# Canonical recap data for Hawaiian Kingdom Overthrown (1893)
# Source: https://recap.at/1893/overthrow-hawaiian-kingdom
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: overthrow-hawaiian-kingdom
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1893/overthrow-hawaiian-kingdom"
title: Hawaiian Kingdom Overthrown
aliases:
- Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
- Liliʻuokalani coup
- 1893 Hawaiian coup d'état
subtitle: American businessmen and military personnel orchestrated the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani, establishing a provisional government that led to U.S. annexation and displaced Hawaiian sovereignty.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1893-01-17
datePrecision: day
year: 1893
decade: 1890
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign-born permanent residents and six Hawaiian-born people in Honolulu. There was no Hawaiian army so the victori
summaryLong: The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign-born permanent residents and six Hawaiian-born people in Honolulu. There was no Hawaiian army so the victorious Committee asked American minister John L. Stevens for US Marines. He sent in Marines and sailors to protect the new government, and to ward off a Japanese invasion. The committee established the independent nation of the Republic of Hawaii, but their ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which occurred in 1898.
lede: On January 17, 1893, a group of foreign businessmen and Hawaiian-born collaborators overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani, the reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in a coordinated coup on Oahu. The overthrow, orchestrated by the Committee of Safety, dismantled an independent nation and paved the way for U.S. annexation of Hawaii five years later.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/USS_Boston_landing_force%2C_1893_%28PP-36-3-002%29.jpg/1280px-USS_Boston_landing_force%2C_1893_%28PP-36-3-002%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom"
importance: 79
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: January 17, 1893
- label: Location
  value: Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Hawaiian Kingdom
- label: Deposed monarch
  value: Queen Liliʻuokalani
- label: Leading organization
  value: Committee of Safety
- label: Committee composition
  value: "13 members: 7 foreign-born, 6 Hawaiian-born"
- label: Hawaiian military force
  value: None available for defense
- label: U.S. response
  value: Minister John L. Stevens ordered landing of U.S. Marines
- label: Provisional government established
  value: January 17, 1893
- label: U.S. annexation
  value: July 4, 1898 (5 years later)
timeline:
- date: 1887-06-30
  title: Bayonet Constitution imposed
  description: King Kalākaua was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, severely limiting Hawaiian monarchy powers and expanding foreign influence in governance.
- date: 1891-01-29
  title: King Kalākaua dies
  description: King Kalākaua's death brought his sister Liliʻuokalani to the throne as reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
- date: 1893-01-14
  title: Queen announces constitutional reforms
  description: Queen Liliʻuokalani announced her intention to promulgate a new constitution, restoring royal prerogatives and reducing foreign control—triggering alarm among foreign businessmen.
- date: 1893-01-16
  title: Committee of Safety mobilizes
  description: Foreign businessmen and Hawaiian-born collaborators formed the Committee of Safety to organize resistance to the Queen's constitutional plans.
- date: 1893-01-17
  title: Coup d'état executed
  description: The Committee of Safety led armed men to surround ʻIolani Palace. U.S. Minister John L. Stevens ordered the landing of U.S. Marines from the USS Boston, providing military presence that prevented any Hawaiian resistance.
- date: 1893-01-17
  title: Queen capitulates
  description: Queen Liliʻuokalani yielded her authority under protest, citing U.S. military force. She formally surrendered to prevent bloodshed and loss of life.
- date: 1893-01-17
  title: Provisional Government declared
  description: The Committee of Safety established a Provisional Government of Hawaii, with Sanford B. Dole as president, replacing the Hawaiian Kingdom.
- date: 1893-03-01
  title: U.S. investigating commission arrives
  description: President Cleveland sent special envoy James H. Blount to Hawaii to investigate the circumstances of the overthrow.
- date: 1893-11-18
  title: Blount Report released
  description: The Blount Report concluded that the overthrow was illegal and that U.S. military intervention was unjustified; Cleveland called for restoration of the Queen.
- date: 1894-07-04
  title: Republic of Hawaii proclaimed
  description: The Provisional Government transformed into the Republic of Hawaii, maintaining foreign control and excluding Hawaiian representation.
- date: 1895-01-01
  title: Hawaiian Kingdom restoration attempt fails
  description: Queen Liliʻuokalani led a failed armed restoration attempt; she was captured, tried, and imprisoned, effectively ending Hawaiian sovereignty efforts.
- date: 1898-07-04
  title: Hawaii annexed by United States
  description: The U.S. Congress formally annexed the Hawaiian Islands; Hawaii became a U.S. territory, ending the short-lived Republic and any possibility of Hawaiian Kingdom restoration.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom"
  title: Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1893 coup eliminated Hawaiian sovereignty and replaced it with a provisional government controlled by foreign interests. It set Hawaii on an irreversible path toward U.S. territorial status and later statehood, erasing centuries of independent Indigenous governance in the Pacific.
categories:
- war
- revolution
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- coup
- regime_change
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
metaDescription: The 1893 coup that overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani and ended Hawaiian Kingdom independence.
wikidataQid: Q10931943
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260526172346/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-26
  label: Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom"
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: Revolution in Hawaii - Queen Liliuokalani Deposed by Committee of Safety
  publishedAt: 1893-01-18
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: A bloodless revolution has occurred in the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and the establishment of a provisional government by foreign residents and Hawaiian-born citizens on January 17. The queen, lacking military force to resist, has yielded to superior numbers.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Times (London)
  publisherSlug: the-times-london
  headline: Hawaiian Throne Seized - Foreign Committee Assumes Control of Island Kingdom
  publishedAt: 1893-01-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Dispatches from San Francisco confirm that the Hawaiian monarchy has been supplanted without violence, with American and European merchants comprising the majority of the provisional government now ruling the islands.
  significance: 78
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: San Francisco Chronicle
  publisherSlug: san-francisco-chronicle
  headline: Honolulu's New Era - Committee of Safety Ousts Queen, Establishes Provisional Rule
  publishedAt: 1893-01-19
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Intelligence from our Hawaiian correspondents details the swift and orderly transfer of power in Honolulu, where the Committee of Safety, acting without resistance from the queen's administration, has installed itself as the governing authority of the archipelago.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Le Figaro
  publisherSlug: le-figaro
  headline: "FR: 'Revolution a Hawaii - La Reine Detrônee par un Comite Etranger' / EN: Revolution in Hawaii - Queen Dethroned by Foreign Committee"
  publishedAt: 1893-01-22
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: "FR: 'Revolution a Hawaii - La Reine Detrônee par un Comite Etranger' / EN: Revolution in Hawaii - Queen Dethroned by Foreign Committee. French observers note the consolidation of American and European commercial interests in the Pacific through the peaceful displacement of the Hawaiian sovereign."
  significance: 68
  type: newspaper
  region: France
