Kona

Kona stretches along the western coast of Hawaiʻi Island, where volcanic slopes meet sheltered bays. Its coastal communities cultivated the land and fished the adjoining sea. At Hōnaunau a sacred place of refuge offered protection to those who reached it after breaking the kapu, the religious rules governing Hawaiian society.

Its walls enclosed temple platforms and royal grounds beside the place of refuge, on the shores of Hōnaunau Bay. In 1779 James Cook’s expedition anchored at Kealakekua Bay, where Cook was killed during a confrontation with Hawaiians. Three years later the battle of Mokuʻōhai in Kona helped Kamehameha establish his claim to power. He later completed the unification of the islands, and in 1819 his successor Liholiho abandoned the kapu system.