Thursday, July 09, 2009

The Homeland!


Hawaii State Quarter. I've been waiting for the Hawaii quarters to come out for a while now. I just got one as change the other day. I snapped a picture because I thought it was kind of cool to have the state motto right next to E Pluribus Unum (of many one, right?). Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono means roughly, the life of the land (not literal) is perpetuated in righteousness.

The picture is of King Kamehameha the first. King Kamehameha I embraced western tactics, advisors and firepower and brutally and efficiently united the Hawaiian Islands (all except Kauai which voluntarily joined the kingdom after the fact). The first king was visionary in seeing the spread of technology as inevitable and decisive.

Hawaii is the only state in the nation that was a kingdom. The American marines, urged on by rich American farmers, locked the queen up in the palace and chased down the few Hawaiian loyalists. Thus was the territory and eventually the state of Hawaii born.

3 comments:

MartininBroda said...

That’s a really pleasant post for different reasons, dear Arnold.

Birdie said...

Is it gold? All the other state quarters are silver.

bigislandjeepguy said...

must. get. one.