While taking a writing course in college, I chose to do my thesis paper on what ultimately caused the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy. I was fortunate enough to be living in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area at the time and had the opportunity to do the bulk of my research at the nation's Library of Congress up on Capital Hill.

I am sharing my paper here with you that you may better understand why it is that so many of the present day Hawaiians are seeking Sovereignty. I have included "sited works" at the end of this article that you may do further reading on your own should you desire to learn more of the flavor of the times in which the following events took place.

I am embarrassed to say that I was one of the Hawaiian children who'd grown up totally unaware of our Hawaiian history, as it was not taught in the schools of Hawai'i. Doing this paper was a true revelation to me. In doing my thesis, I discovered for the first time the true extent of prejudices against the Hawaiian people that I had naively been unaware of until then. After having moved to Virginia in December of 1966, my experience had been that most people were somewhat in awe of those of us who were Hawaiian. It brought up notions of "paradise", palm trees, beaches, dancing native girls, and someplace exotic that many wanted to someday visit. I hope that you find the story below interesting and gain a better understanding of some natives of the Hawaiian islands of today who are fighting for their cause, and what the national apology to the Hawaiian people back in 1993 was all about.

There was once a land of Kings far away from the large continent of the United States, located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean--Hawaii. It was a paradise where the soft-spoken sovereigns never imagined that the very people they had befriended, and taken into their confidence and homes would betray them so. It took a great deal to convince the gentle giants that their friends and advisors could be so corrupt, so malicious in intent. This is the story of a time when the pious sought to fulfill their greed and take what could never righteously be their own through betrayal and deceit. This is the story of the events in the history of the land that led to the final downfall of the "Lady", the uninvited death of the Hawaiian Monarchy.

King Kamehameha I, referred to as the "Napoleon of the Hawaiian Islands", united the islands and government of Hawaii under the rule of one king. The land being so wide spread, Kamehameha appointed governors whose powers almost equaled those of the King (Lum 12-13). Kamehameha I established the office of Kuhina Niu (Premier), who had powers of veto over the king, due to his lack of his confidence in the leadership strengths of his son Liholiho. He also established a panel of chiefs who performed as counselors in deliberations of the council. Those very provisions created an atmosphere that made it possible for what eventually came to be when the chiefs' counsel was replaced by that of the missionaries. Time passed, and so did the royal line of King Kamehameha I.

The reign passed through 6 kings of the Kamehameha family line, before King David Kalakaua of the ancient sovereign line of Liloa "wore the crown". Kalakaua was very active in promoting the things in business, with the outside world, that would bring prosperity to his people. The decedents of some of the missionaries who had tendered their resignations from their holy mission in order to sit at the side of the kings, gained property and power, and additionally enjoyed the benefits of the wealth that had been made possible by the King's endeavors. Kalakaua, as the kings who ruled before him, trusted the counsel of the missionaries turned friends and confidants. Little did he know of what was afoot in the secret meetings and dealings of those advisors, nor that they would malign him in their written history.

The historical recordings of the events that followed would have us believe that King Kalakaua was an ineffectual sovereign. He reportedly lusted for personal power and wealth, had little or no concern for his subjects whom he overtaxed, fixed or influenced elections, and indulged in the trafficking of drugs to promote his obscene desires already stated. It is also written that he was a schooled Christian turned pagan, consulting with the kahuna considered to be the Hawaiian equivalent to witch doctors and encouraging the return of the hula, the native dance. Under the guise of protecting the interests of the downtrodden people of the kingdom, the armed "missionary party" seized and forced the King to sign the Bayonet constitution of 1887 that had been drawn up by Messrs. S. B. Dole and L. A. Thurston. The King signed with the full knowledge that they were prepared to assassinate him should he decide not to take the pen in hand (Liliuokalani 181). Thus the King became a mere puppet ruler and the monarchy threatened with total annihilation should a sovereign ever display the same type of unacceptable behavior in the future. Meanwhile, the new constitution gave the cabinet power over the King, as well as the kingdom without benefit of choice, or acceptance of the people or their representatives. The King's new cabinet was wholly comprised of men who were of foreign birth, who lusted for the power and wealth the islands had to offer (Liliuokalani 175).

