A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai’i Island
A. Reign of King Kamehameha
1. Political Warfare in Ancient Hawai’i
Warfare was a familiar part of early Hawaiian life. Interludes of peace were often broken by fierce battles to determine succession to the office of ali’i-nui and to establish political boundaries. Aspiring young chiefs practiced the arts of warfare with great intensity. Typically, having defeated other chiefs to gain control over one island, a major chief and his warriors would then raid and attempt to conquer other islands. Death of a reigning king almost always meant war. Large-scale political activity and territorial expansion by conquest was characteristic of the decade and a half following Captain Cook’s arrival.
