- Battle of Kepaniwai
The Battle of Kepaniwai (also called the "Battle of the Dammed Waters of okinaĪao" or "Battle of the Clawed Cliffs") was fought in
1790 between Hawaiokinai andMaui . The forces of Hawaiokinai were led byKamehameha I , while the forces of Maui were led by Kalanikūpule. It is known as one of the most bitter battles fought in Hawaiian history.While Maui's king
Kahekili II was on Ookinaahu, Kamehameha's war fleet landed in Kahului a few kilometers from the base of okinaĪao Valley . An army consisting of around twelve hundred skilled warriors led by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupiokinao, advanced on Kahekili's son Kalanikūpule and other Maui chiefs blocking the Iao valley. The two armies were evenly matched and neither side broke after two days of fighting. On the third day Kamehameha's army was helped by the use of twocannon s (named "Lopaka" and "Kalola") operated by John Young and Isaac Davis, two of Kamehameha's royal advisors. Although none of Maui's major chiefs were killed, many people died resulting in the "damming of the waters" by the corpses floating in the river. Chiefess Kalola and her granddaughterKeopuolani were able to escape west through the valley toOlowalu and north toLahaina .After Kamehameha defeated Maui's army, Kalola offered her 11-year-old granddaughter to Kamehameha as a future wife. Meanwhile, Kahekili II still refused to give up his rule of Maui. Kamehameha returned to reconquer Maui in 1794.
External links
* [http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=269&returntoname=year%201790&returntopageid=73 Battle of Kepaniwai] - HawaiiHistory.org
ee also
*
Battle of Nu'uanu
*Battle of Paokinaauhau
*Battle of Koapapa
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