WEBVTT - The Backstory: Paradise lost

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine you're part of the royal family of the Kingdom

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<v Speaker 1>of Hawaii. Ah paradise. Problem is, foreigners think it's paradise too,

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<v Speaker 1>and they want it. That's what happened to the first

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<v Speaker 1>and last Queen of Hawaii, Queen Lily Uo Klani, the

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<v Speaker 1>last reigning monarch. I'm Patty Steele. Paradise Lost. Next on

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<v Speaker 1>the back story. We're back with the backstory. Okay, it's

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen ninety one and the King of Hawaii, part of

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<v Speaker 1>the powerful family of former King Kamehamea, is on a

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<v Speaker 1>diplomatic trip to San Francisco, but while there he has

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<v Speaker 1>a minor stroke. He keeps pushing through with his obligations,

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<v Speaker 1>and two days later he's dead at the age of

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<v Speaker 1>fifty four. His sister, Princess Lily Uo Kolani, becomes queen,

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<v Speaker 1>but her timing couldn't be worse. American businessmen in the

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<v Speaker 1>booming sugar industry have enjoyed a ton of power under

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<v Speaker 1>agreements signed before she took the throne, but she wants

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<v Speaker 1>to restore power to the Hawaiian people through a new constitution,

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<v Speaker 1>and that makes the sugar barons kinda nervous. But first,

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<v Speaker 1>let's take a look back at her early life, Lily

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<v Speaker 1>Uo Kolani hasn't had the easiest time, despite being a

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<v Speaker 1>princess on a South Pacific island, which pretty much sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like the perfect life right well, the islands had been

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<v Speaker 1>ravaged by the arrival of Captain James Cook and the

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<v Speaker 1>British in seventeen seventy eight, and later by Americans because

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<v Speaker 1>of the disease they all brought to the islands. The

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<v Speaker 1>native population went from as many as eight hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 1>in seventeen seventy eight to just forty thousand in one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred years. Anyway, as a little girl, Lily Uo Koalani

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<v Speaker 1>meets John Owen Dominies, who'd been born in New York

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<v Speaker 1>but whose parents moved to Hawaii when he was five

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<v Speaker 1>years old. His mother was active in business and various charities,

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<v Speaker 1>especially after John's sea captain father was lost at sea.

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<v Speaker 1>As John and Lily Uocolani grew up, a romance evolved,

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<v Speaker 1>although it seems it was as much about the benefits

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<v Speaker 1>John would get by marrying a princess as it was

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<v Speaker 1>about a love match. He was given numerous titles and

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<v Speaker 1>launched a busy business and social life. In which he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't always include his wife, but the pair did become

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<v Speaker 1>good friends, even if it wasn't the romance the princess

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<v Speaker 1>hoped for now. On top of that, John's mother, despite

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<v Speaker 1>her charitable involvement with Island children, turned out to be

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of a racist. She was distressed that her

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<v Speaker 1>son was marrying a non Caucasian, but she did come

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<v Speaker 1>around realizing the opportunities that marriage would provide for her son.

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<v Speaker 1>In her autobiography, Lily Uo Kolani says that her mother

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<v Speaker 1>in law considered her an intruder in their world, but

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<v Speaker 1>she does say later in life she came to appreciate

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<v Speaker 1>the princess and became much more affectionate to her. But

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<v Speaker 1>there was another problem for the princess. She wanted children,

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<v Speaker 1>as did her husband, but she wasn't able to get pregnant.

