Hawaiian Commandments

[Cartoonist]

That's kind of misleading. Here's a timeline I found that is interesting for its history of religious meddling in a sovereign state.

https://law-hawaii.libguides.com/hawaiilegalhistory

1819 Kamehameha I dies and Liholiho, Kamehameha II, becomes king. Ka'ahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I, has equal power as Kuhina Nui (Chief Counselor).

In 1819 King Kamehameha got sick. On his death bed he followed the British monarchy's lead and named his eldest son as his heir. He named his favorite wife chief counselor. There were rumors that she was responsible for his death.

After King Kamehameha's death Ka'ahumanu did not want to give up any land so she broke tradition as well as the kapu her husband had lived by. She ordered all religious images burned and the temples destroyed.

1820 Congregational Church missionaries from New England arrive.

Pioneer missionaries left New England without any knowledge of the death of King Kamehameha or the overthrow of the ancient religious system. The party was led by Hiram Bingham and Reverend Thurston.

1822 Ka'ahumanu has the first laws printed by Elisha Loomis, the missionary printer. There are two and they are labeled "Notices."

Queen Ka'ahumanu wrote new laws based on the Ten Commandments. She heeded the demands of the missionaries that the traditional Hawaiian way of life be abolished. All traditional forms of passing on history, including hula, were outlawed.

1823 Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and Queen Kamamalu contract measles in England and die. Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, is a minor, but becomes king with Ka'ahumanu as Kuhina Nui.

1825 Hereditary holding of land becomes part of the Hawaiian legal system. Prior to this, all land belonged to the Akua (gods) and was administered by the ali'i nui (chiefs).

1826 First Hawaiian/U.S. treaty of "friendship, commerce, and navigation."

1827 Law against adultery passed. Other, missionary-inspired laws like the prohibition against hula are passed.

1832 Ka'ahumanu dies. Kamehameha III repeals all recent Christian laws.

1833-36 Kamehameha III revives hula and other cultural practices once prohibited.

1836 Nahi'en'ena, sister of Kamehameha III, dies. Kamehameha III converts to Christianity and mourns for the next eight years.