Treaty of Berlin (1899)

The Treaty of Berlin, known in the Pacific as the Anglo-German Samoa Convention, [Austin Coates. "Western Pacific Islands". London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1970; 229-230.] was signed on 14 November, 1899 between the United States, Germany, and the British. Prior to the signing of the treaty, the British, Germans, and Americans had established trading interests in Samoa. The treaty was formed when an outbreak of tribal warfare occurred. Based on the terms of the treaty, Samoa was divided between Germany and the United States. Specifically, Western Samoa went to Germany, while Eastern Samoa went to the United States. Power was transferred on 2 December, 1899 and the treaty was ratified on February 16, 1900.

The Beginnings of German Imperialism

The Push to Expand

::: With the founding of the new German Empire by Prince Bismarck in 1871, Germany and its citizens had developed a heightened sense of nationalism. They had gained the right to be called a nation and wanted to express themselves around the world just as the other large world and European powers had done before them. This meant expanding German influence around the world by incorporating imperialism and colonialism into German plans in the world market. It was clear that, "The passion of nationalism worked two ways, both centrifugally and centripetally, towards the encouragement of colonial foundations."¹ The German need for an improved and powerful navy to match their superior ground forces led to Germany’s colonizing in the South Pacific as well as establishing naval bases around the world and most commonly in South America.

German Interaction With Samoa

::: Before Germany nationalized its trade industry under the new empire many independent merchants moved out from Germany to establish their own trading depots across the globe. Some of those independent merchants laid the foundation for Germany to spread its influence. One of those merchant businesses, The House of Goddefroy, “…became very important in the island [of Samoa] as early as 1857.”¹ The German firm the House of Goddefroy began buying land in the Samoas in 1857 and by 1859 had monopolized the trade in that area. In the mid 1800’s only the Germans and English were competing in the waters of Oceania and Samoa. To build up the claim to Samoa the different trade companies developed plantations and not only made the Samoans work for them but also imported workers from the neighboring islands.

Competition for Samoa

:: The Samoan islands were the last islands in the South Pacific that were still free of real colonization. In 1875, the United States signed a reciprocity treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii in the the nearby Sandwich Islands. England was at the time preparing to set up more protectorates in the region to compliment the shrinking space in the South Pacific, which meant that Germany would have to push to stay in the picture.

German Aims

::: Ever since the Germans first introduced their trade ships into the South Pacific and their merchants developed depots in Samoa, it was clear that the islands were an important port and naval activity in that region of the world. With the unification of Germany, Prince Bismarck knew that he had to embark on a project that would bring both wealth and respect to his new nation. Not only did Germany want Samoa for trade, the new empire wanted the island to be a stepping stone for Germany into the South Pacific. With the increased nationalism, Germany was pushing to establish itself as a world power and knew that to do this she had to expand to areas of profit around the world. Although the official German policy was that they would not colonize areas and create protectorates, the riches of trade (i.e. sugar, coffee, and cocoa, etc.) that Samoa possessed were worth too much to be ignored and left to the German’s European and American competitors.

British Aims

::: For many years Britain was Europe’s reigning figure on the seas. Only the United States had a larger arsenal of trade ships. Still the British had control of a large portion of the trade routes in the South Pacific as the Germans were trying to step into the role of a new world power house, and England wanted to keep it that way. The British Empire realized that with growing national pride in Germany and the need for expansion that their dominance in the waters of the South Pacific would be coming under siege. As the British tried to keep their dominance over trade in Europe it had to keep a valued foothold in the South Pacific and wanted Samoa and the islands around it with similar resources to be that foothold for them.

American Aims

::: With the end of the American Civil War not far in the past, the reunited nation wanted to reestablish its dominance in the world market. With easy access to the South Pacific from the West Coast, the United States was eager to collect land and make treaties with island nations in the South Seas to bring in more revenue. The United States wanted to gain trading control of Samoa in order to export its products just as England and Germany wanted to. Along with trade, the United States wanted to gain control of Samoa to establish naval bases and some of its strategic ports. Seeking this naval advantage in the South Pacific the United States was willing to turn Samoa into a protectorate so that it would have trade and military rights to the island.

What Lead To The Negotiations

::: An international conference was convened in Berlin on 29 April 1899 to solve the Samoan problem. The conference came to an agreement, called the Berlin Agreement of 1889, of a Samoan state that would govern itself and the outstanding treaties with Samoa could not be changed without the expressed permission of the Samoan “king”. The mistake the conference made though, was that they gave power to the leader of a minority faction in Malietoa Laupepa. The new regime change might have worked, but Malietoa Laupepa’s supporting cast of foreign officials took so long to arrive that unrest settled in more easily than the new government was able to manage. The new chief justice from Sweden, Cederkranz, arrived a year and a half after the new king was appointed and a few months more passed before the new president of the municipal council arrived. The passing time allowed the faction of the more popular, Mata’afa, to become unhappy and disgruntled which set the stage for civil unrest in Samoa. In July 1892 the civil war among rival factions in Samoa began. From 1892 to 1895 Samoa was in a power struggle that would inevitably have to be settled by the foreign powers involved with the small island nation. For a short time period there was a break between hostilities, but in 1898 the appointed king Malietoa Laupepa died and according to the Berlin Agreement of 1889, it was the responsibility of the Samoan incumbent to elect a new king. In the time that no real leader could be chosen because of the lack of structure in the voting system of Samoa, another civil war broke out between the Mata’afa and another faction in Samoa. It became clear to Germany, England, and the United States that a new agreement would have to be reached in order to stabilize Samoa. The powers signed the treaty on 14 November, 1899 and power was transferred at a tripartite conference on 2 December 1899 in Washington D.C.

Treaty of Berlin (1899) Terms

Overview

::: The lack of Samoan customs for electing a new king lead to the Samoan civil war in 1898. It was then obvious that the best solution would be a partitioning of Samoa between Germany, the United States, and England. In 1899 the three countries convened to decide the terms that would resolve the conflict in Samoa. The most pressing matters at hand were the disarmament of the competing factions and abolishing the kingship in Samoa.

German Territorial Losses and Gains

::: The Germans gained control of ninety percent of Samoa leaving a small portion to the United States for America’s naval bases that were already established. The portion of Samoa that Germany gained is now called West Samoa. Germany also gave England its rights to the neighboring Tonga Islands, the Solomon Islands, and some disputed areas in West Africa.

British Territorial Losses and Gains

::: The British Relinquished its entire official claims in Samoa and in turn accepted the cession of German rights to the Tonga Islands, the Solomon Islands and certain disputed areas in West Africa.

American Territorial Losses and Gains

::: The Americans were given parts of Samoa including Tutuila, Aunu’u and Maun’a along with military right to develop a naval base in Pago Pago Bay.

ee also

*List of treaties

External links

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/samoa-1899.htm Annexation of Samoa]
* [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/samoa183099.html WHKMLA: Samoa, 1830-1899]
* [http://www.samoa.co.uk/books/history-of-samoa/history-of-samoa-7.html History of Samoa - R.M. Watson]

Notes

References

* Gray, J. (1960). Amerika Samoa: A History of American Samoa and Its United States Naval Administration Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute.

* Townsend, M. E. (1921). Origins of Modern German Colonialism: 1871 - 1885 Vol. 98 No. 1. Columbia University, New York: Howard Fertig, Inc. Edition 1974.