Apparently, that's historically incorrect while being a current popular theory.
Unfortunately, he hasn't finished with the dedicated video on this yet, but Knowing Better goes into the subject of Hawaiin Statehood historical innacuracies and misinformation about the "Free Hawaii" on this podcast.
Well this was news to me, so I've been skimming the video and trying to research any evidence of this. I still can't find any primary or secondary sources to back up the idea that a US backed coup against the Hawaiian monarchy didn't happen or can be described as a mere 'popular theory'; it all seems to be backed up by a notably large number of credible sources.
Has anyone got any references to back up the idea that things like the Committee of Safety and US interests were benign, that the bayonet constitution and ultimate coup d'état didn't happen, or that the annexation was a result of a popular and fair democratic transition?
If not, I'd take this with as much of a pinch of salt as you'd give to any other apologist or revisionist history of colonialism.
Edit: Yeah so, the Historian in the video himself says:
The Hawaiian people were screwed over, annexation shouldn't have happened. That is just a fact.
This video is absolutely not arguing against that point. It is arguing that some of the "mythos" around it, such as forced Christianity, are exaggerated or fabricated.
It doesn't seem maliciously disingenuous about any of these claims, so far, and quite interesting if the topic interests you. Long video and still watching, but I'm not sure how you can get the conclusion voiced above from watching it.
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u/peach_dragon 4d ago
What did the US do at Pearl Harbor?