The Hawaiian Monarchy

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The Hawaiian Monarchy tells the extraordinary story of the Hawaiian Kingdom, from its foundations in its alii past to its overthrow in 1898. Its eight kings and queens reigned over a turbulent century that encompassed the Western discovery of the islands, clashes between world powers, the arrival of missionaries, the devastating effect of foreign diseases, and massive and irrevocable cultural transformation. Theirs are personal stories powered by the forces of history, rich with intrigue, tragedy, and inspiration, played out against a background of royal pageantry and splendor. In the millennia before Western contact, canoe-borne Polynesians reached the islands across vast distances of Pacific Ocean and created a Hawaiian culture that was distinctive, vibrant, self-reliant, and sophisticated. Over the centuries, a class of great ruling chiefs emerged, the alii nui, who controlled whole islands, delegating rule over commoners to lesser local chiefs. Just three decades after Western contact, one of these great chiefsthrough war and diplomacymade a single kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands. His name, which would pass to his heirs, was Kamehameha. His son, Kamehameha II (Liholiho) died young in London, far separated from his nation and people, another son, Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) would preside for three decades over an evolving realm. Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho) was swayed toward British interests, Kamehameha V (Lot), "the last great chief of the olden type, " died without naming an heir to the throne. There followed two elected kings: William Charles Lunalilo, the first, held power for little more than a year. David Kalakaua, after the stormiest election in Hawaii's history, presided over a truly regal era and became the first rule in world history to make a royal progress around the globe. The last of the Hawaiian monarchs, Liliuokalani, met a sadder fate, deposed unlawfully by American business interests, she engaged in a futile struggle against opponents.