Second Samoan Civil War

The 1898–1899 conflict over Samoa’s throne pitted supporters of Malietoa Tanumafili I against supporters of Mata‘afa Iosefo and drew in Germany, Britain, and the United States.

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Malietoa Tanumafili I: A Samoan high chief whose claim to the throne was supported by Britain and the United States. His supporters fought to restore him after the German-backed Mata‘afa was proclaimed king.
Malietoa Laupepa: A Samoan king whose death in 1898 reopened the contest over succession. His death created the vacancy contested by Malietoa Tanumafili I and Mata‘afa Iosefo.
Robert Louis Stevenson: A Scottish writer who lived in Samoa from 1890 until his death in 1894. His writings documented Samoan politics and criticized foreign conduct before the conflict.
Tripartite Convention of 1899: The agreement by Germany, Britain, and the United States that partitioned Samoa in 1899. It formalized the settlement that followed the war and ended the tripartite arrangement.
Mata‘afa Iosefo: A Samoan chief and political leader who became king with German support in 1898. His accession triggered the armed confrontation with supporters of Malietoa Tanumafili I.
First Samoan Civil War: A nineteenth-century conflict among Samoan factions amid competition for influence by foreign powers. Its unresolved rivalries formed part of the political background to the second war.
Basil Thomson: A British colonial official who served in Samoa during the late nineteenth century. His account of the crisis offers a contemporary British perspective on its diplomacy.
German Samoa: The German colonial territory established in the western Samoan islands in 1900. The settlement awarded Germany the western islands, including Upolu and Savai‘i.
Apia: The capital and principal port of Samoa, on the island of Upolu. Foreign warships and Samoan forces converged around Apia during the fighting.
Berlin Treaty (1889): An agreement that established a tripartite protectorate over Samoa for Germany, Britain, and the United States. Its shared-control arrangement left the foreign powers competing over Samoan succession.