The Hawaiian Royals

Most of you know that Hawaii was a kingdom of its own before the U.S. deposed its last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani.  Pride in the monarchy still runs deep here, though.  There are statues of royals all over Honolulu.  Even the Japanese community has erected one to King David Kalakaua, “the father of Japanese immigration to Hawaii.”  He concluded the Japan-Hawaii Labor Convention that led to the first arrivals of Japanese coming to work on the sugar plantations in 1885.  When was the Japanese tap turned off?  In 1923, by the U.S. Congress.  The Oriental Exclusion Act applied to U.S. territories as well as states.  King Kalakaua’s  statue today stands along Kalakaua Avenue.  Didn’t you know that was coming?   And don’t you love the sounds of these Polynesian names?

King Kalakaua’s niece, Princess Ka’iulani, is commemorated about a mile away.  Her statue is along what street?  You guessed it:  Kaiulani Avenue.  Nearby is the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, which is built on the site of her estate.  She was the last heir to the Hawaiian Throne.  She was sent away to school to prepare her for the job, but the overthrow of the monarchy intervened.  She returned to her islands afterwards and fought for the restoration of her family’s standing.  Her death at age 23 (without progeny), however, made that an even less likely possibility.  The last ruling monarch of Hawaii was King Kalakaua’s sister and Princess Kaiulani’s aunt, Queen Liliuokalani, whose reign lasted only a few short years.

The Local History section of Ala Moana’s Barnes and Noble provides a glimpse of the debate that still swirls around the monarchy, its end and its potential restoration.  Much has been written about the illegal usurpation of power by haole (foreign) interests.  Right there on the shelf was The Betrayal of Liliuokalani by Helena Allen.  Next to it was Hawaiian Sovereignty: Do the Facts Matter? by Thurston Twigg-Smith.  It was Twigg-Smith’s first name that attracted my attention.  Mr. Thurston (and Mr. Dole) was the architect of the Liliuakalani’s overthrow, as I recalled.  Sure enough, Mr. Twigg-Smith’s first name betrays his family legacy.  And, guess what perspective he brings to the debate:  it’s a full and complete justification for the overthrow of the monarchy by one of the island’s foremost journalists whose family actually goes back to the very first missionaries to land on Oahu. 

Geographically yours,

D.J.Z.