page_title: House of Kamehameha
section_title: Kaʻahumanu
hierarchical_section_title: House of Kamehameha / New king and form of government / Kaʻahumanu
caption_attribution_description: English: Queen Ka’ahumanu with her servant on rug, lithograph by Jean-Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine after painting by Louis Choris, the artist aboard the Russian ship Rurick, which visited Hawai'i in 1816
context_page_description: The House of Kamehameha, or the Kamehameha dynasty, was the reigning Royal Family of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, beginning with its founding by Kamehameha I in 1795 and ending with the death of Kamehameha V in 1872 and Lunalilo in 1874. The kingdom would continue for another 21 years until its overthrow in 1893 with the fall of the House of Kalakaua.
context_section_description: Kaʻahumanu was born on Maui around 1777. Her parents were aliʻi chiefs of a lower ranking line. She became Kamehameha's consort when she was fourteen. George Vancouver states: "[O]ne of the finest woman we had yet seen on any of the islands". To wed the young woman, Kamehameha had to consent to make Kaʻahumanu's children his heirs to the Kingdom although, in the end, she produced no issue.
  Before his death, Kamehameha selected Kaʻahumanu to rule along with his son. Kaʻahumanu had also adopted the boy. She had the highest political clout in the islands. A portrait artist remarked of her: "This Old Dame is the most proud, unbending Lady in the whole island. As the widow of [Kamehameha], she possesses unbound authority and respect, not any of which she is inclined to lay aside on any occasion whatsoever". She is one of the most influential leaders in Hawaii's history.
caption: Kaʻahumanu with Charles Kanaʻina
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