Ka’iulani: Hawaii’s Island Rose

In a brief life filled with loss, Princess Ka’iulani established her legacy

  • By Janet Hulstrand
  • Smithsonian.com, May 08, 2009, Subscribe
 
Princess Kaiulani
Princess Ka'iulani was born in Honolulu in 1875. (Library of Congress)

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2009 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. It was only through a complicated series of events that this independent island kingdom, thousands of miles away from the west coast of North America, joined the United States. One of the pivotal figures in this history is also surprisingly little known, though the story of Princess Ka’iulani is both tragic and inspiring.

“Princess Ka’iulani is an important person in the history of Hawaii, but not necessarily because of the things she accomplished in her life,” says DeSoto Brown, archivist at Hawaii’s Bishop Museum. “She never got to be a ruler, so you can’t really look at her political career…You could almost say that she is known for what she wasn’t able to do. Circumstances intervened to prevent her going farther with her life.” Jennifer Fahrni, coauthor of the new play Ka’iulani: The Island Rose, explains “The circumstances and sadness surrounding her death have gained more attention than any of the details of her life. It’s unfortunate that Ka’iulani’s heroic stand for her people is not better known.”

Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn was born in Honolulu in 1875, the daughter of Princess Miriam Likelike (sister of the reigning King Kalakaua) and Archibald Scott Cleghorn, a prominent Scottish businessman. Since both King Kalakaua and Lili’uokalani, the sister who was to succeed him, were childless, the birth of Ka’iulani (meaning “royal sacred one”) assured the future of the dynasty.

As a child, Ka’iulani led a charmed life. She lived at Ainahau, a sprawling estate in Waikiki, a then-pristine rural area east of Honolulu. Her mother was a wonderful entertainer who welcomed many people into their home, including the poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson, who befriended the young Ka’iulani. It was Stevenson who first referred to Ka’iulani as “the island rose” in a poem he wrote for her and inscribed in her autograph book.

But the Princess’s life was also filled with loss at an early age. She was just six when both her beloved governess and her godmother died, and eleven when her mother died of a mysterious illness, purportedly leaving the child with a frightening deathbed prediction that Ka’iulani’s life would be filled with loneliness and loss, and that she would never fulfill her destiny as Hawaii’s queen.

At the age of 13 Ka’iulani was sent to boarding school in England. “Her father wanted her to have the best education possible, to be educated like a proper young lady” Brown explains, “especially since she was royalty and it was anticipated that she would have important responsibilities in connection with her position.” It would be nine years before she would see her native land again; and when she finally returned, Hawaii was no longer an independent nation.

In January 1893, Ka’iulani’s aunt, Queen Lili’uokalani, was forced from her throne by a group of local businessmen of American and British descent, backed by the U.S. Marines. Calling themselves the Committee of Safety, they sought to overthrow the queen and annex Hawaii to the United States. The Queen yielded her power and appealed to the American people to restore Hawaii’s constitutional monarchy as the legitimate government of the people.

At the time of these events, Ka’iulani was still in England. Just 17 years old, she sailed to New York to make her own direct appeal to the American people for the restoration of the government to her people. She made an immediate impression on the reporters who met her ship when it docked. A reporter from the San Francisco Examiner countered earlier disparaging reports about the Hawaiian royal family and described her as "...the very flower...of civilization," and added, "The Princess Kaiulani is a charming, fascinating individual."


2009 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. It was only through a complicated series of events that this independent island kingdom, thousands of miles away from the west coast of North America, joined the United States. One of the pivotal figures in this history is also surprisingly little known, though the story of Princess Ka’iulani is both tragic and inspiring.

“Princess Ka’iulani is an important person in the history of Hawaii, but not necessarily because of the things she accomplished in her life,” says DeSoto Brown, archivist at Hawaii’s Bishop Museum. “She never got to be a ruler, so you can’t really look at her political career…You could almost say that she is known for what she wasn’t able to do. Circumstances intervened to prevent her going farther with her life.” Jennifer Fahrni, coauthor of the new play Ka’iulani: The Island Rose, explains “The circumstances and sadness surrounding her death have gained more attention than any of the details of her life. It’s unfortunate that Ka’iulani’s heroic stand for her people is not better known.”

Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn was born in Honolulu in 1875, the daughter of Princess Miriam Likelike (sister of the reigning King Kalakaua) and Archibald Scott Cleghorn, a prominent Scottish businessman. Since both King Kalakaua and Lili’uokalani, the sister who was to succeed him, were childless, the birth of Ka’iulani (meaning “royal sacred one”) assured the future of the dynasty.

As a child, Ka’iulani led a charmed life. She lived at Ainahau, a sprawling estate in Waikiki, a then-pristine rural area east of Honolulu. Her mother was a wonderful entertainer who welcomed many people into their home, including the poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson, who befriended the young Ka’iulani. It was Stevenson who first referred to Ka’iulani as “the island rose” in a poem he wrote for her and inscribed in her autograph book.

