Hawaiian Annexation |
Type: Sphere of Influence and Protectorate |
America and Hawaii had been trading sugar for a long time. This is what originally got America interested in annexing Hawaii. Because the main focus between these two was trading, the imperialism it would be known as is the Sphere of Influence. But then, they were annexed and it became Protectorate because they still did what they had to, but America controlled it too.
Hawaii and America were trading partners for sugar. Hawaiian sugar growers had great terms with the U.S. government, which helped their profits to get bigger. Unfortunately, because of the McKinley Tariff, import rates for foreign sugar was raised, which meant Hawaiian sugar planters to be undersold in the American market. This caused a depression on the island, and sugar growers knew that in order for the problem to go away, they would have to be annexed by the U.S.. But, Queen Liliuokalani said that the problem was just the foreign interference.
All of this cause many things to happen. Planters tried to overthrow the Queen. Marines stormed the island and raised the flag in Honolulu. The Queen renounced her thrown. Because Cleveland was president and was an anti-imperialist, he withdrew the annexation. It was later restored and Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959.