The Battle of Nu’uanu took place on Oahu, Hawaii. It was a Battle between King Kamehameha, and Kalanikupule, the King of Oahu. They fought over the island of Oahu.The Battle of Nu'uanu took place on the Nu'uanu Pali in May, 1795. This battle took place because it was the war to unify the Hawaiian Islands. The last major Hawaiian battle that occurred united the island tribes under one monarch, King Kamehameha from the the Big Island of Hawaii. The Battle of Nuʻuanu began when Kamehameha's army landed on the southeastern portion of Oahu. Splitting his army into two, Kamehameha sent one half of his army around the crater and the other straight to Kalanikupule. Kalanikupule and Kaiana, the leaders were wounded, Kaiana fatally. With its leadership in chaos, the Oahu army slowly fell back north through the Nuʻuanu Valley to the cliffs at Nuu’anu Pali. Caught between the Hawaiian Army and a 1000-foot drop, over 400 Oahu warriors had to make a choice, jump or get pushed over the edge of the Pali. In 1898 construction workers working on the Pali road discovered 800 skulls which were believed to be the remains of the warriors that fell to their deaths from the cliff above.
ReplyDeleteHere is a tale of the battle from my family as recorded by Bob Dye:
The children’s favorite story about their ‘aumakua was told to them by their mother. The incident occurred during the battle of Nu’uanu in 1795, commonly called Kaleleka’anae ‘The leap of the mullet’, at which their great-great-grandfather Kaha fought. Kamehameha I, when king of only the island of Hawai’i, wanted to extend his authority by force of arms over all the Hawaiian Islands. He ordered Kaha, his faithful comrade, to build a war fleet to carry his invasion forces across the straits to the other islands. As each canoe was finished, to show the confidence he had in his skills, Kaha had his beautiful daughter Ahia ride each canoe on its sea trail. When the fleet was ready in the spring of 1795, Kamehameha ordered his warriors aboard, Makaloao, Kaha’s wife, also put to sea with other wives of warriors, who were under the command of Walawala. Landing at Waikiki, they pulled their canoes into the coconut groves, some of them at Kalia. Kamehameha’s forces marched across the Makiki plain: the men to Nu’uanu Valley, where O’ahu’s army awaited them, and the women to Manoa Valley, to await the outcome of the battle. Kamehameha hauled his few pieces of artillery up to a place called La’imi. The guns were manned by haoles. Kaha took the warriors in his command into Waolani, the small adjoining valley where Pohaku’a ‘Ume’ume rests, to block a possible escape route. The O’ahuans waited behind stone breastworks they had built across the valley floor. Their plan was to hurl spears and stones at Kamehameha’s men as they attacked over open ground. Kamehameha, however, kept his troops out of range until his guns blasted the breastworks, shattering the rock defenses. Flying debris ripped open the flesh of the defenders, cracked bones, and severed limbs. The defenders of O’ahu fled up the valley. Kaha and other warriors rushed after the routed army to the cloud-shrouded pass at the pali. There, in an epic hand-to-hand combat, an estimated three hundred to eight hundred O’ahuans - the living, the wounded, and the dead - were hurled over the pali and onto the rocks below. Kaha pursued an enemy who sought to hide in a patch of cloud, where Kaha was struck in the face by an owl, his ‘aumakua. Knocked off-balance, he thrust his spear into the ground to regain his balance. A gust of wind lifted the cloud. Inches from the point of his spear was the cliff’s edge. Kaha hurried back down the valley to report the victory to Kamehameha: E Kalani e, kalele ‘anae ala ke O’ahu - ‘the O’ahuans are flying over the cliffs like mullets.’ Kamehameha placed his hand on Kaha’s shoulder and said, ‘To commemorate his moment, Kaha, you shall be known hereafter as Huha o ke Kaua a Kaua [reporter of the battle]
Dan Carter
Amazing how Native Hawaiians always speak in glowing terms about Kamehameha's brutal slaughters of the independent islanders. Then out the other side of their mouths they vilify the U.S. for "taking over" bloodlessly. Well, power is power. That's what decided the fate of Hawaii in Kamehameha's time and when the U.S. displaced the Hawaiian Kingdom. At least there was a voting process for statehood. Kamehameha just killed everyone who wasn't in favor of his bloody power grab.
ReplyDeleteHistory should always be remembered.
ReplyDeleteHaoles wouldn't be here if they didn't take over our island. If we had more soldiers when they overthrew Liliuokalani we would've kicked their butts.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Hawaii and we had far more people than their paltry military numbers at the time. You don't have to be military to fight, you just have to desire freedom from oppression. Our people were at fault too, they allowed it to happen when they should have fought to retain our sovereignty.
DeleteAnd plus i bet no Hawaiian back then appreciated statehood .day
ReplyDeleteWHAT DO OU MEAAAAAAAN!!!
Deletenone of your bisiness
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DeleteWell first of all the person who killed Kaiana was John Young just so you know, thank you for this article it was useful for my homework
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