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Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. Hickam AFB and Honolulu International Airport occupy the lower right corner
Pearl Harbor is a complex embayment on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a US Navy deep water naval base: headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet.
History of Pearl Harbor before 1941
Originally an extensive, shallow inlet or bay called Wai Momi, meaning "Water of Pearl", or Pu'uloa, by the Hawaiians, Pearl Harbor was regarded as the home of the shark goddess Ka'ahupahau and her brother Kahi'uka.
The harbor was teeming with pearl-producing oysters until the late 1800's. In the early days following the arrival of Captain James Cook, Pearl Harbor was not considered a suitable port due to the shallow water.
The United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom signed the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 as Supplemented by Convention on December 6, 1884 and ratified in 1887. On January 20, 1887, the United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base (the US took possession on November 9 that year). As a result, Hawai'i obtained exclusive rights to allow Hawaiian sugar to enter the United States duty free. The Spanish-American War of 1898 and the need for the United States to have a permanent presence in the Pacific both contributed to the decision to annex Hawaii.
After annexation, Pearl Harbor was refitted to allow for more navy ships. Schofield Barracks, constructed in 1909 to house artillery, cavalry and infantry units, became the largest Army post of its day.
In 1917 Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor was purchased for joint Army and Navy use in the development of military aviation. As Japanese presence increased in the Pacific, the US increased the ships' presence there.
With tensions rising between the United States and Japan in 1940, the US began training operations at the base. The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan on 7 December 1941 brought the United States into World War II.
Aerial view of Pearl Harbor, Ford Island in center. The Arizona memorial is the small white speck on the far right side close to Ford Island
Pearl Harbor after December 7, 1941
Related topics
- Pearl Harbor is also the title of a 2001 film about the 1941 attack.
- The Final Countdown is another movie dealing with Pearl Harbor. In which the USS Nimitz from 1980 is warped back to 1941, a day before the attacks.
- Tora! Tora! Tora! is yet another movie dealing with Pearl Harbor. This one (which many believe is the best Pearl Harbor movie ever made) deals with all aspects of the attack. The attack on Pearl Harbor in the movie takes place almost as long as the actual attack did.
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