Book Summary
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As Americans gained a new belief in their manifest destiny around the globe, Hawaiians lost their country, the first sovereign nation to become a casualty of America’s imperial outreach.
Lost Kingdom
Intrepid Polynesians landed to an unspoiled archipelago about 200 A.D. Their people lived in isolation from the rest of the world for generations. With the advent of Captain Cook in 1778, their solitude was destroyed.
Lost Kingdom brings to life the inevitable conflict between a fragile Polynesian people and ruthlessly increasing capitalist forces by deftly weaving together a compelling group of characters. A sweeping account of the Hawaiian Kingdom's growth and collapse weaves together portraits of royalty and rogues, sugar barons, and missionaries.
Lili'uokalani, Hawai'i's final queen, is at the core of the plot. She was born in 1838 and witnessed the islands' practically total economic development. Sugar plantations rapidly absorbed the bulk of the land, which was nearly entirely held by white planters known as the "Sugar Kings." Hawai'i became a prize in a competition between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, all of whom wanted to increase their military and commercial clout in the Pacific.
The monarchy had devolved into a figurehead, manipulated by rich sugar plantation owners. The United States outmanoeuvred Lili'uokalani, who was eager to establish a constitution to restore the monarchy's power. The process of annexing Hawai'i had begun, signalling the start of a new century of American empire.
As Americans gained a new belief in their manifest destiny around the globe, Hawaiians lost their country, the first sovereign nation to become a casualty of America’s imperial outreach.