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<v Speaker 1>John saw that as a free pass to take a

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<v Speaker 1>long string of lovers, which was a constant upset for her. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>he had a baby boy with a household servant. Amazingly,

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<v Speaker 1>Lily Uo Kalani not only had learned to accept her

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<v Speaker 1>husband's wandering eye and other body parts, but she was

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<v Speaker 1>also anxious to protect him from scandal since he was

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<v Speaker 1>now the Royal Governor of Maui. At first, she was

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<v Speaker 1>even willing to pretend the baby was her own and

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<v Speaker 1>make him heir to the throne, but she realized that

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<v Speaker 1>would be illegal since he wasn't part of the royal bloodline. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the baby was raised by his grandmother, although financially supported

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<v Speaker 1>by Lily Uo Koalani. Years later, long after the death

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<v Speaker 1>of her husband, she adopted the boy and named him

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<v Speaker 1>John Emoku Dominis after his father. Now in the midst

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<v Speaker 1>of all of this was lily Uo Kolani's rise to

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<v Speaker 1>the throne in early eighteen nine ninety one. But again

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<v Speaker 1>tragedy strikes for her when just seven months later, John dies.

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<v Speaker 1>Some suspected that without him by her side, Lily Uo

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<v Speaker 1>Kolani would be more easily overthrown, which may have been

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<v Speaker 1>the case, although he'd been ill for a while. The

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<v Speaker 1>death of her husband, despite his unfaithfulness, broke her heart.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, his long experience in public life, his kindness

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<v Speaker 1>and popularity would have made him an irreplaceable adviser for me.

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<v Speaker 1>He has taken it precisely the time I most needed

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<v Speaker 1>his counsel and companionship. Add to that the turmoil with

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<v Speaker 1>American business interests, and she's got a lot on her plate.

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<v Speaker 1>Now it's eighteen ninety three, and with the support of

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<v Speaker 1>the US Minister, a group of businessmen and sugar planters,

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<v Speaker 1>backed by US Marines take to the streets of Honolulu.

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<v Speaker 1>Lily Uo Kalani worries about the threat to her people,

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<v Speaker 1>and she steps aside. In eighteen nine ninety five, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a rebellion aimed at restoring her to the throne, but

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<v Speaker 1>it fails, and eventually she abdicates the throne. She's placed

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<v Speaker 1>under house arrest, where she remains for over a year,

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<v Speaker 1>working on her autobiography and writing songs, including maybe the

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<v Speaker 1>most well known Hawaiian song, the now iconic Aloha Oi,

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<v Speaker 1>a song that beautifully encapsulates the affection and pain of parting.

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<v Speaker 1>President Grover Cleveland actually supported returning her to the throne,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was too late. With the outbreak of the

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish American War, the strategic importance of Hawaii as a

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<v Speaker 1>mid Pacific naval base became undeniable to American interests. The

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<v Speaker 1>kingdom was lost, and Hawaii was annexed to the US

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen ninety eight. When the flag of the Republic

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<v Speaker 1>of Hawaii was lowered and the flag of the United

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<v Speaker 1>States was raised in its place. Lily Uokalani spent years

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<v Speaker 1>in Washington, d c. Fighting for the return of her kingdom,

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<v Speaker 1>almost until her death at her home in Hawaii in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventeen at the age of seventy nine. But the

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<v Speaker 1>powerful owners of Hawaii's sugar and pineapple plantations had won out,

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<v Speaker 1>and Hawaii became the fiftieth state to join the United

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<v Speaker 1>States in nineteen fifty nine. The queen's struggle wasn't just

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<v Speaker 1>about power. It was about identity, culture, and the right

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<v Speaker 1>of a group of people to govern themselves. Lily Uocolani's

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<v Speaker 1>paradise fell to a world made smaller by transportation and

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<v Speaker 1>by greed for the abundance in beauty that is Hawaii,

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<v Speaker 1>but her legacy is not one of defeat, but of

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<v Speaker 1>resilience and unwavering love for her land and her people.

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<v Speaker 1>Hope you're enjoying the backstory with Patty Steele and that

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<v Speaker 1>you will please subscribe And if there's a story you'd

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<v Speaker 1>like me to dig into, just dm me on Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>at Patty Steele or on Instagram at real Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks,

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<v Speaker 1>the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer

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<v Speaker 1>is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new

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<v Speaker 1>episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out

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<v Speaker 1>to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram

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<v Speaker 1>at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.