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Liliuokalani Facts

Liliuokalani Facts
Liliuokalani, or Queen Lili'uokalani, was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She became the queen regnant on January 29, 1891 and ruled until she was overthrown by pro-American elements on January 17, 1893. The Republic of Hawaii was established, but in 1898 the United States annexed Hawaii during the Spanish-American War. Liliuokalani was a symbol of Hawaiian culture and independence, which she supported until her death. Liliuokalani was born Lydia Lili'u Loloku Walania Kamaka'eha on September 2, 1838 to Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapa'akea in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was born into the Hawaiian nobility and was therefore exposed to writing and literature at an early age. She married American John Owen Dominis in 1862. The two were married in a Protestant ceremony with traditional Hawaiian elements. The couple never had children of their own, but Liliuokalani adopted three Hawaiian children.
Interesting Liliuokalani Facts:
Liliuokalani was quite an artist. She composed many traditional Hawaiian songs for a larger, American audience, including "Aloha 'Ohe," which is one of the best known traditional Hawaiian songs.
Although Dominis was unfaithful to Liliuokalani and even had an illegitimate son with one of her servants, Liliuokalani forgave him and adopted the boy as her own.
Before becoming queen, Liliuokalani and a number of other members of the Hawaiian nobility attended Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. The Hawaiian party took a passenger steamer to San Francisco and then traveled across the United States by rail, making several stops along the way.
Liliuokalani became queen and ruler of Hawaii when her brother, Kalakaua, died from a stroke while in California.
Liliuokalani's husband died on August 23, 1891, just months into her rule. She had made him the Governor of Oahu, which was a title he held previously. Although the couple weren't necessarily the happiest, Liliuokalani found Dominis' long career in government and politics quite useful.
The 1893 coup that overthrew Liliuokalani and the monarchy began when she attempted to rewrite the constitution to favor the monarchy and ethnic Hawaiians.
The majority of the white population of Hawaii at the time were Americans with strong ties to the United States. Many of the American expats living in Hawaii were involved in trade and the sugar industry.
One of the leaders of the pro-American political faction on the Islands was Sanford Dole. The Dole Pineapple company was named for one of his cousins, James Dole.
After a group of ethnic Hawaiians attempted to regain control of the government, Liliuokalani was imprisoned at abdicated her throne. Although she never regained her rule, the government of the Republic of Hawaii pardoned her in 1896.
In 1909, Liliuokalani unsuccessfully sued the United States government to return Hawaii to its independent status.
Liliuokalani died in Honolulu on November 11, 1917 at the age of seventy-nine of natural causes. Her body was interred in the Royal Mausoleum of Mauna 'Ala in Honolulu.


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