The Big Island played a very big part in Hawaiian history. It had a relatively large population and was home to perhaps as many as 120,000 people at the time of European contact. It was ruled by powerful chiefs, some of whom would forever change and shape the culture. Archaeologists have done a lot of exploration all over the Big Island. Things made of stone survive best and there are still numerous remains of houses, agricultural walls, temple platforms, petroglyphs, and other ancient reminders of old Hawaii.

One of the earliest archaeological sites in the Hawaiian Islands is found at Ka Lae, the southernmost tip of the Big Island. Although the area is arid and seemingly unattractive for settlement, it was a prime fishing location, as proven by a huge number of fish hooks found in the area. Just as modern anglers come to Kona today, the old Hawaiians were out to catch the big fish offshore as long as 1500 years ago, and some argue even earlier!

Ancient Politics

Traditional history tells how the island was often politically divided into leeward and windward sides governed by ruling chiefs who often competed with each other. Occasionally there were periods of island-wide unity under the leadership of particularly powerful chiefs. One such chief was Kalani'opu'u; he ruled over a united island of Hawaii in the eighteenth century and would meet the strangers from abroad when Captain Cook and company arrived off the coast of the Big Island in 1779.

Accompanying the great chief when he met the British was a young chief named Kamehameha who would become perhaps the most important individual in Hawaiian history. There are lots of stories about Kamehameha including supernatural signs announcing his birth, his training as a warrior and acts of super-strength. No one is quite sure when he was born, although it could have been around the year 1758.

Just before his death in 1782, Kalani'opu'u appointed his son Kiwala'o as his successor, and Kamehameha took control over a revered image of the war god. Eventually, rivalry between the two resulted in conflicts and Kiwala'o was killed. While Kamehameha pursued his goal of conquering the other islands, another rival, a chief named Keoua, proved a challenge. With his military goals in mind, Kamehameha built a huge heiau near Kawaihae dedicated to the war god, and Keoua himself became a sacrifice there when he showed up for peace talks in 1791. Kamehameha's power was thus solidified, and he continued to battle with the other islands, eventually unifying them all under his one kingdom.

Although King Kamehameha occasionally lived elsewhere, his real home was on the Big Island, especially in Kailua. There he spent the last years of his life until his death in 1819. Within months, his successor, Liholiho, along with his favorite wife Ka'ahumanu, changed Hawaiian culture forever by breaking the kapu system, the rules that had long governed the conduct of society. Christian missionaries from Boston arrived in 1820, setting up shop in Kailua and soon there were many converts including influential members of the royal family.