Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea, also known as Kamehameha I and Kamehameha the Great, was a Hawaiian king who brought all the Hawaiian islands under his rule and established the Kamehameha dynasty, which has gone down in history as the most-enduring and best-documented line of Hawaiian monarchs. After the kahunas, Hawaii’s mystic seers, saw a new bright star, Kokoiki, they prophesied the coming of a great king who would conquer all the islands and rule over them. Following the death of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu in 1782, the Island of Hawaii was split between the king’s nephew, Kamehameha, and the king’s son, Kīwalaʻō. They co-existed peacefully for a few weeks before a war broke out and Kīwalaʻō was killed. A shrewd statesman, Kamehameha brought all the islands but Kauai and Niihau under his control by 1795. By 1810, he had become the undisputed ruler of the entire island group. Despite being an autocratic ruler, he sent governors to lead the administration of each island. Although he kept the traditional harsh kapu system of laws and punishments, he introduced Kānāwai Māmalahoe, which saved numerous common people from the unnecessary brutality of powerful chiefs. The king garnered a large fortune by controlling the sandalwood trade and was able to successfully navigate through the tricky period of European discovery and exploration of the islands.