Liliuokalani

Liliʻuokalani
Queen of the Hawaiian Islands (more...)
Reign January 29, 1891 – January 17, 1893
Predecessor Kalākaua
Successor Monarchy abolished
Born (1838-09-02)September 2, 1838
Honolulu, Oahu, Kingdom of Hawaii
Died November 11, 1917(1917-11-11) (aged 79)
Honolulu, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii
Burial November 18, 1917
Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum
Spouse John Owen Dominis
Full name
Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha-a-Kapaʻakea
Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī (adoptive and legal name)
House Kalākaua
Father Caesar Kapaʻakea
Mother Analea Keohokālole
Signature

Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liliˌʔuokəˈlɐni]; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917), born Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha, was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was also known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī, with the chosen royal name of Liliʻuokalani, and her married name was Lydia K. Dominis.

Early life

Liliʻuokalani in her youth.

Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha was born on September 2, 1838 to the High Chieftess Analea Keohokālole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea. She was hānai adopted at birth to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia. The adoption was a Hawaiian tradition where family members who had no children of their own were given children from other family members to raise as their heirs. As a young child she would spend much of her time with her foster sister Bernice Pauahi, the Pākīs' natural daughter.

Kuhina Nui, Elizabeth Kīnaʻu (Kaʻahumanu II) had developed an eye infection at the time of Lydia's birth. Kīnaʻu gave her the names Liliʻu (smarting[1]), Loloku (tearful[2]), Walania (a burning pain[3]), and Kamakaʻeha (sore eyes).

She received her education at the Chiefs' Children's School (later known as the Royal School), and became fluent in English. She attended the school with her two older brothers James Kaliokalani and David Kalākaua. Liliʻuokalani was one of 15 children.

On September 16, 1862, Lydia married John Owen Dominis, who became Governor of Oʻahu and Maui.

Although her named successor was her niece Princess Kaʻiulani (1875–99), Kaʻiulani predeceased her. Liliʻuokalani had three hānai children: Lydia Kaʻonohiponiponiokalani Aholo; Joseph Kaiponohea ʻAeʻa, the son of a retainer; and John Aimoku Dominis, her husband's illegitimate son.[4][5]

Crown Princess

Liliʻuokalani and Queen Kapiʻolani at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

In 1874, Lunalilo, who was elected to succeed Kamehameha V to the Hawaiian throne, died and left no heir to succeed to the throne. In the election that followed, Lydia's brother, David Kalākaua, ran against Emma, the widowed Queen of Kamehameha IV. Lydia sided with her family on the issue and when her brother was declared king, the relationship became strained between Emma and the Kalākaua family.[6]:40–41, 45–49

Upon his accession, Kalākaua gave royal titles and styles to his surviving siblings, his sisters, Princess Lydia and Princess Likelike, and his brother William Pitt Leleiohoku, making him Crown Prince and heir to the Hawaiian throne as Kalākaua had no children of his own. Leleiohoku died in 1877, leaving no one to succeed him.[6]:50 Hawaiʻi did not follow European monarchies in setting a line of succession; heirs had to be lawfully begotten or chosen and approved by the legislature. Leleiohoku's hānai mother Her Highness, Ruth Keʻelikōlani requested that she be named heir as successor to her son's right, but when put before the full cabinet there were objections as that would place Bernice Pauahi Bishop next in line as Ruth's first cousin. At noon on April 10, 1877, the sounds of the cannons were heard announcing Liliʻu as the newly designated heir apparent to the throne of Hawaii.[6]:53

In April 1887, Kalākaua sent a delegation headed by Lydia to attend the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in London. While on the trip, she learned of the Bayonet Constitution that Kalākaua had been forced, under the threat of death, to sign. She canceled her tour of Europe and returned to Hawaii.[7]

Reign

Liliʻuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalākaua on January 29, 1891.[8] Shortly after ascending to the throne, petitions from her people began to be received through the two major political parties of the time, Hui Kala'aina and the National Reform Party. Believing she had the support of her cabinet and that to ignore such a general request from her people would be against the popular will, she moved to abrogate the existing 1887 Bayonet Constitution,[9] by drafting a new constitution that would restore the veto power to the monarchy and voting rights to economically disenfranchised native Hawaiians and Asians.[10] The effort to draft a new constitution never came to fruition, and it preceded the U.S. invasion, occupation and overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government.

