On 9 November 1887 the United States received exclusive rights to the Pearl River lagoon on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, which later became Pearl Harbor. The right came through an extension of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii. Under that treaty Hawaiian sugar entered the US duty-free, and the extension allowed the US to establish a repair and coaling station for its ships in the lagoon. The harbour, a deep natural lagoon west of Honolulu, was dredged and developed into a major naval base, and it is now the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.