audio by title this day in history july 6 in 1887

• produced by Arturo Contreras
• in

 David Kalakaua, the king of the Hawaiian Islands, signed the Bayonet Constitution. The document greatly shifted the power from the King to an all white Cabinet and catered to the demands of the white Americans and Europeans who already had a monopoly on the Hawaiian sugar economy. It also created new guidelines for voting based on income that excluded two-thirds of Native Hawaiians. King Kalakaua was forced to accept the new Constitution, knowing that the threat of a violent overthrow was imminent if he resisted. Six years later the white cabinet overthrew his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, who had come to power after the Kings’ death. Hawaii was later annexed by the US in 1898.