On this day in 1891, Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha (Liliʻuokalani), ascended to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom, nine days after her brother’s death. During her reign, she attempted to draft a new constitution which would restore the power of the monarchy and the voting rights of the economically disenfranchised. was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, in a coup that was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Americans, one Scotsman, and one German) and six Hawaiian Kingdom subjects of American descent in Honolulu. The overthrow was bolstered by the landing of US Marines to protect American interests, which rendered the monarchy unable to protect itself.
After an unsuccessful uprising to restore the monarchy, the oligarchical government placed the former queen under house arrest at the ʻIolani Palace. On January 24, 1895, under threat of execution of her imprisoned supporters, Liliʻuokalani was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne, officially resigning as head of the deposed monarchy. Attempts were made to restore the monarchy and oppose annexation, but with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the United States annexed Hawaiʻi. Living out the remainder of her later life as a private citizen, Liliʻuokalani died at her residence, Washington Place, in Honolulu in 1917.
Liliʻuokalani
History repeats itself
Here’s Robert Palmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlPHmYtqSdA
