The Hawaiian Kingdom was a sovereign state forged in 1795 when Kamehameha I, armed with Western weapons and shrewd diplomacy, united the warring islands under one crown. For nearly a century it navigated the pressures of foreign trade, missionaries, and great-power rivalry while remaining independent and internationally recognized. Its end came not in battle but in a coup: in January 1893 a group of mostly American sugar planters and businessmen calling itself the Committee of Safety, backed by US Marines landed from the USS Boston, deposed Queen Liliuokalani. A short-lived republic followed, and in 1898 the United States annexed the islands. Congress formally apologized for the overthrow a century later, in 1993.
Worth remembering
- By the 1840s it was recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States, Britain, and France.
- Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch, composed the song 'Aloha Oe' and protested the annexation to her death.
Gallery
Watch
Sources
- Hawaiian Kingdom unified 1795 under Kamehameha I; monarchy overthrown in 1893 Wikipedia
- Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 was backed by US-aligned businessmen and Marines Wikipedia
- Queen Liliuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, was deposed in January 1893 when the Committee of Safety seized power with the assistance of U.S. Marines from the USS Boston Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Kamehameha I unified the Hawaiian Islands under one crown between 1795 and 1810 through military conquest and diplomacy, establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii Encyclopaedia Britannica
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.