Kalaimanokahoʻowaha

[1] He was called Kanaʻina nui (an aliʻi title) as a birthright from his father, Keaweʻopala, first born son of Alapainui.

After his father was killed by Kalaniʻōpuʻu, he would serve the new king as a kaukau aliʻi, a service class of Hawaiian nobility that his mother, Moana Wahine had descended from.

[5] One of the ship's crew writes: "Among all of the excitement and confusion two chiefs, an exceptionally handsome six footer named Kanaina and a friendly young man named Palea made themselves useful by ordering canoes out of the path of the ships and stoning the more importunate commoners from the decks".

[5]Kanaina had been of help to the European explorers from very early on, even after a scuffle between the crew of Resolution and an islander when the chief had urged him to suggest an obviously over-inflated price for his pig.

[6] The decision to kidnap and ransom the ruling chief of the Island of Hawaii was a fatal error on the part of the British navigator and the main cause of his death.

[citation needed] James Cook led three separate voyages to chart unknown areas of the globe for the Kingdom of Great Britain.

[10] After Cook's initial visit he left but was forced to return to Hawaii in mid February 1779 after a ship's mast broke in bad weather.

[11] His arrival coincided with the Makahiki,[12] a festival celebrating the yearly harvest while worshipping the Hawaiian deity, Lono.

[13] On February 13, while anchored in Kealakekua Bay a small boat was stolen by one of the lesser chiefs,[14] testing the foreigner's reaction to see how far they could go.

Hawaiian mythology author William Drake Westervelt, after referencing all known published accounts, wrote "The historian must remember that there were thousands of native eye-witnesses whose records cannot be overlooked in securing a true history.

[26] By the time they got to the beach, Kalaniʻōpuʻu's two youngest sons, who had been following their father believing they were being invited to visit the ship again with the ruler, began to climb into the boats that were waiting at the shore.

Some accounts state that Kanaʻina did not intend to hit Cook while other descriptions say the chief struck the navigator across the head with his leiomano.

[33] The Marines fired as they fled, killing a number of the angered crowds people, including Kanaʻina and his brothers.