Who was Queen Lilioukalani?

Question

Who was Queen Lilioukalani?

Answer 1

She was the last Queen of Hawaii.The United States wanted Hawaii and managed to overthrow the monarchy in 1893,annexing it in August 1898.

Liliuokalani was also a noted composer,the famous tune Aloha'oe being her most noted.

Please visit http://www.iolanipalace.org

This is the website of the Iolani Palace, Liliuokalani's last residence,where she was held under house arrest by the US Government,while they were trying to take,and eventually did,Hawaii out of native hands.

I visited the Palace while in Hawaii and the tour is fabulous.Maybe you'll visit it someday,too! I hope you do.

Here's a little exerpt from the link:

"Lili`uokalani, who was proclaimed queen on January 29, 1891. Her experience as Princess Regent during King Kalakaua's nine month journey around the world in 1881 and visit to the United States in 1890 had prepared her for her new role as Queen of Hawai`i.

The Overthrow

Queen Lili`uokalani was determined to strengthen the political power of the Hawaiian monarchy and to limit suffrage to subjects of the kingdom.

Her attempt to promulgate a new constitution galvanized opposition forces into the Committee of Safety, which was composed of Hawai`i-born citizens of American parents, naturalized citizens and foreign nationals, many of whom were businessmen,sugar plantation owners, and businessmen. This group, with the support of the American Minister to Hawai`i, orchestrated the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the establishment of a provisional government.

On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili`uokalani yielded her authority:

. . . Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands. - Queen Lili`uokalani to Sanford B. Dole, Jan 17, 1893

The Imprisonment

In 1895, an abortive attempt by Hawaiian royalists to restore Queen Lili`uokalani to power resulted in the queen's arrest. She was forced to sign a document of abdication that relinquished all her future claims to the throne. Following this, she endured a humiliating public trial before a military tribunal in her former throne room.

Convicted of having knowledge of a royalist plot, Lili`uokalani was fined $5000 and sentenced to five years in prison at hard labor. The sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of `Iolani Palace.

During her imprisonment, the queen was denied any visitors other than one lady in waiting. She began each day with her daily devotions followed by reading, quilting, crochet-work, or music composition.

After her release from `Iolani Palace, the Queen remained under house arrest for five months at her private home, Washington Place. For another eight months she was forbidden to leave O`ahu before all restrictions were lifted.

The Apology of The United States Government

In 1993, 100 years after the overthrow, President Clinton sighed a Congressional resolution (Public Law 103-150) in which the United States government formally apologized to the Native Hawaiian people."

Answer 2

She was the last Queen of Hawai'i before it was annexed by the United States.  Even then, the royal power had been almost completely undermined by the economic influence of European settlers.

Answer 3

Queen Lilioukalani (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She felt her mission was to preserve the islands for their native residents. In 1898, Hawaii was annexed to the United States and Queen Liliuokalani was forced to give up her throne. Liliuokalani herself spent much of the remainder of her life in the United States, where she unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government for compensation for seized property and other losses. The territorial legislature of Hawaii finally voted her an annual pension of four thousand dollars and permitted her to receive the income from a small sugar plantation. In additional to her political fame, Liliuokalani is also known for composing many Hawaiian songs, including the popular "Aloha Oe," or "Farewell to Thee."

http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/queen...

http://www.uic.edu/depts/owa/history/lil...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalan...