Maui’s
History Along the Road to Hana
Ancient
Hawaiians were a people without writing who
preserved their history in chants and legends. Maui’s ancient history, as with
all the islands, was passed down through close to
100 generations by the kahuna priests of
Empires were
born in Hana and many battles were fought here, not just for
the right to rule Maui but also for the
Painting of Hana
Bay at Hotel Hana.
What exists of ancient Hawaiian history today is
largely taken from what was chronicled by the
first sea captains living
Hawaiian descendants who still remembered the ancient
stories and chants .
Many of these accounts
and stories are archived at Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
As you travel along the road to Hana keep in mind
that this part of Maui is not only stunningly beautiful
but
In ancient Maui, Hana was a lush area favored by
the Alii (royalty) and became the seat of power for the
entire Until the mid 1400’s, Maui was
divided into three territories with different rulers:
Wailuku (Central Maui), .
Around what is estimated to be the 1550’s, King
Pi’ilani, Moi of west Maui, married the daughter of Hana’s
chiefPeace and prosperity were experienced
during this king’s
Pi’ilani’s greatest accomplishment was that he
commissioned many significant “public works” projects.
It took many years of hard labor to complete the
building of fish ponds, irrigation fields and a stone paved
trail
By the early 1600’s Hana was under the control
of Big Island ali’i through the marriage of Hawai’i’s
moi
The first European explorer to see Maui was
Captain James Cook on November 26, 1778, when he and his two
On May 29, 1786, it was French Admiral
Jean-Francois de Galaup La Perouse who became the first
westerner to.
As he passed
Less than a decade after the first western
contact with Captain James Cook in the Hawaiian islands
King Kamehameha began to procured canons and armaments
from the arriving foreigners. Having
fought for many years trying to unite
Kamehameha and his army built a fleet of
war canoes which were estimated to have numbered close
to 1000 strong.
Ancient battles were fought in Hana at points
stretching the entire length of the Hana coast.
Their arrival was sounded
One account speaks of Maui warriors who were
skilled in the art of slinging stones.
It was said they could100 to 200 yards from shore
accurately enough to kill warriors and damage canoes. As
you travelfortress which was the fall back position
for Hana’s ancient residents and warriors in times of
invasion.
The battle for Maui’s rule ended when the island
was conquered by Kamehameha and his huge fleet of warriors
and western armaments. His army chased the Maui
warriors into Iao Valley along the eastern shore of the
West Maui Mountains and it was such a bloody battle that
it is said the bodies dammed up Iao Stream which ran red
with blood
Kamehameha set up his new Kingdom
of Hawaiʻi in the village of Lahaina, known then as Lele.
He married into the
new Hawaiian Kingdom from 1802 until it was moved to
Honolulu in 1845.
Kamehameha began trading with
the foreigners after conquering the Oʻahu chiefs. At
first the main export was salt,
Some of the first westerners to arrive in Maui
observed a well organized caste society.
The Hawaiians had mastered
Several of the early sea captains
who arrived in Maui saw the rich resources of Hana as a
way to make a living and
began cultivating the sugar cane which grew wild there.
Eventually Hana was the location for one of Hawaiʻi’s
first
sugar cane mills in 1849. By 1883 there were six in
the area. The original trail constructed by Hana’s
Chief Pi’ilani hundreds of years earlier was finished as a
roadway in 1926. It is what we call
the road to Hana today.
A Brief Chronology of
Hana History
1550 (est) – Maui Chief Pi’ilani rules Hana in a
time of peace and prosperity. He orders the building
of a trail system circling Maui, thus uniting the entire
island.
1759 to 1779 – Kalani’opu’u of the Big Island
captured and held power over Hana. Eventually, West Maui
chief
1768 – Queen Ka’ahumanu was born in a cave at
Ka’uiki Hill. She was King Kamehameha’s favorite wife and
largely responsible for the abolition of the Kapu System.
1790 – King Kamehameha invades Maui and conquers
the island with the help of British armaments.
1794 – King Kamehameha brings all the island
under his rule and establishes Lahaina as the capitol of
the Hawaiian kingdom.
1849 – Sugarcane is introduced to Hana via a
sugar mill by George Wilfong. In 1883, there were 6
plantations in
1926 – The original Hana Highway was completed.
It was a gravel 1-lane road.
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