Final answer:
The terms dower and curtesy are traditional legal concepts pertaining to spousal property rights, but in Hawaii, their application has been shaped by historical events, such as the Great Māhele, the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and subsequent U.S. laws aimed at remedying the displacement of indigenous peoples.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of dower and curtesy refers to the legal rights that spouses have to the property of the deceased in certain jurisdictions. However, in the context of Hawaii, this traditional legal framework has been influenced by its unique historical circumstances. The Great Māhele initiated private land ownership, but this also led to the displacement of many indigenous Hawaiians from their ancestral lands. With the subsequent illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and annexation by the United States, Native Hawaiians lost nearly two million acres of land. Modern laws have attempted to remedy these injustices by returning lands to the state to be held in trust for the benefit of Native Hawaiians. These historical precedents and evolutions in property law show that conveyance of ownership in Hawaii is subject to a complex interplay of historical context and legal developments.