Isaac Davis Aikake
| Isaac Davis | |
|---|---|
| High Chief ʻAikake | |
| Born |
c.1758 Milford Haven, Wales, Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Died | April, 1810 Honolulu, Oahu, Kingdom of Hawaii |
| Spouse | Nakai Nalimaʻaluʻalu Kalukuna |
| Issue | Sarah Kaniʻaulono Elizabeth Peke George Hueu |
Isaac Davis (c. 1758–1810) was a British advisor to Kamehameha I and helped form the Kingdom of Hawaii. He arrived in Hawaii in 1790 as the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of The Fair American. He along with John Young became friends and advisors to Kamehameha. He brought western military knowledge to Hawaii and played a prominent role during Hawaii's first contacts with the European powers. He spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi and was known to the Hawaiian as ʻAikake.
Isaac Davis was born about 1758 in Milford Haven, Wales. He was a seaman on the American schooner Fair American, engaged with a larger companion ship, the Eleanora, in the maritime fur trade between the Pacific Northwest and China.
In 1790, the Eleanora was under Captain Simon Metcalfe, when one of his skiffs was stolen by chief Kaʻōpūiki at Honuaula on Maui. He punished the Hawaiians severely, killing more than 100 Hawaiians at Olowalu.
Metcalfe also once mistreated Kameʻeiamoku, a high chief on the island of Hawaii, and one of the sacred pio twins, by whipping him. The humiliated Kameʻeiamoku swore vengeance on the next ship to arrive. He attacked The Fair American at Kaʻūpūlehu, which was under the command of Metcalfe's 18-year-old son, Thomas. Thomas and all of the Fair American’s crew were killed, except for Isaac Davis, the sole survivor of the attack, who was tied to a canoe and left nearly dead. It is said that Davis's life was spared because of his brave fighting.
In March 1790, Simon Metcalfe left his boatswain, John Young, ashore and sailed away from the Hawaiian Islands without knowing that his son had been killed. The Fair American was taken over by Kamehameha. Although one blogger, citing a historical account that originated in a Hawaiian language newspaper in the early 20th century, explains that Kamehameha did not kill the crew of the Fair American. Davis was nursed back to health by an American beachcomber named Isaac Ridler. Like his friend Young, Davis assisted Kamehameha in his dealings with foreigners and in wars of conquest.
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