Kamehameha unites the Hawaiian Islands

By 1795, Kamehameha had united all the islands except Kaua'i and Ni'ihau (which agreed to join the kingdom in 1810). With the death of Kahekili in 1794 - the last powerful Maui chief to wage bitter wars against the chiefs of Hawai'i island - and Kamehameha's victory over O'ahu forces in 1795, Kamehameha was the undisputed ruler of Hawai'i, Maui and O'ahu. Immediately after his last battle, he and his men planted upper Nu`uanu valley in taro. Ruling later from his main residences at Kona and Honolulu, he enforced peace in the Islands and maintained strict adherence to the ancient religious kapu. While Kamehameha was successful at managing contact and commerce with an increasing number of foreign ships visiting the Islands, Western influence gained an increasing foothold under his successors.