Hawaiian Monarchy Overthrown

January 17, 1893

With the help of US Marines from the cruiser Boston, American sugar planters in Honolulu deposed Queen Liliuokalani and proclaimed a provisional republic. President Cleveland refused to annex the islands and called it a gross injustice. His successor had fewer scruples. Hawaii would be annexed outright in 1898. The queen's protest song 'Aloha Oe' became a lasting emblem of Hawaiian sovereignty and loss.