Koʻolau and Piʻilani of Kauai: Forced Exile, Kalalau Valley, and Resistance in 1893 Hawaii | 066

In 1893, on Kauai, Koʻolau refused forced exile to Molokai after officials moved to separate him from Piilani and their son, Kaleimanu. What followed in Kalalau Valley became one of Hawaii’s most haunting historical cases: the killing of Deputy Sheriff Louis Stolz, martial law, a government expedition, and a lasting fight over whether this story is best understood as resistance, tragedy, or both. This episode of Beneath the Palms follows the documented record first, then the later public memory around Koʻolau, Piilani, Hansen’s disease, forced isolation, Kalalau Valley, and the story often called the Leper War on Kauai. At the center is not just a legend, but a family, a policy, and a voice—Piilani’s—that refused to let the story belong only to the state or to later retellings. Sources: The True Story of Kaluaikoolau: As Told by His Wife, Piilani — https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-true-story-of-kaluaikoolau-as-told-by-his-wife-piilani/?attribute_pa_format=paperback An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy, 1865 - Kalaupapa National Historical Park — https://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/historyculture/1865legislation.htm The History of Hansen's Disease in Hawaii - Kalaupapa National Historical Park — https://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/historyculture/hansensdisease.htm 1893 Expedition to Gather Individuals with Hansen’s Disease – State of Hawaiʻi Department of Defense — https://dod.hawaii.gov/blog/1893-expedition-to-gather-individuals-with-hansens-disease/ Piilani, the Wife of Kaluaikoolau, 1916. | nupepa — https://nupepa-hawaii.com/2016/05/04/piilani-the-wife-of-kaluaikoolau-1916/ Continuation of Piilani’s story, 1916. | nupepa — https://nupepa-hawaii.com/2016/05/05/conclusion-to-piilanis-story-1916/ Ko‘olau and Pi‘ilani: A Leper and his Wife - Ka‘iwakīloumoku — https://kaiwakiloumoku.ksbe.edu/article/historical-snapshots-koolau-and-piilani-a-leper-and-his-wife The Literary Offences of W. S. Merwin’s Folding Cliffs - Ka‘iwakīloumoku — https://kaiwakiloumoku.ksbe.edu/article/essays-the-literary-offences-of-w.-s.-merwins-folding-cliffs #BeneathThePalms #Koolau #Piilani #Kalalau #KalalauValley #Kauai #HawaiiHistory #HawaiianHistory #HansenDisease #HistoryPodcast