| Black Week | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Republican militia observing the oncoming enemy forces from the top of 'Iolani Palace. |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States
|  Provisional Government of Hawaii
|
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John Irwin | Sanford B. Dole
|
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 615 sailors 1 cruiser | 1,000 militiamen
|
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed, 8 wounded
| 14 killed, 23 wounded
|
||||||
The Black Week was a four week standoff between militia loyal to the Provisional Government of Hawaii and a coalition of American, British, Japanese, and native Hawaiian forces that wanted to restore the Kingdom of Hawaii that had been overthrown earlier in 1893. Though the standoff lasted a total of four weeks, the Black Week refers to the final week when violence broke out in the streets of Honolulu.
American forces were ultimately victorious in forcing the Provisional Government to surrender. The same day the American ambassador Albert. S. Willis declared the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawaii, albeit with the same level of American influence as before. The Black Week is considered to be one of two times Hawaii has been close to falling under an imperialist power, the other being the earlier Paulet Affair between Hawaii and the United Kingdom.
Background[]
By 1893 Western influence in Hawaii had become almost absolute. King Kalākaua had most of his power stripped by the Bayonet Constitution forced upon him by wealthy European planters. In 1891 Kalākaua died and was succeeded by his sister Liliʻuokalani. Her main goal was to institute a new constitution that rolled back many of the features of the Bayonet Constitution. Liliʻuokalani's 1893 Constitution revoked the voting rights of non-citizen foreigners and would return such rights to many native Hawaiians. In addition the Constitution would add extra safeguards to the monarchy's land and power. Liliʻuokalani toured the various islands of Hawaii for feedback, which was overwhelmingly positive from much of Hawaii's native population. However, the Western members of the Queen's cabinet had a much more muted reaction and refused to sign on to her plan. Instead, they formed the Committee of Safety, which plotted her overthrow and hoped to annex Hawaii to the United States.
On January 17th, around 1,500 members of the Honolulu Rifles, a pro-Committee militia, and European citizens garrisoned the Aliʻiōlani Hale building across from 'Iolani Palace. The monarchy had received advanced warning of the coup and Marshal Charles B. Wilson gathered nearly five hundred members of the Royal Guard to fortify the palace. The Committee also requested the aid of American forces, as they believed that should the standoff turn violent, American lives and property would be at risk. John L. Stevens, the American ambassador, agreed and ordered contingents of marines and sailors from the USS Boston to take up positions throughout Honolulu. The presence of American forces intimidated the Royalist defenders and Liliʻuokalani surrendered. A provisional government was established by the Committee of Safety and immediately lobbied for annexation to the United States.
Standoff[]
First Week[]
Albert S. Willis was the American ambassador to Hawaii during the Black Week and orchestrated the return of the Hawaiian monarchy.
However, support for annexation in the United States was not forthcoming. President Grover Cleveland was resolutely against annexation and considered the overthrow to be an illegal act of war. He removed Ambassador Stevens and the Navy commander and ordered his new ambassador James Blount to investigate the affair. Blount's report supported the claim that unlawful use of American military forces occurred, that the revolution was successful because of this fact, and that the revolution was against the wishes of the majority of Hawaii's inhabitants. Cleveland sent Albert Willis to Hawaii to negotiate with Liliʻuokalani a planned American invasion to restore the throne. Willis' arrival to Honolulu on December 14th, 1893 began a period of public anxiety over fears of American invasion.
Second Week[]
When Liliʻuokalani agreed to commute the sentences of conspirators, Willis believed he had enough leverage to restore the monarchy by any means. In Washington D.C., Cleveland himself was persuaded by the actions of the Hawaiian crown princess Kaʻiulani, who had also garnered considerable support in Britain and the rest of the United States despite being slandered by pro-annexation press. Negotiations between Willis and Dole failed because Dole refused to reinstate the monarchy. As a result Willis ordered the USS Adams and the USS Philadelphia to train their guns on Honolulu while Admiral John Irwin was to prepare a landing operation. American sailors began to stack equipment on the decks of their ships to intimidate Republican loyalists. In response Dole began to gather and arm a thousand militiamen.
Third Week[]
Sanford B. Dole was the first and only president of the Hawaiian Provisional Government. He was also a lawyer and businessman, later becoming a judge in the United States.
Concerned that in the event of a landing American forces would need to protect American nationals and property, Admiral Irwin reached out to the captains of other countries' ships in Honolulu's harbor. Both the Japanese and British captains worried that an American landing might endanger the lives of their citizens and agreed to land their own troops in support of the Americans. Japan and the United Kingdom also believed that their own interests would be better represented in a nominally independent kingdom than in an American state.
In addition, Liliʻuokalani relayed her negotiations to the formal Marshal of the Kingdom Charles B. Wilson, who began to gather former members of the Royal Guard and native Hawaiian volunteers to support an American landing to restore the monarchy. By the end of the third week Wilson managed to rally around three hundred volunteers who were stationed around Honolulu.
Black Week[]
By the start of the Black Week, public hysteria in Honolulu had reached a boiling point and Dole had to publicly assure the people that there was going to be no invasion. However, this was not the case. Believing that negotiations had failed, Willis ordered Irwin to begin a landing to escalate pressure on the Provisional Government. On January 3rd, 1894, American marines landed and took up positions around the capital, often opposed by Republican militiamen. British and Japanese forces landed soon after, intimidating many of the Republicans into believing that the intervention was an international effort.
John Irwin was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and organized the naval preparations and landing during the Black Week.
Last minute negotiations between Willis and Dole went for three days without success. On January 7th, Willis gave the orders to restore the monarchy by force. The resulting shootouts soon resulted in much of the capital being turned over to American forces. Over the course of four days, American and native Hawaiian forces managed to root out all of the militia loyal to the provisional government, many of whom surrendered. By midday on January 11th, the Committee of Safety surrendered and Willis proclaimed that the Kingdom of Hawaii was restored.
Aftermath[]
While the Kingdom of Hawaii was restored, Queen Liliʻuokalani was unable to institute her own constitution in place of the Bayonet Constitution because of domestic and international opposition. True to her word, no members of the Committee of Safety were killed or imprisoned for their treasonous activities, although some did flee into exile in the United States. Liliʻuokalani reigned until her death in 1917 and was succeeded by her niece Kaʻiulani. In the United States, Cleveland and some prominent members of American society like Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie celebrated the restoration, while others privately hoped that the United States would annex Hawaii at a later date anyway. In Hawaii today January 11th is officially celebrated as Restoration Day.