Liliuokalani Totally Explained

Everything about Liliuokalani Of Hawaii totally explained

Liliuokalani (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was originally named Lydia Liliu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaeha, Lydia Liliuokalani Paki, and also known as Lydia Kamakaeha Paki, with the chosen royal name of Liliuokalani, and later named Lydia K. Dominis.

Early life

The last sovereign queen of Hawaii was born on September 2, 1838, in a grass hut outside Honolulu. Her birth mother was High Chiefess Analea Keohokalole and her birth father was High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapa'akea. In accordance with Hawaiian tradition, she was adopted at birth by Abner Paki and his wife, Laura Konia (a granddaughter of King Kamehameha I). Liliuokalani’s childhood years were spent studying and playing with her foster sister Bernice Pauahi, the Pakis' natural daughter.
The Premier Elizabeth Kinau had developed an eye infection at the time of Lili'u's birth. She gave her the names Liliu (smarting) Loloku (tearful) Walania (a burning pain) Kamakaeha (sore eyes), translated as Lydia Smarting Tearful Anguish the Sore Eyes. Her brother changed it when he named her Crown Princess, calling her Lili'uokalani, "the smarting of the royal ones".
Liliuokalani received her education at the Royal School (originally known as the Chiefs' Children's School), and became fluent in English. She attended along with her two elder brothers James Kaliokalani and David Kalakaua.

Reign

On September 16, 1862, Liliuokalani married John Owen Dominis, who became Governor of Oahu and Maui. Although Liliuokalani's named successor was her niece Victoria Kaiulani (1875–1899), Kaiulani predeceased her. She had hanai children, Lydia Ka‘onohiponiponiokalani Aholo, Kaiponohea `Ae`a son of a retainer, and John Dominis `Aimoku her husband's son by another woman.
Liliuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalākaua on January 29, 1891. Shortly after ascending the throne, petitions from her people began to be received from the two major political parties of the time, mainly Hui Kala'aina and the National Reform Party. Believing that she'd the support of her cabinet and to ignore such a general request from her people would be against the popular will, she tried to abrogate the existing 1887 Bayonet Constitution, and began to draft a new constitution that would restore the veto power to the monarchy and would have restored major voting rights to economically disenfranchised Native Hawaiians and Asians.
Threatened by the queen's proposed constitution, American and European residents organized to depose Liliuokalani. They asserted that the queen had "virtually abdicated" by refusing to support the 1887 constitution; business interests within the Kingdom were also upset about what they viewed as "poor governance" of the Kingdom, as well as the U.S. removal of foreign tariffs in the sugar trade due to the McKinley Tariff. The tariff eliminated the favored status of Hawaiian sugar guaranteed by the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. American and Europeans actively sought annexation to the United States so that their business might enjoy the same sugar bounties as domestic producers. In addition to these concerns, Lili'uokalani believed that American businessman like Charles R. Bishop, expressed an anxiety concerning a female head of state.

Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom

On January 14, 1893, a group composed of American and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety in opposition to the Queen. As these events were unfolding, the Committee of Safety, speaking for American citizens living in Honolulu, expressed concern for their safety and property. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of U.S. sailors to take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall. On the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality. One historian has noted that the presence of these troops, ostensibly to enforce neutrality and prevent violence, effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.
   The Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893, and a provisional government was instituted. On February 1, 1893, the US Minister (ambassador) to Hawaii proclaimed Hawaii a protectorate of the United States.
   The administration of Grover Cleveland commissioned the Blount Report, and based on its findings, concluded that the overthrow of Liliuokalani was illegal, and that U.S. Minister Stevens and American military troops had acted inappropriately in support of those who carried out the overthrow. On November 16, 1893 Cleveland proposed to return the throne back to her if she granted amnesty to everyone responsible. She initially refused, and it was reported that she said she'd have them beheaded - she denied that specific accusation, but admitted that she intended them to suffer the punishment of death. With this development, then-President Grover Cleveland sent the issue to the United States Congress. She later changed her position on the issue, and on December 18, 1893 U.S. Minister Willis demanded her reinstatement by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland's referral with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report by the U.S. Senate on February 26, 1894, which found all parties (including Minister Stevens) with the exception of the queen "not guilty" from any responsibility for the overthrow. The accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports has been questioned by partisans on both sides of the historical debate over the events of 1893.
   On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was proclaimed and Sanford B. Dole, one of the first people who originally called on the institution of the monarchy to be abolished, became President. The Republic of Hawaii was recognized by the United States government as a protectorate, although Walter Q. Gresham, Cleveland's Secretary of State, remained antagonistic towards the new government.

