Final answer:
Evidence of title to real property in Hawaii is rooted in the Great Māhele of 1848. The subsequent overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and U.S. annexation led to significant land displacement. Acts by Congress in 1900 and 1959 returned land in trust for Native Hawaiians but did not fully remedy historical dispossession.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Hawaii, evidence of title to real property has historical roots that can be traced back to the introduction of the Great Māhele in 1848. This event marked the beginning of private land ownership in the islands. To obtain land, individuals, including the commoners or makaʻāinana, were required to complete several steps like filing a claim, providing testimony, paying for a land survey, and acquiring a Royal Patent.
However, due to this process and displacement, many Native Hawaiians were unable to secure their ancestral lands. The subsequent illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States led to further displacement and eventual annexation of the islands.
Later, acts passed by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and 1959, including the statehood of Hawaii, returned more than one million acres of federally owned land to the state. This land was to be held in trust with profits aimed at improving the condition of Native Hawaiians. However, these measures could not fully address the dispossession and fragmentation of Hawaiian communities that had already occurred.
To fully understand modern issues such as homelessness in Hawaii, one must consider the historical context, including the loss of self-sustaining systems of land division like the ahupua'a and the impact of colonial history on Native Hawaiian populations.