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July 5, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Stages to the Overthrow – Challenges with Kalākaua

Some suggest the overthrow of the Hawai‘i constitutional monarchy was neither unexpected nor sudden.

Dissatisfaction with the rule of Kalākaua (and, later, Lili‘uokalani) led to the ‘Bayonet Constitution,’ then, the overthrow. Mounting dissatisfaction with government policies and private acts of officials led to the formation of the Hawaiian League, a group of Honolulu businessmen.

Folks generally cite the efforts to form the Polynesian Confederacy, the opium license bribery case and the extravagance (and growing debt) as issues of concern about Kalākaua’s rule.

Polynesian Confederacy

“Kalākaua (one of the most theoretical of men) was filled with visionary schemes for the protection and development of the Polynesian race; (Walter Murray Gibson) fell in step with him … The king and minister at least conceived between them a scheme of island confederation.” (Stevenson)

“(Gibson) discerned but little difficulty in the way of organizing such a political union, over which Kalākaua would be the logical emperor, and the Premier of an almost boundless empire of Polynesian archipelagoes.” (Daggett; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 6, 1900)

“The first step once taken between the Hawaiian and Samoan groups, other Polynesian groups and, inclusively, Micronesian and Melanesian groups, might gradually be induced to enter into the new Polynesian confederation just as Lord Carnarvon gets colony after colony to adopt His Lordship’s British Federal Dominion policy.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 17, 1877)

John Bush, Hawaiʻi’s ambassador to Sāmoa, succeeded in negotiating Articles of Confederation, which the Hawaiian cabinet ratified in March 1887. Kalākaua sent the Kaimiloa to salute High Chief Malietoa Laupepa in Sāmoa. (However, a German warship there warned Kalākaua to stop meddling in Samoan affairs.) (Chappell)

Eventually, the confederacy attempts failed. It part, it is believed too many changes to existing systems were proposed, many of which were modeled after the Western way.

Later, the Berlin Act (signed June 14, 1889,) between the US, Germany and Britain, established three-power joint rule over Sāmoa. This ultimately led to the creation of American Sāmoa.

Opium License Bribery Case

Another issue that particularly incensed people was the opium franchise bribery case, in which the King was implicated. (Forbes)  An opium bill was passed providing for a license for four years, to be granted by the minister of the interior with the consent of the King. (Reports of Committee on Foreign Relations)

“Early in November, 1886, Junius Kaae, (who has access to the King,) informed a Chinese rice planter named Tong Kee, alias Aki, that he could have the opium license granted to him if he would pay the sum of $60,000 to the King’s private purse, but that he must be in haste because other parties were bidding for the privilege.” (Executive Documents US House of Representatives, 1895)

“With some difficulty Aki raised the money, and secretly paid it to Kaae and the King in three instalments between December 3d and December 8th, 1888. Soon afterwards Kaae called on Aki and informed him that one, Kwong Sam Kee, had offered the King $75,000 for the license, and would certainly get it, unless Aki paid $15,000 more.”

“Accordingly Aki borrowed the amount and gave it to the King personally on the 11th. Shortly after this another Chinese syndicate, headed by Chung Lung, paid the King $80,000 for the same object, but took the precaution to secure the license before handing over the money.” (Alexander)

In a later affidavit, Tong Kee (Aki) noted, “I asked the King to return me all of my money and drop the whole thing. He exclaimed that this could not be done that it was all understood and arranged about the division of the license and could not be changed.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 17, 1887)

Initially the king, through his minister of foreign affairs, disclaimed any involvement. However, “To cap the climax of the opium matter, the Attorney General proceeds to acknowledge that the money was paid over by the Chinese … (H)e informed the gentlemen interested in getting the money back that he would never accomplish his object so long as he allowed the newspaper to speak of the affair.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 17, 1887)

“The Attorney General then sees that there is no use in denying the receipt of the money but suggests that if a quiet tongue is kept in the matter the cash received for the bribe may be returned. … This is a pretty piece of morality for the Attorney General to put forth and shows the obliquity of vision of all who are connected with the government.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 17, 1887)

Extravagance/Debt

Although Kalākaua had been elected and serving as King since 1874, upon returning from a trip around the world (1881), it was determined that Hawaiʻi’s King should also be properly crowned (1883).

