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Liliʻuokalani, Queen of Hawaiʻi (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917), originally named
Lydia Kamakaʻeha, and Lydia Liliuokalani Paki. And she was also
known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Paki, with the chosen royal name of
Liliʻuokalani, and later named Lydia K. Dominis, was the
last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
Early life
Hawaiʻi’s last sovereign queen was born on September 2, 1838, in
Honolulu. In accordance with Hawaiian tradition, she was adopted at birth by Abner Paki and his
wife, Laura Konia (a granddaughter of King Kamehameha I). Liliuokalani’s childhood years
were spent studying and playing with Bernice Pauahi, the Pakis' natural daughter.
Lili'uokalani received her education at the Royal School (originally known as the Chief's Children's School), and became
fluent in English.
Reign
On September 16, 1862, she married John Owen Dominis, who became Governor of Oʻahu and Maui. They had no children;
Liliʻuokalani's named successor was her niece Victoria Kaʻiulani (1875–1899), although Kaʻiulani predeceased her.
Liliʻuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalākaua on January 17, 1891. Shortly after
she gained power, she tried to abrogate the existing "Bayonet
Constitution" (so named because it had been signed by the previous monarch under the threat of force), and draft a new
constitution that would restore power to the monarchy, along with other controversial changes. American and European residents
and subjects of the Kingdom of Hawaii organized to depose her, feeling threatened by the elimination of their suffrage in the queen's proposed constitution. They asserted that the queen had "virtually abdicated" by
refusing to support the 1887 constitution; besides the threatened loss of suffrage, business interests within the Kingdom were
upset about what they viewed as "poor governance" of the Kingdom, as well as the U.S. removal of foreign tariffs in the sugar
trade due to the McKinley Act (which effectively eliminated the favored status of Hawaiian sugar due to the Reciprocity Treaty).
These American and Europeans actively sought annexation to the United States, among other reasons so that their business might
enjoy the same sugar bounties as domestic producers.
On January 14, 1893, a group composed of American and European elites formed a Committee
of Safety in opposition to the Queen. As these events were unfolding, American citizens living in Honolulu expressed
concern for their safety and property.[1] United States
Government Minister John L. Stevens, worried about possible threats to non-combatant
American lives and property,[2] summoned a company of
uniformed U.S. Marines from the U.S.S. Boston and two companies of U.S. sailors to
land on the Kingdom and take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu
Harbor came ashore under strict orders of neutrality.
The Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893, and a provisional government was instituted.
The administration of Grover Cleveland commissioned the Blount Report, and based on its findings, concluded that the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani was illegal, and that U.S. Minister Stevens and American military troops had
acted inappropriately in support of those who carried out the overthrow. On November 16, 1893 Cleveland proposed to return the
throne back to her if she granted amnesty to everyone responsible. She initially refused, and it was reported that she said she
would have them beheaded - she denied that specific accusation, but admitted that she intended them to suffer the punishment of
death.[3] With this development, then-President
Grover Cleveland sent the issue to the United
States Congress. She later changed her position on the issue, and on December 18,
1893 U.S. Minister Willis demanded her reinstatement by the Provisional Government. The Provisional
Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland's referral with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report by the U.S. Senate on February 26, 1894, which exonerated both Minister Stevens and the U.S. troops from any responsibility for the overthrow.
On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaiʻi was proclaimed and
Sanford B. Dole, one of the first people who originally called on the institution of the
monarchy to be abolished, became President. The Republic of Hawaiʻi was
recognized immediately by the United States government, although Walter Q. Gresham,
Cleveland's Secretary of State, remained antagonistic towards the new government.[4]
Abdication
Liliʻuokalani was arrested on January
16, 1895 (several days after a failed rebellion by Robert Wilcox) when firearms were found in the gardens of her
home, of which she denied any knowledge. She was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison and fined $5000, but the
sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of ʻIolani Palace, where she composed many famous songs. She was released in 1896,
with the establishment of the Republic of Hawaiʻi. After eight months, she
abdicated her throne in return for the release (and commutation of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters.[citation needed] The charge of treason for which they
were sentenced to death by the Provisional Government was the same charge that
Lili'uokalani had insisted be held against the Committee of Safety for their act of
deposing her. She entered claims against the U.S. totaling $450,000 for property and other losses, claiming personal ownership of
the crown lands, but was unsuccessful. The territorial legislature of Hawaii finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and
permitted her to receive the income from a sugar plantation of 6,000 acres (24 km²). She went home to Washington Place, where she lived until her death in 1917 due to complications from a stroke. She was
79.
Along with Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, Hawaiʻi was annexed
to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War through a joint resolution of the United States Congress in 1898. Cuba, where the precipitating event of the war occurred (the
explosion of the battleship USS Maine in Havana), was never annexed by the United States, although portions still remains a U.S. military outpost.
Liliʻuokalani was an accomplished author and songwriter. Her book, Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen, gave her view of the history of her country and her overthrow.
Some of her best-known musical compositions include the song, "Aloha ʻOe", "The Queen's Jubilee", and
"Ku’u Pua I Paoakalani".
The statue of Queen Lili
ʻuokalani on the grounds of the State Capitol in
Honolulu, Hawai
ʻi
Dramatisation
The story of Liliʻuokalani inspired the composer Paul Abraham for his operetta
Die Blume von Hawaii.[5]
Footnotes and citations
- ^ The Morgan Report, p808-809, "At the request of many citizens, whose wives and families were helpless and in terror
of an expected uprising of the mob, which would burn and destroy, a request was made and signed by all of the committee,
addressed to Minister Stevens, that troops might be landed to protect houses and private property.
- ^ The Morgan Report, p881, "Under the diplomatic and naval rules, which were and are imperative, the U. S. minister and
naval commander would have shamefully ignored their duty had they not landed the men of the Boston for the security of American
life and property and the maintenance of public order, even had the committee of public safety not requested us to do."
- ^ Hawaii's
Story by Hawaii's Queen, CHAPTER XL
- ^ The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Aug. 1983), pp.
292-311 "Morality and Spite: Walter Q. Gresham and U.S. Relations with Hawaii"
- ^ Joachim Reisaus, The Return of "Blume von Hawaii" to Leipzig, (German)
External links
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