Moloka'i

Molokaʻi lies between Oʻahu and Maui in the central Hawaiian chain, its volcanic land bordered by steep northern cliffs and a long southern coral barrier reef along its coast. Hawaiian communities cultivated its valleys and coastal lands under their chiefs, maintaining connections with neighboring islands across the channels.

During the struggles for the Hawaiian Islands, Kamehameha’s campaigns reached Molokaʻi as well as Maui and Lānaʻi. The campaign was part of a longer contest between powerful chiefs of Hawaiʻi and Maui. In 1795 he took the island before crossing to Oʻahu, where victory at Nuʻuanu brought most of the main islands under his authority. Kauaʻi’s ruler accepted his supremacy in 1810, completing the kingdom’s unification.