More information Year, Population ...
Population[25]
| Year | Population | Notes |
|---|
| 1000 to 1219[26]. | 100's | Radiocarbon dating shows rapid colonization from East Polynesia around 1219-1266 to Hawaiin archipelagos [27] | |
| 1219-1450 | up to 150,000 | Population Explosion |
| 1450-1778 | 110,000 to 160,000 | Equilibrium Phase, period marked by large stable population, where declines followed by growth. |
| 1778 | 110,000 to 150,000 | Radiocarbon dating collected from major islands except Ni'ihau and Lana'i[28] | |
| 1805 | 112,000 to 150,000 | |
| 1831 | 130,313 | First reliable census is taken 1831-1832. |
| 1835 | 108,579 | Second missionary census is taken 1835-1836: |
| 1850 | 82,000 | |
| 1853 | 73,134 | |
| 1872 | 56,897 | |
| 1878 | 57,985 | |
| 1884 | 80,578 | |
| 1890 | 89,990 | |
| 1900 | 154,001 | About 25% Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian; 40% Japanese; 16% Chinese; 12% Portuguese; and about 5% other Caucasian |
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Depopulation of the Kingdom
Economic and demographic factors in the 19th century reshaped the islands.
Diseases
With unfamiliar diseases such as leprosy, called ma'i pake or Chinese disease, yellow fever, introduction of alcohol, and emigration off the islands natives numbers fell from around 110,000 in 1778 to 71,000 by 1853.
Whaling Industry
Between 1820 and 1845 American Commercial involvement in Hawai'i surged and so did the whaling industry. Between the first few ships in 1819 by the 1840's there some 400-500 ships which made semi-annual visits to the islands on their way back to New England Ports for provisions, recreation and labor. [29]. For instance a Census of 1840 in Nantucket, Massachusetts which was a center of whaling ships, indicates 793 Native Hawaiians had emigrated there alone.[30]. It is estimated that approximately a third of all Hawaiians emigrated off the islands during this time period in pursuit of western professions and money.
Emigration Outlawed
By 1850 to combat the increasing emigration the King Kamehameha IV prohibited further emigration.
Population
With fewer natives to work on the sugar plantations and the rapid depopulation from emigration on ships and whalers recruiters started to fan out across Asia and Europe for more male labor. As a result, between 1850 and 1900 some 200,000 contract laborers from China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Portugal, Germany, Norway and elsewhere came to Hawaii under contracts. This greatly diversified the islands. While most left the sugar plantations on schedule, mostly to California as Hawaii was viewed by migrants as a place to earn money rather than settle and raise families (there was only 1 Chinese women per 17 Chinese males[31].
In response to the rising immigration, King Kamehameha V in 1864, especially since the Chinese brought leprosy with them, the King established the Board of Immigration to control the importation of foreign labor, although criticized that Chinese male labors were treated like slaves and whipped, the Hawaiian government asserted that the primary purpose was population reinforcement of the labor force to combat high mortality and depopulation off the islands.[32]. However by 1881 they were prohibiting immigration of Chinese men all together for a period because of mistreatment and exploitation of Chinese labor.[33].
However there were still large numbers of Chinese and Japanese stayed after their contracts ended creating a small China town in Honolulu; by 1893 Chinese and Japanese male workers represented 51.9% of the population.[34]. By 1900 once Hawaii was annexed federal law applied and prohibited further Chinese immigration altogether. Then came Koreans until 1905, and by 1908 in total 180,000 Japanese had workers arrived. By 1908 though no more Japanese were allowed in, but 50,000 remained permanently.[35][36]. However records from 1852 to 1875 indicate that in total 56,720 Chinese arrived during that time period, however there were thousands of duplicates in the number of arrivals records because of re-entry of those who had left the islands and returned.[37]. The first US census in 1900 put the population of Chinese at 22,296 men and 3,471 females.[38].
Transition from Feudalism to Property Rights
With the rise of Kamehameha II and his successors they slowly passed laws and stopped the practice of redistributing land to reflect the new economy and to avoid further civil wars among Chiefs. The Law of 1825 specifically allowed Chiefs to keep their land once a King passed away, whereas before the land was redistributed whenever a king of chief died (which would serve as an incentive for civil war to then redistribute lands to the Chiefs followers). [39]. Before then land ownership was akin to a feudal system with the major difference that commoners were free to abandon the land. However with commoners abandoning their land and moving to the booming towns of Honolulu and Lahaina and avoiding paying taxes; the Constitution of 1840 made abandoning such land illegal without cause. Those who had already left their land could apply to the governor or king for new lands; however they could not sell without the King's consent (to prevent alienation to foreigners). [40].
