Surfing culture in Hawaii is very different now to what it was in 1778 when Captain James Cook ventured into the island realm. Hawaiian royalty had ruled the ocean domain for hundreds of years, although the islands were not unified until Kamehameha I established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. Traditional Hawaiian society was organized by a system of prohibitions called "kapu" (taboos) that determined all aspects of the islander’s lives—political, social, and religious. It dictated everything from which foods to eat to the manner of making a surfboard. Consequently, society was divided into two social classes, the royal class and the commoner class. The best surfing spots were reserved for royalty, while commoners were relegated to locations with smaller, less well-formed breaks. The code of "kapu" assigned the proper length of boards to be used, according to the status of the rider. Commoners rode boards 12 to 14 feet long, while royalty rode boards 16 to 24 feet long.