Robert K Wilcox Popular Books

Robert K Wilcox Biography & Facts

Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox (February 15, 1855 – October 23, 1903), nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaiʻi, was a Native Hawaiian whose father was an American and whose mother was Hawaiian. A revolutionary soldier and politician, he led uprisings against both the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom under King Kalākaua and the Republic of Hawaii under Sanford Dole, what are now known as the Wilcox rebellions. He was later elected the first delegate to the United States Congress for the Territory of Hawaii. Early life Wilcox was born February 15, 1855, on the island of Maui. His father, Captain William Slocum Wilcox (1814–1910) was a native of Newport, Rhode Island. His mother was a native of Maui, named Kalua, who was the daughter of Makole and Haupa. Through Kalua's father, Makole, Wilcox was the great-great-great-grandson of the late-17th century Hawaiian king Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. Wilcox's grandmother, Haupa, was descended from Umi-a-Liloa of Maui (not to be confused with the king of Hawaii Island) and Lonomakaihonua. He attended Haleakala Boarding School in the town of Makawao. Upon completion of his studies, Wilcox became a teacher at a Maui country school. In 1880, Wilcox was elected to the royal legislature in Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu. He represented the citizens of Wailuku and its neighboring Maui towns. Military career In 1881, King David Kalākaua selected Wilcox and two other part-Hawaiian young men to study at the Royal Military Academy at Turin in the Kingdom of Italy as a part of the Education of Hawaiian Youths Abroad program. By the time he completed his training in 1885, he achieved the rank of sublieutenant of artillery. Impressed with his military skills, Italian officials sent Wilcox to the Royal Application School for Engineer and Artillery Officers. Planned rebellion of 1888 In 1888, the Reform Party (which later became the Hawaii Republican Party) took power in the Hawaiian Kingdom. Through what was called the Bayonet Constitution, they removed most political authority from the monarch, and placed income and property requirements on voters limiting the electorate to only wealthy native Hawaiians, Americans, and Europeans. The Reform Party ended costly programs such as Wilcox's training in Italy. On August 29, 1887, Wilcox received his orders to return home. Returning to Hawaiʻi in October with his wife Gina Sobrero, a baroness closely related to Italy's Colonna family, he began a short-lived career as a surveyor. He had now lost confidence that Kalākaua was strong enough to protect the interests of the Hawaiian people. Wilcox along with Charles Wilson and Sam Nowlein, planned a coup d'état to replace Kalākaua with his sister Liliʻuokalani, but the plot was never executed. On February 11, 1888, Wilcox left Hawaiʻi intending to return to Italy with his wife. Rebellion of 1889 Instead of returning to Italy, Wilcox took up residence in San Francisco, California, and worked as a surveyor while his wife Gina earned extra money teaching French and Italian. When he decided to return to Hawaiʻi in the spring of 1889, Gina refused to go with him, and took their daughter back to Italy. Wilcox planned and this time executed another attempt to force King Kalākaua to sign a new constitution to replace the 1887 Document on July 30, 1889. Kalākaua, apparently aware of the plot, avoided the palace, afraid that the rebellion would replace him with his sister Liliʻuokalani. Thus stymied, Wilcox was finally confronted by the Honolulu Rifles militia unit. After a pitched battle, Wilcox surrendered. In October 1889, he was tried for treason before judge Albert Francis Judd but acquitted by the jury. Being one of the few leaders to stand up to the conservative royalist Reform Party earned him respect among the people. The American minister John L. Stevens, who called Wilcox a "half breed", wrote: "The trial is tending plainly to show that the Hawaiians are numerously in sympathy with Wilcox." He helped form a new political party called the "National Reform Party" which advocated restoring power to the monarch. Wilcox was again elected to the royal legislature where he served from 1890 to 1893 representing the island of Oahu. However, the conservatives in the original Reform Party, backed by the economic resources of the "Big Five" industrial corporations remained in power. In 1891, King Kalākaua died and his sister Liliʻuokalani became ruling monarch, swearing to uphold the 1887 Constitution. Wilcox was angered that Queen Liliʻuokalani did not choose him to be in her government, and he then formed his own National Liberal Party in November 1891. Although he did not explicitly advocate ending the Monarchy, the party advocated restoring power to the people even if it meant a republican form of government. After the elections of February 1892, when only 14,000 people were allowed to vote, letters and petitions demanded reforms to the Constitution of the Kingdom. On May 20, 1892, Wilcox and associates were arrested and charged with conspiring to set up a republic. A month later the charges were dropped and he was released. Back in the Legislature, he backed a measure that would strip power from the cabinet, and by August 1892, the ministers had resigned. Wilcox founded a newspaper called "The Liberal" from September 1892 to April 1893. He edited the section in the Hawaiian language while an English language section had several other editors. The paper attacked the extravagant lifestyle enjoyed by the Royal Family while the common people were suffering the effects of an economic slowdown. On November 1, 1892, Queen Liliʻuokalani appointed a new cabinet, and two hours later the Legislature (including Wilcox) voted to remove them from office. On November 8, 1892, a new government acceptable to the Legislature was formed. Wilcox no longer directly attacked the Queen, but advocated modernization, and was quoted in the "San Francisco Examiner" that "...we should take some steps to secure commercial and political protection from some foreign country." By the end of 1892, "The Liberal" expressed support for the Queen. On January 12 another vote of no confidence allowed the Queen to appoint another cabinet of monarchists. On January 14 Liliʻuokalani suspended the Legislature and told the cabinet to sign a new proposed constitution that would restore political power back to her. The cabinet advised against it, and delayed any action. On January 17, 1893, the Committee of Safety, backed by the Honolulu Rifles militia unit took over the palace by force. During this time Wilcox, who was then a politician, was requested by Liliʻuokalani for his previous training in artillery to be put in command of the field pieces of the Royal Guard as they prepared themselves to defend the Queen. Before any shots were fired, Queen Liliʻuokalani surrendered to avoid bloodshed. Rebellion of 1895 Following the overthrow, The Liberal resumed publication January 25, 1893. The English l.... Discover the Robert K Wilcox popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Robert K Wilcox books.