From the moment Apple TV+ released the first trailer for Chief of War, Jason Momoa’s eight-episode limited series about the unification of the Hawaiian Islands in the 1780–90s, the project has been more than a prestige-drama headline.
For Native Hawaiians 🇺🇸🏝️ it is a chance perhaps the first at this scale to reclaim the narrative of their own past.
For Hollywood 🎥🇺🇸 it signals that the industry’s appetite for “exotic” backdrops is finally being balanced by indigenous voices in the writers’ room and behind the camera.
And for anyone who has stood on Waikīkī Beach or at Pearl Harbor, it’s an invitation to revisit the long, unfinished story of how a sovereign nation became America’s fiftieth state.
🏝️🇵🇫 I. The World That Created Kamehameha
When British explorer James Cook 🇬🇧 arrived in 1778, the Hawaiian Islands were a constellation of warring chiefdoms. Each island was divided into moku (districts) ruled by aliʻi nui (high chiefs) whose authority rested on genealogy, warfare, and a sacred kapu system.
Born around 1758 on Hawaiʻi Island, Kamehameha Paiʻea was prophesied as the “killer of chiefs.” He forged alliances through marriage, exploited iron tools from European ships, and acquired Western firearms—giving his armies a decisive edge.
By 1795, Kamehameha had conquered Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Lānaʻi, and Hawaiʻi. Kauaʻi submitted peacefully in 1810, uniting the islands under one ruler for the first time.
⚓🇭🇳 II. From Unified Kingdom to Crown Colony
1820s–1850s – American missionaries 🇺🇸 arrive, followed by whalers and sugar planters. The Great Māhele (1848) privatizes land, dispossessing commoners and fueling plantation expansion.
1875 – Reciprocity Treaty grants Hawaiian sugar duty-free access to U.S. markets in exchange for exclusive use of Pearl Harbor.
1887 – “Bayonet Constitution” strips King Kalākaua of most powers, limiting voting rights to white property owners.
1891 – Queen Liliʻuokalani takes the throne, determined to restore native authority prompting U.S. business interests to act.
🪖🇺🇸 III. The 1893 Overthrow
January 17, 1893 – 162 U.S. Marines land from the USS Boston, surrounding ʻIolani Palace while sugar planters and lawyers declare a “Provisional Government.”
Queen Liliʻuokalani surrenders under protest, hoping President Cleveland will restore the monarchy. Despite a petition signed by over 21,000 Hawaiians, Congress refuses.
Five years later, during the Spanish-American War, strategic interests override any objections.
🇺🇸🏝️ IV. Annexation and Territorial Rule
July 7, 1898 – Congress passes the Newlands Resolution.
August 12, 1898 – U.S. flag raised over ʻIolani Palace.
April 30, 1900 – Organic Act creates the Territory of Hawaii.
Hawaiʻi becomes “the key to the Pacific” in U.S. naval strategy. Pearl Harbor is expanded, plantations grow into monopolies controlled by the “Big Five,” and Native Hawaiians become a demographic minority.
🌏🇯🇵 V. World War II and Statehood
December 7, 1941 – Attack on Pearl Harbor leads to martial law for 1,875 days.
1959 – Hawaiʻi admitted as the 50th U.S. state, ending territorial status but not debates over sovereignty.
✊🏳️ VI. The Modern Sovereignty Movement
1993 – U.S. Congress issues a formal apology for the overthrow (Public Law 103-150) but offers no restitution. Activists demand recognition, self-governance, or independence.
Land designated for Native Hawaiians remains tied up in bureaucracy 28,000 people are still on waiting lists.
The Mauna Kea telescope protests (2014–2023) unite cultural, environmental, and political activism.
🎬🇺🇸 VII. Why Chief of War Matters Now
Jason Momoa born in Honolulu, of Native Hawaiian and mixed ancestry has long dreamed of telling this story. Partnering with Native Hawaiian writer Thomas Paʻa Sibbett and director Justin Chon, the team ensured:
- On-screen Hawaiian-language dialogue
- Cultural protocol officers on set
- Historically accurate re-creations of sacred spaces without disturbance
The series arrives as the U.S. military still controls 22% of Oʻahu’s land and the Supreme Court weighs Native Hawaiian voting rights.
🌊🇺🇸 VIII. Epilogue: History as Prophecy
The trailer closes with the Hawaiian proverb:
“He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka” – The land is chief, man is its servant.
Whether that ethic can withstand another century of mass tourism, military expansion, and climate change is uncertain. But Kamehameha’s wars were only the opening act in a much longer struggle—one still unfolding in the islands today.
