Queen Lili’uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch deposed in Jan. 17, 1893, is remembered as a champion of Native Hawaiians. As more foreign business interest set up in Hawai’i, she tried to rewrite the state’s constitution in the late 1800s to
Queen Lili’uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch deposed in Jan. 17, 1893, is remembered as a champion of Native Hawaiians.
As more foreign business interest set up in Hawai’i, she tried to rewrite the state’s constitution in the late 1800s to favor native Hawaiians.
She tried to replace the “Bayonet Constitution,” which members of the Hawaiian League, a secret group formed by several hundred foreign businessmen wanting to solidify their holdings in Hawai’i, and the Honolulu Rifles, a militia organization, intimidated King Kalakaua, Queen Lili’uokalani’s brother, into accepting in the late 1880s, according to historians.
The new constitution stripped the king of powers, making him a figurehead, and permitted white foreigners to vote in elections. Non-white residents of Hawai’i were not allowed to vote.
A strong nationalist, Queen Lili’uokalani tried unsuccessfully to change the constitution. Problems ensued for her.
In 1892, the Hawaiian Legislature passed a law that permitted the importing and sale of opium in Hawai’i.
Although the bill favored Chinese businessmen, it enraged American citizens when Lili’uokalani signed it into law.
The constitution required her
