Editing Oahu (section)

== History ==
{{See also|History of Hawaii|Hawaii#History}}
[[File:Aerial view of Pearl Harbor on 1 June 1986 (6422248).jpg|thumb|[[Pearl Harbor]] is the home of the largest [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] fleet in the Pacific. The harbor was attacked on [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|December 7, 1941]], by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Empire]], bringing the United States into [[World War II]].]]
[[File:Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.JPG|thumb|[[USS Arizona Memorial|USS ''Arizona'' Memorial]] (right); {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} (left) in [[Pearl Harbor]]]]

It is uncertain when O{{okina}}ahu was first settled by humans. Early archaeological studies suggested that [[Polynesian navigation|Polynesian explorers]] from the [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]] may have arrived as early as the 3rd century A.D.,<ref>Van, James (2010). ''Ancient Sites of Oahu: A Guide to Archaeological Places of Interest''. Bishop Museum Pr. Page 5. {{ISBN|978-1581780956}}.</ref> possibly with a second wave arriving from [[Tahiti]] around 1100 A.D.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buck |first=Peter H. |title=Vikings of the Sunrise |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Company |year=1938 |location=New York |pages=257–259}}</ref> However, more modern analyses indicate that the first settlers probably arrived around 900–1200 A.D.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kirch |first=Patrick |title=When did the Polynesians Settle Hawaii? A review of 150 years of scholarly inquiry. |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10524/74851 |journal=Hawaiian Archaeology |volume=12 |pages=3–27 |date=2011}}</ref>

The first great king of O{{okina}}ahu was [[Ma{{okina}}ilikūkahi]], the lawmaker, who initiated a 304-year dynasty of monarchs. Kuali{{okina}}i was the first of the warlike kings and was succeeded by his sons. In 1773, the throne fell upon Kahahana, the son of Elani of Ewa.{{cn|date=December 2024}} 

On January 19, 1778, O{{okina}}ahu was the first of the Hawaiian Islands to be sighted by Captain [[James Cook]] during his [[Third voyage of James Cook|third voyage of discovery]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=James |title=The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage |year=1821 |location=London |pages=176|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/62507/pg62507-images.html#b3c11}}</ref> This was the first recorded encounter of the Hawaiian Islands by non-Polynesian people. Cook bypassed O{{okina}}ahu, landing instead at Kauai before continuing his original mission to explore the coast of North America. The next year, on February 27, 1779, Cook's second in command, Captain [[Charles Clerke]], became the first recorded non-Polynesian to visit O{{okina}}ahu when he landed at [[Waimea Bay, Hawaii|Waimea Bay]]. Earlier that month, [[Death of James Cook|Cook had been killed]] at [[Kealakekua Bay]] on the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawaii]] when a dispute with the local people turned violent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hough |first=Richard |title=Captain James Cook: a biography |date=1997 |publisher=Norton |isbn=978-0-393-31519-6 |location=New York |pages=341-354}}</ref> Clerke's visit to O{{okina}}ahu was brief and the expedition's two ships left Waimea Bay the same day after finding it difficult to obtain fresh water.<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=James |title=The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VII. Being the Third of the Third Voyage |year=1821 |location=London |pages=80-82|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/62659/pg62659-images.html#b5c5}}</ref>

At the time of Cook's visit, the Hawaiian Islands were divided among several warring chiefdoms. In 1783, [[Kahekili II]], king of the island of [[Maui]], conquered O{{okina}}ahu. He then made his son, [[Kalanikūpule]], king of O{{okina}}ahu turning it into a [[puppet state]]. Kalanikūpule was later defeated in the [[Battle of Nuuanu|Battle of Nu{{okina}}uanu]] in 1795 by [[Kamehameha I]] who then founded the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]]. The Hawaiian islands were not fully unified until [[Kaumualii|King Kaumuali{{okina}}i]] surrendered the islands of [[Kauai]] and [[Niihau]] in 1810.<ref name="Kuykendall">{{Cite book |last=Kuykendall |first=Ralph S. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Hawaiian_Kingdom_Volume_1/nkXREAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+hawaiian+kingdom&printsec=frontcover |title=The Hawaiian Kingdom 1778-1854 Vol 1 Foundation and Transformation |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1938 |location=Honolulu}}</ref>{{rp|p=29-60}}

By the late 18th century, [[Waikīkī]] was a major settlement on O{{okina}}ahu, serving as Kahekili II's residence after 1783.<ref name="Kuykendall" />{{rp|p=34}} However, as trade with foreigners intensified, the nearby town of [[Honolulu]] came to eclipse it in size and importance due to its more accessible harbor.<ref name="Kuykendall" />{{rp|p=27}}In 1845, [[Kamehameha III]] moved his capital to Honolulu from [[Lahaina, Hawaii|Lahaina]] on the island of Maui.<ref name="Kuykendall" />{{rp|p=228}} Later, [[King Kalākaua]] had a modern residence built in Honolulu for the royal family – the [[Iolani Palace|{{okina}}Iolani Palace]] which still stands as the only royal palace on American soil.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Staton|first1=Ron|title=Oahu: The Iolani, America's only royal palace|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/oahu-the-iolani-americas-only-royal-palace/|website=Seattle Times|access-date=March 3, 2016|date=March 19, 2004}}</ref> In January, 1893, a group of leading American businessmen took up arms near {{okina}}Iolani Palace and, along with US Marines from the ''[[USS Boston]]'' that landed in Honolulu harbor, launched [[Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom|a successful ''coup d'état'' against Queen Lili{{okina}}uokalani]]. The insurgents abolished the monarchy and established the [[Republic of Hawaii]], which later successfully lobbied the US government for annexation to the US.<ref name="Burr2011">{{cite book |last1=Burr |first1=Lawrence |last2=Palmer |first2=Ian |last3=White |first3=John |title=US Cruisers 1883–1904: The birth of the steel navy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VC1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 |year=2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-84603-858-7 |oclc=1021805683 |page=35}}</ref>

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] launched a [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, O{{okina}}ahu]], bringing the United States into [[World War II]]. The attack was aimed at destroying the American will to fight and forcing the US to sue for peace. They attacked the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]] of the [[United States Navy]] and its defending [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] and [[United States Marine Corps Aviation|Marine Air Forces]]. The attack damaged or destroyed 12 American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and killed 2,335 American servicemen and 68 civilians (of those, 1,177 were the result of the destruction of the {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}} alone).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/pearl-harbor-fact-sheet-1.pdf|title=Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941 – Overview |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/p/the-pearl-harbor-attack-7-december-1941.html |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=NHHC |language=en-US}}</ref>

After World War II, O{{okina}}ahu became a tourism and shopping destination with more than five million visitors per year, mainly from the [[contiguous United States]] and Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YTD Visitors by Country By Month by MMA |url=https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/visitor/dims/2023%20YTD%20Visitors%20by%20Country%20by%20Month%20by%20MMA.pdf}}</ref>