But the Princess’s life was also filled with loss at an early age. She was just six when both her beloved governess and her godmother died, and eleven when her mother died of a mysterious illness, purportedly leaving the child with a frightening deathbed prediction that Ka’iulani’s life would be filled with loneliness and loss, and that she would never fulfill her destiny as Hawaii’s queen.

At the age of 13 Ka’iulani was sent to boarding school in England. “Her father wanted her to have the best education possible, to be educated like a proper young lady” Brown explains, “especially since she was royalty and it was anticipated that she would have important responsibilities in connection with her position.” It would be nine years before she would see her native land again; and when she finally returned, Hawaii was no longer an independent nation.

In January 1893, Ka’iulani’s aunt, Queen Lili’uokalani, was forced from her throne by a group of local businessmen of American and British descent, backed by the U.S. Marines. Calling themselves the Committee of Safety, they sought to overthrow the queen and annex Hawaii to the United States. The Queen yielded her power and appealed to the American people to restore Hawaii’s constitutional monarchy as the legitimate government of the people.

At the time of these events, Ka’iulani was still in England. Just 17 years old, she sailed to New York to make her own direct appeal to the American people for the restoration of the government to her people. She made an immediate impression on the reporters who met her ship when it docked. A reporter from the San Francisco Examiner countered earlier disparaging reports about the Hawaiian royal family and described her as "...the very flower...of civilization," and added, "The Princess Kaiulani is a charming, fascinating individual."

Speaking clearly and calmly, Ka’iulani addressed the press, “Seventy years ago, Christian America sent over Christian men and women to give religion and civilization to Hawaii. Today three of the sons of those missionaries are at your capitol, asking you to undo their fathers’ work… I, a poor, weak girl, with not one of my people near me and all of these statesmen against me, have the strength to stand up for the rights of my people. Even now I can hear their wail in my heart, and it gives me strength.”

From New York, she proceeded to Washington D.C “She was invited to the White House and met with the President and his wife,” says Sharon Linnea, author of Princess Ka’iulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People. “No one else had been able to accomplish that.” The story of Kaiulani’s advocacy for her people was also widely covered in women’s magazines of the time. “I think that was the way she won the hearts and minds of the American people,” says Linnea. “She made [readers] understand the situation, and what was at stake in the Hawaiian Islands that they hadn’t understood before.”

Shortly after Ka’iulani’s arrival in America, and a few days into his new administration, President Grover Cleveland ordered the Senate to remove the annexation treaty from consideration, and dispatched James H. Blount, former chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, to the Islands to investigate the situation. Over a period of months, Blount conducted a thorough inquiry: his report was unequivocally critical of the takeover, and recommended that the Queen be restored to her throne.

When Cleveland ordered the provisional government to return power to the Queen, they refused. Unwilling to order the use of force, Cleveland appealed to Congress to demand that the new government cease what he called “lawless occupation…under false pretenses.” But he was unable to stop the tide. He served only one term, and his successor, President McKinley, was an annexationist. In 1898, the same year the U.S. gained control of Cuba, the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, the annexation of Hawaii was enacted. Cleveland later wrote, “I am ashamed of the whole affair.”

Ka’iulani, who by then had returned to Hawaii from her long exile abroad, spent the day of annexation quietly, in the somber company of her aunt and other members and friends of the royal family. For most Hawaiians it was a day of mourning. The Hawaiian Gazette reported details of the ceremony held at Iolani Palace where the Hawaiian national anthem was being played “minus the 16 native [musicians] who were excused… all of them so overcome by events that they retired and would not play… before the lowering [of the Hawaiian flag].”

With battle for their people’s independence lost, Ka’iulani and Lili’uokalani turned their efforts toward voting rights for the Hawaiian people. When President McKinley sent a delegation of commissioners to the islands, Ka’iulani invited them to a lavish, grand luau at Ainahau. “She made sure that they were seated between obviously very well-educated Hawaiians who were nothing like what they had been led to believe Hawaiians were like,” Linnea explains. “And once they had actually met Hawaiian people they could no longer pretend that [Hawaiians] did not deserve to vote as much as anyone else.”

In January of 1899, she became ill after riding her horse in a storm, and never fully recovered. She died on March 6, 1899, at the age of 23.

“All of us can’t help but feel the poignancy of what could have been achieved but never was,” Brown says. And yet, what Ka’iulani was able to achieve was significant. “The fact that it took as long as it did for the U.S. to take over the country I think was very much due to Ka’iulani and her ability to sway not only politicians but the public,” says Linnea. “She had a gift for influencing public opinion and for using her personal experience to change the hearts of people who were in power and had the ability to make decisions.”


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Comments (12)

Thank you for the wonderful article about Princess Ka’iulani. She was a very courageous young Hawaiian and I enjoy reading about her. Aloha nui, Cher

Posted by Cher Pendarvis on June 2,2012 | 10:33 PM

Unfortunately comments like Mr. Conklin's "memory of her is used as a political weapon to seek race-based political sovereignty for ethnic Hawaiians.", highly underrate the power of Princess Ka'iulani's memory. Mr. Conklin also mentions her "failed effort" and states that he is unaware of Ka'iulani's other accomplishments.

