How The Last And Only Black Queen Of Hawaii Was Overthrown By The U.S. In The 1800s
I’ve lived on Oahu for more than three decades now. I’ve walked past Iolani Palace hundreds of times, toured every island multiple times, and learned stories that don’t make it into most guidebooks.
What happened to Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 isn’t just history – it’s something that still shapes Hawaii today.
You’ll feel it when you visit the palace, when you hear locals talk about sovereignty, when you notice the Hawaiian flag sometimes flies upside down. Let me tell you what really went down.
She Never Expected To Rule
Lydia Kamakaeha was born in 1838 into Hawaiian royalty, but she wasn’t raised to be queen. She grew up learning English at the Royal School, playing music, and writing poetry.
The girl could play ukulele, piano, organ, zither, and guitar – all of them.
She composed over 160 songs in her lifetime, including “Aloha Oe,” which you’ve probably heard at every luau you’ve ever been to.
She married John Owen Dominis and lived at Washington Place, that beautiful Greek Revival mansion on Beretania Street that’s still standing today. I remember the first time I took a tour there. The guide showed us the piano where she composed her music.
You could almost hear the melodies still hanging in the air.
When her brother King Kalakaua died in 1891, everything changed. At 52 years old, she became Queen Liliuokalani – Hawaii’s first and only reigning queen.
But the throne she inherited? It was already crumbling beneath her.
The Bayonet Constitution Had Already Broken The Monarchy
Here’s what most visitors don’t know. By the time Liliuokalani became queen, the monarchy had already been gutted like a fish.
Four years earlier, in 1887, a group of white businessmen and sugar planters had forced her brother Kalakaua to sign what became known as the Bayonet Constitution.
They literally threatened his life. Armed militia surrounded him.
Sign this, or we’ll remove you – that was the deal.
That constitution stripped the king of most of his power. It changed voting rights so that most Native Hawaiians couldn’t vote anymore. You had to own property. You had to meet income requirements. Asians couldn’t vote at all.
But white foreigners who’d lived in Hawaii for just one year? They could vote.
The monarchy became basically ceremonial, like the British royal family, but without the history to back it up.
Real power went to the legislature and cabinet, controlled by foreign businessmen who cared about one thing. Sugar profits.
Sugar Money Drove Everything
Let me break this down real simple. Sugar was everything to Hawaii’s economy in the 1800s.
Hawaiian sugar planters had a sweet deal (pun intended) with the United States through a reciprocity treaty. Hawaiian sugar got special treatment entering the US markets. The planters were making bank.
Then, in 1890, Congress passed the McKinley Tariff.
That tariff allowed ALL foreign sugar to enter the US duty-free AND gave American domestic sugar producers a bounty. Hawaiian sugar lost its advantage overnight.
The value of Hawaiian exports crashed – from $13 million in 1890 to $8 million in 1892.
The white businessmen who controlled Hawaii’s sugar industry panicked. Their solution? If Hawaii became part of the United States, it wouldn’t face any tariffs at all. They’d be domestic producers getting that bounty.
Annexation became their obsession. The monarchy stood in their way.
She Tried To Give Power Back To Her People
Liliuokalani wasn’t stupid. She saw what the Bayonet Constitution had done to her people.
Native Hawaiians had been marginalized in their own land.
She drafted a new constitution that would restore voting rights to Native Hawaiians. She wanted to return power to the monarchy. Her subjects supported this – they’d been asking for it.
But the moment she announced her intentions in January 1893, the businessmen saw their opening.
They called themselves the Committee of Safety (which is rich, considering what they were about to do).
This committee had 13 members:
- Five Americans
- One Scotsman
- One German
- Six Hawaiian Kingdom subjects of American descent
Names like Sanford B. Dole, Lorrin Thurston, and Henry Cooper. Sugar planters. Lawyers. Businessmen.
Not a single Native Hawaiian among the leaders.
They weren’t keeping anyone safe except their own wallets.
The US Minister Was In On It
🚨 Here’s where it gets really dark. John L. Stevens was the US Minister to Hawaii in 1893. He was supposed to represent American interests diplomatically.
Instead, he conspired with the Committee of Safety to overthrow a sovereign government.
Stevens had been writing to Secretary of State James Blaine back in Washington, asking how far he could go if a “revolutionary movement” emerged. He wrote that “the golden hour is near at hand”.
On January 16, 1893, the Committee of Safety claimed (falsely) that American lives and property were in danger.
Stevens used this as an excuse.
He ordered 162 sailors and Marines from the USS Boston to land in Honolulu.
They came ashore armed. They positioned themselves at strategic locations around the city.
The message was crystal clear – the US military was backing the coup.
I’ve stood on the grounds between Iolani Palace and Aliiolani Hale (the building across the street where the Committee set up their headquarters). The distance is maybe 100 yards.