Messrs Austin, Damon, Ashford, and Thurston of the cabinet informed the King that under the new constitution, he was required to sign everything they were to present to him without question; that they were in power over all of the departments of the new government (Liliuokalani 191). Having seized the government, the party found that even with all of the departments, there weren't enough officialdoms to go around among the foreign residents and merchants, creating some dissatisfaction. (It was later claimed by her detractors, that the then "Princess" Liliuokalani, was one of those left unhappy.) The heir apparent Princess Liliuokalani having heard news of the revolution, while visiting in England, returned to the islands immediately to be with her brother the King (Liliuokalani 173). She was not the only one who grieved what had happened on that fateful day to her brother and wished that it were different.

There were those who lived across the Pacific and sympathizers among the island residents who wanted to help the King in any manner possible. In 1889, Mr. R. W. Wilcox returned from San Francisco and was made a guest of Liliuokalani at her unused Palama residence while she journeyed to the island of Kauai. During the Queen's absence and without her knowledge, Mr. Wilcox held clandestine meetings at Palama with others who wanted the King back in power. They put together an unsuccessful plan to overthrow the government that was founded under the new constitution (Liliuokalani 199). The King never regained the full powers of his throne before his death on 20 January 1891.

Before King Kalakaua had even been laid to rest, the cabinet summoned Liliuokalani, who was distraught over the loss of her brother, and obtained her oath to the very constitution they had forced the King to sign. That was the same constitution that required the monarch's signature without question. She was then informed that only the legislature could make changes in the cabinet and that she should "understand the situation and accept it" (Liliuokalani 211). Those same men later came to the Queen, requesting that she appoint them to new positions with new titles. The newly installed Queen Liliuokalani required the resignation of the cabinet members before bestowing new offices upon them, as no prior cabinet of a prior sovereign could "continue or have authority" under the successive ruler. (218) The old cabinet did not receive their expected new posts; rather, the Queen appointed others of her choosing.

Queen Liliuokalani was accused of stacking the deck in her favor, so to speak, that she might wrest the reigns of the government back from those who had originally taken them from the King. While that may or may not have been true, her motives were not for personal favor as her adversaries claimed; conversely, it was to protect her people's interests in their own nation. Her accusers claimed that she had become embroiled with those of low character, as had her brother before her. By aligning herself with her nefarious friends, she would be able to rid herself of the restrictions put on her by the Bayonet constitution, and replace it with one of her own choosing which would give her unlimited power. As time went by and the Queen submitted names to be appointed to the cabinet, the ministry would vote each of them out by way of legislature. Their actions were so blatant that on one occasion, she had sent in the names just an hour before the proposed appointees were voted out (Liliuokalani 242). Pointing to the constant changeover of the cabinet, the ministry claimed that her government was decidedly unstable. They never admitted to their own part in that instability or that they had actually been the perpetrators, bringing about the outcry of the people for a new constitution.

The truth as to the attempts to eliminate the Bayonet constitution was that during the election period of 1892, petitions endorsed by two thirds of the islands' voters were sent to the Queen appealing for a new constitution to be instated. (230-231) The newly proposed constitution was later drafted on behalf of the Hui Kalaaina by Mr. W. R. Castle. Even Mr. T. H. Davies (the guardian of the heir apparent Princess Kaiulani) wrote that he was aware (in October and November of 1892) of the native feelings toward the open schemes of the foreign statesmen to overthrow the kingdom; that was the reason for the new constitution being petitioned (Davies 606-607). The Provisional Government later claimed the new constitution was the vehicle the Queen had schemed in the attempt to overthrow the Bayonet constitution in order to gain profit for herself and her cronies. The missionary party suspected that it also concerned itself only with the well heeling of the native population, leaving the party at a loss since they were not of the native citizenry.

