Princess Ka’iulani was a bright young member of the Hawaiian monarchy, most known for her impassioned protest against the overthrown and annexation of Hawaii, the country she was meant to rule. The young woman toured across America, speaking to both press and public about the unjust takeover of her kingdom by American businessmen. Although this further proved to be practically in vain, history has not forgotten the sympathy-inducing young princess who braved a country alone for the sake of her home.
Crown Princess Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn was born on October 16, 1875 to Princess Miriam Likelike and Scottish businessman Archibald Scott Cleghorn as the highest born ali’i (noble) of her generation and was, at the time, fourth in line for the throne. She was greatly celebrated as an infant, and admired by the populace as she grew. At ` inahau (cool land) in Waikiki is where Ka’iulani spent most of her childhood; the estate was a gift from Princess Ruth Ke`elikôlani, her godmother. Princess Ruth (or Mama Nui, nicknamed by Ka’iulani) was symbolic as Ka'iulani’s connection to old Hawai’i, and greatly important to her.
In 1889, a few years after her mother's death in 1887, Ka’iulani was ordered to travel to England for education by her uncle, King Kalakaua, and Lorrin Thurston, a cabinet minister. She and her older half-sister, Annie Cleghorn, were enrolled at Great Harrowden Hall in Northamptonshire, England; they struggled to adjust to the vastly different culture. After a year of studying, Annie was sent back to Hawaii, while Ka’iulani’s stay was extended to four years. She spent this time studying, travelling to different countries, and fundraising for the underprivileged. While in England, after her aunt Liliuokalani succeeded t...
... middle of paper ...
...ani lived the rest of her short life peacefully; within a year, at the age of 23, she passed away from contracted inflammatory rheumatism. Both natives and whites gathered to mourn the ex-princess.
Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn was known as the one who had set the record straight for Hawai’i. She was a creative, athletic, educated woman whose future was ripped out of her hands, and is still remembered for her sympathetic campaign against injustice towards her family. With dignity, with poise, with absolute calm, Ka’iulani fought for those who could not speak up. In Hawaii's takeover by America, she is still considered a major figurehead; her story inspires sympathy and outrage.
Works Cited
http://thekaiulaniproject.com/about_princess_kaiulani.htm http://fsakamoto.com/naomi/kaiulani.html http://www.smithsonianmag.com/americas-2/kaiulani-hawaiis-island-rose-131796275/
Foreign exploitation began, when Cook replaced the traditional island subsistence-sharing economy by the for-profit barter and afterward the money economy. Firearms, and sandalwood lumbering where just a few items that brought foreign economic and political control of the ruling ali’i, who were tricked by many greedy Western merchants. The Great Mahele of 1848 and the Kuleana Act of 1850 contained a major land redistribution act, which was forced onto the monarchy by Westerners(Blaisdell, p.44). Bringing fee simple ownership to Hawaiians, these land divisions actually alienated the land from them. The Mahele divided the lands between the chiefs, king and government. The Kuleana act supposedly guaranteed to the makaainana fee simple title to small plots of land, which would eventually separate the individual from the group. (Trask, p.10) Hawaiians depended on the land, they were not use to “private property”, which led to many problems, and the chiefs and the government were heavily indebt to the Western merchants.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
The Hawaiian Islands are well known for their beauty, tranquility, and unique culture that have shaped this state into what we see today. The special bond that the natives have formed between themselves and nature is not exactly one of a kind, but it is something that can truly be admired. Around approximately 300 AD, Hawaii was discovered by Polynesians who arrived by canoe from Tahiti. These migrants brought their polytheistic spirituality and formed a large intricate society with hierarchies consisting of many chiefs. Alongside the ruling of the chiefs, the newborn Hawaiians followed a strict belief system known as Kapu akua otherwise known as the “law of the gods”. The Kapu was a strict set of rules and restraints that dictated all aspects of ancient Hawaiian life, including political. These rules were used as a means to control the lives of lower class and female population in order to honor their gods and maintain balance within their Mana.
Stevens held firm beliefs about the future of Hawaii in the hands of the United States. From the start of his stay in Hawaii, Stevens made it clear whose side he was on in the political war. He would openly criticize Hawaii’s monarchy, and at times would refer to Queen Liliuokalani and her advisors as “incompetent”(2). Stevens may have not held anything against the Queen herself or any of her cabinet members, but rather degraded them simply to achieve his goals of the annexation of Hawaii, something that he considered “the only effective remedy for Hawaii’s troubles.” (2) Queen Liliuokalani naturally spoke out against the degradation of herself and her cabinet, and on behalf of her position of defending the Hawaiian Monarchy. “The U.S. Minister John Stevens was influenced by the annexationists. As a diplomat, his role was to foster a friendly, trusting relationship with the Hawaiian government. Instead, he often criticized the monarchy in public. I complained to the U.S. government about Stevens’ attitude and conduct but no action was taken.” (1)
20 (1994): 252-271. Kualapai, Lydia. "The Queen Writes Back: Lili'uokalani's Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. " Studies in American Indian Literature. 17.2 (2005): 32-62.
