Kamehameha IV

Kamehameha IV

Kamehameha IV, King of Hawaii, born Alexander Liholiho 'Iolani, was the sovereign of the united Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863. He governed next to Queen consort Emma of Hawaii.

His Birth

Alexander was born February 9, 1834 in Honolulu in the island of Mataio Kekuanaoa, Governor of Hawaii, and Kinau, the Kuhina Nui or prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was a grandson of Kamehameha the Lonely, first monarch of Hawaii. Alexander was adopted by his uncle, Kamehameha III, who made him the heir to the throne.

Education

Alexander was educated by the missionaries with Masters Cooke in the Royal School of Honolulu. The school is conserved presently, as a primary school with the same name. Frequently the advisors of Kamehameha III considered it an opportunity that the natural heir, Alexander, and their brother Lot, were benefited of an education that included long trips. Under the supervision of their tutor, the Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, Alexander and his brother left toward San Francisco in September of 1849. After the real visit to California, they continued their trip through Panama, Jamaica, New York and Washington, D.C. They traveled through numerous countries of Europe, being interviewed with various heads of state. In May of 1850, the brothers, the prince Alberto of England and other, embarked upon England with course to the United States of America, remaining there a for a time, before returning to Hawaii.

Succession to the throne

Upon returning from their trip through the world, they appointed Alexander to the Cabinet of Kamehameha III. As the minister of the real cabinet, he had the opportunity to obtain the administrative experience of the one that some day would make use as king of Hawaii. During his mandate he also studied several foreign tongues. It was accustomed to the European traditional social norms, in which the Kingdom of Hawaii was based. January 11, 1855, Alexander rose to the throne as Kamehameha IV.

Queen Emma and Prince Albert

Only a year later to assume the throne, Alexander took Emma Rooke by wife and queen. The queen Emma was a granddaughter of John Young, companion and British real advisor of Kamehameha The Lonely One, the first Hawaiian monarch.

Once married in 1856, the real couple had their only son, Prince Albert. The Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, present in the baptism of Prince Albert in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew of Honolulu, was his godmother. Unfortunately, the young prince died at age four. Hawaii remained dismayed by the loss of the boy to which already they wanted as their future king.

The Fight Against the American Influence

In the epoch of ascent to the throne of Alexander, the American local population continued growing. They began to exercise an important economic and political pressure on the Kingdom of Hawaii. To Alexander it worried him that the United States of America tried to conquer their nation. In any attempt, by balancing the influence that supposed the American interests, Alexander undertook a campaign destined to limit the dependence of Hawaii on the business and the commerce with America. Intended to arrive at agreements with the government of the United Kingdom and of other European nations, but his reign did not last, so this had repercussions.

Bequest

Alexander and Queen Emma dedicated a great part of their reign to provide health care and education of quality for their subjects. They worried that illnesses could come from the foreigners, like leprosy and the flu, which decimated the Hawaiian native population. In 1855, Alexander inaugurated the legislative assembly announcing an ambitious plan to promote public health care, which understood the construction of public hospitals and homes for the elders. The legislative assembly, with the support of the Constitution of 1852, however, limited the authority of the monarch, to put an end to the plans of Alexander for the health.

Alexander and the Queen Emma responded to the refusal on the part of the legislative assembly to finance the project, pressuring to the local businessmen, merchants and to the wealthy residents so that they financed the project instead. The collection of funds was a tremendous success and the couple built the Hospital of the Queen, in English Queen's Hospital, which is one of the world's most technologically advanced. The effort that supposed the collection of funds obtained sufficient benefits as to open some installations for the processing of the leprosy in the island of Maui.

End of his reign

Alexander passed away on account of chronic asthma that he suffered from on November 30, 1863, being followed by his brother, that adopted the name of Kamehameha V. Alexander lived for only 29 years.

Queen Emma continued participating in the political life of Hawaii. Upon finishing the dynasty Kamehameha and to die the king William C. Lunalilo without leaving his own heir, Queen Emma was presented without success to be the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She lost before the king David Kalakaua, which would establish his own dynasty.

To Alexander (as Kamehameha) and to Emma he recalls himself with a festive day inside the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church of the United States from America on November 28.

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