“ʻIolani Palace, the new building of that name, had been completed the previous year (1882), and a large pavilion had been erected immediately in front of it for the celebration of the coronation. This was exclusively for the accommodation of the royal family; but there was adjacent thereto a sort of amphitheatre, capable of holding ten thousand persons, intended for the occupation of the people.” (Liliʻuokalani)

“On Monday, 12th February, the imposing ceremony of the Coronation of their Majesties the King and Queen of the Hawaiian Islands took place at ʻIolani Palace. … Like a mechanical transformation scene to take place at an appointed minute, so did the sun burst forth as the clock struck twelve, and immediately after their Majesties had been crowned.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 17, 1883)

The building of ‘Iolani Palace, in and of itself was an enormous extravagance, and so far as its cost is concerned remains a mystery to this day. The contract was not put out to tender in the customary manner, but the work was given for private reasons to architects and builders whom the King wished to favor. There were no requisitions upon the Treasury, and bills were paid by the King without any Ministerial intervention. (Krout)

During the Aki Opium Bribery Case, noted above, it was learned that, “the King’s liabilities of one kind and another amounted to more than $250,000. He was finally induced to make an assignment for the benefit of his creditors … it was decided, in conformity with the Constitution, which adhered to the old mediaeval tradition, that the King could ‘do no wrong.’”

“This interpretation meant that Kalākaua ‘could not be sued or held to account in any court of the kingdom,’ but the revenue in the hands of the trustees was held liable to Aki’s claim.” (Krout)

“Official advices from Honolulu, just received here, shows that the financial condition of the Hawaiian Kingdom is such that there is not the slightest hope of the Government ever again being independent of money lenders. The consequence will be trouble which must come sooner or later, involving the interest of Americans, Englishmen and Germany.”

“It is understood that when that period is reached our Government will insist that only American authority shall be recognized in the Hawaiian Kingdom, in what form this control will be established has not been considered, but no foreign Government will be permitted, under plea of setting up a protectorate, to establish itself in that country.” (Sacramento Daily Union, June 29, 1887)

This led to the ‘Bayonet Constitution’ (signed July 6, 1887) that greatly curtailed the monarch’s power, making him a mere figurehead; it placed executive power in the hands of a cabinet whose members could no longer be dismissed by the monarch but only by the legislature; it provided for election of the House of Nobles, formerly appointed by the monarch. (hawaiibar-org)

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Kalakaua_1882
Kalakaua_1882

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Economy, General Tagged With: Hawaii, Kalakaua, Iolani Palace, Bayonet Constitution, King Kalakaua, Coronation Pavilion, Overthrow, Opium

June 21, 2022 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

To the Jubilee

“Monday, June 20th inst., being the 50th anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, it is ordered as a mark of respect that all Government offices be closed during the day. L. Aholo, Minister of the Interior. Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, June 15, 1887.”

That wasn’t the only thing … church services, concerts, picnics and royal salutes made up the celebration in the Islands. The Royal Hawaiian Band played “God Save the Queen” at Emma Square.

The longest-reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee on June 20 and 21, 1887, marking 50 years of her reign. Fifty foreign kings and princes, along with the governing heads of Britain’s overseas colonies and dominions, attended. (British Monarch)

“I received from my brother, the king, a most unexpected proposition. This was that I should accompany the queen to the grand jubilee at London, in honor of the fiftieth year of the reign of the great and good Queen of Great Britain.”

“It was on a Saturday night early in April that I received this invitation, which I at once accepted. … I then told (my husband) what had transpired between His Majesty and myself, and that it was my wish and intention to accept. He cordially agreed with me, and said that he would like to be of the party”.

