Liliʻuokalani
Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liˌliʔuokəˈlɐni]; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow.
Liliʻuokalani
January 29, 1891 – January 17, 1893
Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha
September 2, 1838
Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiian Kingdom
November 11, 1917 (aged 79)
Honolulu, Oʻahu, Territory of Hawaii
November 18, 1917
- Caesar Kapaʻakea
- Abner Pākī (Hānai adoptive father)
- Analea Keohokālole
- Laura Kōnia (Hānai adoptive mother)
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Liliʻuokalani was born in 1838 in Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu. While her natural parents were Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea, she was hānai (informally adopted) at birth by Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia and raised with their daughter Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Baptized as a Christian and educated at the Royal School, she and her siblings and cousins were proclaimed eligible for the throne by King Kamehameha III. She was married to American-born John Owen Dominis, who later became the Governor of Oʻahu. The couple had no biological children but adopted several. After the accession of her brother David Kalākaua to the throne in 1874, she and her siblings were given Western style titles of Prince and Princess. In 1877, after her younger brother Leleiohoku II's death, she was proclaimed as heir apparent to the throne. During the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, she represented her brother as an official envoy to the United Kingdom.
Liliʻuokalani ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after her brother's death. During her reign, she attempted to draft a new constitution which would restore the power of the monarchy and the voting rights of the economically disenfranchised. Threatened by her attempts to abrogate the Bayonet Constitution, pro-American elements in Hawaiʻi overthrew the monarchy on January 17, 1893. The overthrow was bolstered by the landing of US Marines under John L. Stevens to protect American interests, which rendered the monarchy unable to protect itself.
The coup d'état established a Provisional Government which became the Republic of Hawaiʻi, but the ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was temporarily blocked by President Grover Cleveland. After an unsuccessful uprising to restore the monarchy, the oligarchical government placed the former queen under house arrest at the ʻIolani Palace. On January 24, 1895, under threat of execution of her imprisoned supporters, Liliʻuokalani was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne, officially resigning as head of the deposed monarchy. Attempts were made to restore the monarchy and oppose annexation, but with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the United States annexed Hawaiʻi. Living out the remainder of her later life as a private citizen, Liliʻuokalani died at her residence, Washington Place, in Honolulu in 1917.
Legacy[edit]
Captain Julius A. Palmer Jr. of Massachusetts was her friend for three decades, and became her spokesperson when she was in residence at Boston and Washington, D.C., protesting the annexation of Hawaiʻi. In the nation's capital, he estimated that she had 5,000 visitors. When asked by an interviewer, "What are her most distinctive personal graces?", Palmer replied, "Above everything else she displayed a disposition of the most Christian forgiveness."[194] In covering her death and funeral, the mainstream newspapers in Hawaii that had supported the overthrow and annexation recognized that she had been held in great esteem around the world.[195] In March 2016, Hawaiʻi Magazine listed Liliʻuokalani as one of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.[192]
The Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust was established on December 2, 1909, for the care of orphaned and destitute children in Hawaii. Effective upon her death, the proceeds of her estate, with the exception of twelve individual inheritances specified therein, were to be used for the Trust.[196] The largest of these hereditary estates were willed to her hānai sons and their heirs: John ʻAimoku Dominis would receive Washington Place while Joseph Kaiponohea ʻAeʻa would receive Kealohilani, her residence at Waikiki. Both men predeceased the Queen.[197][198] Before and after her death, lawsuits were filed to overturn her will establishing the Trust. One notable litigant was Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, the nephew of her brother Kalākaua and his wife Kapiʻolani and Liliʻuokalani's second cousin,[note 12] who brought a suit against the Trust on November 30, 1915, questioning the Queen's competency in executing the will and attempting to break the Trust. These lawsuits were resolved in 1923 and the will went into probate.[201][202] The Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Center was created by the Trust.[203][204]
Liliʻuokalani and her siblings are recognized by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame as Na Lani ʻEhā (The Heavenly Four) for their patronage and enrichment of Hawaii's musical culture and history.[205][206] In 2007, Honolulu magazine rated "Aloha ʻOe" as the greatest song in the history of Hawaiian music.[193] Songwriter Charles E. King, known as the composer of "Ke Kali Nei Au", was tutored in music by her.[207] Entertainer Bina Mossman led the Bina Mossman Glee Club that rehearsed regularly at Washington Place, while Liliʻuokalani helped them with pronunciation of the Hawaiian language. At the queen's funeral, the glee club was part of the kahili bearers who stood watch over the coffin for two hours at a time, waving the kahilis and singing Liliʻuokalani's compositions.[208][209]
The annual Queen Liliʻuokalani Outrigger Canoe Race, which follows an 18-mile course from Kailua Bay to Honaunau Bay, was organized in 1972 as an endurance training course for men, in preparation for the traditional Molokaʻi to Oʻahu canoe races. Women canoe teams were added in 1974. The race is held over Labor Day Weekend each year to coincide with Liliʻuokalani's birthday on September 2.[210]
In the 2001 naming of the "Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services", on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, the Board of Regents noted, "As the last Hawaiian monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani symbolizes an important link to traditional Hawaiian culture and society. Her influence is well understood, widely respected and has been a strong motivating factor in the widespread emergence of Hawaiian culture and the values embodied in it."[211]
In 2017, Edgy Lee researched and filmed Liliuokalani – Reflections of Our Queen, a documentary looking at the legacy of the queen in Hawaii. A showing at Washington Place fundraised for the museum.[58] Liliʻuokalani and the overthrow have been subject of documentaries including The American Experience: Hawaii's Last Queen (1994) and Conquest of Hawaii (2003).[212][213][214]
Numerous hula events are held to honor her memory, including the Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Competition Honolulu, organized in 1976.[215] The County of Hawaii holds an annual He Hali'a Aloha no Lili'uokalani Festival, Queen's Birthday Celebration at Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens in Hilo, in partnership with the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust. The event begins with several hundred dancers showered by 50,000 orchid blossoms.[216]