During the first half of the nineteenth century most of the land of Palestine lay uncultivated. Much land was abandoned by owners and workers in the wake of wars, enemy forays, epidemics and natural disasters. Most of the land in the plains of Syria and Palestine belonged to the Government, whereas most of the territory in mountainous areas was private property. Property passed from the hands of the small holders into the hands of the owners of large estates, until they owned about half of all the arable land in Palestine. There were four principal components in the process that led to the concentration: The seizure of the land of the once independent fellaheen by moneylenders; the takeover of the land by violent or ostensibly peaceful means; the concentration of land in the hands of the authorities and the Government; the sale and granting of state lands to friends and supporters of the Government.