Chiefly titles drop to eight, and the king allows seven elected commoners to make laws.

What happened

As the population collapsed, ten chiefly titles lapsed, leaving eight. The king let the people choose seven representatives to sit with him and make laws; Habele describes them as commoners who met monthly with the paramount and titled chiefs, and calls this “a powerful blow” to the old form of government.

Why it matters

Habele links these changes to missionaries’ efforts to introduce democratic ideals, a path that led to an elected king in 1874 and the end of formal class distinctions in 1884.