Annexation of Hawaii

Native Hawaiians are one of the many Polynesian Indigenous and Aboriginal Peoples from the South Pacific region. Initial European contact is recorded as 1778, after which the Hawaiian Islands became a destination along foreign trade lines. In 1800, King Kamehameha I unified the islands, starting the Hawaiian Monarchy. Later, King Kalakaua allowed individual land sales. This led to most of the islands becoming foreign owned. In 1891, the United States Marines, backed by foreign landowners, led a bloody coup to overthrow and imprison Queen Lili’uokalani. Her people tried to free her, unsuccessfully, in 1893.

Since being territorially annexed by the U.S. in 1898, then becoming a State in 1959, Native Hawaiians continue to maintain their culture and assert their sovereignty.

Additional Resources

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