8. Hawaiian King Kamehameha Made A Decree Protecting Civilians In Times of War After Attacked By One
Hawaii and kings are not something one would typically think go together. However, Hawaii was once a monarchy. King Kamehameha I of Hawaii was most famous for a special kind of law titled the Law of the Splintered Oar when translated to English. This law, written in 1797, states “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety.” The law came about when the king was in Puna on military business and was chasing two fisherman who were covering the retreat of other commoners. The king’s leg became caught in a reef, and a fisherman smacked the king over the head with an oar in defense. He could have been killed, but the fisherman’s life was spared. Kamehameha declared the man should be spared because he was only protecting his family, and the law was born to protect civilians in wartime. The law is still enshrined in the state constitution today.
Discussion about this post