Title: Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawai'i (U.S. National Park Service)
Headings: Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawai'i
Place
Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawai'i
Quick Facts
Iolani Palace Information
Iolani Palace

Content: The first floor contained public reception areas such as the State Dining Room, Blue Room, and the Throne Room while the second floor was made up of private suites and rooms used by the monarchs. King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi‘olani moved into their new palace in 1882 and it served as the official residence of the Hawaiian monarch until the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. King Kalakaua passed away in 1891, and his sister and heir Lili'uokalani became the sovereign ruler of the Hawaiian Kingdom. As Queen, Lili'uokalani proposed a new Constitution that would return more authority to the monarchy and to the Indigenous people of Hawai’i. She wanted to replace a Constitution passed in 1887, which had given considerable power to the Euro-American dominated legislature. Her proposal followed on the heels of passage by the U.S. Congress of the Tariff Act of 1890, which ended the favored status of sugar imported from Hawaii, raised import rates on foreign sugar, and crippled the Hawaiian sugar industry. Facing economic hardship and potential loss of power, American missionaries, business entrepreneurs, and European and American politicians began to seriously consider the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and annexation of the islands by the U.S. If the Hawaiian Islands became a U.S. territory, Hawaiian sugar producers would be provided with the same economic and monetary benefits as those enjoyed by U.S. domestic producers. In 1893, a group of European and American citizens and native-born subjects of the Kingdom of Hawai'i staged a coup d'état to overthrow the monarchy. Backed by the U.S. government and with the aid of the U.S. military they were successful and the Queen was forced to yield her authority. While her rule was short, Lili'uokalani’s reign was significant in that she served as Hawaii's first and last queen.