Details
[HAWAII]. KAMEHAMEHA III, King of Hawaii (1825-54). Partly printed document signed ("Kamehameha"), Honolulu, 10 September 1852. 3 pages, folio, 322 x 209 mm. (12 x 11/16 in.), including manuscript plan on recto of integral blank leaf, printed heading in shaded display type, printed "royal stamp," original wax seal affixed at bottom of page 2, a few minor fold separations, slight foxing principally along folds, soiling to blank verso, in Hawaiian (the lot includes a copy of an English translation with explantory notes). A land grant ("kuleana") awarding three apanas (parcels) of land in the district of Waimanalo on the island of Oahu to an individual named Mauae.
Kamehameha III, who acceded to the throne after King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu died of measles in England (see preceding lot), was responsible for bringing to Hawaii many elements of the Western legal system. In 1839 he signed a Bill of Rights, the following year he promulgated the first constitution of the realm, in 1842 a code of laws was established, and in 1848 the feudal system of land tenure was abolished. By 1852, the process of obtaining a "kuleana" award, enabling commoners to make good their new claims to lands (as established in the great 1848 "Mahele" or land division) was well established. Although the kuleana required that the applicant obtain a survey, the specific location of the land in question would be difficult to determine, since reference was not usually made to any fixed monument or geographical marker.
Kamehameha III, who acceded to the throne after King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu died of measles in England (see preceding lot), was responsible for bringing to Hawaii many elements of the Western legal system. In 1839 he signed a Bill of Rights, the following year he promulgated the first constitution of the realm, in 1842 a code of laws was established, and in 1848 the feudal system of land tenure was abolished. By 1852, the process of obtaining a "kuleana" award, enabling commoners to make good their new claims to lands (as established in the great 1848 "Mahele" or land division) was well established. Although the kuleana required that the applicant obtain a survey, the specific location of the land in question would be difficult to determine, since reference was not usually made to any fixed monument or geographical marker.