Land and water rights in Hawai’i began to change in the 19th century as foreigners introduced private ownership, and Native Hawaiians were forced to abandon their communal management practices. Land and water was privatized, and sold to foreign businessmen who began to capitalize on sugar cane plantations. Water was diverted in large quantities from the Windward side to the Leeward side, as new irrigation ditches and aqueducts were constructed. The geographical changes from the new irrigation system, and the privatization of land and water would change the course of Hawai’i indefinitely as they changed from a subsistence economy to a trade-based economy (Daleiden 2006).

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