“Only a few days of necessary preparation were left to us and by the 12th of April (1887) we were ready to embark on the steamship Australia, by which we had taken passage for San Francisco.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Queen Kapiʻolani brought along Liliʻuokalani to serve as Kapiʻolani’s interpreter. Even though Kapiʻolani was raised to understand English, she would speak only Hawaiian. Newspapers noted that Liliʻuokalani was fluent in English while Kapiʻolani spoke ‘clumsily.’ (UH Manoa Library)

Their entourage for the trip included Liliʻuokalani’s husband General John Owen Dominis; Curtis Piʻehu ʻIaukea, Governor of Oʻahu; Colonel James Harbottle Boyd and four servants. (Mr Sevellon A Brown, chief clerk of the US State Department; Captain Daniel M Taylor, US War Department; and Lieutenant Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers, US Navy Department accompanied them on the continent.)

They stopped off in San Francisco for a week where Lili‘uokalani tended her sick husband. They passed through Sacramento where most of them experienced snow for the first time. (OHA)

“A special train of three cars – kindly placed at the disposal of the excursionists by the D&RG (Denver & Rio Grande Railroad) … (was) reserved for their use over the D&RG system”. (Salt Lake Herald, April 30, 1887) They headed for the Great Salt Lake in Utah where they met with prominent elders of the Mormon Church. (OHA)

“Half an hour before the time for the train to arrive people began to gather at the depot. Whole schools of young children accompanied by their teachers flocked upon the platform and their number swelled by ladies and gentlemen made a crowd of several hundred people”.

“… the crowd gathered around the coach eager to get a glance at the Queen, a line was formed in the rear car and quite a number passed through the coach to shake the royal hand. The Queen received them all with a gracious smile in recognition of the courtesies shown her…. As the train pulled out of the depot the band played ‘Yankee Doodle’”. (Salt Lake Evening Democrat, April 29, 1887)

In Chicago, “The Kanakas’ Queen, Kapiʻolani and Suite in Chicago Enroute to Washington … “for the first time Chicago was visited by a real live queen. Her name is Kapiʻolani and she is the Queen of the Sandwich Islands There were no soldiers drawn up in line to receive her when the Burlington train roiled into the West Side station promptly at 2 p m and the populace consisted of an idle crowd of railroad men a few dozen curiosity hunters and two or three persistent reporters.”

“There was no one to cry in soft Kanaka ‘Aloha’ or ‘Love to you’ and as for the hundreds of people who at that hour alight from incoming trains they pursued their way all unmindful of the presence of royalty and its retinue.” (Fort Worth Gazette, May 6, 1887)

Unlike her visit to Chicago, in Washington DC, when the royal entourage arrived at Arlington Hotel, “There were scores of people at the station and hotel when her Majesty and suite arrived, and the crowd pushed hither and thither to get a glimpse of the company. Never before in the history of the Republic has a genuine Queen of a foreign power visited the United States.” (Sacramento Daily Union, May 4, 1887)

“Queen Kapiʻolani, wife of the Hawaiian King, was presented to the President and Mrs Cleveland today. The ceremony took place in the Blue Room. … Kapiʻolani is the first Queen to cross the White House threshold. … she carries herself with stately dignity”. (New York Tribune, May 5, 1887)

Under director John Philip Sousa, the band played ‘Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi,” Hawaiʻi’s national anthem and the “Star Spangled Banner.” Earlier, Kapiʻolani gave the former’s score to the band. (UH Mānoa, Library)

“After spending a few days here (Washington DC) sight-seeing she will go to New York. From there she goes to England to be present at the Queen’s jubilee. She has never been out of her own country before, and is quite anxious to see the “greatest woman on the face of earth,” as she calls Queen Victoria.” (The Stark Democrat, Ohio, May 5, 1887)

After a few days in New York City, Queen Kapiʻolani and her entourage departed for England, where they attended the Queen’s Jubilee.

