Kingdom of Hawaii
Motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka i ka Pono Āina ( Hawaiian for The life of the country is preserved by righteousness )
Lahaina, Maui 1820-1845 Honolulu, Oahu 1845
The Kingdom of Hawaii was a kingdom on the archipelago of Hawaii. It was founded in 1795-1810 with the inclusion of smaller kingdoms on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai and Niihau in the Kingdom of the largest island of Hawaii ( the so-called "Big Iceland "). After the fall of the last queen 1893, the Republic of Hawaii was formed the following year, which existed until its annexation by the United States in 1898.
Development
After the death of Kamehameha I united Kalaniopuu in bloody wars, the islands of Hawaii. From 1810, he was the sole ruler of all eight islands and becoming the first king of Hawaii. Kamehameha founded an eponymous dynasty that ruled until 1872. After his death his widow Kuhina - Nui Kaahumanu with his young son Liholiho ( Kamehameha II later ) dominion over the islands.
From 1810 Kamehameha I. resided mostly in Kailua before the court in 1820 moved to Lahaina. Only in 1845 was established with a permanent capital Honolulu.
The independence of Hawaii was threatened repeatedly. Already from 1815 to 1817, the attempt of standing in the Russian service Germans Georg Anton Schäffer, who tried to gain control of the northern islands of Kauai and Niihau on your own, without the support of the tsarist government. Unsuccessful episodes were due to the short-term annexation of Hawaii on 10 February 1843 to the July 31, 1843 by the British Lord George Paulet, Belgian plans, using the Ladd Company to take all Hawai'i ( 1843-1845 ) and the occupation of Honolulu the French Legoarant de Tromelin in the year 1849.
The relationships of Hawaii to the United States were initially very good. For example, in 1820 American missionaries ( Congregational ) in Honolulu settled and Queen Kaahumanu confessed in 1824 to Protestantism. On 19 December 1842, the recognition of the independence of Hawaii by the United States took place. The American influence was still growing since about 1850. To counter this, the kings of Hawaii reinforced relations to Britain, its monarchy much admired. Even with other states, such as with Prussia and the smaller German states, and Belgium took the Kingdom of diplomatic relations. These consulates were established in different cities, but the consuls had to cover a large geographic area.
1875 a treaty was concluded, which allowed duty-free export of sugar from Hawaii to the USA. 1887 were able to take the naval base Pearl Harbor the U.S. after an amendment to the contract. When Queen Liliuokalani († 1917) wanted to push back the U.S. influence, it was overthrown in 1893 in a supported by plantation owners and the U.S. coup. A year later, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was established.
By external pressure and also to hedge the reign there were a number of significant reforms. These included the constitutions of 1840, 1852, 1864 and 1887 and the proposed constitution of 1893. Heavy episode was 1819, the symbolic breaking of the Kapu system ( see also Tapu ) by Kamehameha II, his mother and Kaahumanu by the common eating of food that were forbidden for women up to this point. Also important was the distribution of land Kamehameha III. of 1848, the "Great Mahele ", which private property was allowed to land. This meant that foreigners could acquire rapidly large land holdings.
The economic relations of Hawaii with the outer world weary at first is to provide the crew of merchant ships with supplies and spare parts, the goods in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) sold, the 1757-1842 only allowed trading post in China for non-Chinese. The ships often came from New England and sailed across Cape Horn to the Pacific North West and Russian America. There, the dealer acquired Seeotterpelze and brought them to China. It created a system of exchange, which was organized by the explaining of things as Kapu. Soon the export of sandalwood from Hawaii to China was also economical. Since 1810 Kamehameha I tried to monopolize the trade in this commodity, which he finally succeeded in 1812. In the 1820s to 1860s were Lahaina and Honolulu important ports for the whalers in the North Pacific, where they traded with and sometimes wintered. After the commencement of commercial oil production from 1858, the demand for whale oil was leveling out, and sugar became the principal export commodity. For sugar cane production, the immigration of contract laborers from China, among others, was (from 1852), the South Sea Islands ( 1859 ), Japan ( 1868 ) and Portugal ( 1878 ) encouraged. In the 20th century workers came for the pineapple cultivation from Korea (from 1903), the Philippines ( 1906 ) and Spain (from 1907). Not until 1946 officially ended the recruitment of workers.
1893, the monarchy was abolished with the fall of Queen Liliuokalani. After Liliuokalani was forced to sign a declaration of abdication, a provisional government took power, the represented the interests of American citizens of Hawaii. 1894 Hawaii became a republic in 1898, the government reached the intended since the fall of the monarchy, annexation by the United States.
Kings of Hawaii
Between 1795 and 1893 ruled seven kings and a queen on the Hawaiian Islands.
Literary reflection
Mark Twain visited the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1866 and reported in 25 letters of his observations and experiences. Also in the work of Robert Louis Stevenson traces his stays on the islands, so for example in the novella The Bottle Imp.