Imagine armed foreign troops occupying that space, guns pointed at your home.
She Surrendered To Avoid Bloodshed
The next day, January 17, 1893, the Committee of Safety issued its proclamation. They declared martial law. They deposed the queen. They established a “Provisional Government”.
Queen Liliuokalani faced an impossible choice.
Fight back and watch her people die? Or surrender and hope the US government would make this right?
She chose her people. She surrendered her authority – not to the Committee of Safety, but to the United States government.
This distinction mattered to her. She believed the US would investigate and restore her throne.
💔 Her cabinet urged her to surrender. By midnight, nearly all the foreign consuls in Honolulu had recognized the new government.
The monarchy was over. Just like that.
The US President Actually Tried To Help Her
Here’s a twist most people don’t know. When President Grover Cleveland took office in March 1893, he actually withdrew the annexation treaty that the Provisional Government had rushed to Washington.
Cleveland condemned the coup. He recalled the US officials who’d supported it. He launched an investigation.
He concluded that the overthrow had been illegal and tried to restore Liliuokalani to her throne.
But the men who’d seized power in Hawaii refused. They’d already tasted control.
Cleveland eventually gave up and turned everything over to Congress, which did… nothing.
The revolutionaries declared Hawaii a Republic in 1894. Sanford Dole – one of the coup leaders – became president. They wrote a constitution that required voters to swear allegiance to the republic.
Most Native Hawaiians refused.
The fix was in.
They Imprisoned Her In Her Own Palace
In January 1895, some of Liliuokalani’s supporters tried a counter-revolution. Robert Wilcox and Samuel Nowlein launched a three-day rebellion trying to restore the queen.
And when weapons were found at the queen’s Washington Place home, they arrested her.
They put her on trial in her own former throne room. A military tribunal convicted her of “misprision of treason” – basically, knowing about treason and not reporting it.
They sentenced her to five years’ hard labor and a $5,000 fine.
Before the trial even started, they forced her to sign abdication papers. Sign this or we’ll execute your supporters by firing squad – that was the threat.
She signed under duress to save their lives.
They imprisoned her in a small bedroom on the upper floor of Iolani Palace for nearly eight months. One lady companion was allowed to visit. They covered the windows.
Her day consisted of prayers, reading, music composition, crochet work, and quilting.
⭐ Pro tip: When you visit Iolani Palace today, you can see the imprisonment room. The quilt she made during those months is still there. It’s one of the most heartbreaking rooms I’ve ever stood in.
The ceiling feels low. The walls feel close. You can feel the injustice in the air.
She was released to house arrest at Washington Place in September 1895, then finally pardoned in October 1896.
But she never stopped fighting annexation.
Hawaii Became American Territory Against Its Will
The Republic of Hawaii kept pushing for annexation. Most Native Hawaiians opposed it. But in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the US decided Hawaii’s strategic location in the Pacific was too valuable.
On July 7, 1898, Congress passed a joint resolution annexing Hawaii.
No treaty. No vote by Hawaiian citizens. Just a resolution.
On August 12, 1898, at a ceremony at Iolani Palace, Hawaii was formally transferred to the United States. As the Hawaiian flag came down, they played “Hawaii Ponoi” – the national anthem composed by King Kalakaua.
Then up went the American flag with “The Star-Spangled Banner” playing.
Sanford Dole – the same guy who’d helped overthrow the queen – became the first territorial governor.
Liliuokalani lived until 1917. She never stopped asserting that the overthrow was illegal. She never stopped fighting for her people’s rights.
She never got her throne back.
The US Finally Apologized A Century Later
It took 100 years, but in 1993, the US Congress passed a resolution. President Bill Clinton signed it on November 23, 1993.
Public Law 103-150 – the Apology Resolution – acknowledged that “the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States”.
It acknowledged that Native Hawaiian people “never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty”.
An apology. After a century. After the queen had been dead for 76 years.
🌺 The sovereignty movement in Hawaii is still active today. Groups are still fighting for Hawaiian self-determination, for the return of ceded lands, for recognition of what was taken.
In 1993, 10,000 people marched to Iolani Palace on the 100th anniversary of the overthrow.
Some activists fly the Hawaiian flag upside down as a sign of distress. Some groups meet daily at Iolani Palace, conducting what they call “government business”.
The debates about Hawaiian sovereignty, about what justice looks like, about whether the monarchy should be restored in some form – these conversations happen every day.
What You Need To Know When You Visit
If you’re coming to Hawaii, you need to understand this history.
When you tour Iolani Palace (which you absolutely should), you’re not just seeing a pretty building.
You’re standing in the site of an illegal coup d’état backed by the US military.