Abdication

Liliuokalani was arrested on January 16, 1895 (several days after a failed rebellion by Robert Wilcox) when firearms were found in the gardens of her home, of which she denied any knowledge. She was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison for this and fined $5000, but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of Iolani Palace, where she composed many famous songs. After eight months, she abdicated her throne in return for the release (and commutation of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters, including Minister Joseph Nawahi, Robert Wilcox, and Prince Kuhio. The charge of treason for which they were sentenced to death by the Provisional Government was the same charge that Lili'uokalani had insisted be held against the Committee of Safety for their act of deposing her. She entered claims against the U.S. totaling $450,000 for property and other losses, claiming personal ownership of the crown lands, but was unsuccessful. The territorial legislature of Hawaii finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and permitted her to receive the income from a sugar plantation of 6,000 acres (24 km²). She went home to Washington Place, where she lived until her death in 1917 due to complications from a stroke. She was 79.
Along with Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, Hawaii was annexed to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War through a joint resolution of the United States Congress in 1898. Cuba, where the precipitating event of the war occurred (the explosion of the battleship USS Maine in Havana), was never annexed by the United States, although a portion still remains a U.S. military outpost.

Compositions

Liliuokalani was an accomplished author and songwriter. Her book, Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, gave her view of the history of her country and her overthrow and therefore became the first Native Hawaiian female author . Liliuokalani was known for her musical talent. Lili'u is said to have played guitar, piano, organ, 'ukulele and zither. She also sang alto, performing Hawaiian and English sacred and secular music. She would find herself in music. In her memoirs she wrote: "to compose was as natural to me as to breathe. This gift remains a source of the greatest consolation." She wrote over 165 songs and chants. Some of her best-known musical compositions include the song, "Aloha Oe", "The Queen's Jubilee", "He Mele Lahui Hawaii", and "Ku’u Pua I Paoakalani"

