Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen

In Hawaii's story it tells of how Queen Liliuokalani ascended to the throne of the tropical Hawaiian islands. She tells of her upbringing, her marriage, and the impact of the white man on her islands. This where my favorite sentence comes in, "Perhaps I may safely claim even less, admitting the criticism of some intelligent visitors who were not missionaries, – that the habits and prejudices of New England Puritanism were not well adapted to the genius of a tropical people, nor capable of being thoroughly ingrafted upon them." Now the Queen was a very intellectual and scholarly woman, she spent much time as a child and through adolescence in schools receiving an education. This sentence speaks to me because it rather challenges the imperialistic ideals of the American people, because here is a woman adaquetly running her country who is a fit and honorable leader, and Americans still want to come in and intrude on their rights. It shows that maybe America is here for their own benefit instead of to "better" the Hawaiian people. It shows the strong prejudices and arrogance of the American people, that maybe they don't have all the best and correct answers. The people o the Hawaiian islands had a well ran society and established communities. One thing that I think is very important and to not be overlooked is how well the Queen writes and uses the English language. She weaves well written sentences and uses the English language better than I would say most Americans at this time. She saw the truth in the situation, and her islands being victimized, and she stepped up to diplomatically and peacefully resolve these issues, which says a lot about her character and leadership abilities.