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The Great Māhele of 1848: Issued by King Kamehameha III ( Kauikeouli )

The Great Māhele of 1848: Issued by King Kamehameha III ( Kauikeouli ) Introduced Hawaiians to the foreign concept of land ownership Initial intention was to divide lands between the King, the chiefs, and the commoners ( maka’ainana )

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The Great Māhele of 1848: Issued by King Kamehameha III ( Kauikeouli )

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  1. The Great Māhele of 1848: • Issued by King Kamehameha III (Kauikeouli) • Introduced Hawaiians to the foreign concept of land ownership • Initial intention was to divide lands between the King, the chiefs, and the commoners (maka’ainana) • Final division of land left the King with 23% of the land; chiefs with 39% of the land; the Government with 37% of the land; and the commoners with 1% of lands acquired through the Kuleana Lands Act of 1850. • Foreigners were also granted rights to land ownership with the Resident Alien Act of 1850. Effects of the Great Māhele • Hawaiians Lose their Lands: • They could not pay the land taxes • Many could not complete the long process of filing a Kuleana land claim by the 1854 deadline • Once granted Kuleana land, Hawaiians could no longer use the resources of the shared ahupua’a. This made it difficult for Hawaiians to sustain life on their private lands. • Foreigners took advantage of adverse possession by purchasing land that was left unused for 10 years • Government and Crown Lands Go Too: • Government sold and leased large amounts of land to sugar • plantations • 1848-1893, over 600,000 acres of government land was sold • at an average of $1.11/acre • The King also sold and leased large amounts of Crown land • for commercial agriculture The Impact of the Māhele was far reaching. The introduction of private land ownership not only led to less land in the hands of Native Hawaiians, but also opened the door for the expansion of foreign business interests. The Māhele led to the boom of the sugar industry, as much of the land ended up in the hands of sugar plantation owners. The growth in foreign investment led to the increase in immigration and the further decline of the Hawaiian population. Many Hawaiians were no longer able to provide for themselves economically without land to make a living. As land became a commodity and foreign business grew, the rich land, plantation, and business owners gained political power.

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