Wilcox Rebellion of 1889
In 1887, in response to increased political tension between the legislature and the king, a group of government ministers led by Interior Minister Lorrin A. Thurston with the support of an armed militia, forced King David Kalākaua to promulgate the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The constitution stripped Asians of their voting rights while at the same time limited suffrage to wealthy native Hawaiians, Americans and other Europeans. The king's own powers were limited substantially. A native Hawaiian officer and veteran of the Italian military, Robert William Wilcox, organized a rebellion on July 30, 1889 to revive the powers of the monarch over administration. The rebellion was thwarted by the absence of the King at Iolani Palace (who was needed to promulgate a new constitution), and the Honolulu Rifles. Wilcox was tried for treason, and acquitted despite his obvious guilt.
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Famous quotes containing the words wilcox and/or rebellion:
“Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone,
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.”
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919)
“Scholars planning a rebellion could never succeed even in three years.”
—Chinese proverb.