Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii: USS Boston landing and the fall of Queen Liliuokalani

Background. Queen Liliʻuokalani became monarch in 1891 and attempted to promulgate a new constitution to regain powers for the monarchy and Native Hawaiians that had been lost under the Bayonet Constitution. This attempt was the precipitating event leading to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, since the proposed constitution would have strengthened the power of the monarch relative to the legislature, where Euro-American business elites held disproportionate power. Lorrin A. Thurston led the Annexation Club, which later adopted the title Committee of Safety and planned for making Hawaii a territory of the United States.

Committee of Safety. The coup of January 17, 1893, was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Americans, one Scotsman, and one German) and six Hawaiian Kingdom subjects of American descent in Honolulu. The Committee of Safety declared Sanford Dole president of the new Provisional Government of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi on that date, removing the queen, her cabinet, and her marshal from office. The Annexation Club that Thurston led had earlier adopted the Committee of Safety title while planning for Hawaii to become a United States territory.

U.S. Intervention. The USS Boston provided a shore party in January 1893 that bolstered the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. The Committee of Safety was supported by the U.S. during the 1893 events. The coup took place on the island of Oahu, specifically in Honolulu, where the Committee of Safety was based.