Upon their return from Europe, Queen Kapi‘olani and her entourage stopped again in Washington, D.C. At that time, they toured the National Museum, later to become the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. As a result of that visit, Queen Kapi‘olani gifted the museum with a Hawaiian outrigger canoe to add to their collection. (OHA)

Queen Kapiʻolani had left the Islands under stress. Just before she left, Liliʻuokalani and Kalākaua’s sister, Miriam Likelike, wife of Archibald Cleghorn and mother of Princess Kaʻiulani, died on February 2, 1887. Her return was under stress, and expedited, as well. Rather than visits and state affairs, she limited her time.

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was held on June 20 and 21, 1887. On June 30, 1887, the Honolulu Rifles demanded that King Kalākaua dismiss his cabinet and form a new one. Within days, with firearms in hand, the Hawaiian League presented King Kalākaua with a new constitution. Kalākaua signed the constitution under threat of use of force. (hawaiibar-org) As a result, the new constitution earned the nickname, The Bayonet Constitution.

“Queen Kapiʻolani and party reached (New York) from London (on July 11.) The queen expressed a wish to return home as soon as possible consistent with the health of the suite. It was decided not to stop more than a day or two at the longest in New York.”

“The queen … had been inclined to tears when she first heard the news of the Hawaiian revolution”. (Bismarck Weekly Tribune, July 15, 1887) Queen Kapiʻolani returned to Hawai‘i on July 26, 1887.

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Queen Kapiolani wearing the peacock gown, and Princess Liliuokalani in London-PP-97-14-009-1887
Queen Kapiolani wearing the peacock gown, and Princess Liliuokalani in London-PP-97-14-009-1887
Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England,_1887
Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England,_1887
Princess_Liliuokalani-at Queen's_Jubilee-S00012-1887
Princess_Liliuokalani-at Queen’s_Jubilee-S00012-1887
Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England_1887
Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England_1887
Queen Kapiolani at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Westminster Abbey-PP-97-15-011-June_21,_1887
Queen Kapiolani at Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Westminster Abbey-PP-97-15-011-June_21,_1887
Kapiolani Canoe-Na Mea Makamae o Hawaii-National Museum of Natural History- 2004–05
Kapiolani Canoe-Na Mea Makamae o Hawaii-National Museum of Natural History- 2004–05

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Liliuokalani, Kalakaua, Queen Victoria, Kapiolani, Jubilee, Bayonet Constitution

February 28, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1880s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1880s – Kalākaua goes on his world tour, Matson acquires his first vessel, Pauahi dies, Bayonet Constitution and Pearl Harbor is leased by US Navy. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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Timeline-1880s
Timeline-1880s

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Military, Place Names, Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy Tagged With: Kalakaua, King Kalakaua, Pearl Harbor, Matson, World Tour, Saint Marianne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bayonet Constitution, Hawaii, Bernice Pauahi Bishop

January 17, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Lota Kaulukou

“John Kaulukou, ‘racked native candidates who sympathized with Caucasians … after carefully piling up factual evidence against his opposition concluded … that his native opponents ‘kissed the hoofs’ and ‘did the bidding’ of white enemies of the Hawaiian race, and that they ‘wanted to run the country in their own interests.’” (Osorio)

John Lota Kaulukou was speaker of the House of Representative of the Kingdom of Hawaii of the district of Honolulu from 1880 to 1886 and also served in many posts including Postmaster General, Attorney General (October 13, 1886 – October 23, 1886) and Marshal of the Kingdom.

