Governors of Oahu

The Governor of Oʻahu (Hawaiian: Kiaʻaina o Oʻahu) was the royal governor or viceroy of the island of Oʻahu in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Oʻahu resided at Honolulu and was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. The governor had authority over the island of Oahu and Honolulu, the kingdom's capital, and it was up to the governor to appoint lieutenant governors to assist them. The governor had replaced the old alii aimokus of the islands, but sovereignty remained with the king. Either the governor or the monarch had the power to call in foreign assistance in time of troubles. This occurred a few times, including the uprising of the Emmaites in 1874 when John Owen Dominis called for British and American assistance. Neither the governor nor monarch called for foreign assistance in January 1893 when John L. Stevens sent American troops into Honolulu.

Role

In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii it states:

There shall be four governors over these Hawaiian Islands - one for Hawaiʻi - one for Maui and the Islands adjacent - one for Oʻahu, and one for Kauaʻi and the adjacent Islands. All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject to the King.

The prerogatives of the governors and their duties, shall be as follows: Each governor shall have the general direction of the several tax gatherers of his island, and shall support them in the execution of all their orders which he considers to have been properly given, but shall pursue a course according to law, and not according to his own private views. He also shall preside over all the judges of his island, and shall see their sentences executed as above. He shall also appoint the judges and give them their certificates of office.

All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject not only to the King, but also to the Premier.

The governor shall be the superior over his particular island or islands. He shall have charge of the munitions of war, under the direction of the King, however, and the Premier. He shall have charge of the forts, the soldiery, the arms and all the implements of war. He shall receive the government dues and shall deliver over the same to the Premier. All important decisions rest with him in times of emergency, unless the King or Premier be present. He shall have charge of all the King's business on the island, the taxation, new improvements to be extended, and plans for the increase of wealth, and all officers shall be subject to him. He shall also have power to decide all questions, and transact all island business which is not by law assigned to others.

When either of the governors shall decease, then all the chiefs shall assemble at such place as the King shall appoint, and shall nominate a successor of the deceased governor, and whosoever they shall nominate and be approved by the King, he shall be the new governor.

List of Governors of Oʻahu

#	Name	Picture	Birth	Death	Assumed Office	Left Office	Years in office	Notes	Monarch
Direct Rule by King Kamehameha I from Waikiki.
1	Kūihelani		?	?	c. 1796	c. 1815	9?	[1]	Kamehameha I
2	Isaac Davis ʻAikake		c. 1758	April, 1810	?	April, 1810?	9?		Kamehameha I
3	Oliver Holmes		02 Nov 1777	06 Aug 1825	c. 1810	?	?		Kamehameha I
									Kamehameha II
4	Lydia Namahana Piʻia		c. 1787	September 12, 1829	c. ?	c. 18..	?		Kamehameha II
									Kamehameha III
5	Boki Kamāʻuleʻule		c. 1780	December, 1829	18..	December, 1829	?		Kamehameha III
6	Kuini Liliha		c. 1780	August 25, 1839	December, 1829	April 1, 1831	1	acting; widow of Governor Boki	Kamehameha III
7	John Adams Kiiapalaoku Kuakini		c. 1789	December 9, 1844	April 1, 1831	c. 1833	2	acting	Kamehameha III
8	Elizabeth Kīnaʻu Kaʻahumanu II		c. 1805	April 4, 1839	c. 1833?	April 4, 1839?	6?		Kamehameha III
9	Mataio Kekūanāoʻa		c. 1793	November 4, 1868	November 17, 1846	February 18, 1864	18	widower of Kīnaʻu Deputy N. Kahulanui	Kamehameha III
									Kamehameha IV
									Kamehameha V
10	John Owen Dominis		March 10, 1832	August 27, 1891	February 18, 1864	October 4, 1886	22	first time	Kamehameha V
									Lunalilo
									Kalākaua
11	Curtis Piʻehu ʻIaukea		December 13, 1855	March 5, 1940	October 4, 1886	August 5, 1887	1		Kalākaua
12	Antone Rosa		November 10, 1855	September 9, 1898	April 12, 1887	July 7, 1887	2 months	acting	Kalākaua
13	Archibald Scott Cleghorn		November 15, 1835	November 1, 1910	July 7, 1887	July 26, 1887	19 days	acting; first time	Kalākaua
14	John Owen Dominis		March 10, 1832	August 27, 1891	August 5, 1887	August 23, 1888	1	second time	Kalākaua
Interregnum
15	John Owen Dominis		March 10, 1832	August 27, 1891	March 2, 1891	November 11, 1891	eight months	third time	Liliuokalani
16	Archibald Scott Cleghorn		November 15, 1835	November 1, 1910	November 11, 1891	February 28, 1893	2 years	second time	Liliuokalani

^[2]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• List of Governors of Hawaii
  • Governors of Hawaii (island)
  • Governors of Kauai
  • Governors of Maui
• Alii Aimoku of Oahu
• Mayor of Honolulu

References

1. Richard A. Greer (1998). "Along the Old Honolulu Waterfront". Hawaiian Journal of History 32 (Hawaii Historical Society). pp. 53–66. hdl:10524/430.
2. "Governor of Oahu" (PDF). official archives. State of Hawaii. Retrieved 2009-10-06.

• Colin Newbury, Linacre College, Oxford University (2001). "Patronage and Bureaucracy in the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1840–1893". Pacific Studies. Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus. pp. 1–38.

External links

• Oahu Kingdom