Threatened by the queen's proposed new constitution, American and European businessmen and residents organized to depose Liliʻuokalani, asserting that the queen had "virtually abdicated" by refusing to support the 1887 Constitution. Business interests within the Kingdom were also 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 Tariff. The tariff eliminated the favored status of Hawaiian sugar guaranteed by the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. American and Europeans actively sought annexation by the United States so that their business might enjoy the same sugar bounties as domestic producers. In addition to these concerns, Lili'uokalani believed that American businessmen, like Charles R. Bishop, expressed an anxiety concerning a female head of state.[11]

Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Queen Liliʻuokalani.

On January 14, 1893, a group composed of Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen, and seek annexation by the United States. As the coup d'état was unfolding on January 17, the Committee of Safety expressed concern for the safety and property of American citizens. In response, United States Government Minister John L. Stevens summoned a company of US Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of U.S. Navy sailors to take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall. On the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162 sailors and U.S. Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality. Historian William Russ has noted that the presence of these troops, ostensibly to enforce neutrality and prevent violence, effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.[12]

The actual overthrow was surprisingly smooth. Under orders of the Queen, half a dozen policemen were sent to I'olani palace to arrest any members from the Committee of Safety who tried to enter the palace. After shooting broke out close to the palace, some policemen went to the scene. One of the policemen was shot, and had to be carried by the remaining palace guards. This left the palace open to the Committee of Safety. With almost no audience except for some government clerks, the Committee of Safety signed a document that ended the Hawaiian monarchy. Lili'uokalani would not find out until the next day.

The Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893, and temporarily relinquished her throne to "the superior military forces of the United States".[13] She had hoped the United States, like Great Britain earlier in Hawaiian history, would restore Hawaii's sovereignty to the rightful holder.

Queen Liliʻuokalani issued the following statement yielding her authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional Government:

I, Liliʻuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom. That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional Government. Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps loss of life, I do, under this protest, and impelled by said forces, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
— Queen Liliʻuokalani, Jan 17, 1893[14]

A provisional government, composed of European and American businessmen, was then instituted until annexation by the United States could be achieved. On February 1, 1893, the US Minister (ambassador) to Hawaii proclaimed Hawaii a protectorate of the United States.

Queen Liliʻuokalani Monument, Honolulu.

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 sent his minister Albert S. Willis to propose to return the throne back to her if she granted amnesty to everyone responsible. Willis reported to the Secretary of State in Washington that she was intent on killing the culprits. There was a dispute: Willis said the Queen said "beheading"; she later said she used "execute." [15][16][17]

With this development, President Grover Cleveland sent the issue to the Congress. She later changed her position on the issue of punishment for the conspirators, and on December 18, 1893, US Minister Willis demanded her reinstatement by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland's referral with a US Senate investigation that resulted in the Morgan Report on February 26, 1894. The Morgan Report found all parties (including Minister Stevens), with the exception of the Queen, "not guilty", absolving them of responsibility for the overthrow.[18] The accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports have been questioned by partisans on both sides of the historical debate over the events of 1893.[12][19][20][21][22]

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 by the United States government as a protectorate, although Walter Q. Gresham, Cleveland's Secretary of State, remained antagonistic towards the new government.[23]

Forced removal

Liliʻuokalani was arrested on January 16, 1895, several days after the failed 1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii led by Robert William Wilcox, when firearms were found at the base of Diamond Head Crater. Defended at trial by former attorney general Paul Neumann, she claimed ignorance but was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison by the military tribunal and fined $5,000. The sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of ʻIolani Palace, where she composed songs including "The Queen's Prayer" (Ke Aloha o Ka Haku – "The Grace of the Lord") and began work on her memoirs.

During her imprisonment, she abdicated her throne in return for the release (and commutation of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters, including Minister Joseph Nawahi, Prince Kawānanakoa, Robert Wilcox, and Prince Kūhiō.

The Queen with her hānai sons Aimoku and ʻAeʻa and friends.
Before ascending the throne, for fourteen years, or since the date of my proclamation as heir apparent, my official title had been simply Liliuokalani. Thus I was proclaimed both Princess Royal and Queen. Thus it is recorded in the archives of the government to this day. The Provisional Government nor any other had enacted any change in my name. All my official acts, as well as my private letters, were issued over the signature of Liliuokalani. But when my jailers required me to sign ("Liliuokalani Dominis,") I did as they commanded. Their motive in this as in other actions was plainly to humiliate me before my people and before the world. I saw in a moment, what they did not, that, even were I not complying under the most severe and exacting duress, by this demand they had overreached themselves. There is not, and never was, within the range of my knowledge, any such a person as Liliuokalani Dominis.
— Queen Liliuokalani, "Hawaii's Story By Hawaii's Queen"[24]

Following her release, she was placed under house arrest for a year and in 1896, the Republic of Hawaiʻi gave her a full pardon and restored her civil rights.[25]

She then made several trips to the United States to protest against the annexation by the United States and attended the inauguration of US President McKinley in 1897 with a Republic of Hawaiʻi passport personally issued to "Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi" by President Dole.[26]

In 1898, Hawaiʻi became an incorporated territory of the United States during the Spanish–American War and took control of the 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km2) of land that had been held in trust by the monarchy and known as "Crown Land". This became the source of the "Ceded Lands" issue in Hawaiʻi.

