On September 2, 1838, Liliu Kamakaeha, also known by her Christian name Lydia, and later in life by her royal name, Lili’uokalani, was born. Though her reign as Queen of Hawai’i was short, from 1891-1893, her impact on Hawai’i is still present today. Not only was she Hawaii’s last monarch, she was Hawaii’s first queen in her own right (not by marriage to a king), and her love of the Hawaiian people was unmatched by any other ruler or sovereign. Aside from being a political figure, she was highly religious, philanthropic, a writer and composer, and a traveler, having had the opportunity to meet Queen Victoria of England and developing a sort-of friendship with President Cleveland and his wife. Lili’uokalani was dethroned by an oligarchy of white American businessmen, who …show more content…
For this study, I have analyzed three texts that span 114 years: Lili’uokalani’s autobiography, The End of Hawaii’s Independence: An Autobiographical History by Hawaii’s Last Monarch, the biography of Lili’uokalani by Helen G. Allen, The Betrayal of Liliuokalani: Last Queen of Hawaii, and Julia Flynn Siler’s text, Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure.” Over that century, so much has happened in the world of scholarship and historiography: secondary texts to supplement Lili’uokalani’s autobiography, the decline of nationalistic viewpoints and the rise of feminist and minority perspective and scholarship, the supposed recovering of the lost diaries and papers of Lili’uokalani, and advances in technology that allow people easier access to research. It is the goal of this study to examine how the scholarship and interpretation of Lili’uokalani and the subsequent annexation of Hawaii through the usurpation of her throne by America changes over that span of