身世浮沉雨打萍——夏威夷王国的兴亡Adrift Like Duckweed in the Rain: The Rise and Fall of the Hawaiian Kingdom

On my first trip to Hawaii's Big Island, I noticed a snorkelling spot called Captain Cook. Looking it up, I found that this now-famous snorkelling site was where Captain Cook anchored when he came upon the Hawaiian Islands; he himself was killed here in a clash with the islanders, and the bay became a "forbidden place" in Hawaiian culture. Later I learned that the islands had once been an independent, self-governing kingdom that lasted nearly a century, and that its founder was even called "the Napoleon of the Pacific". In this session we will talk about the twisting story of the Hawaiian Islands and introduce some related historic sites and museums. - Why did Hawaiians compare their king to Napoleon? - Why did the Hawaiian Kingdom, which remained independent from its founding and never became a British colony, have the Union Jack on its flag? - Why can the loss of Hawaiian sovereignty be described as a process that lasted a hundred years? - How did the United States exert its influence on Hawaii, and how was this tied to the swings in American foreign policy? - How was Hawaii's sugar industry wrecked by America's back-and-forth tariff reforms? - Who exactly overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom? Why did they have the political rights to do so? By what means? - How did the Chinese (including Sun Yat-sen's family) grow and prosper in Hawaii, to the point that it became an important base for revolutionaries in the late Qing and early Republic? - What sights and museums are on each island today that you could visit on your next trip? - How do Hawaiians view this history today?