In 1900, the US Congress passed the Hawaiʻi Organic Act establishing a government for the Territory of Hawaii.

From 1905 to 1907, the Queen 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 sugarcane plantation of 6,000 acres (24 km²), which was the private property of her late brother before his election as King.

In 1910, Liliʻuokalani brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against the United States seeking compensation under the Fifth Amendment for the loss of the Hawaiian crown land.

The Queen was also remembered for her support of Buddhist and Shinto priests in Hawaiʻi and became one of the first Native Hawaiians to attend a Vesak Day (Buddha's Birthday) celebration of May 19, 1901 at the Honwangji mission. Her attendance in the celebration had helped Buddhism and Shintoism gain acceptance into Hawaiʻi's society and prevented the possible banning of those two religions by the Territorial government. Her presence was also widely reported in Chinese and Japanese newspapers throughout the world and earned her the respect of many Japanese people both in Hawaiʻi and in Japan itself.[27]

She lived in Washington Place where, in April 1917, Liliʻuokalani raised the American flag in honor of five Hawaiian sailors who had perished in the sinking of the SS Aztec by German U-boats. Her act was interpreted by many as her symbolic support of the United States.[28][29] She died later that year due to complications from a stroke. She was 79. She received a state funeral due to her status as a former head of state.

Approaching death, Liliʻuokalani dictated in her will that all of her possessions and properties be sold and the money raised would go to the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Trust to help orphaned and indigent children. The Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust Fund still exists today.

Compositions

Liliʻuokalani holding parasol at Washington Place.

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; she became the first Native Hawaiian female author. Liliʻuokalani was known for her musical talent. Liliʻuokalani is said to have played guitar, piano, organ, ʻukulele and zither. She also sang alto, performing Hawaiian and English sacred and secular music. She would find herself in music. In her memoirs she wrote:

To compose was as natural to me as to breathe; and this gift of nature, never having been suffered to fall into disuse, remains a source of the greatest consolation to this day.[…] Hours of which it is not yet in place to speak, which I might have found long and lonely, passed quickly and cheerfully by, occupied and soothed by the expression of my thoughts in music.[30]

Liliʻuokalani helped preserve key elements of Hawaii's traditional poetics while mixing in Western harmonies brought by the missionaries. A compilation of her works, titled The Queen's Songbook, was published in 1999 by the Liliʻuokalani Trust.

After Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned in the ʻIolani Palace, she was denied literature and newspapers, essentially cutting her off from her people. However, she was not forbidden from having a paper and pencil, so she could continue to compose music while she was in confinement. According to Liliʻuokalani, she "found, notwithstanding disadvantages, great consolation in composing".[31]

Liliʻuokalani was a very peaceful woman, and believed in a peaceful resistance.[32] She used her musical compositions as a way to express her feelings for her people, her country, and what was happening in the political realm in Hawaii.[33] One example of the way her music reflected her political views is her translation of the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant. While under house arrest, Liliʻuokalani feared she would never leave the palace alive, so she translated the Kumulipo in hopes that the history and culture of her people would never be lost.[34] Another of her compositions was Aloha Oe, a song she had written previously and transcribed during her confinement. In her writings, she says, "At first I had no instrument, and had to transcribe the notes by voice alone; but I found, notwithstanding disadvantages, great consolation in composing, and transcribed a number of songs. Three found their way from my prison to the city of Chicago, where they were printed, among them the "Aloha Oe" or "Farewell to Thee," which became a very popular song".[31] Originally written as a lovers' good-bye, the song came to be regarded as a symbol of, and lament for, the loss of her country.

In popular culture

Ancestry

Namesakes

Several things have been named in honor of Liliuokalani.