"Aloha Oe", her most famous work about two lovers bidding farewell
"Nani Na Pua Koolau" (The Flower of Ko'olau), one of her first works to appear in print. 1869
"He Mele Lahui Hawaii", (The Song of the Hawaiian Nation), was the second of Hawaii's 4 national anthems. Lili'uokalani wrote this song at the request of King Kamehameha V in 1868, well before she was Queen.
"A Hilo Au"
"Ahe Lau Makani" (The Soft Gentle Breeze), 1868
"Puna Paia Aala" (Puna's Fragrant Bower), 1868
"He Pule" (A Prayer), 1874
"Ka Wai Mapuna" (The Water Spring), 1876
"Onipa'a" (Stand Firm), a simple piece written for a singing school
"Liko Pua Lehua" (Tender Leaves of the Lehua Flower)
"Ka Wai 'Opuna Makani" (Wind of the Water-of-Cloud-Banks) to honor Lunalilo and obliquely to condemn Queen Emma's quest for the throne
"Ka Hae Kalaunu" (The Flag of the Crown), to glorify her families triumph in the election of 1874
"E Kala Ku'u 'Upu 'Ana" (Long Years Have I Yearned for Thee), written in 1873.
"La 'i Au E" (Peaceful Am I)
"By And By Ho`i Mai `Oe" (By and By Thou Wilt Return)
"Lei Ponimo'i" (Carnation Wreath or as more commonly referred to as Carnation Lei)
"Akahi Ko'u Manene" (I Have Just Shuddered), written at Wailuku
"Pride of Waiehu", written at Lahaina
"Tutu" (Granny)
"Makani Waipio" (Lovely Waipio)
"He Inoa no Kai'ulani" (A Name Song for Kaiulani); written for her niece.
"He Kanikau No Lele-Io-Hoku"; a dirge for Leleiohoku, Queen Lili'uokalani's brother who died of rheumatic fever at age 22 in 1877.
"Ka Wiliwili Wai" (The Lawn Sprinkler); written at Washington Place about a neighbors sprinkler
"Kokohi" (To Hold Forever)
"Puia Ka Nahele" (Forest Imbued with Fragrance), 1868.
"Ehehene Ko 'Aka" (Giggle, Giggle Goes Your Laughter)
"He Ali'i No Wau" (I Am Indeed a Chief)
"Pipili Ka Ua I Ka Nahele" (The Rain Clings Close to the Forest)
"Ka Hanu O Hanakeoki" (The Scent of Hanakeoki), composed in 1874, this may allude to property the Queen owned in Pâlolo Valley
"Ima Au Ia Oe E Ke Aloha" (I have Sought Thee, My Beloved)
"Pauahi 'O Ka Lani" (Pauahi, the Chiefess) for her foster sister Bernice
"Paia Ka Nahele" (The Fragrant Woods)
"Puna Paia 'A'ala" (Puna's Bowery Walls)
"Ka `Ôiwi Nani" (The Beautiful Native), love song composed June 23, 1886, at Palolo, Oahu
"Thou E Ka Nani Mae 'Ole" (Thou Art the Never Fading Beauty) along with her sister Miriam
"Na'u No Oe" (You are Mine), a charming waltz
"Manu Kapalulu" (Quail) which isn't about the bird; but yet another mele inoa for Princess Ka'iulani,
"Lamalama i luna ka 'onohi la" --- (Bright above is the rainbow ---)
"Liliko'i" composed on Maui a mele inoa (name song) for her hanai daughter Lydia * "He 'Ai Na Ka Lani" (Foods For the Royalty), in honor of Kalakaua
"Anahulu", which took its name from a stream in Waialua, one of Liliu's favorite areas
"Ka lpo Nohea" (Gem of Beauty, often translated as : The Handsome Sweetheart)
"A Chant" written for Bernice Pauahi Bishop's funeral
"The Queen's Jubilee", dated one day before the anniversary was marked at Westminister Abbey
"Ka Huna Kai" (The Sea Spray), written in London expressing a fond longing for Hawai'i
"Nohea I Mu'olaulani" (Handsome One of Mu'olaulani), Composed for Queen Lili`uokalani's new home in Kapâlama named Mu`olaulani, May, 1885
"He Inoa Wehi No Kalaniana'ole" (A Name Adornment For Kalaniana'ole), honoring her young nephew Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole
"Kili'oulani" (Fine Rain of the Heavenly Pinnacle)
"Ke Aloha O Ka Haku" (published as "Lili'uokalani's Prayer")
"Leha 'Ku Koa Mau Maka" (Lift Up Your Eyes) based on Psalm 121
"E Ku'u Ho'ola" (My Saviour), from Psalm 126
"Himeni Ho'ole'a A Davida" (David's Hymn of Praise), also from Psalm 126
"Ka Wai 'Apo Lani" (Heavenly Showers), a song expressing hope that she'd be returned to the throne
"Ke Aloha 'Aina" (Love for the Land), alternately called He Lei Aloha (A Lei of Love)
"Ka Wai O Niakala", inspired by a trip to Niakala
"Ho'okahi Puana" (One Answer), in which she pronounced her views of the Repulic of Hawaii
"Sanoe", song is about an affair in the royal court
"Ku’u Pua I Paoakalani" (My Flowers at Paoakalani), written about the flowers that her husband sent her from her garden Paoakalani

Dramatization The story of Liliuokalani inspired the composer Paul Abraham for his operetta Die Blume von Hawaii.

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