1887: “Bayonet Constitution” strips the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its power

The Hawaiian League, a secret cabal of white businessmen, landowners, and missionary descendants, backed by the Honolulu Rifles militia, force King Kalakaua to sign a new constitution that sharply curtails his authority. The document, dubbed the “Bayonet Constitution” because it is signed under threat of violence, transfers much of the king's power to the new cabinet controlled by the Hawaiian League, facilitates the domination of the legislature by wealthy, anti-monarchy elites, disenfranchises many Native Hawaiians through income and literacy requirements, and bars Asians from voting entirely while granting suffrage to white non-citizens who meet income and landownership requirements. This coup dʻetat enables the planter business interests to cede Pearl Harbor to the U.S. in order to renew the Reciprocity Trade Treaty, tying Hawaiʻi's sugar economy closer to that of the U.S.

Theme

Federal-Tribal Relations

Region

Hawai‘i