Kaulukou was the leading native lawyer in Honolulu, a man of strong native sense and force, with much combativeness and insistence, but genial manner. (Bishop)

As an ardent Royalist, he’d been a strong supporter of Kalākaua and was outspoken in his opposition to the ‘Bayonet Constitution’ of 1887, which weakened Kalākaua’s power to rule and restricted voting rights only to Hawaiian, American, and European men, provided they met prescribed economic and literacy tests. (Soboleski)

When Kalākaua’s Hale Nauā Society was forming, at its initial meeting on September 20, 1886 were King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani … members included John Lota Kaulukou, elected representative in the Hawaiian legislature during the 1880s. (HJH)

According to its constitution, the society was “the revival of Ancient Sciences of Hawaii in combination with the promotion and advancement of Modern Sciences, Art, Literature, and Philanthropy.” (Daws)

The original hale nauā scrutinized the genealogical qualifications of those who claimed relationship to the chiefs, as Hawaiian historian David Malo described in a short passage of Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi.

The doings at the house were conducted in the following manner. When the king had entered the house and taken his seat, in the midst of a large assembly of people including many skilled genealogists, two guards were posted outside at the gate of the pa. (The guards were called kaikuono.) (Malo)

If the genealogists who were sitting with the king recognized a suitable relationship to exist between the ancestry of the candidate and that of the king he was approved of. (Malo)

“(O)n or about 2:30 pm of the 17th day of January last (1893,) it had been declared in front of the Government building a new form of government for Hawai‘i nei known as the ‘Provisional Government’ …”

“… that at the said time the troops of the Boston were lined between the Government building and the Arion Hall, and well supplied with ammunition and Gatling guns, which were faced to the palace, where Her Majesty the Queen, was then residing”.

“(T)he Provisional Government at the aforesaid time had only 50 armed men, more or less, and it could have been suppressed by the guards of the Queen’s Government in a short time …”

“… at the aforesaid time Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani was residing in the palace and had charge of that building, the barracks, the guards, and the ammunition, and also the police station, where Marshal Chas. B. Wilson, the constables, and those who lent their assistance to Her Majesty the Queen’s Government, who have been well armed.”

“That at the aforesaid time the said buildings, the police force, and the other public buildings were riot under the charge of the Provisional Government, and that in or about 2:45 pm of said date …”

“… Chas L Hopkins took a communication from the Queen’s cabinet from the police station, where they were then, to JL Stevens, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America, residing at the court of the Hawaiian Islands”.

“ (O)n or about 3:15 pm of said date the said Chas L Hopkins returned to the said police station with a letter from said JL Stevens; and that after that it had been announced to the public, who were there then …”

“… that said United States minister, JL Stevens, had recognized the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, and will back and help the said Provisional Government, and not to Her Majesty the Queen’s Government.” (Affidavit of John Lota Kaulukou; Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, May 18, 1894)

While a Royalist, he appears to appreciate the actual political situation of Hawai‘i better than a majority of the natives, and seems likely to be of service to his countrymen. (Bishop)

“I regard Annexation as the best thing that could happen for Hawaii, both native and foreign population. I have advocated it ever since it became an issue in political politics and I rejoice heartily that it has come.”

“For years I have looked upon it as being, if not inevitable, at least as the only way in which the best interests of Hawaii could be protected and advanced.”

“The Queen and some of her partisans were then striving for an entirely new Constitution. … The platform upon which I went before the people was that an attempt to replace the then Constitution with an entirely new instrument was, in the condition of affairs that existed at that time, dangerous both to the Queen and to the Native Hawaiians.”

“I urged that the better way was to secure the changes that seemed desirable by amendment. I told the people that the country was in no mood to submit to the Queen’s notions of unlimited power, and that if the effort to entirely overthrow the constitution and replace it with a new one were persisted in, there would be an end of monarchy.”

“I said that the interests of the natives and of the foreign residents were identical; that both wanted a stable, efficient and well-administered government, and that the way to this lay through representative government, and not through unlimited monarchy.”

“I said that what the Hawaiians needed was better schools, better public improvements and more of them, an equitable assessment of taxes and an honest administration of the revenues for public purposes, and not more power in the monarchy and more … display and ostentation in the court.” (John Lot Kaulukou; San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 1898)

“With the establishment of the Provisional Government and the Republic, I advised my people to take the oath of allegiance, to take part in public affairs and to join with the ‘haoles’ …”

“… among whom were many of their best friends and very many of their best advisers, in securing good government and that advance in material and intellectual prosperity which our race pride made us believe was within our power and the achievements of some of our people have demonstrated that it is so.”

