Marlene Wagman-Geller

Aug 21, 2022 by Marlene Wagman-Geller

 

       Hawaii proves an irresistible magnet for tourists drawn to the azure waves of the Pacific, pink hued sunsets, exotic-colored flowers. Ironically, the beauty of the island nation led to Paradise lost for its first and only queen.

     Kamehameha the Great witnessed the arrival of missionaries whose crusade was to spread Christianity, “a mission of progress into a barbarous region.” Dressed in tightly buttoned black, the visitors from New England provided a sharp contrast to the barely dressed Polynesians. Appalled at the native women who wore a cloth around their hips and left their breasts exposed, missionary wives introduced a loose-fitting dress, the muumuu. The foreigners also instituted a ban on the hula, a dance they viewed as an unabashed flouting of sexuality. The Americans were the equivalent of the nineteenth century British, determined to convert the heathens of Africa, a task they termed “the white man’s burden.” The descendants of the Presbyterians accumulated great wealth from the abundance of natural resources that led to the saying, “They came to do good-and did well.”

      When David Kalākaua became king in 1874, the monarchy was dangerously dependent on American businessmen who owned extensive pineapple and sugar plantations. In 1887, the American land barons  forced King Kalākaua to sign the Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, known as the Bayonet Constitution, as it took place at gunpoint. The foreigners justified their action with the claim it was needed to protect Hawaii from a corrupt despot. The move greatly curtailed the political power and rights of the island’s indigenous population, and paved the way for Hawaii losing its sovereign status. The people of the island were never consulted and never voted on the Constitution that impacted their lives and country.

 

    Lili`u Loloku, (her royal name was Liliuokalani) Walania Wewehi Kamaka`eha was born in Honolulu to this world of intrigue, the third of ten children, the sister of King Kalākaua. Following native tradition of hãnai, close family friends, Pãki and Konia, adopted the baby. At age two, missionaries baptized Liliuokalani into Christianity and changed her name to Lydia. In 1887, as the Crown Princess, she served as Hawaii’s representative at Queen Victoria’s Crown Jubilee where the monarch planted a kiss on her forehead. On her visit to the United States, President Grover Cleveland welcomed her to a state dinner at the White House. Although she moved in rarified circles, Liliuokalani never abandoned her allegiance to her people. 

     At age twenty-four, Liliuokalani married John Owen Dominis, the American born son of a sea captain, in an Anglican ceremony. His marriage brought him perks such as his post as the governor of Oahu and Maui. The newlyweds settled into the grand Washington Place, the residence owned by John’s widowed mother. The marriage was not happy as her mother-in-law always viewed Liliuokalani as an intruder. Although the couple did not have children, John fathered a baby with one of their servants. Longing for motherhood, Liliuokalani adopted his child as well as two others. Despite his infidelities, upon ascending the throne, Liliuokalani granted John the title of Prince Consort. He died several months into her reign; his widow deeply mourned his passing.

      When her brother embarked on a world tour, Liliuokalani acted as regent, an event that coincided with a smallpox epidemic that originated with the Chinese laborers the plantation owners had imported to work in the sugarcane fields. The native people had no resistance to the disease, and their population greatly diminished. To protect her subjects, Liliuokalani closed the ports, a move that infuriated the wealthy businessmen who believed profits took priority. The monarchy continued, although with greatly reduced power. Upon King Kalākaua’s death in 1891, followed by the passing of another brother, Liliuokalani became Hawaii’s first queen. She took up residence in the Lolani Palace, that translates to “bird of heaven,” the only royal residence of the United States-unless one counts Graceland. To her great sorrow, the queen viewed the destruction wrought by foreigners who viewed her beloved homeland as their personal piggybank. With the American cultivation of ever-encroaching plantations, fishponds, forests, and rare birds disappeared. Liliuokalani was also vocal in her opposition to the Reciprocity Treaty that had granted commercial concessions to the United States and had ceded the port of Pearl Harbor. Her first order of business was to revoke the Bayonet Constitution, an act calculated to restore full power to the throne. In response, William Randolph Hearst, in his San Francisco Enquirer, lampooned her as “a black, pagan queen.” However, not all foreigners viewed her with distaste; British author Robert Louis Stevenson was her guest, where they drank Château Lafite from crystal goblets imported from Bohemia.

