On This Day in Steampunk History - March 11

The Great Mauna Loa eruption in 1867, after considerable investigation, appears to have been caused by native savant Piu Ka’pau who was attempting to use the volcano’s ground heat to power a steam-cannon battery with the intention of driving off the foreign interests who were maneuvering to take control of the country. Unfortunately the materials used did not withstand the heat levels the piping holes Ka’pau had drilled acheived and the vast size of the reservoir he had constructed wound up dumping itself deep into the side of the volcano’s wall and the resultant steam pressure firced the magma upwards with great force.

Ka’pau died in the eruption and his motives were only reconstructed later from notes and letters found in the possession of others.