while another 4.8% became Hawaiian Homelands. Legislative action 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 capital and labor. Kuleana Act-August 6, 1850 The Kuleana Act of 1850 allowed commoners to petition for title to land that they cultivated and lived on, similar to the homesteading laws used to manage land tenure in US territories in the nineteenth century. It abolished the right of cultivation and pasturage on the larger, common lands, 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 literacy. 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. About 18,000 plots of 3 acres each were successfully claimed,. representing 28,658 acres, or less than 1% of Hawaii’s land area (this was partly because significant parts of the mountainous islands were not suitable for agriculture or settlement). The Kingdom's population at the time was some 82,000. Members of higher classes and aliʻi obtained most Hawaiian land. Many successful claimants later lost their property due to the ongoing effect of western diseases and property taxes. See also 1852 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii 1893 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii Hawaiian home land Kuleana rights Native Hawaiians References Further reading External links Mahele Book, Hawaii State Archives "Ua Koe Ke Kuleana O Na Kanaka" Hawaiian Kingdom Indigenous land rights in Hawaii 1848 in Hawaii 1848 in law Legal history of Hawaii