The history of land ownership on the Hawaiian Islands is unique. Before 1848, land could not be owned by private citizens, but instead was controlled by the mōʻī (king) and his aliʻi (high chiefs). Native Hawaiians had a good quality of life, for the most part. Their ancestral lands were governed by the king and divided decidedly through a system called ahupua‘a.

According to Real Hawaiʻi, a Hawaiian lifestyle and real estate blog, each mokupuni, or island, was divided into smaller parts called moku. On Oʻahu, there were six moku: Ko‘olauloa, Ko‘olaupoko, Kona, ‘Ewa, Wai‘anae and Wailua.

In each of these sections, the land was divided into wedge shapes, loosely following landforms and the topography of the area. They were not divvied up perfectly, however, because, in an effort to ensure all citizen’s needs were met, the parcels sometimes needed to contain extra land to make sure everyone had an equal amount of resources available to them.

Hawaiians lived sustainably in this way until 1848 when King Kamehameha III decided it was time for Hawaiians to secure their land through private ownership. After James Cook’s visit in 1778, the islands gained popularity and were increasingly visited by missionaries and foreigners. The king then divided the land amongst three groups: the mō‘ī, the ali‘i, and the government lands which were intended for the maka‘āinana (common people).

This massive land redistribution was called The Great Māhele of 1848. The entire process took over a month and was recorded in a document now known as the Māhele Book.

Honolulu County’s official name is the City and County of Honolulu. For the unfamiliar, this means that Honolulu County is actually a consolidated city-county in the U.S. State of Hawaii. The consolidated city-county was established by city charter in 1907 and then accepted by the Territory of Hawaiʻi Legislature. Hawaiʻi didn’t officially join the U.S. as the 50th state until 1959 and has the distinction of being one of only four U.S. states to have been an independent nation before statehood.

The word “honolulu” is Hawaiian for “sheltered harbor,” an apt name when considering geography. It is not certain when Honolulu was founded, but according to Hawaii Living, historians have theorized it was sometime around 1,100 CE.