Battle of Nuʻuanu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Nuʻuanu
Part of Unification of Hawaiʻi
Windward side of the Pali
Date May 1795 Location Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Result Kamehameha I victory
Belligerents
Kamehameha I's army	Oʻahu army Kaʻiana's defector army
Commanders and leaders
Kamehameha I John Young	Kalanikupule Kaʻiana  †
Strength
10,000- 16,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
~5,000 — 12,000 for both combatants

The Battle of Nuʻuanu (in Hawaiian: Kalelekaʻanae) was a very important fight in May 1795. It happened on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. This battle was a big step for King Kamehameha I as he worked to unite all the Hawaiian Islands under one rule. The Hawaiian name Kalelekaʻanae means "the leaping mullet." This name refers to the Oʻahu warriors who were forced off a high cliff during the battle. There are different stories about exactly what happened during this famous battle.

What Happened Before the Battle

Oʻahu's Situation

Around 1792, an English merchant named Captain William Brown arrived in Honolulu harbor. He sold furs and guns. Captain Brown had two ships, the Prince Lee Boo and the Jackall.

He made a deal with Kahekili II, who was the chief of Oʻahu. Captain Brown agreed to help Kahekili fight against Kamehameha. In return, Kahekili would let him use the harbor. At the same time, Kamehameha also asked for military help from Captain George Vancouver. Kamehameha even gave control of the island of Hawaiʻi to Great Britain in 1794 in exchange for this help.

The two rival chiefs, Kahekili and Kamehameha, never met in battle. Kahekili II died in mid-1794. After his death, Kahekili's son, Kalanikupule, became the chief of Oʻahu. Kahekili's half-brother, Kaʻeokulani, controlled other islands like Kauaʻi, Maui, Lanaʻi, and Molokaʻi.

After Kahekili's death, Kaʻeokulani wanted to visit his home island of Kauaʻi. To get there, he had to pass through Oʻahu. Kalanikupule set up defenses on Oʻahu where Kaʻeokulani's canoes would pass. They fought briefly, but Kalanikupule stopped the battle. The two chiefs then met to mourn Kahekili.

Later, Kaʻeokulani found out about a plan to harm him on his way to Kauaʻi. To solve this, he decided to go to war against Kalanikupule. This war was called Kukiʻiahu. It lasted from November 16 to December 12, 1794. Kaʻeokulani ordered his men to march to where Kalanikupule was. In December 1794, Kalanikupule's army, with Captain Brown's ship cannons, met Kaʻeokulani's forces. Kaʻeokulani's army was outnumbered and outsmarted. His soldiers ran away into the mountains, and his army was defeated.

After Kaʻeokulani's defeat, Captain Brown and Kalanikupule had a disagreement about payment. Brown and some of his men were killed. Kalanikupule took control of the Jackal and the Prince Lee Boo ships, along with all their weapons. After three weeks, on January 4, 1795, Kalanikupule sailed to Hawaiʻi with his canoes and the two ships. He planned to fight Kamehameha.

However, the ships' crews managed to take back their vessels while they were anchored near Waikīkī. They sailed to Hawaiʻi and told Kamehameha everything that had happened. They traded all of Kalanikupule's weapons, which were still on the ships, to Kamehameha for supplies.

Kalanikupule had been warned about Kamehameha's coming invasion by the chiefs of Maui and Molokaʻi. He started building many lines of defenses on Oʻahu. He bought muskets and cannons from European traders, but he had far fewer than Kamehameha. One of Kamehameha's chiefs, Kaʻiana, also helped Kalanikupule. Kaʻiana had fallen out of favor with Kamehameha and feared he was in danger. On the way to Oʻahu, Kaʻiana's army separated from Kamehameha's fleet. They landed on the north side of Oʻahu. There, they cut openings into the Nuʻuanu mountain ridge. These openings would be used as gunports for Kalanikupule's cannons.

Kamehameha's Preparations

Kamehameha I started his plan to unite Hawaii in 1783. Before 1795, he had only managed to unite the Big Island. However, the fighting on Oʻahu after Kahekili II died made that kingdom much weaker.

During this time, Kamehameha had been getting his army ready with modern muskets and cannons. He also had a British sailor named John Young train his men how to use them. In February 1795, Kamehameha gathered the largest army the Hawaiian islands had ever seen. He had about 12,000 men and 1,200 war canoes. Kamehameha first moved against the southern islands of Maui and Molokaʻi, conquering them in the early spring. Then he invaded Oʻahu.

The Battle of Nuʻuanu

The Battle of Nuʻuanu began when Kamehameha's forces landed on the southeastern part of Oʻahu. This was near Waiʻalae and Waikiki. After a few days of gathering supplies and checking Kalanikupule's positions, Kamehameha's army moved west. They met Kalanikupule's first line of defense near the Punchbowl Crater. Kamehameha divided his army into two groups. He sent one group to attack around the crater from the side. The other group attacked Kalanikupule directly. Attacked from both sides, the Oʻahu forces had to retreat to Kalanikupule's next defense line near Laʻimi.

As Kamehameha followed, he secretly sent part of his army to remove Kalanikupule's cannons from the surrounding hills of the Nuʻuanu Valley. Kamehameha also brought up his own cannons to fire at Laʻimi. During this part of the battle, both Kalanikupule and Kaiana were hurt. Kaiana was hurt so badly that he died. With their leaders in trouble, the Oʻahu army slowly fell back north through the Nuʻuanu Valley. They ended up at the high cliffs of Nuʻuanu Pali. The Oʻahu warriors were trapped between Kamehameha's army and a 1000-foot drop. More than 700 Oʻahu warriors either jumped or were pushed over the edge of the cliff.

In 1898, workers building the Pali road found 800 skulls. These were believed to be the remains of the warriors who fell to their deaths from the cliff.

What Happened After

Kalanikupule managed to escape the battle, but he was captured later. This battle was the most important part of Kamehameha's plan. After this victory, his kingdom was called the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for the first time. However, the islands were not fully united yet. He still needed to take control of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau. First, he had to stop a rebellion on the Big Island. Then he started getting ready to conquer Kauaʻi. But before this battle could happen, the king Kaumualiʻi of Kauaʻi agreed to be ruled by Kamehameha. This gave Kamehameha control over all the Hawaiian Islands.

Images for kids

• 

  Cliffs of the Koʻolau Range as seen from Nu‘uanu Pali in 1996