MacKenzie, Melody Kapilialoha. (1991). Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook. Honolulu: Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation/ Office of Hawaiian Affairs, p. 24.
Amelia Earhart impacted numerous lives of males and females around the world. As an active aviator, Earhart sculpted the thoughts men had on women’s rights. Although it is vindicated that her assertion for being revolutionary is because of her attempted flight around the equator, Earhart, truly is memorized for the well beings of women and their rights. The perspectives of men and women in Earhart’s generation differ by manifold opinions. Her actions would later impact the prospect of Women’s rights. Amelia Earhart helped women support and stand up for their rights.
...ature consisted of a council of chiefs and an elected house of representatives. In 1842, the Hawaiian islands were seen as an independent government. Sugar production was Hawaii’s largest buissiness. Tons of sugar was grown in Hawaii. Many of the Hawaiians worked on the sugar farms. Sugar was sold to the United States and large amounts of money flowed into Hawaii. Hawaii’s economy grew and banks were built. Annexation America’s main goal was to overthrow monarchy and Annex Hawaii as the 50th state. In 1887, the Americans forced king Kalakaua to sign a new constitutions that lessened the king’s powers and limited the rights of native Hawaiians to hold office. After Kalakaua’s death, Queen Liliuokalani ruled Hawaii. She was stubborn and wanted Hawaiian independence. But the Americans took over the government and ended monarchy and set up their own government. They put up the American flag where the Hawaiian flag originally flew. So, in other words, Hawaii was stolen from its original owners. Defenseless, Hawaii couldn’t do anything about United States’ control. Hawaii was then Annexed to the United states in 1898.
she was the first person to go through university, and she smacked an insane dictator.
According to the PBS show “Hawaii's Last Queen” the Republic Hawaii's president Sanford Dole annexed the kingdom of Hawaii to the U.S on August 12, 1898. An organization supporting annexation called the Hawaiian League led by Lorrin Thurston which took many other forms forced King Kalakaua to sign the bayonet constitution. This constitution striped the power of the monarchy and when his death came his sister Lili'uokalani ascended to the throne and her hopes were to restore power to the Hawaiians which the constitution took away. The missionary boys did not like the queens ideals so they planned to overthrow the monarchy for good which they did later on in history. The annexation was an unjust act done by a group of bisness men wanting power and Hawaii as a territory of the U.S. Although some might argue that annexation was good because it allowed trade to the U.S tariff free others oppose that it was biased because it stripped Hawaiian of their rights to vote and destroyed the Hawaiian monarchy.
Rowlandson, Mary. A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.In Women’s Indian Captivity Narratives. Ed. Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
July 24, 1897, a belligerent war against the norm of society is interrupted by the birth of one Amelia Earhart. From the time of her birth in Atchison, Kansas, to her disappearance in the Pacific Ocean at the age of 39, Amelia Earhart was venerated as a beacon of hope for women aviators around the world. She is recognized as the first woman aviator to set multiple records and some acclaim that Amelia Earhart is “perhaps the most effective activist of her time.” Acting upon a simple yearn for flight, Amelia Earhart managed to alter the public view on women as workers as a whole, and provided a hero during the ubiquitous devastation caused by the Great Depression.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
The people that petitioned against the annexation of Hawaii varied in age and was young as fourteen (The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii). The people of Hawaii saw it as a corrupt decision because it led to the downfall of the monarchy which was replaced by the white businessmen. To add on to that it also took away majority of the Hawaiian voters. Despite this, there was a benefit from this and with the passage of the Hawaiian Organic Act, Hawaiian workers were “.. now able to join labor unions and strike against their employers, and 20 strikes happened in Hawaii that year. As a result of the workers' increased bargaining power, the workers eventually received more fringe benefits, including housing, medical services, and recreation facilities” (Chronicling America : Historic Newspapers from Hawaii and the U.S. : Sugar Industry). So based on this, it showcases how although Hawaiians were afraid to lose their heritage and their rights, the end results allowed them to be more “free” and economically more
She died of a suicide and she that because at a certain point in her life she had enough of suffering.