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Queen Liliʻuokalani
Her Majesty Liliʻuokalani, Queen of Hawaiʻi
Birth name	Lydia Kamakaʻeha
Reign	January 20, 1891 - January 17, 1893
Successor	none
Predecessor	Kalākaua
Consort	John Owen Dominis
Born	September 2, 1838(1838-09-02)
Died	November 11, 1917 (aged 79)

Liliʻuokalani, Queen of Hawaiʻi (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. She was originally named Lydia Kamakaʻeha, Lydia Liliuokalani Paki, and also known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Paki, with the chosen royal name of Liliʻuokalani, and later named Lydia K. Dominis.

Hawaiʻi’s last sovereign queen was born on September 2, 1838, in Honolulu. In accordance with Hawaiian tradition, she was adopted at birth by Abner Paki and his wife, Laura Konia (a granddaughter of King Kamehameha I). Liliuokalani’s childhood years were spent studying and playing with Bernice Pauahi, the Pakis' natural daughter.

Lili'uokalani received her education at the Royal School (originally known as the Chief's Children's School), and became fluent in English.

On September 16, 1862, she married John Owen Dominis, who became Governor of Oʻahu and Maui. Although she was later to have a hanai daughter, Liliʻuokalani's named successor was her niece Victoria Kaʻiulani (1875–1899), although Kaʻiulani predeceased her.

Liliʻuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalākaua on January 17, 1891. Shortly after she ascending the throne, petitions from her people began to be received from the two major political parties of the time, mainly Hui Kala'aina and the National Reform Party. Believing that she had the support of her cabinet and to ignore such a general request from her people would be against the popular swill, she tried to abrogate the existing 1887 "Bayonet Constitution" (so named because it had been signed by the previous monarch through a militia composed of armed American and Europeans calling themselves the "Honolulu Rifles"), and began to draft a new constitution that would restore the veto power to the monarchy and would have restored major voting rights to economically disenfranchised Native Hawaiians and Asians. American and European residents organized to depose her, feeling threatened by the queen's proposed constitution. They asserted that the queen had "virtually abdicated" by refusing to support the 1887 constitution; besides the threatened loss business interests within the Kingdom were upset about what they viewed as "poor governance" of the Kingdom, as well as the U.S. removal of foreign tariffs in the sugar trade due to the McKinley Act (which effectively eliminated the favored status of Hawaiian sugar due to the Reciprocity Treaty). These American and Europeans actively sought annexation to the United States, among other reasons so that their business might enjoy the same sugar bounties as domestic producers. In addition, Hawai'i's Story by Hawai'i's Queen written by Queen Lili'uokalani also stated that many of these American business elites had expressed an anxiety of having a female head of state, including Charles R. Bishop.

On January 14, 1893, a group composed of American and European elites formed a Committee of Safety in opposition to the Queen. As these events were unfolding, American citizens living in Honolulu expressed concern for their safety and property.^[1] United States Government Minister John L. Stevens, worried about possible threats to non-combatant American lives and property,^[2] summoned a company of uniformed U.S. Marines from the U.S.S. Boston and two companies of U.S. sailors to land on the Kingdom and take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the afternoon of January 16, 1893. 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under strict orders of neutrality.

The Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893, and a provisional government was instituted. On February 1, 1893, the US Minister (ambassador) to Hawai'i proclaimed Hawai'i a protectorate of the United States.

The administration of Grover Cleveland commissioned the Blount Report, and based on its findings, concluded that the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani was illegal, and that U.S. Minister Stevens and American military troops had acted inappropriately in support of those who carried out the overthrow. On November 16, 1893 Cleveland proposed to return the throne back to her if she granted amnesty to everyone responsible. She initially refused, and it was reported that she said she would have them beheaded - she denied that specific accusation, but admitted that she intended them to suffer the punishment of death.^[3] With this development, then-President Grover Cleveland sent the issue to the United States Congress. She later changed her position on the issue, and on December 18, 1893 U.S. Minister Willis demanded her reinstatement by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government refused. Congress responded to Cleveland's referral with another investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report by the U.S. Senate on February 26, 1894, which exonerated both Minister Stevens and the U.S. troops from any responsibility for the overthrow.

On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaiʻi was proclaimed and Sanford B. Dole, one of the first people who originally called on the institution of the monarchy to be abolished, became President. The Republic of Hawaiʻi was recognized by the United States government as a protectorate, although Walter Q. Gresham, Cleveland's Secretary of State, remained antagonistic towards the new government.^[4]

Liliʻuokalani was arrested on January 16, 1895 (several days after a failed rebellion by Robert Wilcox) when firearms were found in the gardens of her home, of which she denied any knowledge. She was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison and fined $5000, but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of ʻIolani Palace, where she composed many famous songs. After eight months, she abdicated her throne in return for the release (and commutation of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters, including Minister Joseph Nawahi, Robert Wilcox, and Prince Kuhio.^{[citation needed]} The charge of treason for which they were sentenced to death by the Provisional Government was the same charge that Lili'uokalani had insisted be held against the Committee of Safety for their act of deposing her. She entered claims against the U.S. totaling $450,000 for property and other losses, claiming personal ownership of the crown lands, but was unsuccessful. The territorial legislature of Hawaii finally voted her an annual pension of $4,000 and permitted her to receive the income from a sugar plantation of 6,000 acres (24 km²). She went home to Washington Place, where she lived until her death in 1917 due to complications from a stroke. She was 79.

Along with Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, Hawaiʻi was annexed to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War through a joint resolution of the United States Congress in 1898. Cuba, where the precipitating event of the war occurred (the explosion of the battleship USS Maine in Havana), was never annexed by the United States, although a portion still remains a U.S. military outpost.

Liliʻuokalani was an accomplished author and songwriter. Her book, Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen, gave her view of the history of her country and her overthrow and therefore became the first Native Hawaiian female author. Some of her best-known musical compositions include the song, "Aloha ʻOe", "The Queen's Jubilee", and "Ku’u Pua I Paoakalani".

The statue of Queen Liliʻuokalani on the grounds of the State Capitol in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

The story of Liliʻuokalani inspired the composer Paul Abraham for his operetta Die Blume von Hawaii.^[5]

• Queen Lydia Liliʻuokalani - a page on the website of the University of Illinois at Chicago
• Hawaii's story by Hawaii's Queen, Queen Lydia Liliʻuokalani
• Public Law 103-150 also known as the "The Apology Bill"
• The Overthrow of the Monarchy"

v • d • e Monarchs of Hawaiʻi
Kamehameha I | Kamehameha II | Kamehameha III | Kamehameha IV Kamehameha V | Lunalilo | Kalākaua | Liliʻuokalani