Dismembering Lahui

Download or read book Dismembering Lahui written by Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2002-06-30 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Osorio investigates the effects of Western law on the national identity of Native Hawaiians in this impressive political history of the Kingdom of Hawaii from the onset of constitutional government in 1840 to the Bayonet Constitution of 1887, which effectively placed political power in the kingdom in the hands of white businessmen. Making extensive use of legislative texts, contemporary newspapers, and important works by Hawaiian historians and others, Osorio plots the course of events that transformed Hawaii from a traditional subsistence economy to a modern nation, taking into account the many individuals nearly forgotten by history who wrestled with each new political and social change. A final poignant chapter links past events with the struggle for Hawaiian sovereignty today.