Claus Spreckels and the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893
Author(s)
Adler, Jacob
Abstract
When Queen Liliuokalani proclaimed a new constitution which would return power to the monarch, a group favoring the annexation of Hawaii by the United States launched a bloodless revolution and formed a provisional government. Initially the California sugar baron, Claus Spreckels, seemed to favor the annexationists, but when he realized that the laws of the United States would cause the contract labor system to be abolished he became an ardent supporter of those favoring the royalists. Even after the Queen was deposed in 1893, he continued to fight annexation. Although he may have delayed it, he could not prevent it in 1898.