In 1843 in response to a lease dispute, involving the British Consul, Richard Charlton the British warship Carysfort entered Honolulu and its Captain took over the Hawaiian government for five months until the British government repudiated their actions and ordered them to leave. [41] This would be later known as the Paulet Affair (1843).
Era of the Mahele
By 1845, the land tenure system could neither maintain itself in the face of a hostile foreign world nor accommodate itself to the wishes of that world. The government's response to these problems was The Land Commission. The Commission did not act on the bulk of Hawaiian land held by the King and his Court. Instead it focused its immediate attention on building lots in Honolulu and Lahaina since this land had already left the feudal production scheme.[42] The Commission likewise issued land patents based upon their awards. Ultimately the Commission was thus able to resolve a number of land disputes which had developed with the foreign community.[43] In 1846, the Commission adopted Principles, ratified by the legislature.[44] The specifics for fulfilling the Principles were much debated until a formulation drafted by a Westerner, Justice William Lee, was accepted by the king and chiefs in Privy Council on December 18, 1847. This resulted in a division of land between the King, chiefs and land agents, and a final third to tenant farmers. [45]
The "Great Mahele"--or division-began January 27, 1848, and ended March 7. On the last day of the Mahele the King set apart 2/3 for himself, successors and Chiefs. These 1,000,000 acres became the Crown and 1,500,000 acres of government lands. In 1850 the Kuleana Act was total defeudalization of landholdings which required division among the common people.[46]. Section 5 of the Act though required the tenant to cultivate the land and would receive a houselot of not more than 1/4 of an acre and to pay for a survey to the Land Commission. Approximately 8,205 land patents were issued this way to native commoner Hawaiians.[47][48] The Kuleana Act withdrew the right to grow crops and pasture animals on unoccupied lands. To ameliorate any commoner not able to establish a land patent with a survey the Kuleana Act directed that the government could sell 1 to 50 acres for natives who did not qualify for a price of a minimum of 0.50 an acre.[49] By 1983 the Kingdom sold roughly 600,000 acres at an average price of 92 cents per acre to native Hawaiians.[50] However chiefs accustomed to feudal labor dues were unable to manage the plantations and large estates and were lost through debts and mortgage foreclosures.[51]
The Great Māhele ("to divide or portion") or just the Māhele was the Hawaiian land redistribution proposed by King Kamehameha III in the 1830s and enacted in 1848.
Background
When Captain Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1778[52], he found a complex land tenure system, which has been compared to the feudal system of medieval Europe.[53]. The basic landholding
unit was the ahupuaa, which ranged from 100 to 100,000 acres. Mostahupuaa were in turn divided into ili. A hierarchical society paralleled this pattern of land division. At the top, a chief controlled each
ahupuaa; land agents (konohiki) and subchiefs subordinate to the chief controlled smaller amounts of land; and at the bottom of the hierarchy common farmers worked land for the chiefs personal benefit. Commoners
also had plots for their own use and had certain gathering rights in the noncultivated lands of the ahupuaa[54].
However, there was no concept of fee simple absolute and landholdings were considered revocable. On the death of a high chief, his successor was free to redistribute the land among the low chiefs and, when any chiefs died, the lands were not necessarily passed on to the decedent's heirs. Frequent warfare often brought new chiefs who could reassign the conquered land to their followers, rather than leave it with the conquered nobles.[55] While commoners owed a work obligation to those higher in the structure, unlike European feudal system, he was free to leave an ahupuaa if unhappy with his landlord.[56]
Transitional Period 1778-1846
The arrival of Westerners completely altered socio-economic patterns as Hawaii became a major refreshment stop for European vessels sailing the Pacific and a major supplier of the sandalwood trade.[57]. Partially through the use of European arms, Kamahameha I had expanded his rule by 1795 to all of Hawaii except the island of Kaua'i. A proliferation of administrative levels and a rise in palace court life accompanied this unification. The king and his court were attracted to newly available European and Oriental goods, so that the Hawaiian economy had to supply a now enlarged aristocratic class with imported luxuries.[58]. While the economy thus turned from one primarily aimed at subsistence to one enmeshed in international trade, the commoners' condition worsened as diseases destroyed much of the population, [59] traditional notions of feudal responsibility were disrupted, and an onerous tax system was instituted. [60]. Accordingly land tenure patterns reflected and served this new economy.
