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The Hawaiian Kingdom #3
The Hawaiian Kingdom, Volume 3: The Kalakaua Dynasty, 1874-1893
The colorful history of the Hawaiian Islands, since their discovery in 1778 by the great British navigator Captain James Cook, falls naturally into three periods. During the first, Hawaii was a monarchy ruled by native kings and queens. Then came the perilous transition period when new leaders, after failing to secure annexation to the United States, set up a miniature republic. The third period began in 1898 when Hawaii by annexation became American territory.
The Hawaiian Kingdom, by Ralph S. Kuykendall, is the detailed story of the island monarchy. In the first volume, Foundation and Transformation, the author gives a brief sketch of old Hawaii before the coming of the Europeans, based on the known and accepted accounts of this early period. He then shows how the arrival of sea rovers, traders, soldiers of forture, whalers, scoundrels, missionaries, and statesmen transformed the native kingdom, and how the foundations of modern Hawaii were laid.
In the second volume, Twenty Critical Years, the author deals with the middle period of the kingdom's history, when Hawaii was trying to insure her independence while world powers maneuvered for dominance in the Pacific. It was an important period with distinct and well-marked characteristics, but the noteworthy changes and advances which occurred have received less attention from students of history than they deserve. Much of the material is taken from manuscript sources and appears in print for the first time in the second volume.
The third and final volume of this distinguished trilogy, The Kalakaua Dynasty, covers the colorful reign of King Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch, and the brief and tragic rule of his successor, Queen Liliuokalani. This volume is enlivened by such controversial personages as Claus Spreckels, Walter Murray Gibson, and Celso Caesar Moreno. Through it runs the thread of the reciprocity treaty with the United States, its stimulating effect upon the island economy, and the far-reaching consequences of immigration from the Orient to supply plantation labor. The trilogy closes with the events leading to the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy and the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1893.
The Hawaiian Kingdom, by Ralph S. Kuykendall, is the detailed story of the island monarchy. In the first volume, Foundation and Transformation, the author gives a brief sketch of old Hawaii before the coming of the Europeans, based on the known and accepted accounts of this early period. He then shows how the arrival of sea rovers, traders, soldiers of forture, whalers, scoundrels, missionaries, and statesmen transformed the native kingdom, and how the foundations of modern Hawaii were laid.
In the second volume, Twenty Critical Years, the author deals with the middle period of the kingdom's history, when Hawaii was trying to insure her independence while world powers maneuvered for dominance in the Pacific. It was an important period with distinct and well-marked characteristics, but the noteworthy changes and advances which occurred have received less attention from students of history than they deserve. Much of the material is taken from manuscript sources and appears in print for the first time in the second volume.
The third and final volume of this distinguished trilogy, The Kalakaua Dynasty, covers the colorful reign of King Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch, and the brief and tragic rule of his successor, Queen Liliuokalani. This volume is enlivened by such controversial personages as Claus Spreckels, Walter Murray Gibson, and Celso Caesar Moreno. Through it runs the thread of the reciprocity treaty with the United States, its stimulating effect upon the island economy, and the far-reaching consequences of immigration from the Orient to supply plantation labor. The trilogy closes with the events leading to the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy and the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1893.
776 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1967
About the author
Ralph S. Kuykendall
24 books5 followersRalph Kuykendall arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 19, 1922. As executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission, Kuykendall was expected to research and complete three historical works. The first was a school textbook on Hawaiian history. The second was a history on Hawaii’s role in World War I. And the third was a comprehensive and authoritative history of the Hawaiian people. Kuykendall mostly relied upon the historical collections at the Territorial Archives, the Library of Hawaii and other museums. Earlier histories were written from the perspectives of the missionaries, or the missionaries, or traders and foreign governments. Kuykendall wanted to incorporate all of these perspectives
Kuykendall’s first book, A History of Hawaii, was approved by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1925. It co-authored with the help of Dr. Herbert E. Gregory who served as the Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. A History of Hawaii documents the early beginnings of the Hawaiian kingdom to United States territory. The year 1926 marked its first use in Hawaii classrooms.
The second book, titled Hawaii in the World War, was co-authored with Lorin Tarr Gill. Published in 1928, Hawaii in the World War details the territory’s military and domestic involvement in the war.
The final, third book, an accurate history of the Hawaiian people, was by far the most difficult to complete. The work was to be a narrative history divided into three sections; 1) ancient history prior to 1778, 2) Hawaiian monarchy from 1778 through the overthrow of 1893, 3) the transition from provisional government to republic to territory. Kuykendall drew largely from the archives of Washington D.C., the Oregon Historical Society, British Columbia, Harvard College Library, Washington State archives, the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City, Bancroft Library, and the California State Library. He also acquired new collections of documents, newspapers, periodicals, books, and manuscripts.
In 1923 Kuykendall accepted a position as history professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Kuykendall continued to serve as the executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission until its dissolution in 1932. He published a few more books including The Hawaiian Kingdom Trilogy in 1938, 1953, and 1967; and in 1948 Ralph Kuykendall and A. Grove Day published Hawaii: A History From Polynesian Kingdom to American Statehood.
Kuykendall was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1960s and he moved to Tucson, Arizona to live with his son. Kuykendall continued to work up until his death in 1963, he left several unfinished manuscripts. The University of Hawaii at Manoa named the building in which the English Department resides after Kuykendall.
Kuykendall’s first book, A History of Hawaii, was approved by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1925. It co-authored with the help of Dr. Herbert E. Gregory who served as the Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. A History of Hawaii documents the early beginnings of the Hawaiian kingdom to United States territory. The year 1926 marked its first use in Hawaii classrooms.
The second book, titled Hawaii in the World War, was co-authored with Lorin Tarr Gill. Published in 1928, Hawaii in the World War details the territory’s military and domestic involvement in the war.
The final, third book, an accurate history of the Hawaiian people, was by far the most difficult to complete. The work was to be a narrative history divided into three sections; 1) ancient history prior to 1778, 2) Hawaiian monarchy from 1778 through the overthrow of 1893, 3) the transition from provisional government to republic to territory. Kuykendall drew largely from the archives of Washington D.C., the Oregon Historical Society, British Columbia, Harvard College Library, Washington State archives, the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City, Bancroft Library, and the California State Library. He also acquired new collections of documents, newspapers, periodicals, books, and manuscripts.
In 1923 Kuykendall accepted a position as history professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Kuykendall continued to serve as the executive secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Commission until its dissolution in 1932. He published a few more books including The Hawaiian Kingdom Trilogy in 1938, 1953, and 1967; and in 1948 Ralph Kuykendall and A. Grove Day published Hawaii: A History From Polynesian Kingdom to American Statehood.
Kuykendall was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1960s and he moved to Tucson, Arizona to live with his son. Kuykendall continued to work up until his death in 1963, he left several unfinished manuscripts. The University of Hawaii at Manoa named the building in which the English Department resides after Kuykendall.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 6, 2009
After all the books I read about the history of the Hawaiian kingdom, this was the best informed and also one of the hardest to read. it is long. it is oriented for academic study. I believe it was intended as a college textbook.
Fight your way through this book and you will learn a lot. After this huge volume, your next stop can only be original documents, many of which can be found in their entirety on the Net.
Fight your way through this book and you will learn a lot. After this huge volume, your next stop can only be original documents, many of which can be found in their entirety on the Net.
Displaying 1 of 1 review