The National Women’s History Project has themed the March 2010 celebration of Women’s History as “Writing Women Back Into History.” Throughout this Women’s Herstory Series, I will go over prominent female figures throughout history who may not be as widely recognized despite their noble achievements in women’s history.
I begin the Women’s Herstory Series with a study of Queen Lili’uokalani. She was the first and only female regent of Hawaii and she was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Queen was born on September 2, 1838. Her birth name was Lydia Lili‘u Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka‘eha. She was one of fifteen children and in line with Hawaiian custom, she was adopted by Abner Paki and Laura Konia. She was educated at Hawaii’s Royal School and learned English. According to the Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center her motto was: “ ”E onipa‘a…i ka ‘imi na‘auao” which translates to “Be steadfast in the seeking of knowledge.” Her Majesty was indeed very intelligent.
On September 16, 1862 the Queen was married to John Owen Dominis. He became the governor of the islands of Oahu and Maui. The family of John Owen Dominis built the Washington Palace which is where Lili’uokalani lived during much of her reign. In 1877, her brother King Kalakaua named her heir to the throne. The drama that preceded this declaration included a struggle with the widow of a former monarch who believed she had sole rights to the throne. She ascended the throne on January 29, 1891 where her name was changed to Lili’uokalani which means “the smarting of the royal ones.”
There were already moves before the three year reign of Lili’oukalani by outside forces designed to slowly annex Hawaii to the United States. In 1875, the Reciprocity Treaty was signed. This treaty established a free trade with the United States on Hawaiian sugar and other Hawaiian imports. The U.S. was to get the large are on the coast, Pu’u Loa, now known as Pearl Harbor. This reciprocity treaty was soon done away with as the McKinley Tarriff of 1890 imposed expensive tariffs on imported Hawaiian sugar which severely effected the Hawaiian economy. The Queen Lili-uokalani sought to amend the Bayonet Constitution after she assumed the throne. The Bayonet Constitution got its name because of the force that was imposed on the Queen’s brother David Kalākaua to sign it. Lili’uokalani intended to restore power to the monarchy and to enfranchise ethnic Hawaiians and Asians. This bold move of the Queen intimidated her European and American neighbors and invaders. With the chain of unfortunate events asunder in Hawaii, the Queen walked into a less than ideal situation.
On January 17, 1893 Queen Lili’uokalani “temporarily relinquished her throne.” After this, Lili’uokalani underwent a series of unfortunate events including being imprisoned and placed on house arrest. The Queen was arrested for her supposed counter revolutionary ways but she was not counter revolutionary, she was protecting her right to the throne. While Lili’uokalani was placed on house arrest, she would compose some of her best works including: “Aloha Eh”. She was a wonderful musician. In her final will and testament, Lili’uokalani stipulated that her estate be turned into a home for orphaned children specifically Native Hawaiians. Lili’uokalani died on November 11, 1917.
Please listen to these great Hawaiian songs: Maunaleo & Kawaipunahele
Please stay involved in our Women’s Herstory Month Series.
Other Posts by Eryn:
Black History’s Leading Literary Lady
The Black Panther Party For Self Defense
Intelligence of Interference? COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party
“How they sold Marcus Garvey for rice”-LH
Yes you’re a woman…just a different kind
Vote to Discontinue Black History Month
Where’s my Forty Acres and a Mule
Too black to be white, too white to be black
I don’t date outside my species!
Eryn is a Bostonian native who currently resides in the Metro New York area. She completed her B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University where she also studied Mandarin, Chinese. Eryn has conducted psycho-social, medical, and environmental research. When she’s off the clock, Eryn spends time learning about world cultures, languages, and the best restaurants in town. She is currently working on her first novel A Beautiful Autymn. You can find more of Eryn’s work ranging from free-writes, poetry, and social analysis at http://autymn.wordpress.com
[...] Hawaii’s Queen [...]
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I enjoyed reading the article. Never knew there was a Hawaiian Queen…
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I’m so glad Evelin! Yes there was but one and only Queen of Hawaii
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[...] Hawaii’s Queen [...]
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