Keopuolani (c. 1778–1823)

Sacred chiefess, the mother of kings, who was the wife of Kamehameha I. Name variations: Keopulani. Born to parents who were half brother and sister of high rank around 1778; died on September 16, 1823; raised by grandmother Kalola; became first wife of Kamehameha I the Great (1758–1819), king of Hawaii (r. 1810–1819), around 1795; children: Liholiho (1797–1824), later known as Kamehameha II, king of Hawaii (r. 1819–1824); Kauikeaouli (1814–1854), later known as Kamehameha III, king of Hawaii (r. 1824–1854); Princess Nahienaena (c. 1815–1836).

Raised on Maui by her grandmother Kalola , Keopuolani was born around 1778 of high rank, making her a prime bridal candidate for Kamehameha I when she was still a teen. She was a woman of power, like Kamehameha's chief wife Kaahumanu , and, like Kaahumanu, also rebelled against the old ways. When Keopuolani's daughter Nahienaena was born, she kept her near, rather than hand her over to another chief to raise, as was the custom. On the day after her husband's death in 1819, Keopuolani broke other taboos, wrote Marjorie Sinclair : "She ate coconuts previously forbidden to women, and she sat down with the chiefs for a meal." Keopuolani was among those who approved of the work of the missionaries and had her two younger children learn to read and write. She began to don Western clothes, study Christianity, and had furniture in her house. When her health began to fail in 1823, Keopuolani pursued a warmer climate, moving her family to Lahaina, on the island of Maui. Baptized while on her death bed, she was considered "the first fruit of the mission."

sources:

Sinclair, Marjorie. "Keopuolani," in Notable Women of Hawaii. Edited by Barbara Bennett Peterson. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984.