ShortHand: Lili’uokalani - The Last Queen of Hawai’i

**SPEAKER_1** (0:17)
Hello.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:18)
Or should I say, aloha. That's all I got.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:28)
I don't know. I don't know. Goodbye, is that true?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:30)
There's just aloha, it's the same.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:32)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:32)
But I think loads of languages do that.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:34)
Like chow.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:36)
So, we kind of take it for granted that when we say America the Beautiful, land of the free home of the brave, from sea to shining sea, that Hawaii just counts in that description, despite being over 2,000 miles away from the mainland of the United States of America. It is the 50th state.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:04)
2,000 miles. Yeah. Mouses.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:08)
And I, for one, have always wondered why that is. I have asked many in American.
They have not been able to tell me.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:15)
I know.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:17)
But I have to wonder no longer, because on this ShortHand here today, we are going to tell you the inside story of how Hawaii went from proud Polynesian cultural center to its tourist trap present. It's a tale of how a bunch of power-hungry sugar barons stripped the native population of their rights and their land way before Hawaii was officially swallowed up by the US. And also the story of how an iconic monarch called Queen Lili'uokalani. While she was imprisoned in her palace, she did everything in her power to protect her people's sovereignty until the bitter end.
So, aloha and mahalo for joining us for this short but not-so-sweet history of Hawaii. And the life of the incredible woman who fought tooth and nail to save it. This is the ShortHand.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:17)
The islands known as Hawaii sit at the top of the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean. The seven main islands are called Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii. The easy one. With the last one also referred to as the Big Island.
Ancient Polynesians are thought to have settled there from around 400 AD, developing their own unique culture and spiritual beliefs.
It was a tribal society, with local chiefs in charge of their own settlements. There was a clearly stratified social hierarchy. The Alali'i were top of the pile. These were the chiefs and their noble families. Next down were the Kahuna, priests and healers that served as trusted advisors and spiritual guides for the community. Then you had Maka'ainana, working class people, responsible for farming, fishing and building. And then Kawa, outcasts and slaves. They were at the bottom of the ladder.
Each island had its own supreme leader, called the Alali'i Nui, translating to High Chief, the Big Daddy, if you will.
And these Big Daddies were thought to have descended from the gods and goddesses themselves who had created the earth. People paid their taxes to the Alali'i, who in return were responsible for maintaining the sacred Kapu, the rules and laws that governed all aspects of Hawaiian life.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:50)
And for centuries, the Hawaiian people basically just did their own thing, until the late 18th century, when famed British explorer Sir James Cook rocked up on the shores of Hawaii with his crew in 1778
Cook had been on a quest to find the elusive Northwest Passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, and he reckoned it was as good a place as any to dock his ship for a break. He struck up a friendly relationship with the Hawaiians at first, engaging in casual trade. Some historians say that the locals actually worshiped Cook as a personification of the god Lono since his arrival coincided with the Harvest Festival in his honor. I am sure there is an island that think King Charles is god, and they have for a really long time.

**SPEAKER_1** (4:38)
I can believe it. Old sausage fingers.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:41)
Certainly. The very same. He was very young when he went there, though, so maybe he had slender, chippalata hands.
In February 7079, while Cook's ship was docked for repairs in a bay during bad weather, tensions rose between his crew and the native Hawaiians. Locals alleged that crew members had taken wood from Marai, a sacred Polynesian religious site, under Cook's orders. Which I can believe. And when a group of natives stole one of his cutter boats, Cook was seriously pissed off. So much so that he tried to kidnap the island's supreme leader as revenge.
But as Cook was leading the Aali'i Nui onto his ship, an angry mob broke out. One of the chiefs clobbered Cook on the head with a club, and another stabbed him. So Cook was cooked. He died of his wounds. And it might have been bye-bye for Captain Cook, but it certainly wouldn't be the end of Western interference in the Hawaiian islands.