Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole

Infobox Hawaiian Royalty
name =Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaokinaole
title =Prince of Hawaiokinai


imgw =270
reign =
predecessor =
successor =
spouse =Elizabeth Kahanu Kaleiwohi-Ka'auwai
issue =
full name =Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaokinaole Piokinaikoi
titles ="HH" The Prince
royal house =House of Kalakaua

royal anthem =
father =High Chief David Kahalepouli Piokinaikoi
mother =Princess Victoria Kekaulike Kinoiki
Party =Republican
date of birth =birth date|1871|3|26|df=y
place of birth =Koloa, Kauaokinai
date of death =death date and age|1922|1|7|1871|3|26|df=yes
place of death =Waikiki, Ookinaahu
place of burial =Mauna Ala Royal Mausoleum|

Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaokinaole of Hawaiokinai (March 26 1871 – January 7, 1922) was a prince of the reigning House of Kalākaua when the Kingdom of Hawaiokinai was overthrown by American residents in 1893. He later went on to become a politician and served in the United States Congress. His brother was Prince David Kawananakoa and Prince Edward Abel Keliiahonui.

Early life

Kalanianaokinaole was born in Kōloa on the island of Kauaokinai as an aliokinai or Hawaiian nobleman. Like all aliokinai his genealogy was complex, but centered mainly on his ancestry as an heir of Kaumualiokinai, the ruling chief of Kauaokinai. His was named after his grandfather Kūhiō Kalanianaole the Alii of Hilo and his paternal grandfather Jonah Piikoi Alii of Kauai. Like many members of the Hawaiian nobility in the nineteenth-century he was well educated, attending the Royal School and Punahou School in Honolulu on the island of Ookinaahu. In the 1870s, a French school teacher at St. Alban's College, now Iolani School, commented on how young Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole's eyes twinkled merrily and how he kept a perpetual smile. "He is so cute, just like the pictures of the little cupid," teacher Pierre Jones said. The nickname, "Prince Cupid," stuck with Prince Kuhio for the rest of his life. [ [http://hcchonolulu.org/past/princehistory.html Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu - Prince Kuhio ] ] After completing his basic education he also traveled abroad for further study. He studied for four years at St. Matthew's College in California and at the Royal Agricultural College in England before graduating from a business school in England.

Prince of the Kalākaua Dynasty

In 1874 the Kalākaua Dynasty ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiokinai, ending the Kamehameha Dynasty. Kalanianaokinaole himself was "hanai'ed" by Kalākaua's wife, Kapiokinaolani, who was his maternal aunt. "Hanai" is a customary form of adoption widely used in Hawaiokinai and Kalanianaokinaole became a royal prince. When Kalākaua came to power Kalanianaokinaole was appointed to a seat in the royal Cabinet administering the Department of the Interior. After Kalākaua's death Liliuokinaokalani became queen, and she continued to favour Kalanianaokinaole. After her own heir apparent, Princess Victoria Kaokinaiulani, died at the age of twenty three, Liliuokinaokalani made Kalanianaokinaole and his brother David Kawananakoa heirs to the throne. As a result, Kalanianaokinaole became one of the most important members of the Hawaiian nobility in the late nineteenth century.

Post-Overthrow Activities

In 1895, at the age of twenty four,cite web |url= http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=390&MagazineID=24 |title= Civic Pride |author= Stu Dawrs |work= Hana Hou! Vol. 5, No. 2 |date= April/May 2002 |quote= ] he participated in a rebellion against the Republic of Hawaiokinai. The rebels proved no match for the Republic troops and police, and shortly after hostilities began, all those involved in the rebellion were routed and captured. Kūhiō was sentenced to a year in prison while others were charged with treason and sentenced with execution. Death sentences were commuted to imprisonment. Kūhiō served his full term. The only light of his life in the year of imprisonment was the daily visits of his fiancee, Elizabeth Kahanu Kaauwai, who encouraged him in his most dark times. Kūhiō and his wife left Hawaiokinai upon his release and traveled widely in Europe, where they were treated as visiting royalty. He also traveled to Africa from 1899 to 1902. He joined the British Army to fight in the Second Boer War.

From prince to American statesman

Kūhiō eventually returned from his self-imposed exile to take part in politics in post-annexation Hawaiokinai. He became active in the Home Rule Party, which represented native Hawaiians and continued to fight for Hawaiian independence. A much smaller Democratic party, led by his relative David Kawananakoa, was less radical and also less powerful. The Republicans represented business interests and the people who had originally overthrown the Monarchy.

In 1901 Kūhiō switched parties and joined the Republicans. He was disillusioned with the lack of progress made by the Home Rule Party, and its control by "radicals". The Republicans eagerly accepted him into the fold. By endorsing the heir to the throne of the Hawaiian kingdom they gained significant traction in local communities, and Kūhiō was given a strong leadership position.

Jonah was elected to the U.S. Congress as the Republican delegate in a landslide victory for the Republicans, and helped establish a Republican hold on the legislature. He served from March 4, 1903 until his death in Waikīkī on January 7, 1922. During this time he instituted local government at the county level, creating the county system still used to-day in Hawaiokinai. He staffed the civil service positions that resulted with Hawaiian appointees.Fact|date=February 2007 This move combined the political patronage system of nineteenth century American politics with the traditional Hawaiian chiefly role of benificiently delegating authority to trusted retainersFact|date=October 2007.

However, the most notable achievement of Kūhiō during this period was undoubtedly the creation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which was signed by President Warren Harding into law in 1921. Despite his wishes, the Act contained high blood-quantum requirements, and leased the land instead of granting it fee-simple, creating a perpetual government institution. This act and the others that followed from it continue to be controversial in contemporary Hawaiian politics and have been used to justify more recent race-based legislation like the Akaka Bill.

Kūhiō died on 7 January, 1922. His body was interred with the rest of his royal family at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuokinauanu on the island of Ookinaahu. He is memorialized by streets, beaches, plazas and a federal building named in his honor. On March 26 Prince Kūhiō Day honors Kūhiō birth.

References

*cite book | author=Rayson, Ann | title=Modern History of Hawaii | publisher=Bess press | year=2004 | id=ISBN 1-57306-209-X (a high school textbook on Hawaiian history, see especially chapter 3: "Prince Kūhiō and the Hawaiian Homestead Act").
*CongBio|K000004

External links

* [http://oahuxyz.com/ROUTES/HISTORY/HS_GALLERY_HTML/085.htm Prince Kuhio]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8560274 Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole] at Find a Grave
* [http://www.papakolea.org/pca/kuhio.asp Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole]

USRepSuccessionBox
state=Hawaii Territory
type=Delegate
before=Robert William Wilcox
years= 1903 – 1922
after=Henry Alexander Baldwin