What if Ka'iulani had married Prince Komatsu?


This sounds like it could be an interesting read. The Advertiser reviews "Black Ocean," a thriller in the 'alternative history/what if?' vein with the premise that "Hawai'i is under Japanese imperial rule, not because of a 1941 battle, but because of a marriage years earlier between Princess Ka'iulani and Japan's crown prince." (The marriage actually was proposed by King David Kalakaua). It mixes fictional characters with real historical figures, and the review notes that Lorrin Thurston "is murdered in a particularly gruesome manner in Chapter One." It is a common refrain among detractors of independence that more or less goes like this: Hawaii is lucky to be occupied by the United States because it would be occupied by Japan otherwise, which would be even worse. Regardless of the merits of this argument, it may be interesting to read an exploration of the 'what if?' of this turn in history, when Kalakaua actively courted a stronger alliance with Japan, including this marriage, as a way to counterbalance the influence of the American and European powers.

The review also looks at "Earthquest Hawaii," a novel set in a post globally warmed sea level risen Hawaii.


Posted: Sun - March 13, 2005 at 08:46 AM    
   
 
Categories
XML/RSS Feed
Search
World Court Case DVD
Larsen Case on DVD
Larsen DVD
Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Hague, 2001
DVD Mini-Documentary & Booklet
Order your copy
FREE HAWAII STICKERS
Free Hawaii
Over at the Free Hawaii blog, Koani Foundation is giving away "Free Hawaii" stickers and pins, and will post photos of them displayed in interesting places. Spread them far and wide!
HAWAII DOCUMENTS
HAWAII LINKS
HAWAII BLOGROLL
HAWAII FORUMS
HAWAII PODCASTING
PROGRESSIVE BLOGROLL
TV Worth Watching
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Colbert Report
NOW with David Brancaccio
Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry
Real Time with Bill Maher
Washington Journal on C-Span
PBN Friday with Howard Dicus
Portfolio
Archives
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Browse archives by date
CURRENT IMAGE
Support Organ Donation
DONATE LIFE
Comments powered by
Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com
TECHNORATI
SUPPORT THIS BLOG
If you find this weblog valuable, please consider making a secure donation via PayPal to support its ongoing maintenance:

Mahalo!
Or contact me about sponsoring this blog in exchange for space in the Sponsored Links area above.
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Dec 27, 2005 10:13 PM
Powered by
iBlog


©