1804 — Epidemic, Possibly Cholera (or Typhoid or Plague) Natives, Oahu, HI ~2,000

— >100,000 Adams; noted in Schmitt, R.C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2009, 2.
— >2,000 Blanchard.*
–>Half of pop. Early writers; noted in Schmitt, R.C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2009, 2.
— Thousands. Chambers, John H. Hawaii (On-the-Road-Histories). 2006, p. 83.
— Many. U.S. NIH. Native Voices. “Timeline. 1804: Epidemic Strikes…O’ahu.”

* We choose “2,000” in an effort to put a number to the Chambers’ note “Thousands of Oahuans died.” One account, most probably greatly exaggerated, notes 100,000 deaths. Another, half of the population.

Narrative Information

Chambers: “In early 1804 Kamehameha set up camp…in Oahu and in spring, when he was almost ready to sail into Kauai channel, Oahu was struck by an horrendous epidemic – cholera, or typhoid, or ever perhaps bubonic plague – the later a possibility because of they rapidity with which the disease progressed. Most likely the crew of a visiting ship brought the disease, but to the priests the only explanation was that the Hawaiian gods were extremely angry and had to be placated.

“The people made offerings and sacrifices with mountains of fruit and pig and coconuts – and humans too. Three men who had infringed an eating kapu were seized, for perhaps it was they who had annoyed toe gods. Their arms and legs were broken, then their eyeballs were removed. Their tortured screams and unending pain ignored, they were not killed until the appointed time as determined by the kahuna and then placed on the heiau at Waikiki. The plague continued.

“Thousands of Oahuans died. No group or class was immune. Kamehameha abandoned his intention to invade Kauai once again…” (Chambers, John H. Hawaii. 2006, p. 83.)

Schmitt: “Mortality from epidemics and famine is equally difficult to estimate. Early writers stated that the mai okuu of 1804 carried off more than half of the population, and Adams subsequently reported total mortality from this plague in excess of 100,000. Kuykendall, in contrast, was highly skeptical, and attributed these statements to “legendary exaggeration”.” (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 2.)

U.S. National Institutes of Health: “As King Kamehameha prepares to attack the island of Kaua‘i from his base on O‘ahu to expand his influence in the Hawaiian Islands, an epidemic spreads. The disease, possibly cholera, is called oku‘u (which means “to squat”). Kamehameha is not affected, but the disease kills many in his army and many residents of O‘ahu.

“Cholera is a bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water, which causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. Cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours.” (U.S. National Library of Medicine. Native Voices. Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. “Timeline. 1804: Epidemic strikes Kamehameha’s warriors on O’ahu.”)

Lisyansky: According to Lisyansky, Kamehameha had 7,000 warriors and fifty armed foreigners. (Iurji F. Lisyansky. A Voyage Round the World in 1803-1806 (2 vols.) St. Petersburg: F. Drechsler, 1812; cited at p. 126 in Tumarkin, Daniel D. “A Russian View of Hawaii in 1804,” Pacific Studies, Vol. II, No. 2, Spring 1979, pp. 109-131.)

Sources

Chambers, John H. Hawaii (On-the-Road-Histories). Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 2006. Partially Google digitized. Accessed 9-19-2012 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=HZpfH2LJoJoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lisiansky, Urey. A Voyage Round the World in The Years 1803, 4, 5, & 6; Performed by Order of His Imperial Majesty Alexander The First, Emperor of Russia, in The Ship Neva, by Urey Lisiansky, Captain in the Russian Navy and Knight of the Orders of St. George and St. Vladimer. London for John Booth: 1814. Google digitized and accessed 1-4-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Gz9jAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 86 pages. Accessed 9-20-2012 at: Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii – eVols – University of Hawaii.

Tumarkin, Daniel D. “A Russian View of Hawaii in 1804,” Pacific Studies, Vol. II, No. 2, Spring 1979, pp. 109-131. Accessed 1-4-2015 at: https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/PacificStudies/article/view/8992

United States National Library of Medicine. Native Voices. Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. “Timeline.” Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed 9-17-2012 at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/index.html