“In annexation, I saw, or thought I saw, that stability of government and constant source of influence and association in governmental, social and educational affairs which would enable the Hawaiian people to develop and advance to the plane of the highest civilization.”

“I, too, am an Hawaiian. These islands bear in their bosom the bones of my ancestors to the remotest generation. I am proud of my race. I am proud of my nationality. But in annexation I see a larger place for my race, and the stream of national life merging in a still larger national life will flow in deeper and wider channels, in larger and more widespread influence.”

“I shall, as I have done in the past, urge my people to take part in public affairs, to cultivate both individual and civic virtues, to be Americans in that enjoyment and exercise of liberty which is the birthright of an American, as it is the greatest guarantee of race progress and national perpetuity.” (John Lot Kaulukou; San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 1898)

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John_Lota_Kaulukou-WC
John_Lota_Kaulukou-WC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People Tagged With: Annexation, Bayonet Constitution, John Lota Kaulukou, Hawaii

October 28, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Late-1880s

The Statue of Liberty was made in France and was proposed by Edouard de Laboulaye, sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and funded by the French people.

It was shipped in 1885 to New York and placed onto Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It wasn’t dedicated by Grover Cleveland until on October 28, 1886.

That year, John Pemberton begins selling his formula (a mixture of cocaine and caffeine) at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains. Coca Cola no longer contains Cocaine but that is how it got its name.

Geronimo (Mescalero-Chiricahua: Goyaałé [kòjàːɬɛ́] “the one who yawns” (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader from the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache tribe.

From 1850 to 1886 Geronimo joined with members of three other Chiricahua Apache bands – the Chihenne, the Chokonen and the Nednhi – to carry out numerous raids as well as resistance to US and Mexican military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora, and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona.

Geronimo’s raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache-American conflict that started with American settlement in Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848.

In 1886, Geronimo, described by one follower as ‘the most intelligent and resourceful … most vigorous and farsighted’ of the Apache leaders, surrendered to General Nelson A Miles in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, after more than a decade of guerilla warfare against American and Mexican settlers in the Southwest.

The terms of surrender require Geronimo and his tribe to settle in Florida, where the Army hopes he can be contained. (In 1894, Geronimo and others were relocated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.)

The National Geographic Society, founded on January 27, 1888 in Washington DC, has gone on to become the world’s largest scientific and geographical distribution organization.

Its original premise was ‘for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge.’ In the field, National Geographic has supported exploration, education and conservation and a number of geological, natural and literary sources since 1888.

In 1888, George Eastman introduced the Kodak No 1, a simple and inexpensive Box Camera that brings photography to all. Because of their simplicity, ease of use and cost, the cameras became an enormous success.

That year, Scottish Inventor John Boyd Dunlop patents the first practical pneumatic or inflatable tyre. Also that year, on August 31, 1888, the first victim of the murderer called ‘Jack the Ripper’ was discovered in London.

The Eiffel Tower, or the Tour Eiffel, was opened on March 31, 1889, and was the work of a Gustave Eiffel, who was a bridge engineer.

It was made for the centenary of the French Revolution and was chosen over one hundred other plans that were given. Eiffel’s engineering skills would preface later architectural designs.

The Tower stands at twice the height of both the St Peter’s Basilica and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Its metallic construction was completed within months.

On June 21, 1887, Britain celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, which marked the 50th year of her reign. Queen Kapiʻolani Princess Lili‘uokalani and her husband General Dominis, C.P. Iaukea, Governor of Oahu, Colonel J.H. Boyd, Mr. Sevellon Brown, Captain D.M. Taylor, and Lieutenant C.R.P. Rodgers, and four servants attended the Jubilee.