Ka'iulani didn’t fail. If she hadn’t spoken up, then maybe you could say she had failed. But in the face of the worst untruths about herself and her family, when all seemed lost, Ka‘iulani, with the greatest dignity, spoke up and simply set the record straight. Her words are still strong today, and 100 years later, people are listening.

Posted by Jennifer Fahrni on November 1,2010 | 09:31 PM

I am 63 years old and have lived in Hawaii all of my life.
I am just beginning to know of the rich history of the Hawaiian Islands. I have read the book "The Disenchanted Isles" which has sparked further interest in the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Steve Miller

Posted by Steve Miller on October 24,2010 | 12:29 AM

Just another way that America has tarnished its own name. First the Indians, then hawaii, and now the middle east. If we had any dignity left as a country we would give hawaii back to its people and restore the royal family to their throne. A country that continuously takes what is not their's will surely have its own taken away in the end.

Posted by Jason on April 30,2010 | 01:06 PM

Janet Hulstrand May the Lord Our GOD guide your pen and your Heart to keep telling the World about The Hawaiian Islands and its Rich History and the Truth.

The Hawaiian Islands are Rich in History and Beauty as is your Heart.

Anyone that has ever seen them fall in Love with them.

The Lord's Little Helper
Paul Felix Schott
solardowork@yahoo.com

Posted by Paul Felix Schott on March 2,2010 | 12:30 PM

Although she is not of natural Hawaiian origin, has anyone noticed the likeness of Sasha Obama and Kaiulani?
The deep set dark rounded eyes, the nose and complexion are very similar.

Posted by Aileen Kaiulani Corley on January 11,2010 | 09:16 PM

There is nothing "race-based" About Hawaii's sovereignty. the racial composite of Hawaiian Nationals Are intermingled with the origins of the many immigrants that settled in Hawaii.(A true melting pot long before America emerged). Today we carry on that tradition and Include the many descendants of non-Kanaka Maoli (non Native Hawaiian) Nationals in the nation RE-building proses. The sovereignty of Hawaii still exists, a recognized Governing Body is in the Proses of being chosen. At witch time a change of land-lordship will be sought. This an Ugly chapter in American history, one that I would think every American would support rectifying. If all the facts were known! www.freehawaii.info

Posted by A Hawaiian on October 30,2009 | 04:09 PM

Princess Ka'iulani did what any young princess would do under similar circumstances -- she tried to protect her birthright to inherit a kingdom. So far as I know, that failed effort was her only "accomplishment."

But today the memory of her is used as a political weapon to seek race-based political sovereignty for ethnic Hawaiians. Please see the book "Hawaiian Apartheid: Racial Separatism and Ethnic Nationalism in the Aloha State" at
http://tinyurl.com/2a9fqa

Posted by Ken Conklin on October 4,2009 | 08:04 PM

Mahalo, Janet for the great article!
Having been immersed in Hawaiian history for almost 20 years now, I am constantly amazed at how little the 'western' world knows or understands about Hawai'i or Polynesia. Currently, I'm working on the first of a historical fiction trilogy on the Hawaiian story and writing about Ka'iulani's ancestors! Hawaiians/Polynesians were some of the finest navigators in the world, were "green" long before western culture even thought about it. They did aqua culture with fish ponds, were careful about fishing in certain seasons to make sure they didn't deplete their resources and with no 'goods' coming in from anywhere else, were able to have a thriving society that supported close to a million people! It was that last hundred years or so after western contact that devastated their culture far more than any of the inter-island wars and Ka'iulani was among a small group that tried valiantly to try to save their island home. Thank you so much for your article and your work that opens windows of understanding into the complex history of Hawai'i!

Posted by Robyn Eastman on October 4,2009 | 12:53 PM

I read this essay as part of a communications class. I have been to Hawaii and that is why your article caught my eye. This article helped fill in the details of the story. It is truely a shame what the United States did to Hawaii. We should have let them maintain their government. Why do we always think if things are not our way they are not the right way? It would be nice to think we would learn from our history, but alas we are destined to repeat it. Wonderful, well-written article. Thank you.

Posted by Teri Synovec on August 4,2009 | 03:54 PM

Thank you for this article. I am planning a trip to Hawaii in September, and this provides much background information about its history. I always enjoy reading the monthly issues.

Posted by Mary Lofquist on July 1,2009 | 11:20 PM

Thank you to Janet Hulstrand and The Smithsonian for focusing on Ka'iulani's accomplishments, as her courageous efforts for Hawaii are so often overlooked or misinterpreted. Jennifer Fahrni, The Princess Ka'iulani Project

Posted by Jennifer Fahrni on May 15,2009 | 08:31 PM



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