A review by jarcher
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Lili'uokalani

4.0

Picked up and read on Maui while grappling with the ethics of enjoying my honeymoon on stolen land (though, of course, I’ve spent most days of my life on stolen land). This is an important read because it puts the annexation of Hawaii in context. Even by the abysmal ethical standards of the US empire in the late 19th century the annexation was illegal - President Cleveland admitted so himself. The book feels like a demonstration of the humanity of Native Hawaiians to combat the propaganda (which persists to this day) painting them as uncivilized and unorganized. In careful prose, Liliuokalani goes into great detail to ensure the American populace understands that Hawaii was a) a fully functional country with executive, legislative, and judicial branches b) participating in the world economy c) allied with nations in Asia and Europe and d) coerced at gunpoint to forfeit rights to their land. As I’ve said in many reviews, I should have learned about this in primary school.