Queen Kapiʻolani brought along Liliʻuokalani to serve as her interpreter. Even though Kapiʻolani was raised to understand English, she would speak only Hawaiian. Newspapers noted that Liliʻuokalani was fluent in English while Kapiʻolani spoke ‘clumsily.’ (UH Manoa Library)

Queen Kapiʻolani had left the Islands under stress. Just before she left, Liliʻuokalani and Kalākaua’s sister, Miriam Likelike, wife of Archibald Cleghorn and mother of Princess Kaʻiulani, died on February 2, 1887. Her return was under stress, and expedited, as well.

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was held on June 20 and 21, 1887. On June 30, 1887, the Honolulu Rifles demanded that King Kalākaua dismiss his cabinet and form a new one.

Within days, with firearms in hand, the Hawaiian League presented King Kalākaua with a new constitution. Kalākaua signed the constitution under threat of use of force. (hawaiibar-org) As a result, the new constitution earned the nickname, The Bayonet Constitution.

“Queen Kapiʻolani and party reached (New York) from London (on July 11.) The queen expressed a wish to return home as soon as possible consistent with the health of the suite. It was decided not to stop more than a day or two at the longest in New York.”

“The queen … had been inclined to tears when she first heard the news of the Hawaiian revolution”. (Bismarck Weekly Tribune, July 15, 1887) Queen Kapiʻolani returned to Hawai‘i on July 26, 1887.

On July 30, 1889, Robert William Wilcox led a rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution had left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

By the evening, Wilcox became a prisoner and charged with high treason by the government. He was tried for treason, but acquitted by the jury.

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Statue of Liberty, 'Liberty Enlightening the World,' in New York Harbor, on October 28, 1886
Statue of Liberty, ‘Liberty Enlightening the World,’ in New York Harbor, on October 28, 1886
1876: The hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty on display at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, in Philadelphia, ten years before the rest of the statue was completed. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)
1876: The hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty on display at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, in Philadelphia, ten years before the rest of the statue was completed. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)
Statue of Liberty towers over Paris rooftops in 1884, outside Bartholdi's workshop
Statue of Liberty towers over Paris rooftops in 1884, outside Bartholdi’s workshop
Statue of Liberty -Hand and torch being built in a Paris studio around 1876
Statue of Liberty -Hand and torch being built in a Paris studio around 1876
Geronimo_17apr1886
Geronimo_17apr1886
Apache_chief_Geronimo_(right)_and_his_warriors_in_1886
Apache_chief_Geronimo_(right)_and_his_warriors_in_1886
Queen_Victoria's_Golden_Jubilee_Service,_Westminster_Abbey-June_21,_1887
Queen_Victoria’s_Golden_Jubilee_Service,_Westminster_Abbey-June_21,_1887
Queen_Victoria Jubilee-Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England,_1887
Queen_Victoria Jubilee-Kapiolani_and_Liliuokalani_at_the_Stewart_Estate,_England,_1887
Hawaiian_League_(PP-36-3-005)
Hawaiian_League_(PP-36-3-005)
honolulu_rifles_in_full_regalia_pp-52-1-019
honolulu_rifles_in_full_regalia_pp-52-1-019
Lajolla-1906 (the same in late-1880s)
Lajolla-1906 (the same in late-1880s)
Eiffel’s chief engineer came up with the original concept in 1884
Eiffel’s chief engineer came up with the original concept in 1884
Eiffel-tower-in-July-1888
Eiffel-tower-in-July-1888
Brooklyn_Bridge-under_construction
Brooklyn_Bridge-under_construction
Brooklyn_Bridge-1890s
Brooklyn_Bridge-1890s

Filed Under: Economy, Prominent People, General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaiian League, Hawaii, 1880s, Liliuokalani, Statue of Liberty, Kalakaua, Coca Cola, Kapiolani, Geronimo, Robert Wilcox, Apache, Wilcox Rebellion, Eiffel Tower, Likelike, Bayonet Constitution, Honolulu Rifles

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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