Keōpūolani

Kalanikauikaalaneo Kai Keōpūolani-Ahu-i-Kekai-Makuahine-a-Kama-Kalani-Kau-i-Kealaneo was a queen consort of Hawaii and the highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I.Early lifeKeōpuolani was born around 1778 at an area known as Pahoehoe of Pāpōhaku, near present-day Wailuku, on the island of Maui. She was known as Kalanikauikaalaneo in her early childhood. Her name means "Gathering of the Clouds of Heaven".Her father was Kīwalaʻō, King of Hawaii island. He was the son of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii island who met Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay.Her mother was Queen Kekuiapoiwa Liliha, half-sister of Kamehameha I. Their father was Keōuakupuapāikalani.Kiwalaō and Kekuiapoiwa Liliha were half-siblings through their shared mother, High Chiefess Kalola-Pupuka-Honokawahilani of Maui; for further information, see her Ancestry and Rank section below.As a child, Keōpuolani lived for a while in Hāna (the eastern tip of Maui), then moved back to the Wailuku area.Battle of KepaniwaiIn 1790, while Keōpuolani was 11, Kamehameha attacked the island of Maui at the Battle of Kepaniwai while her great-uncle King Kahekili II was away on the island Oahu. When Maui forces under Kalanikupule lost to Kamehameha, Kalola along with her two daughters, many Maui chiefesses and Keōpuolani tried to flee to Oahu. They stopped in Molokai as sickness overcame the elderly Kalola, and were caught by Kamehameha's forces. Kalola offered her granddaughter as a future bride and the recognition of Kamehameha as the ruler of Maui in exchange for peace. Other Maui chiefesses also joined Kamehameha's court.