King Lunalilo

Lunalilo

Lunalilo, King of Hawaii - born William Chat Lunalilo (31 of January, 1835 - February 3, 1874) - king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 8, 1873 until February 3, 1874.

Election of 1872

The King Kamehameha V, last monarch of the House of Kamehameha, December 11, 1872 passed away without naming any successor to the throne. By virtue of the constitution, if the sovereign did not name successor, the legislative assembly would elect the new king.

Various high chiefs were proclaimed candidates to the throne, including Lunalilo. His main rival was a high chief by the name David Kalakaua. Lunalilo was the most popular one of the two candidates. He was a direct descendant of a half brother of the King Kamehameha I, which made him the cousin of King Kamehameha V. For that reason, many thought that by right, the kingdom belonged to Lunalilo, since he was the only person with greater relationship to Kamehameha V. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, already had left clear that she did not desire to assume the throne. Another contender to the throne was Ruth Keelikolani, stepsister of the king Kamehameha V.

Lunalilo was one of the favorite among the Hawaiian leaders, since he maintained faithful to the old customs of Hawaii. He was a governor of Hawaii and refused to speak in English, in spite of the fact that he spoke it with fluency. Nevertheless, his origins were too controversial and few considered it appropriate to succeed to the throne. Lunalilo, nevertheless, insisted himself that they were to comply with the constitution. Six days after the death of the monarch, the following message was made public:

"While it is preferable to consult the desires of the Hawaiian town in which refers to the succession to the throne, for that reason... "In spite of the fact that according to the law for questions of inheritance, I am the legitimate heir to the throne, for the sake of maintaining the peace, the harmony and the good order, is my desire to submit my decision to the will of the town."

Lunalilo, as opposed to his opponent, was more conservative, and wanted to reform the Hawaiian government and to modify the constitution so that the government was more democratic and gave to the town a greater participation.

It was decided to carry out a popular election.. Nevertheless, the constitution conferred to the legislative assembly the power to decide who would be the next king, for which he would be of not official form. Lunalilo urged their town to vote so that their voice would be heard.

The referendum took place January 1, 1873 and Lunalilo was imposed achieving an overwhelming majority. To the following week, the legislative assembly declared unanimously that Lunalilo was to be king. It has been speculated that the reason why the voting was unanimous was that each legislator had to sign from behind the ballot with his name and they feared to go against the desires of the town. The Queen Emma related later in a letter that hundreds of Hawaiians were willing to do pieces to everyone who was opposed to Lunalilo.

The ceremony of coronation of Lunalilo took place January 9, 1873 in the Church of Kawaiahao. The patio of the church was full to the steps, while a multitude observed from outside, doing gala of the enormous popularity of the new king.

Due to the enormous popularity of Lunalilo, he is known as "The king of the town".

His reign as the king

His predecessor, King Kamehameha V, had dedicated his mandate to enlarge its powers and to try to establish again the existing absolute monarchy seen in times of his grandfather, Kamehameha I. Lunalilo, nevertheless, preferred to be dedicated to try that the Hawaiian government was more democratic. He began directing and writing to the legislative assembly, in which he recommended that the constitution be modified. He wanted to undo some of the changes carried out by his predecessor through the Constitution from 1864 of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

For example, before 1864 the legislative assembly was composed of two houses: the House of the Noble and the House of Representatives. The king was with the members of the House of the Noble. The House of Representatives left the popular vote. During the mandate of the king Kamehameha V, the two houses united. Lunalilo wanted to restore the bicameral legislative assembly. In the same way, he also wanted to add a disposition to the constitution by the one that the king there would be to include an explanation in writing that accompanied to its right of veto each time that he was to exercise it. Also he desired that the members of the Cabinet had the right to be listened to in the House of Representatives.

The monarch desired also to improve the economic situation of Hawaii. The kingdom was found in a state of depression, on account of the slope of the whaling industry. The guild of merchants asked the king that contemplated the opportunity that could provide the sugar to improve the economy and they recommended to subscribe a treaty with the United States that to permit to the sugar of Hawaii to agree to the free country of taxes. To reach similar agreement, many thought that the crown should offer to change the zone of Pearl Harbor to the United States. There was a lot of talk on the matter, so much controversy with the legislative assembly as with the public. In view of the clash, Lunalilo decided to withdraw the proposal.

During the reign of Lunalilo, a riot in the center of the Hawaiian army was produced. Some of their members rebelled against the instructor and the assistant of field. The monarch was interviewed with the troops that participated in the riot and convinced them that they deposed the weapons. After this, the king dissolved the army. From this moment, the crown did not have Armed Forces until the king re-established them.

Illness and death

The king Lunalilo did not have good health during his reign. He had some bad habits; for example, he was an alcoholic. Approximately at the same time in which the riot the army produced, he developed a pulmonary infection. With the hope to be recovered, he was transferred to Kailua. Months later, on February 3, 1874, he passed away of tuberculosis. His reign lasted less than one year and a month.

Lunalilo decided not to be buried in the Royal Mausoleum with the other Hawaiian monarchs, preferring to be buried next to his mother in the lands of the Church of Kawaiahao.

Just like his predecessor, Lunalilo did not name any heir to the throne. The legislative assembly voted that David Kalakaua would follow him as the king.

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