King Kamehameha I, conquerer and ruler of all Hawaiian Islands, ran his government for the islands at Ahuʻena Heiau. Up until his death in 1819, King Kamehameha I was responsible for keeping all Hawaiian islands and ahupuaʻa under control.
historical Background
Hawaiians understood and carried out their responsibilities as stewards of the ‘āina, or land. Native Hawaiians’ rights to live on their ancestral lands and gain access to materials were spelled out in the Constitution of 1840 created under King Kamehameha III as the first constitution of Hawai‘i. This document declared that although Kamehameha I founded the kingdom “it was not his own private property. It belonged to the chiefs and people in common,” (Adameck, 1994). The Constitution of 1840 rebutted many possible questions concerning Native Hawaiian tenant rights that would nonetheless be disregarded less than a decade later.