In 1888, the planter elite pressured the Hawaiian government, then headed by King David Kalakaua, to pass a new constitution that limited monarchical authority and established property qualifications for voting.

market to preserve this special status, they had to ensure the monarchy continued to facilitate economic ties to the United States. The reciprocity agreement gave American sugar planters in Hawaii an economic advantage over other sugar-producing countries so they could corner the U.S.

mainland and receiving 76 percent of its imports from the United States. By 1890, Hawaii was shipping 99 percent of its exports to the U.S. In return, Hawaii’s sugar industry had to serve American markets only, a policy that had the effect of making Hawaii economically dependent on U.S. and Hawaiian governments signed a reciprocity agreement that gave Hawaii duty-free access to export certain products, like sugar, to the United States.

In 1875, the Hawaiian economy became even more intertwined with the U.S. By the 1870s, American business interests dominated Hawaii’s sugar industry, and this powerful planter class exerted great influence over the weakened native monarchy. The United States, then distracted by sectional tensions and then the Civil War, put the prospect on hold. King Kamehameha III was willing to support annexation to bring political stability, but after his death in 1854, his nephew and successor, Alexander Liholiho, halted the effort. Discussions about the possible annexation of Hawaii to the United States began in the 1850s during the rule of King Kamehameha III, when Hawaii’s whaling and sugar industries became increasingly tied to U.S. These investors replaced traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices with a plantation economy based on capitalist systems of private land ownership, taxation, and wage labor. They reported back in glowing terms about the climate’s ideal conditions for planting sugar cane and attracted business investors who acquired large tracts of land. borders to continue expanding American influence.Īmerican and British missionaries came to Hawaii as early as the 1820s to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity. This Narrative can be used along with The Annexation of Hawaii DBQ Lesson to show how American policymakers and businesses looked outside U.S.

World of warships cleveland setup