door, and bowed to each of us as we came in. He was a fine man, about as tall as I am, and had a very fine bust, and straight legs. We kept standing, Palmerston on my right, and the doctor on my left, and then Lot. the prince began the conversation by asking if we intended to make a long stay (in London) to which I answered by saying that we expected to leave in about a week and then Mr. Judd made a few remarks on his business."

In May 1850, the royal brothers, Prince Albert of England and others boarded a ship in England and sailed to the United States of America for a more extensive stay before returning to Hawaiʻi. During one of his trips to America he experienced American racism firsthand when he was thrown off a train for being a "nigger". The indignant young prince wrote on in his journal, arriving finally at a piece of insight remarkable for a sixteen year old of any culture or epoch:

"In England an African can pay his fare and sit alongside Queen Victoria. The Americans talk and think a great deal about their liberty, and strangers often find that too many liberties are taken of their comfort just because his hosts are a free people."

[edit] Succession to the Throne

Upon his return from a global tour, Alexander was appointed to the Cabinet of Kamehameha III. As a minister of the royal Cabinet, he had the opportunity to gain administrative experience that he would one day employ as King of Hawaiʻi. During his term he also studied various foreign languages and became accustomed to traditional European social norms upon which the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was modeled. On 11 January 1855 Alexander was installed as Kamehameha IV, succeeding his deceased uncle as King of Hawai'i. He was only 20 years old.

[edit] Queen Emma and Prince Albert

Emma, a British descendant and great grand niece of Hawaiʻi's first king, reigned as Kamehameha IV's Queen Consort.
Emma, a British descendant and great grand niece of Hawaiʻi's first king, reigned as Kamehameha IV's Queen Consort.

Only a year after assuming the throne, Alexander took the hand of Emma Rooke as his queen. Queen Emma was the granddaughter of John Young, Kamehameha the Great's British royal advisor and companion. She also was the great grand niece of Hawaiʻi's first king.

Upon marrying in 1856, the royal couple had their only child, Prince Albert. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was Prince Albert's godmother at his christening, held at Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in Honolulu. At the age of four, the young prince died.

Alexander Liholiho thought he was responsible for the death of Prince Albert because he gave him a cold shower to "cool him off" when Albert wanted something he could not have. His ailing health worsened.

[edit] Fighting American Influence

At the time of Alexander's assumption to the throne, the local American population continued to grow. They began to exert a great deal of economic and political pressure in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Alexander worried that the United States of America would make a move to conquer his nation and there had been an annexation treaty proposed in Kamehameha III's reign. He strongly felt that annexation would mean the end of the monarchy and the Hawaiian people. Instead of annexation, Liholiho wanted a reciprocity treaty, involving trade and taxes, between the United States and Hawai'i. He was not successful in his attempt. In an effort to balance the amount of influence exerted by American interests, Alexander began a campaign to limit Hawaiʻi's dependence on American trade and commerce. He sought deals with the British and other European governments. His reign did not survive long enough to make a difference.

[edit] Legacy

Alexander and Queen Emma devoted much of their reign to providing quality healthcare and education for their subjects. They were concerned that foreign ailments and diseases like leprosy and influenza were decimating the native Hawaiian population. In 1855, Alexander addressed his legislature to promote an ambitious public healthcare agenda that included the building of public hospitals and care homes for the elderly. The legislature, empowered by the Constitution of 1852 which limited the King's authority, struck down Alexander's healthcare plan.

Alexander and Queen Emma responded to the legislature's refusal to fund the project by lobbying local businessmen, merchants and wealthy residents to fund their healthcare agenda. The fundraising was an overwhelming success and the royal couple built The Queen's Medical Center, one of the most technologically advanced medical centers in the world today. The fundraising efforts also yielded separate funds for the development of a leprosy treatment facility built on the island of Maui.

The residents of Sikaiana near the Solomon Islands believe their island was annexed by Kamehameha IV to Hawaii in 1856 (or 1855). Some maintain that through this annexation, Sikaiana has subsequently become part of the US through the annexation of 'Hawaii and its dependencies'. The US position is stated here on page 39, footnote 2.

One of his favorite games was cricket.

[edit] End of Reign

Alexander died of chronic asthma on 30 November 1863 and was succeeded by his brother, who took the name Kamehameha V. Alexander was only 29 years old. The natives believed that the King had died as punishment because his people had betrayed their gods. At his funeral eight hundred children and teachers walked to say goodbye. He was buried with his son at Mauna Ala on February 3, 1864.

Queen Emma remained active in Hawaiʻi politics. With the end of the Kamehameha dynasty and King William C. Lunalilo dying without an heir of his own, Queen Emma ran unsuccessfully to become the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi's ruling monarch. She lost to King David Kalakaua who would establish a dynasty of his own.

Alexander (as Kamehameha IV) and Emma are honored and remembered with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on 28 November.

[edit] Reference

  • The Journal of Prince Alexander Liholiho, The Voyages Made to the United States, England and France in 1849-1850. Edited by Jacob Adler. The University of Hawaii Press for The Hawaiian Historical Society, 1967, page 119.

[edit] Resources


v • d • e
Monarchs of Hawaiʻi
Kingdom of Hawai'i
Preceded by
Kamehameha III		 King of Hawaiʻi
1855 - 1863		 Succeeded by
Kamehameha V