     On January 17, 1893, 154 marines, each armed with eighty rounds of ammunition and equipped with a cannon, surrounded the Lolani Palace. The Queen made her way to the balcony to discover the source of the disturbance. Her enemies demanded her immediate abdication and the annexation of Hawaii to the United States of America. Desperate to avoid bloodshed, Queen Liliuokalani surrendered though she refused to waive her royal rights.

     The following morning, as the queen awaited her daily bouquet of red lehua blossoms, soldiers besieged the palace, one they transformed to a barrack. The interlopers lounged in her throne room, sitting beneath crystal chandeliers. The newly established provisional government disbanded the royal household guards and confiscated a million acres of crown lands, worth billions of dollars in today’s currency. To escape the nightmare, Liliuokalani decamped to Washington Place. In protest, she wrote notes imploring the intervention of the U.S., England, Germany, and France. Further indignities followed: an American warship fired a salute and marines hoisted the American flag. The former queen wrote, “May heaven look down and punish them for their deeds.” Three native women offered themselves as sacrifices to appease the gods so that Liliuokalani would reign once more. Members of the Royal Hawaiian Band declared they would rather eat stones than swear allegiance to the imperialists. Rumors that the interlopers were plotting the assassination of Liliuokalani ran rampant.

       In 1895, the Hawaiians staged a counterattack to restore their queen to the throne and reclaim their stolen kingdom. Their plan was to distribute weapons at Diamond Head; however, the Americans had planted spies who alerted them to the resurrection. After a week, the provisional government had squashed “the rebels” and had incarcerated 355 men.

    The result was a warrant for the woman, (her usurpers called her Mrs. Dominis), who they placed under house arrest in a room in Lolani Palace. From her chamberlain, she discovered the rape of her former residence. An Irish American soldier had found Kalākaua’s crown and had pried off its jewels, which he then used as payment in a game of dice. He kept one of the biggest diamonds, which he sent to his sister, not realizing its astronomical worth. Other stolen treasures were glass vases gifted by Queen Victoria, a dress adorned with peacock feathers, and royal staffs covered with albatross plumes. Further horror was land baron Sanford Dole’s order of the arrest of her household retainers, including her long-employed coachman. Her jailer shared the news that she was to face imminent execution, along with six others, for treason.

     The Kingdom of Hawaii’s death march ended in 1893 with Liliuokalani’s formal/ forced abdication. As she had already seen too much blood spilt to restore her throne, and as her jailers had told her they would release her allies from prison, she agreed. The first and only queen of Hawaii signed a document that she was abdicating “after free and full consultation with my personal friends, and with my legal advisors.” Her shaky signature was indicative of her duress. As per instructions, she signed it, Liliuokalani Dominis. Afterwards, in her former Throne Room, a military tribunal put her on trial. Fearing the execution of the deposed queen would lead to her martyrdom, the court spared her life.

          For eight months, Liliuokalani remained a prisoner where she worked on a quilt on which she embroidered the Kalākaua coat of arms, the Hawaiian flag, and in its center, “Imprisoned at Lolani Palace.” Later, guards removed her to Washington Place where she spent the remainder of her days. Her jaw would have dropped to the floor if she could have known that in 1993, on the 100^th anniversary of the overthrow, President Clinton issued a formal apology to native Hawaiians.

      One of the poignant reminders of Hawaii’s deposed queen is the lyric she composed that found its way into the film, From Here to Eternity, Elvis Presley’s song, “Blue Hawaii,” and  in Disney’s film, Lilo and Stitch. The words are a peon to the setting of the sun on Liliuokalani’s lost kingdom, “Oloha ‘Oe,” “Farewell to Thee.”

 

 

     Nevertheless, the monarchy continued, although with greatly reduced power. Upon King Kalākaua’s death in 1891, followed by the passing of another brother, Liliuokalani became Hawaii’s first queen. She took up residence in the Lolani Palace, that translates to “bird of heaven,” the only royal residence of the United States-unless one counts Graceland. To her great sorrow, the queen viewed the destruction wrought by foreigners who viewed her beloved homeland as their personal piggybank. With the American cultivation of ever-encroaching plantations, fishponds, forests, and rare birds disappeared. Liliuokalani was also vocal in her opposition to the Reciprocity Treaty that had granted commercial concessions to the United States and had ceded the port of Pearl Harbor. Her first order of business was to revoke the Bayonet Constitution, an act calculated to restore full power to the throne. In response, William Randolph Hearst, in his San Francisco Enquirer, lampooned her as “a black, pagan queen.” However, not all foreigners viewed her with distaste; British author Robert Louis Stevenson was her guest, where they drank Château Lafite from crystal goblets imported from Bohemia.

