Kingdom of Hawaii

Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
Aupuni Mōʻī o Hawaiʻi
1795–1893
Top: Flag (1816-1845) Bottom: Flag (1845-1893) Coat of arms
Motto Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness"
Anthem God Save the King (Until 1860) E Ola Ke Aliʻi Ke Akua (1860–1866) He Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi (1866–1876) Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi (1876–1898)
Kingdom of Hawaii
Capital		Waikīkī (1795–1796) Hilo (1796–1803) Honolulu (1803–1812) Kailua-Kona (1812–1820) Lāhainā (1820–1845) Honolulu (1845–1893)
Languages		Hawaiian, English
Religion		Church of Hawaii
Government		Absolute monarchy (until 1840) Constitutional monarchy (from 1840)
Monarch
•	1795–1819	Kamehameha I (first)
•	1891–1893	Liliʻuokalani (last)
Kuhina Nui
•	1819–1832	Kaʻahumanu I (first)
•	1863–1864	Kekūanāoʻa (last)
Legislature		Legislature
•	Upper house	House of Nobles
•	Lower house	House of Representatives
History
•	Inception	May, 1795
•	Unification	March/April 1810
•	Constitutional monarchy	October 8, 1840
•	Occupation by Great Britain	February 25 – July 31, 1843
•	Anglo-Franco Proclamation	November 28, 1843
•	Monarchy overthrown	January 17, 1893
•	Defunct	January 24, 1895
Population
•	1800 est.	250,000
•	1832 est.	130,313
•	1890 est.	89,990
Currency		Hawaiian dollar, U.S. dollar
Preceded by Succeeded by Ancient Hawaii Paulet Affair (1843) Paulet Affair (1843) Provisional Government of Hawaii
Today part of		United States  ∟ Hawaii

 United States

The Kingdom of Hawaii was established in 1795 with the unification of the independent islands of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi into one government. In 1810 the entirety of the archipelago was unified when Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined the kingdom willingly and without bloodshed or war. The kingdom was ruled by two major dynastic families: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

The kingdom won recognition from major European powers. The United States became its chief trading partner, and the kingdom was watched jealously lest Britain, Japan or another power threatened to seize control. A new Constitution was imposed in 1887, to reduce the absolute power of the king. The queen who succeeded him tried to restore the old order, but was overthrown in 1893, largely at the hands of United States citizens. Hawaii became a republic until it was annexed by the United States in 1898.

Economic and demographic factors in the 19th century reshaped the islands. In 1848 the Great Māhele was imposed by the king; it resulted in the selling off virtually all the village land farmed by the natives. For the natives, contact with the outer world represented demographic disaster, as a series of unfamiliar diseases such as smallpox decimated the natives. The Hawaiian population of natives fell from approximately 128,000 in 1778 to 71,000 in 1853, and kept declining to 24,000 in 1920. Most lived in remote villages.