Due to the desire for continued personal aggrandizement of the "downtown" political party members, and the fear that their lives would be greatly affected by any kind of a constitution drawn up by and for the people of the islands, they solicited the aid of Mr. J. L. Stevens the United States Minister to Hawaii (Springer 745). In conspiracy, Mr. Stevens requested the assistance of the armed forces of the United States cruiser Boston in order to strengthen the revolution against the monarchy. The claim was that the forces had been landed only to protect the lives and property of the American citizens, as testified to by Mr. Lucien Young, a Lieutenant of the United States Navy (Allen 438). The raising of the "stars and stripes", by Mr. Stevens as an official of the United States, legitimized the dethroning of the Queen and the establishment of the Provisional Government. Of course, none of the activities of that fateful day in 1893, nor the adoption of a new constitution, had the stamp of approval of the native Hawaiians. Little did they know that the party had been planning the takeover to the extent that they had conspired with others in the United States, importing arms and ammunition that were used to crush the government with force (Agnew 467).

The right to take over the government of the Hawaiians was toted to be that of "manifest destiny" of the American people. As Mr. C. Cushing the Attorney General of the United States stated, t he United States was desti ned to acquire and keep as much of the earth as possible (Curtis 285). Th e attitude of the times was that it was the strong that survive --the well-known "law of evolution." If not, then the sons of the missionaries who prospered in the islands would not have had the right to remain and make their lots better than that of their incompetent neighbors (Miss Craft's 381). On the strength of that attitude, the American-Hawaiians were aided in their endeavors to form an oligarchy, annihilating the ancient nationality against the will and without the consent of the native citizens. That also made it possible for Mr. L. A. Thurston to advocate the annexation of the islands to the United States, in a March 1893 article, on the basis of financial and political import (279).

The financial and political factors notwithstanding, there was also the matter of protecting the property and fortunes of American citizens to be taken into consideration. Mr. Thurston felt that annexation made sense due to the fact that the native government had been created and protected by Americans and their troops (280). Mr. Stevens declared that the native citizens should not be allowed to participate in the elections that dealt with annexation, as their vote would be for the removal of the usurpers. He claimed the right of a higher civilization "to seize and govern, bargain and sell" (White 734). Yet there were those who felt that the proposed annexation arranged by President Harrison and Secretary Foster with the revolutionists, was bordering on an act of war. That was especially true when the act's only strength was that of statements by those who were still holding the land by armed force (Hawaii). The Provisional Government was recognized by the administration of President Harrison of the United States and the administration refused to give the facts a new review.

Being safe from the threat of a review of their unlawful actions, the conspirators organized committees that they formed and reformed repeatedly until the only persons left were the annexationists. On 6 January 1895, the natives, who rued the day that saw their monarchial government deposed and fearing that the conspirators' plans of annexation would come to fruition, attempted an unsuccessful revolt. That very fiasco brought about the charge of treason which prompted the arrest of the Queen on the 16th, and then her retainers on the 17th of January 1895. Liliuokalani surrendered to the forces of the United States Boston in order to avoid bloodshed of her loyal subjects and friends. She trusted that once full disclosure of the revolution was made, the United States government would return her rule to its prior state.

While awaiting justice of the United States to be levied, the Queen was incarcerated in the Iolani Palace in a barren room with Mrs. Clark, her attendant. The attendant was soon replaced by Mrs. C. B. Wilson who had the job of spying upon the Queen reporting the monarch's movements and words within the confinement (Liliuokalani 273-274). By 22 January 1895, papers of abdication Mr. A. S. Hartwell drafted were presented to the Queen by Mr. C. B. Wilson who had bee n appoint ed as her liaison. The Queen was made to u nderstand that if she did not sign the final papers of abdication when they were submit ted to her, the innocent lives of all persons who had been arrested pursuant to her incarceration would be forfeited. (274) On 24 January 1895, the final fraudulent papers were delivered for her signature. They were written up in such a way that it appeared she had the papers drawn up herself with benefit of advice and support of her friends and advisors, whose signatures appeared at the bottom of the papers. (274) That was not to be the last insult thrust upon the royal lady. The ultimate audacity of her captors was when they required her to sign her name as Liliuokalani Dominis (Dominis was the name of her husband) which had never been her name, as her official title had been declared Liliuokalani when she was designated heir apparent. (275)