See also

Footnotes and citations

  1. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of lil'iu ". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  2. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of loloku ". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  3. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of walania ". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ Harris, Sharon M. (17 March 2000). American women prose writers, 1870-1920. Gale Group. ISBN 978-0-7876-3130-7.
  5. ↑ Bonura, Sandra; Witmer, Sally (2013). "Lydia K. Aholo — Her Story Recovering the Lost Voice". Hawaiian Journal of History (Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society) 47: 109. hdl:10524/36266.
  6. 1 2 3 Queen Liliʻuokalani (July 25, 2007) [1898]. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, Liliuokalani. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-548-22265-2.
  7. ↑ Potter, Norris W; Kasdon, Lawrence M; Rayson, Ann, History of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
  8. ↑ Kuykendall 1967, p. 474.
  9. ↑ The Bayonet Constitution was named because it had been signed by the previous monarch under threat of violence from a militia composed of armed American and Europeans calling themselves the "Honolulu Rifles".
  10. ↑ Daws, G (1974), Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p. 271, ISBN 0-8248-0324-8.
  11. ↑ Liliuokalani 1898.
  12. 1 2 Russ, William Adam (1992). The Hawaiian Revolution (1893–94). Associated University Presses. ISBN 0-945636-43-1.
  13. ↑ Dougherty, Michael. "To Steal A Kingdom".
  14. ↑ "Nu'uanu, O'ahu — Lili'uokalani's Abdication". Pacific Worlds.
  15. ↑ Charles W. Calhoun (2015). Gilded Age Cato: The Life of Walter Q. Gresham. University Press of Kentucky. p. 150.
  16. ↑ Eric T. L. Love (2005). Race over Empire: Racism and U.S. Imperialism, 1865-1900. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 112.
  17. ↑ Nick Cleaver (2014). Grover Cleveland's New Foreign Policy: Arbitration, Neutrality, and the Dawn of American Empire. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 29.
  18. ↑ Kuykendall 1967, p. 648.
  19. ↑ Kinzer, Stephen (2006). Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-7861-4.
  20. ↑ Limbaugh, Rush (2005-08-17). "Rush Limbaugh Sounds Off on Akaka Bill". Hawaii Reporter. HI, USA: Malia Zimmerman & Jay McWilliams. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  21. ↑ "Limbaugh repeated false claim that US was "strictly neutral" in overthrow of Hawaiian queen". Media Matters. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  22. ↑ Fein, Bruce (June 6, 2005), "Hawaii Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand" (PDF), Angelfire on Lycos (Waltham, MA, USA: Lycos), archived from the original on February 5, 2007, retrieved September 4, 2012
  23. ↑ Calhoun, Charles W. (1983). "Morality and Spite: Walter Q. Gresham and U.S. Relations with Hawaii". Pacific Historical Review 52 (3): 292–311. JSTOR 3639004.
  24. ↑ Liliuokalani 1898, p. 275.
  25. ↑ Liliuokalani 1898, p. 262.
  26. ↑ Liliuokalani 1898, p. 305.
  27. ↑ Koda, Tara (Fall 2006). "Aloha with Gassho: Buddhism in the Hawaiian Plantations" (PDF). Pacific World (Mountain View, CA, USA: Institute of Buddhist Studies). Third Series (5): 237. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  28. ↑ The Outlook, Volume 116, Part 2 By Ernest Hamlin Abbott, Lyman Abbott, Francis Rufus Bellamy, Hamilton Wright Mabie, page 178.
  29. ↑ Five Hawaiian Boys Died, translated from Ke Aloha Aina, Buke XXII, Helu 14, Aoao 1, 6 April 1917
  30. ↑ Slack Key Recordings: To Honor a Queen — E Ho'ohiwahiwa I Ka Mo'i Wahine — The Music of Lili'uokalani, Dancing cat
  31. 1 2 Liliuokalani 1898, pp. 289–90.
  32. ↑ Ohira, Rod (January 17, 2005). "King March Honors Lili'uokalani". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  33. ↑ Ducat, Vivian. "Hawaii's Last Queen". American Experience. PBS. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  34. ↑ "Her History". The Queen Liliuokalani Trust. The Queen Liliuokalani Trust. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  35. ↑ Joachim Reisaus, The Return of "Blume von Hawaii" to Leipzig, (German)
  36. ↑

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liliuokalani.
Liliuokalani
Born: September 2, 1838 Died: November 11, 1917
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Kalākaua		 Queen of Hawaii
January 20, 1891 – January 17, 1893 		Office abolished
Head of State of Hawaii
January 20, 1891 – January 17, 1893 		Vacant
Title next held by
Sanford B. Dole
Titles in pretence
Loss of title
 — TITULAR —
Queen of Hawaii
January 17, 1893 – November 11, 1917		 Disputed
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