 |
| Queen Lili‘uokalani was the last reigning monarch of Hawai‘i. KHS archive photo. |
Monarchy to Statehood and Beyond
A number of Caucasian businessmen, seeking to protect their economic interests and backed by U.S. troops, illegally overthrew Hawai‘i's last reigning monarch, Queen Lili‘uokalani, in 1893. In 1900, Hawai‘i became a Territory of the United States, and Hawai‘i was allowed a delegate to the U.S. Congress.
Hawai‘i is the only state within the U.S. that had a monarchy—and had a royal serve in the U.S. Congress. That royal was Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole, a Kaua‘i native who was the grandson of the last king of Kaua‘i, King Kaumuali‘i. He was born in a grass hut near a beach in the area now known as Po‘ipu along Kaua‘i's South Shore.
Prince Kuhio witnessed the overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani, was found guilty of treason and was made a political prisoner for a year. Later, he became Hawai‘i's delegate from the Territory to the U.S. Congress, serving for 19 consecutive years.
Sugar put Kaua‘i on the map economically and was still a going concern during Prince Kuhio’s lifetime, but Kaua‘i also developed a pineapple industry on two sides of the island. Kaua‘i Fruit and Land Co. operated between 1906 and 1965 in Lawa‘i, building the now-defunct Lawa‘i Cannery.
Hawaiian Canneries Co., Ltd. opened in Kapa‘a on the site where Pono Kai Resort now stands. The cannery closed in 1962.
As the sugar and pineapple industries first rose and then declined, tourism emerged as the new industry driving Kaua‘i's economy. From 668 visitors to Kaua‘i in 1927, the numbers rose to the point where new hotels began to spring up as quickly as sugar cane. Well before the new Millennium, tourism was solidly in place throughout the state as the number one source of revenue.
 |
| The Lihu‘e Hotel opened in 1890 on Nawiliwili Road. KHS archive photo. |
Many people throughout Hawai‘i believed that statehood would further protect their interests. In March 1959, Hawai‘i became the 50th State, with 10,000 people gathering at Burns Field on the west side of Kaua‘i to celebrate with a bonfire.
The force of nature has always played an important role in the story of Kaua‘i. Mother Nature gives and takes. In 1959, Hurricane Dot damaged crops and buildings.
In 1982, Hurricane ‘Iwa struck and 10 years later, Hurricane ‘Iniki. The President declared Kaua‘i a disaster area after Hurricane ‘Iniki, and where once the buildings had roofs, all that could be seen were blue tarpaulins stretched across house tops.
As both the past and the future of Kaua‘i continue to unfold—due to surfacing information and inevitability, respectively, the Kaua‘i Historical Society remains a constant. In its role of caretaking information, documents, videos and photographs that tell the many stories of Kaua‘i, the Society is meeting its challenge—bringing history to life.
|