You’re walking through rooms where a queen was imprisoned by businessmen who wanted her land and her people’s labor. You’re seeing crowns and jewels and thrones that represented a sovereign nation that existed for decades before it was stolen.
Insider tip: Book your Iolani Palace tour well in advance. They limit visitor numbers to protect the building. The guided tours are worth it – the docents share stories you won’t get from a brochure.
Go on a Thursday if you can for the Washington Place tours too. They’re free, and you’ll see where Liliuokalani actually lived.
When you walk around downtown Honolulu, you’re walking through the physical space where this all went down. Iolani Palace. Aliiolani Hale across the street. Washington Place up on Beretania.
These aren’t just tourist sites. They’re crime scenes, if we’re being honest.
The Legacy Lives In Everything
I was talking to a friend recently – a Native Hawaiian kūpuna (elder) – about why this history matters so much.
He said something that stuck with me: “Every time someone tells us to just get over it, to move on, they’re asking us to forget who we are.”
The overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani wasn’t just about one woman losing her throne.
It was about an entire people losing their sovereignty, their land, their right to determine their own future.
It’s why housing is so expensive that Native Hawaiians are leaving their own islands in droves. It’s why Crown Lands are still being used for military purposes against the wishes of local communities.
It’s why the Red Hill water crisis happened – the Navy contaminated the water supply because they could.
The overthrow set in motion everything that came after. The annexation. The statehood (which happened in 1959 without the full participation of Native Hawaiians). The militarization. The tourism industry that both sustains and strains these islands.
All of it traces back to January 17, 1893.
She Never Stopped Fighting
One thing I want you to know about Queen Liliuokalani – she was fierce.
Even after everything they did to her, she never gave up.
During her imprisonment, she composed music. She wrote songs expressing her hope to return to the throne, her views on the government that had seized power.
She translated the Kumulipo, a genealogical chant of her family going back to the beginning of Hawaii.
She wrote her autobiography, “Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen,” making sure her side would be heard. She traveled to Washington multiple times trying to get justice.
She established the Queen Liliuokalani Trust in 1909 to help orphaned and destitute children, especially Native Hawaiian children.
The trust still exists today. Still helping keiki (children).
Her legacy isn’t just about what was taken from her. It’s about what she gave, what she fought for, what she refused to let die.
Why This Story Matters Now
You might be wondering why I’m telling you all this.
You came to Hawaii for the beaches, the sunshine, maybe some good poke. Why do you need to know about a queen who died more than a century ago?
Because understanding this history changes how you see Hawaii.
It explains why locals sometimes seem frustrated with tourists who treat these islands like a theme park. Why the word “aloha” means so much more than hello and goodbye – it’s about love, respect, connection to the land and people.
It explains why you’ll sometimes feel tension under the surface. Why certain beaches have locals-only vibes. Why some Hawaiians are fighting to protect Mauna Kea from more telescopes, to stop the military from taking more land, to preserve what’s left of Hawaiian culture and language.
This isn’t ancient history. This is living history.
The people who remember grandparents who lived under the monarchy are still alive. The injustices that started with the overthrow are still playing out.
The Truth About Paradise
Here’s what they don’t tell you in the travel brochures.
Paradise has a price, and Hawaiian people have been paying it since 1893.
Every time you visit, you’re participating in an economy built on the foundation of that overthrow. The tourism industry exists because American businessmen wanted Hawaii’s strategic location and resources.
The military bases exist because of that same annexation.
The development that’s destroying Hawaiian ecosystems and pricing locals out of their own communities – it all connects back to that January day when Queen Liliuokalani was forced from her throne.
I’m not saying don’t come to Hawaii. I’m saying come with respect. Learn the real history. Support Native Hawaiian businesses. Listen when locals talk about sovereignty and self-determination.
Understand that the “aloha spirit” you’re enjoying is a gift from a people who’ve survived despite everything that’s been taken from them.
When you stand in front of the King Kamehameha statue downtown or tour Iolani Palace or hear “Hawaii Ponoi” played at events, remember what those symbols represent.
A nation that existed. A queen who fought for her people. A sovereignty that was never legally surrendered, only illegally seized.
💪 The story of Queen Liliuokalani isn’t a tragic tale of the past. It’s an ongoing story of resilience, resistance, and the fight for justice.
It’s happening right now, today, on these islands.
She was the first and only queen regnant of Hawaii. She was a composer, a writer, a leader who chose her people’s lives over her own power.
She was imprisoned in her own palace, forced to abdicate under threat of her supporters’ execution, and watched her kingdom stolen by businessmen backed by US military force.
And she never, ever gave up.
That’s the real story. That’s what you need to know.
E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi – may the Hawaiian language live on. May the truth of what happened in 1893 never be forgotten.
May justice, someday, finally come.
