the country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief kamehameha the great, of the independent island of hawaiʻi, conquered the independent islands of oʻahu, maui, molokaʻi and lānaʻi and unified them under one government. in 1810, the whole hawaiian archipelago became unified when kauaʻi and niʻihau joined the hawaiian kingdom voluntarily. two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the house of kamehameha and the house of kalākaua.