Betrayal of Liliuokalani: Last Queen of Hawaii, 1838-1917 [Hardcover]

Helena G. Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1983

A woman caught in the turbulent malestrom of cultures in conflict. Treating Queen Liliuokalani's life with authority, accuracy and detail, Betrayal is tremendously informative concerning the entire period of missionary activity and foreign encroachment in the Islands.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Arthur H Clark; 1st edition (January 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870621440
• ISBN-13: 978-0870621444
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hawaiian Tragedy, July 10, 2002

By 

Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Betrayal of Liliuokalani: Last Queen of Hawaii 1838-1917 (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an excellent and well documented biography of Hawaii's last queen. Helena Allen tells the story of Liliuokalani and through her eyes we view the waning days of the Hawaiian monarchy and the oligarchy that would manipulate the media and congress to eventually affect the annexation of the kingdom to the US. Much of this story makes your blood boil. Yet beyond the political injustice, this is a story of a woman in conflict with her times, who manages to weather the storm with grace, dignity and aloha. It's a story that needs to be told and is a must-read for anyone interested in Hawaiian history.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liliuokalani remains a queen, March 12, 2000

By 

Ryan Blackhawke "You Got To Be A True Romantic" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Betrayal of Liliuokalani: Last Queen of Hawaii 1838-1917 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book provides a fascinating insight to the last days of the monarchy of Hawaii as seen through the eyes of its last quuen and her hanai daughter. The book is well-documented and a must-read for anyone interested in Hawaian history.

I came away with a sense of awe that one who had been so mistreated could find forgiveness and practice aloha until her death.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the first black marks on American history., June 17, 2007

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Betrayal of Liliuokalani: Last Queen of Hawaii 1838-1917 (Mass Market Paperback)

If one were to compare the American overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy with the overthrow of many other governments by the United States throughout the last 120 years one will find that it was relatively benign. There was little bloodshed, and Queen Liliuokalani was not killed, contrary to some erroneous assertions in some historical texts. But her overthrow was an illegal, immoral act, which should never be forgiven, no matter what "justifications" are given for it. It was brought about by a small collection of greedy thugs who, with the backing of an American military contingent, toppled a government that had the support of the people of the Hawaiian Islands. This criminal act was one of many that were to occur over the next one hundred years, with later ones increasing with severity and brutality as the years went past.

This book gives an overview of the demise of the Hawaiian monarchy from the standpoint of the journals and anecdotes of Queen Liliuokalani (at least the ones that survived the destruction of manuscripts and papers by the gang of ruthless haoles in the provisional government). It is a sad and troubling story, but the author of the book is careful to keep the reader's attention throughout the book with emphasis on the historical context in which Liliuokalani lived. It is very important to understand the cultural backdrop in which the immoral overthrow took place. To provide more insight into this culture, or at bare minimum to assist the reader in understanding the words and dialect at the time, the author provides a glossary of words and their approximate meaning in English. For example, a `haole' is a foreigner, whereas a `moi wahine' is a queen, but the author reminds us that a queen to the Hawaiians at the time did not have the same conception as it did to Americans (then and now). A queen for the Hawaiians was more like a matriarch possessing wisdom but not projecting rigid or harsh authority of the type that Americans will not tolerate. In fact the author argues that the translation of moi wahine into "queen" is completely incorrect, and doing so reinforced American prejudices against Liliuokalani.

Those readers, such as this reviewer, who were ignorant of Liliuokalani's life will be surprised to learn that she wrote many songs, including the very popular "Aloha Oe", which ironically has become immortalized in the American consciousness, with the assistance of Hollywood and its exploitation of the Pearl Harbor disaster. She also was a deeply religious person, and even flirted with Mormonism at one time. This is indeed ironic since it was the missionaries who initiated the troubling series of events, taking place over many decades that were to cost the Hawaiians their culture and government. But one must not think that they lost their self-respect or honor by the fact that their government was taken over by a band of thugs. After a formal apology was given to Hawaii by the United States in 1993, a plaque was placed in a public square in Hawaii that gave a list of names of individuals who spoke out or resisted the takeover. The native Hawaiians kept their honor and dignity, and many Hawaiians now living have attempted to revive their ancient practices and dances. If they so desired, it would be morally proper for them to secede from the United States, and remove themselves from the detestable and unjustified mana that was imposed upon them over one hundred and fourteen years ago.