King Dayne Gonsalves Has A Strong Case For Why Hawaii Belongs To The Hawaiians

The circumstances by which Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. are so sketchy that Congress felt obliged to issue an apology in 1993.

It all started 100 years earlier when a group of mostly American businessmen led a paramilitary coup to overthrow Queen Lili?uokalani. They were passively supported by U.S. Marines who were deployed "to protect American lives and property."

The coup resulted in a new Hawaiian government under the presidency of Sanford Dole, whose cousin would soon start the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, which became Dole Foods.

Although then-U.S. president Grover Cleveland criticized the events in Hawaii, which he had not authorized, his successor, William McKinley, had no problem annexing Hawaii in 1898.

With a history like this, it is not surprising that a Hawaiian sovereignty movement remains committed to reclaiming rights and land for native Hawaiians. While several contenders claim rights to the crown, Dayne Gonsalves of The Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi has taken the movement to regain his peoples' rights and land in Hawaii to a whole new level.

Business Insider spent more than a week in Hawaii with Gonsalves, also known as Ali`i Nui Aleka Aipoalani. He guided us through his kingdom on two island, explained what his plans were, and how he plans to fight Washington.