Paul Nahaolelua: The Hawaiian Chief Who Served Five Kings
• Early Years: Birth in Kawaihae 1806
• Education: Schoolmaster and Lahainaluna
• Career: Magistrate, Judge, Postmaster
• Privy Council: Advisor to the King
• President of the Legislative Assembly: 1870-1874
• Knight Commander: Royal Order of Kamehameha I
• Legacy: The Governor Who Served Five Monarchs
Paul Nahaolelua was a Hawaiian high chief who served as Governor of Maui for twenty-two years. He served under five monarchs: Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, Lunalilo, and Kalākaua. He was a schoolmaster, a magistrate, a judge, a postmaster, a legislator, and a member of the Privy Council. He was present at the deathbed of Kamehameha V, and he presided over the legislature that elected Lunalilo as king.
Early Years: Birth in Kawaihae 1806
Paul Nahaolelua was born on September 11, 1806, in Kawaihae, in the district of Kohala, on the island of Hawaii . Kawaihae is a port on the northwest coast of the Big Island. He was born into a time of change.
The year of his birth was a time of unification. Kamehameha I had united the islands, and the kingdom was new. The boy who would become a governor grew up in a world of tradition and transformation.
He was given the name Nahaolelua meaning "the two haole" ("foreigners") in honor of John Young and Isaac Davis, the two foreign advisors to King Kamehameha I during his conquest of the Kingdom of Hawaii . He was named for two foreigners. He was a bridge between worlds.
He was a symbol of the new Hawaii.
Education: Schoolmaster and Lahainaluna
He started his career as a schoolmaster teaching Hawaiian at the royal school in Kaupo, Maui. He later became one of the first generation of Hawaiians to receive a western education at the Lahainaluna Seminary from the Christian missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820 . He was a teacher. He was a student. He learned from the missionaries.
Career: Magistrate, Judge, Postmaster
Nahaolelua began working for the government as a district magistrate and circuit judge on Maui. He also served as royal postmaster . He was a judge. He was a postmaster.
During the governorship of James Kānehoa Young, Nahaolelua served as deputy governor of Maui . He was second in command. He learned from his predecessor.
Shortly after Kānehoa's death in 1851, he succeeded as Governor of Maui, although the position was not officially confirmed until the following year on December 3, 1852. He served as Governor for twenty-two years until 1874 . He was governor for more than two decades. He was a leader.
As a royal governor, he also held a seat in the House of Nobles, the upper house of the legislature, traditionally reserved for the high chiefs. He sat during most of the legislative sessions between 1853 and 1874 . He was a legislator. He made laws.
Privy Council: Advisor to the King
He served as a member of the Privy Council of the King . He advised the king. He was a counselor.
President of the Legislative Assembly: 1870-1874
He was elected the President of the Legislative Assembly during the sessions of 1870, 1872, and the special sessions of 1873 and 1874 . He presided over the legislature. He was a leader.
Knight Commander: Royal Order of Kamehameha I
During the reign of Kamehameha V, he was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I . He was honored. He was a knight.
In 1872, Nahaolelua was present at the deathbed of King Kamehameha V. Kneeling at the side of bed, with many of the members of the royal court present, he spoke with the monarch in his last attempts to name a successor to the throne. Kamehameha V, who regarded him as a close friend and business associate, asked Nahaolelua to choose an heir for him. He refused and answered, "Any one, may it please Your Majesty, of the chiefs now present." The King attempted to name his cousin Bernice Pauahi Bishop but she refused the offer, and he died the same day without naming a successor . He was at the king's side. The king asked him to choose. He refused.
Because Kamehameha V died with no heir, the constitution called for the legislature, which Nahaolelua presided over as President of the Legislative Assembly, to select the next monarch. By both popular vote, and the unanimous vote in the legislature, Lunalilo became the first elected king of Hawaii in 1873 . He presided over the election. He helped choose the king.
Paul Nahaolelua died in September 1875. The exact date is given as September 5 or 15 . He was sixty-eight years old. The cause of death is not recorded.
Legacy: The Governor Who Served Five Monarchs
Paul Nahaolelua's legacy is his service. He was a schoolmaster, a magistrate, a judge, a postmaster, a governor, a legislator, a privy councilor, a president of the legislature, a knight. He served five kings. He was a chief. He was a leader.