CASE STUDY 2: SCALING LILIUOKALANI’S HAWAIIAN KINGDOM ON GOOGLE EARTH
Overview
The Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists (certainly not in the same way it did before the Islands were annexed by the U.S. in the 19th century). I thought about how the Fijian writer, Epeli Hau’Ofa, refers to Oceania not as “islands in the far sea,” but as a “sea of islands.” From the perspective of the continental person looking out into the Pacific, the islands may appear like “dots.” But from the point of view of the islander looking outward, the island is surrounded by other islands, extending into the horizon.
Case Study 2 maps Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, a memoir written by Lydia Liliuokalani, the last queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom. In her narrative, she chronicles her journey among the islands and her interactions with the people of Hawaii, both locals and foreigners.
Genesis
I was pulled to envision places that Liliuokalani named because of how various places proliferated throughout the text. Mapping these places on Google Earth became a way to “manage” the countless places she mentions in the memoir. Google Earth made it convenient to drop pins onto the map each time I came across the name of a place.
Process
Initially, I hypothesized that Liliuokalani enlarges the world of the Hawaiian people by narratively mapping the full extent of the Hawaiian archipelago, beyond the eight main islands often shown in maps.
When I started plotting the points on Google Earth, I discovered that this is not the case.
Places visited by Liliuokalani in Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen: Steps 90-99.
Final Products
3D top down view of Liliuokalani's Royal Tour, described in Chapter 37, visualized on Google Earth in 2021.
Liliuokalani's movements around Hawaii Island in Chapter 13 of Hawaii's Story, "My Regency," beginning at Hilo Port.
The lumpy bumpy ocean as seen on Google Earth, 2021.
A closer look at the lumpy, bumpy sea around the islands as seen on Google Earth in 2023. Left column contains locations, paths, and descriptive areas found in the book.
2D top-down view of Hawaiian Islands on Google Earth, 2021.