     On January 17, 1893, 154 marines, each armed with eighty rounds of ammunition and equipped with a cannon, surrounded the Lolani Palace. The Queen made her way to the balcony to discover the source of the disturbance. Her enemies demanded her immediate abdication and the annexation of Hawaii to the United States of America. Desperate to avoid bloodshed, Queen Liliuokalani surrendered though she refused to waive her royal rights.

     The following morning, as the queen awaited her daily bouquet of red lehua blossoms, soldiers besieged the palace, one they transformed to a barrack. The interlopers lounged in her throne room, sitting beneath crystal chandeliers. The newly established provisional government disbanded the royal household guards and confiscated a million acres of crown lands, worth billions of dollars in today’s currency. To escape the nightmare, Liliuokalani decamped to Washington Place. In protest, she wrote notes imploring the intervention of the U.S., England, Germany, and France. Further indignities followed: an American warship fired a salute and marines hoisted the American flag. The former queen wrote, “May heaven look down and punish them for their deeds.” Three native women offered themselves as sacrifices to appease the gods so that Liliuokalani would reign once more. Members of the Royal Hawaiian Band declared they would rather eat stones than swear allegiance to the imperialists. Rumors that the invaders were plotting the assassination of Liliuokalani ran rampant.

       In 1895, the Hawaiians staged a counterattack to restore their queen to the throne and reclaim their stolen kingdom. Their plan was to distribute weapons at Diamond Head; however, the Americans had planted spies who alerted them to the resurrection. After a week, the provisional government had squashed “the rebels” and had incarcerated 355 men.

    The result was a warrant for the woman, (her usurpers called her Mrs. Dominis), who they placed under house arrest in a room in Lolani Palace. From her chamberlain, she discovered the rape of her former residence. An Irish American soldier had found Kalākaua’s crown and had pried off its jewels, which he then used as payment in a game of dice. He kept one of the biggest diamonds, which he sent to his sister, not realizing its astronomical worth. Other stolen treasures were glass vases gifted by Queen Victoria, a dress adorned with peacock feathers, and royal staffs covered with albatross plumes. Further horror was land baron Sanford Dole’s order of the arrest of her household retainers, including her long-employed coachman. Her jailer shared the news that she was to face imminent execution, along with six others, for treason.

     The Kingdom of Hawaii’s death march ended in 1893 with Liliuokalani’s formal/ forced abdication. As she had already seen too much blood spilt to restore her throne, and as her jailers had told her they would release her allies from prison, she agreed. The first and only queen of Hawaii signed a document that she was abdicating “after free and full consultation with my personal friends, and with my legal advisors.” Her shaky signature was indicative of her duress. As per instructions, she signed it, Liliuokalani Dominis. Afterwards, in her former Throne Room, a military tribunal put her on trial. Fearing the execution of the deposed queen would lead to her martyrdom, the court spared her life.

          For eight months, Liliuokalani remained a prisoner where she worked on a quilt on which she embroidered the Kalākaua coat of arms, the Hawaiian flag, and in its center, “Imprisoned at Lolani Palace.” Later, guards removed her to Washington Place where she spent the remainder of her days. Her jaw would have dropped to the floor if she could have known that in 1993, on the 100^th anniversary of the overthrow, President Clinton issued a formal apology to native Hawaiians.

      One of the poignant reminders of Hawaii’s deposed queen is the lyric she composed that found its way into the film, From Here to Eternity, Elvis Presley’s song, “Blue Hawaii,” and in Disney’s film, Lilo and Stitch. The words are a peon to the setting of the sun on Liliuokalani’s lost kingdom, “Oloha ‘Oe,” “Farewell to Thee.”

 

 

 

 

                                                   Chapter # 11: “Your, Yours” (1872)      

Prev Next