Abdication of Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani stepped down from the throne on January 24, 1893, to avoid any bloodshed and to pardon her supporters who had been jailed by the Provisional Government, which had asked her to abdicate. After becoming queen in 1891, Liliuokalani fought against making Hawaii a part of the United States, making her unpopular among those Hawaiians who felt they had more to gain from annexation. She believed in ‘Hawaii for Hawaiians,’ and conceded less to foreign businesses and governments than her predecessors had. Five years later the U.S. Congress annexed Hawaii–without a vote from the Hawaiian people.
Image: Library of Congress
