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Primary sourceDocument17 June 1897

Signature of Liliʻuokalani, Anti-Annexation Protest Documents

Liliʻuokalani · 17 June 1897

Liliʻuokalani's handwritten signature from the 1897 documents in which she protested the annexation of Hawaiʻi to US President William McKinley.

This is Liliʻuokalani's own signature from her formal 1897 protest against the annexation of Hawaiʻi.

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Handwritten cursive signature in black ink reading 'Liliuokalani', with a long looping L and flowing strokes across the page.
Liliuokalani, signature from the Anti-Annexation Protest Documents to President William McKinley, 17 June 1897.

About this source

What it is

This is the handwritten cursive signature 'Liliuokalani', taken from the Anti-Annexation Protest Documents addressed to U.S. President William McKinley, dated 17 June 1897.

Why it matters

This signature is a direct physical trace of Liliʻuokalani's diplomatic resistance to the annexation of Hawaiʻi by the United States. It links her personally to the formal protest she made to the American president, showing her continued efforts to defend Hawaiian sovereignty even after she had been removed as monarch.

Look closer

  • What does a handwritten signature add to a document that a printed name does not?
  • Why would Liliʻuokalani send a formal protest directly to the U.S. president?
  • What does this single signature tell us, and what would you need to read elsewhere to understand the full protest?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Queen Liliʻuokalani on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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