Howland Island is a coral atoll in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, just southwest of Honolulu. It is an unincorporated territory of the US and a National Wildlife Refuge. There are no permanent inhabitants on the island, but there are many migratory seabirds and shorebirds, and there are endangered sea turtles.
In 1822, George Worth was the first person to record a sighting of the island while whaling on the Pacific Ocean. He named it Worth Island, but then in 1842, a second whaling ship visited this island and renamed it Howland Island after that ship. Because of the Guano Act of 1856 that allowed US citizens to claim uninhabited islands that offered guano deposits, the US claimed Howland Island with Baker Island in 1857. In 1935, the island was placed under the administration of the US Department of Interior, helping to offer a stop for planes who flew between Hawaii and Australia. In 2009, Howland Island was designated part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
From 1935 to 1942, 130 mainly Hawaiian men called the Hui Panalā au (society of colonists) volunteered to live on the island with no contact with the outside world. They were alumni of the Kamehameha Schools, and they knew how to fish, swim, and handle a boat. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to gain ownership of the island, and needed to colonize it with permanent residents in order to establish it as a territory. Civilians had to be the occupants because it was against international law to have active duty military personnel. The islands were occupied by Native Hawaiians for an entire year, and on May 13th, 1936, Howland Island was proclaimed to be under the jurisdiction of the US along with Baker and Jarvis Islands.
On December 8, 1941, after Pearl Harbor had been hit, Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands were all attacked by a fleet of Japanese twin-engine bombers. Two of the colonists were killed in the attack, and World War II followed soon afterwards. The men were honored for their work and sacrifice, and helped to establish the Equatorial Pacific Islands as part of the US. This helped to manifest it as a National Wildlife Refuge and a Marine National Monument.
Comments