With the death of Kamehameha his successor Kamehameha II breaking with feudal customs considered it politically unwise and did not revoke the holdings of his predecessor's subchiefs' lands. When Kamehameha III acceded to the throne at the age of twelve, the council of chiefs extracted from the regent a formal policy, later codified as the Law of 1825, which allowed chiefs to keep their lands upon a king's death.[61]. At this time Westerners entered Hawaii's land usage patterns as foreign settlers were "given" lands by the lands by the king or chiefs in return for services or merely out of traditional Hawaiian generosity.[62]
Bill of Rights
With the establishment of the Kingdom of Hawaii the need to establish itself as a modern independent state the King and Chiefs
By the mid-1830's there had been no reshuffling of landholdings for a full forty years, long enough for the chiefs to feel confident that they owned the land rather than merely holding it at the King's pleasure.
The 1839 Hawaiian Bill of Rights, also known as the 1839 Constitution 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.[63] The document, which had an attached code of laws, was drafted by Lahainaluna missionary school alumni Boaz Mahune, revised by the Council of Chiefs and signed by Kamehameha III in June 1839.[64]
1840 Constitution of the Kingdom Hawaii
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.[65] It established executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The document established individual property rights and provided for removal of any chief who violated the constitution.[66]
Hoping to keep the land in Hawaiian hands in the event of a political coup d'état, Kamehameha III and 245 chiefs met to divide the lands among each other.[64] The Mahele abolished the previous semi-feudal system under which rule over an ahupuaʻa was given by the king to a chief, who received taxes and tribute from the people who worked the land collectively. Private land ownership did not exist, as a commoner could be expelled from his land by the chief, or the chief removed by the king.[67]
The Great Māhele resulted in the allocation of one-third of the land to the crown as Hawaiian crown lands. Another third was allocated among the chiefs. The remaining one-third was to go to the population, but in the end, they received less than 1%. The law required land claims to be filed within two years under the Kuleana Act of 1850
Acts of 1850
Alien Land Ownership Act
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 was written by Chief Justice William Little Lee. The justification was the promise of prosperity resulting from an influx of much-needed capital and labor.[68][69]
Kuleana Act-August 6, 1850
Another notable part of the Great Mahele was the Kuleana Act of 1850.[70]
Under this provision, commoners were allowed to petition for title to land that they cultivated and lived on (wikt:kuleana), similar to the homesteading laws used to manage land tenure in US territories in the nineteenth century. It also abolished the right of cultivation and pasturage on the larger, common lands of the ahupuaʻa, 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 the ability to read the written word. Making a claim required money to pay for a pre-claim land survey. The system required two witnesses to confirm that the claimant had worked the land.[71] About 18,000 plots of 3 acres each were successfully claimed.[72][73] The Kingdom's population at the time was some 82,000.[74] Members of higher classes and aliʻi obtained title to most Hawaiian land. Due to the ongoing effect of western diseases and property taxes, many lost their property.[72][73]
References
A History of Hawaii, By Linda K. Menton, Eileen Tamura, pg 18
- 4018 Report of Hawaii Kingdom legislature Select Committee on the London Loan: $15,000 of $200,000 loan embezzled
Hawaiian National Bibliography, 1780-1900: 1881-1900 by By David W. Forbes pg 281 citing Hawaii Kingdom. Legislature. Finance Committee
Hawaiian National Bibliography, 1780-1900: 1881-1900, By David W. Forbes, pg 290 citing Kuykendall, Vol. III, p 353
Hawaiian National Bibliography, 1780-1900: 1881-1900 by By David W. Forbes pg 232
Liliuokalani (1898). Hawaii's Story. Tothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. p. 174.
Liliuokalani (1898). Hawaii's Story. Tothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. p. 195.
Foreign Relations of the United States 1894: Affairs in Hawaii. Government Printing Office. 1895. p. 670.
