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17-508: The 1839 Hawaiian Bill of Rights, also known as the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii , was an attempt by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to guarantee that the Hawaiian people would not lose their tenured land, and provided the groundwork for a free enterprise system. The document, which had an attached code of laws, was drafted by Lahainaluna missionary school alumnus Boaz Mahune , revised by

34-476: A Western style and legal framework, giving less severe punishments, such as being exiled, than was the traditional custom until the 1840s. Christianity had failed to change many behaviors of the Hawaiian population, even with the support of the aliʻi families. Adultery and many other sexual relations became forbidden. Hawaiians were arrested and sentenced to severe punishments that were not well organised. The exiled had little food and could easily swim away from

51-510: A role in the governance of the Hawaiian islands until 1893, when Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown by a coup d'état backed by the United States government. Aliʻi nui were ruling chiefs (in Hawaiian , nui means grand, great, or supreme. ). The nui title could be passed on by right of birth. Historians David Malo , Samuel M. Kamakau and Abraham Fornander wrote extensively about

68-634: The Council of Chiefs and by Kamehameha III in June 1839. The 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii established a constitutional monarchy . It stated that the land belonged to its people and was to be managed by the king. It established executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The document established allodial title property rights which maintained the lands in the hands of Hawaiian subjects to mālama (nurture and sustain). In order to protect Hawaiian lands from foreigners, Kamehameha III divided

85-504: The House of Representatives as the legislative body, giving their people the power to vote, proclaiming the House of Kamehameha , establishing of the office of Kuhina Nui, creating of the office of royal governors of the various islands and recognizing Christianity as an authority. It could be changed by section 13, which gave the House of Nobles and the House of Representatives the ability to change

102-463: The claimant had worked the land. About 18,000 plots of 3 acres each were successfully claimed,. representing 28,658 acres, or less than 1% of Hawaii’s land area (this was partly because significant parts of the mountainous islands were not suitable for agriculture or settlement). The Kingdom's population at the time was some 82,000. Members of higher classes and aliʻi obtained most Hawaiian land. Many successful claimants later lost their property due to

119-556: The constitution. Ali%CA%BBi#Background The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands . They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the noho aliʻi . Cognates of the word aliʻi have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronounced " ariki " and in Tahitian ari'i . In ancient Hawaiian society, the aliʻi were hereditary nobles (a social class or caste ). The aliʻi consisted of

136-642: The different aliʻi lines and their importance to Hawaiian history. The distinctions between the aliʻi ranks and lines comes from their writings. One kaukaualiʻi line descended from Moana Kāne , son of Keākealanikāne , became secondary aliʻi to the Kamehameha rulers of the kingdom and were responsible for various hana lawelawe (service tasks). Members of this line married into the Kamehamehas, including Charles Kanaʻina and Kekūanaōʻa . Some bore Kāhili , royal standards made of feathers , and were attendants of

153-487: The higher and lesser chiefs of the various levels on the islands. The noho aliʻi were the ruling chiefs . The aliʻi were believed to be descended from the deities. There were eleven classes of aliʻi , of both men and women. These included the kahuna (priestesses and priests, experts, craftsmen, and canoe makers) as part of four professions practiced by the nobility. Each island had its own aliʻi nui, who governed their individual systems. Aliʻi continued to play

170-417: The islands and the prison at Honolulu Fort. The issue became worse as fewer pardons from the aliʻi were available, and the overall sentencing then became much more severe for the native population. The constitution was enacted on October 8, 1840, by King Kamehameha III and Kekāuluohi as Kuhina Nui , an office similar to Prime Minister or co-regent . The constitution, compared to its predecessor,

187-494: The land to the mōʻī (monarch), known as Hawaiian crown lands . Another third was allocated among the aliʻi and konohiki (chiefs and managers of each ahupuaʻa ( traditional land division running from the coast to the mountaintop). The remaining one-third was given to the makaʻāinana (common people). The law required land claims to be filed within two years under the Kuleana Act of 1850 . Many Hawaiians made no claim. Most of

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204-627: The land was sold by the government of the Republic to settlers from the continental US or auctioned to the Big Five corporations. This resulted in the state owning 32% of the land, while another 4.8% became Hawaiian Homelands . While opponents Kamehameha IV , Kamehameha V and missionary physician Gerrit Judd were traveling, on July 10, 1850 the legislature passed the Alien Land Ownership Act. It allowed foreigners to hold title to land. The Act

221-510: The lands among all the people of Hawaiʻi, aliʻi , konohiki and makaʻainana alike. The Mahele changed the previous land system under which the kuleana (responsibility and obligation) to mālama ʻāina was given by the mōʻī (king) to an aliʻi nui (high chief), his subordinate aliʻi and konohiki who received taxes and tribute from the people who worked the land collectively. Private land ownership did not exist. The Māhele came into effect on March 7, 1848. It allocated one-third of

238-434: The larger, common lands, title of which went to the chief, the crown or the government. Ownership of land was a previously unknown concept for ordinary Hawaiians. Many did not understand the need to make a claim for land where they already lived and/or worked. Communication depended upon word-of-mouth or literacy. Making a claim required money to pay for a pre-claim land survey. The system required two witnesses to confirm that

255-671: The ongoing effect of western diseases and property taxes. 1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom The 1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom titled Ke Kumukānāwai a me nā Kānāwai o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina, 1840 was the first fully written constitution for the Hawaiian Kingdom . The need for a constitution was originally intended as a manner of laws set forth to control the Native Hawaiian population with

272-479: Was extremely detailed. The June 7, 1839, document, sometimes called a constitution but more similar to a declaration of rights , stated simply that the government was based on Christian values and equality for all. Incorporating the 1839 document, the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai’i was a turning point in Hawai’i government. This constitution organized the power of government and its functions by defining

289-463: Was written by Chief Justice William Little Lee . The justification was the promise of prosperity resulting from an influx of capital and labor. The Kuleana Act of 1850 allowed commoners to petition for title to land that they cultivated and lived on, similar to the homesteading laws used to manage land tenure in US territories in the nineteenth century. It abolished the right of cultivation and pasturage on

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