Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallowembayment calledWai Momi (meaning 'Waters of Pearl')[5] orPuʻuloa (meaning 'long hill') by theHawaiians. Puʻuloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Kaʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahiʻuka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition,Keaunui, the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Puʻuloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River", accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it.
During the early nineteenth century, Pearl Harbor was not used for large ships because of its shallow entrance. The United States' interest in theHawaiian Islands grew as a result of its whaling, shipping and trading activity in the Pacific. As early as 1820, an "Agent of the United States for Commerce and Seamen" was appointed to look after American business in thePort of Honolulu. These commercial ties to the American continent were accompanied by the work of theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. American missionaries and their families became an integral part of the Hawaiian political body.
Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, many American warships visited Honolulu. In most cases, the commanding officers carried letters from the U.S. Government giving advice on governmental affairs and of the relations of the island nation with foreign powers. In 1841, the newspaperPolynesian, printed in Honolulu, advocated that the U.S. establish a naval base in Hawaii for the protection of American citizens engaged in the whaling industry. The British Hawaiian Minister of Foreign AffairsRobert Crichton Wyllie, remarked in 1840 that, "... my opinion is that the tide of events rushes on to annexation to the United States."
After the conclusion of theCivil War and theAmerican purchase of Alaska, both the increased world importance of the Pacific states and the presence of exporters seeking a duty-free market for Hawaiian staples in Asian countries caused Hawaiian trade to expand. In 1865, the North Pacific Squadron was formed to embrace the western coast and Hawaii.Lackawanna in the following year was assigned to cruise among the islands, "a locality of great and increasing interest and importance". This vessel surveyed theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands toward Japan. As a result, the United States claimedMidway Island. The Secretary of the Navy was able to write in his annual report of 1868, that in November 1867, 42 American flags flew over whaleships and merchant vessels in Honolulu to only six of other nations. This increased activity caused the permanent assignment of at least one warship to Hawaiian waters. It also praised Midway Island as possessing a harbor surpassing Honolulu's. In the following year, Congress approved an appropriation of $50,000 on March 1, 1869, to deepen the approaches to this harbor.
Astronaut photograph of Pearl Harbor from October 2009Entrance to Pearl Harbor
After 1868, when the Commander of the Pacific Fleet visited the islands to look after American interests, naval officers played an important role in internal affairs. They served as arbitrators in business disputes, negotiators of trade agreements and defenders of law and order. Periodic voyages among the islands and to the mainland aboard U.S. warships were arranged for members of the Hawaiian royal family and important island government officials. When KingLunalilo died in 1873, negotiations were underway for the cession of Pearl Harbor as a port for the duty-free export of sugar to the U.S.[citation needed] With the election of KingKalākaua in March 1874,a riot prompted landing of sailors fromUSSTuscarora andPortsmouth. The British warship,HMS Tenedos, also landed a token force. During the reign ofKing Kalākaua the United States was granted exclusive rights to enter Pearl Harbor and to establish "a coaling and repair station".
Although this treaty continued in force until August 1898, the U.S. did not fortify Pearl Harbor as a naval base. As it had for 60 years, the shallow entrance constituted a formidable barrier against the use of the deep protected waters of the inner harbor.
The United States and theHawaiian Kingdom signed theReciprocity Treaty of 1875 as supplemented by Convention on December 6, 1884. This treaty was ratified in 1887. On January 20, 1887, theUnited States Senate allowed the Navy the exclusive right to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor.[6] (The US took possession on November 9 that year). TheSpanish–American War of 1898 and the desire for the United States to have a permanent presence in the Pacific both contributed to the decision.
Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, theUnited States Navy established a base on the island in 1899. On December 7, 1941, the base wasattacked by theImperial Japanese Navy airplanes and midget submarines, causing the American entry intoWorld War II. There was no meaningful plan for the air defense of Hawaii, for American commanders thought the Japanese would attack eitherWake Island or thePhilippines and had no understanding of the capabilities and proper employment of air power. As it was, had the Pacific Fleet acted on the war warnings, it undoubtedly would havesortied and been at sea on December 7, where the major ships would have been sunk in deep water, making salvage impossible.[7] Shortly after the devastating Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, two American military commanders, Lt. Gen.Walter Short and Adm.Husband Kimmel, were demoted of their full ranks. The two American commanders later sought to restore their reputations and full ranks.[8]
Post-World War II
Warships from various nations at Pearl Harbor for the 2004RIMPAC exercises
In December 2016,Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe made a joint visit to Pearl Harbor with US PresidentBarack Obama. This trip marked the 75th anniversary of the attack and was the first official visit by a sitting Japanese leader.[9]
^FDR Pearl Harbor Speech. December 8, 1941. Archived fromthe original on July 24, 2010. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2011.December 7th, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.
^Apple, Russell A.; Benjamin Levy (February 8, 1974)."Pearl Harbor"(pdf).National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory.National Park Service.Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. RetrievedMay 25, 2012.
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