Ali’i
Letter: Elisabeth Ka’ahumanu
Writter: Kaahumanu, Elisabeth
To: Evarts, Jeremiah
Date: September 11, 1831
Type: Manuscript
Medium: Ink on paper
Credit Line: Digitalized by Google
Publisher: N/A
Description: Elisabeth Kaʻahumanu writes to Mr. Jeremiah Evarts regarding the success of the mission in Hawaiʻi. She includes her religious sentiments to the brethren of the A.B.C.F.M.
Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen
Writter: Queen Lili‘uokalani
Date: 1898
Type: Book, Hard Cover
Medium: Engraving on paper
Credit Line: Digitalized by Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
Publisher: Lee and Shepard, Boston, 1898
Description: Queen Lili‘uokalani, born as Lydia Lili‘u Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka‘eha, was the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawai‘i. She ascended the throne in January of 1891, upon the death of her brother, King David Kalākaua. The Queen’s desire to restore traditional powers to the sovereign threatened the power of the group of prominent businessmen known as the Missionary Party. With the support of armed U.S. Marines, this group overthrew the Queen in January 1893. For years after her overthrow, the Queen sought redress in the Congress and courts of the United States, but her efforts failed. In July 1898, Hawai‘i was annexed as a territory to the United States of America.
As part of her efforts to stave off annexation, the Queen published Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani in early 1898. She worked closely with the American journalist Julius Palmer on the manuscript, and the book reflects her experiences and perspectives. This classic work is the only autobiography written by a Hawaiian monarch, and provides a glimpse of life in Honolulu during her lifetime.