Queen Lili'uokalani

On January 16th, 1895, two men arrived at Lili'uokalani's doorstep, arresting her and leading her to a room where she would be imprisoned. Her diaries were confiscated, her house ransacked, her lands claimed, and she was hidden away. Lili'uokalani was Hawaii's queen, and she ruled during one of the most tumultuous periods in its history. The arrival of American missionaries in Hawaii 75 years earlier marked the beginning of significant changes. These missionaries amassed power, built businesses, and laid claim to fertile lands, transforming them into plantations. They worked alongside the ali'i, the sacred Hawaiian nobility with close ties to the gods, who appointed missionaries to government positions, helping establish Hawaii as a sovereign kingdom with a constitutional monarchy.

However, as lucrative business opportunities emerged, such as the potential for tariff-free sugar exports to the United States, some descendants of the missionaries shifted their stance. They formed a political group known as the Missionary Party, which plotted the annexation of Hawaii, intending to bring it under US control. Lili'uokalani and her siblings were born into an ali'i family. In 1874, her brother Kalākaua ascended the throne, but thirteen years into his reign, the growing threat materialized. The Missionary Party organized a meeting where an all-white militia surrounded and coerced the king into signing new legislation. This infamous Bayonet Constitution stripped Native Hawaiians of their rights, diminished the monarchy's power, and handed control to the group of white businessmen.

Four years later, King Kalākaua passed away, and Lili'uokalani, heartbroken, lamented that he had been betrayed by the very individuals whose prosperity he had fostered. Prepared to fight, she assumed the throne. Despite death threats and rumors of insurgency, Queen Lili'uokalani was determined to restore power to her people, the majority of whom had lost their voting rights. Flooded with calls for change, she authored a new constitution. However, before she could introduce it, the "Committee of Safety," consisting of many Missionary Party members, orchestrated another plot. Under the false pretense that the new constitution posed a threat to American lives and property, they staged a coup on January 17th, 1893. Over 160 US Marines marched to the palace, and the "Committee of Safety" forcibly removed Queen Lili'uokalani from office.

Thousands of Hawaiians took to the streets in protest, some donning hat bands reading "Aloha 'Āina" or "love of the nation." The self-proclaimed "Provisional Government" declared Hawaii a Republic the following year, instituting a policy that barred Hawaiians from voting or holding government positions unless they signed a new "oath of allegiance." Many Hawaiians refused to comply. In the subsequent year, Lili'uokalani's supporters attempted a counterrevolution, but the Republic responded ruthlessly, imprisoning hundreds and sentencing six individuals to death. In exchange for their release, the Republic coerced Lili'uokalani to sign a document supposedly relinquishing her throne and subsequently imprisoned her in the palace.

Despite being constantly monitored, Queen Lili'uokalani composed songs expressing her love for her people and began creating a patchwork quilt that narrated the story of her life. Though she only received news reviewed by her captors, her supporters often brought her bouquets from the garden she had dedicated to them, wrapped in newspapers. After eight months, Lili'uokalani's house arrest was lifted, and she traveled to Washington, D.C., accompanied by Hawaiian nationalists and over 20,000 signatures. There, they successfully convinced Congress to halt the Republic's annexation treaty.

However, the following year, the Spanish-American War erupted. Viewing Hawaii as a strategically valuable military base, President William McKinley declared it a US territory on July 7th, 1898, violating international law and devastating Queen Lili'uokalani and her people. She spent the remainder of her life advocating for the restoration of her lands, Native Hawaiian rights, and national liberation. When she passed away in 1917, these aspirations remained unfulfilled.

One member of the group that had ousted Queen Lili'uokalani from office once declared, "If we are ever to have peace and annexation, the first thing to do is obliterate the past." Yet, they failed in their objective. Queen Lili'uokalani left behind a resilient legacy. Her unwavering commitment to her land and people continues to inspire many Hawaiians who carry on her fight. Speaking of Hawaii's children, she proclaimed, "It is for them that I would give the last drop of my blood."

Henrik Leandro