(il i; POSSESSION IN SAMOA. 



(I.-) 



by our consul, and the unwarranted action had the full 

 sanction of King Malietoa Laupepa. Insurrection fol- 

 lowed and the king was deposed. From now on the 

 political events followed in rapid succession by the ag- 

 gressive interference on the part of Germany. Talavoa 

 was elected king, but died after a short tumultuous 

 reign, and Laupepa again succeeded to the throne only 

 to be again deposed in 1888, when he was exiled by the 

 German fleet. Insurrection under the leadership of 

 Malietoa Mataafa again unsettled political affairs. At 

 one time the German, English and American warships 



Fig - . 15. — Flag-raising ceremonies. 



in the harbor of Apia were ready to clear the decks and 

 begin war between Germany on one side against the 

 other two powers, when the great storm swept them 

 out of existence with the exception of the English gun- 

 boat Calliope. Active interference on the part of the 

 United States resulted in the Berlin conference, which 

 declared in favor of Laupepa against the protest of the 

 natives. With the assistance of a German and British 

 warship Laupepa defeated the forces of Mataafa near 

 Apia in 1893, who shortly afterward surrendered to the 

 British and was exiled to the island of Jaluit with 