Having already signed her abdication papers on the strength of her loyal subjects' being released, it is little wonder that Liliuokalani once again felt compelled to do her captors' bidding at her own trial. She was forced to testify against herself. Additionally, there was Mr. A. F. Willis' (an agent on behalf of President Cleveland who summoned the Queen for an interview November 1893) report that had been blown out of proportion by the time the newspapers had finished with it. The United States newspapers related that in interviews with Mr. Willis, the Queen declared that she would have her opponents beheaded. How could she ever have expected to receive a fair trial?

The Queen was found guilty of treason. It did not matter that members of the conspirators admitted, in 1893 interviews with Commissioner J. H. Blount, to the secret conspiracy to gain control of the island government. Once in power, the usurpers intended to turn the islands over to the United States with the aid of Mr. Stevens (Chamberlain 733). There was no evidence that the American citizens were ever in danger from a "native uprising," the claim being but a ploy to gain a legitimate cover for the dastardly deed. Mr. Blount who had been assigned by President Cleveland to investigate the final overthrow of the monarchial government, reported that the deposed Queen was the "Constitutional ruler" of the islands (Liliuokalani 235). Even if the Queen, the Constitutional ruler of the islands was dethroned, the constitution provided for the succession of the Princess Kaiulani. The only way that was not to come to be was if she were "deprived by force, fraud, or the will of the Hawaiian people constitutionally declared" (Davies 610).

Indeed, the overthrow of the government of the Hawaiian people was a fraud. Once in power, the Provisional Government not only collected all the revenues usually used to help the less fortunate of the sovereign's subjects, but they also kept the monies. Those monies were utilized in the Provisional Government's continued exercise of taking possession of the lands that were to be annexed to the United States. It was no secret that during the period of G. P. Judd, W. Richards, and R. Armstrong, there was a great deficit in the nation's coffers that forced the cabinet to resign immediately, leaving one of them branded for life with a dishonorable title (Liliuokalani 233). Of course, those who were in favor of the annexation of the islands ignored all of the indecent activities of the usurpers. No one seemed to object to the obscenity of the Queen having been unjustly incarcerated in her own palace.

It wasn't just her palace in which the Queen found herself confined by her captors. Upon her release on 6 September 1895 from her palace "cell," she was allowed to return to her Washington Place residence. There she found herself paroled under house arrest. It was not until 6 February 1896 that she was permitted to wander freely about the island of Oahu as she pleased, having been released from custody. Even then, the Queen was not to leave the island. Finally, October 1896, she received a document declaring absolute pardon and restoration of her civil rights. That was granted to her by the very people who stole away what rightfully belonged to the Queen and her people.

Yes, they took it all. The missionaries entered the homes and lives of the Hawaiian people to bring the word of God. They gained the trust and respect of the royal houses. They were looked upon as having the highest of morals and integrity. The American businessmen and their families were accepted as were the missionaries and their families. However, greed and lust for power betrayed the people of the land. Unknowingly, King Kamehameha I, in trying to protect his people from a possibly incompetent sovereign, set the stage within the early days for the corrupt to have the opportunity to wrest the power of the throne from the sovereign. Eventually, the natives of the land lost much. In their own land, the natives became strangers. The culture of the people was lost. Now even the land is no longer their own. True, the missionaries settled in the islands to do good, never knowing that what they started would end in the death of the Hawaiian monarchy. Today, however, it is said of those pious friends of the gentle Hawaiians, "The missionaries came to Hawaii to do good and they did very well indeed."