As American economic, cultural, and military interests in the islands grew throughout the nineteenth century, the stage was set for a confrontation leading to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. A century later, Native Hawaiians remember their monarchs with reverence, recognizing the struggles of their chiefs to chart a wise path through the turbulent storms of disease, upheaval and change that had swept the islands of Hawai'i.
The Hawaiian Monarchy provides a narrative overview of each major monarch as they fought to protect Hawaiian sovereignty and its people, covering major events during their rule and the challenges they encountered.