Tomorrow is King Kamehameha Day, a state holiday in honor of the first monarch of the unified Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha was well-loved by his people, because he was fair in just in his rule of the new kingdom. However, even though Kamehameha was a great man, it should be noted that, like everybody else, he had many undesirable character traits.
With the exception of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, all of the major Hawaiian Islands were added to the kingdom by overthrowing the chiefs of the island, often in a surprise attack. Kamehameha was entrusted with the war god Kuka’ilimoku, and soon after led a revolt against the chief of Hawai’i, Kiwala’o, to begin acquiring land.