Liliuokalani (1898). Hawaii's Story. Tothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. p. 186.
When Did the Polynesians Settle Hawai‘i? A Review of 150 Years of Scholarly Inquiry and a Tentative Answer by Patrick V. Kirch
The History and Immigration of Asian Americans By Franklin Ng page 160
Edward D. Beechert, Working in Hawaii: A Labor History (U of Hawaii Press, 1985)
For detailed discussions of early Hawaiian land tenure, see generally J. CHINEN, THE GREAT MAHELE (1958); G. DAWS, SHOAL OF TIME (1968); J. Honus, HAWAIIr-A PAGEANT OF THE SOIL (1935); 1 R. KUYKENDALL, THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM 1778-1854 (1938); A. LIND, AN ISLAND COMMUNITY (1938); M. Kelly, Changes in Land Tenure in Hawaii, 1778-1850, June, 1956 (unpublished thesis in University of Hawaii Library) [hereinafter cited as Kelly].1 HAWAIIAN KINGDOM, supra note 1, at 119-22.
Act of Nov. 9, 1840, ch. 3, § 6, in TRANSLATION at 34 (THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF HAWAII 18 (L. Thurston ed. 1904) at 19).
G. DAWS, SHOAL OF TIME (1968) at 112-120
See 2 [1847] Hawaii Laws 84, in REVISED LAws 1925 at 2127 (Thurston at 143).
Act of Dec. 10, 1845, ch. 7, § 9 [1846] Hawaii Laws 109, in REVISED LAWS 1925 at 212 3 (Thurston at 139). But see 1 Hawaiian Kingdom, supra note 1, at 282-84 for discussion of the limited government experiment in 1845 of selling small lots with fee simple title in the Makawao district of Maui and the Manoa valley on Oahu.
2 [1847] Hawaii Laws 94, in RnvisEn LAWS 1925 at 2137 (Thurston at 154).
Rules adopted by the Privy Council, Dec. 18, 1847, § 4, 4 PRIVY COUNCIL R OD (1847), quoted in Alexander, A Brief History of Land Titles in the Hawaiian Kingdom, in THRUM's HAwAIIAN ALMANAC AND ANNUAL FOR 1891 at 112.
Act of Dec. 21, 1849, § 6, [1850] Hawaii Laws 203, in Revised Laws 1925 at 2142.
1 R. KUYKENDALL, THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM 1778-1854 (1938) at pg 294
Marion Kelly, historian, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii in Letter from Marion Kelley to Neil Levy, February 18, 1975.
Act of July 11, 1851, [1851] Hawaii Laws 52-53
R. Horowitz, L. Vargina, I. FINN, & J. CEASER, PUBLIC LAND POLICY IN HAWAII: AN Historical Analysis (Legislative Reference Bureau Report No. 5, 1965)
Regarding early mortgage granted by Native Hawaiians, see, e.g., May v. Haalelea, 2 Hawaii 191 (1859).
M. Kelly, Changes in Land Tenure in Hawaii, 1778-1850, June, 1956
M. Kelly, Changes in Land Tenure in Hawaii, 1778-1850, June, 1956
R. KUYKENDALL, THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM 1778-1854 at pages 119-122 (
Courtcase: Keelikolani v. Robinson, 2 Hawaii 514 (1862) regarding 1827 land gifts
Richard H. Kosaki (1978). "Constitutions and Constitutional Conventions of Hawaii". Hawaiian Journal of History. Vol. 12. Hawaii Historical Society. pp. 120–138. hdl:10524/196. Merry, Sally Engle (1999). Colonizing Hawai'i. Princeton University Press. pp. 93–95. ISBN 978-0-691-00932-2.
Further reading
- Jon J. Chinen. The Great Mahele: Hawaii's land division of 1848 (University of Hawaii Press, 1958).
- Linnekin, Jogelyn. "Statistical analysis of the great Māhele: some preliminary findings∗." Journal of Pacific History 22#1 (1987): 15-33.
- Linnekin, Jocelyn. "The Hui lands of Keanae: Hawaiian land tenure and the Great Mahele." Journal of the Polynesian Society 92#2 (1983): 169-188.
- Stauffer, Robert H. Kahana: How the land was lost (University of Hawaii Press, 2004).
