THE SAMOAN MAU MOVEMENT: THE CIVIL WARS

THE SAMOAN MAU MOVEMENT: THE CIVIL WARS

1. 02 THE SAMOAN MAU MOVEMENT THE CIVIL WARS

2. THREE GREAT RIVALS The civil wars in Samoa were a series of wars fought in the late 1800s by various chiefly rivals in their struggle for power. The three great rivals were Malietoa Laupepa , Tupua Tamaese Titimaea and Mata’afa Iosefo .

3. Malietoa Laupepa Tupua Tamasese Titimaea Mata’afa Iosefo

4. CIVIL WAR CIRCUMSTANCES Foreign intervention created the need for a unified and centralised Samoan government. Foreign interference made the civil war a larger conflict. The power of Taimua and Faipule was made clear after Malietoa became King in 1873. Germans and Americans were supporting the rival factions who were attempting to gain power in Samoa.

5. TENSIONS BETWEEN COLONIAL POWERS Tensions between the “three powers” increased in 1883 when the German Consul established Tamasese as king in opposition to Malietoa who was then reigning.

6. THE SAMOAN CIVIL WARS The civil wars in Samoa were a series of wars fought in the late 1800s by various chiefly rivals in their struggle for power. Foreign colonial powers further increased their involvement when they intervened to keep the peace . The war was fought roughly between 1886 and 1894 , between Samoans fighting over whether Malietoa Laupepa or Mata'afa Iosefo would be King of Samoa.

7. Hawaiian envoys and Malietoa Laupepa on board of the Kaimiloa in 1887.

8. THE COLONIAL POWERS INTERESTS The colonial powers supported rival chiefs who were attempting to gain power in Samoa. Tension between the colonial powers increased in 1883 when the German Consul established Tamasese as King in opposition to Malietoa who was then the reigning monarch.

9. THE FIRST SAMOAN CIVIL WAR, 1887-1893 Decades of unrest led to the First Samoan Civil War , which lasted for seven years between Samoans in their struggle to decide who would rule Samoa.

10. THE SAMOAN CRISIS OF 1889 The Samoan Crisis in 1889 was a key event that occurred during the First Samoan Civil War and brought great changes in the political affairs and situation of Samoa. After the crisis of 1889, there was a great desire to settle differences and bring peace to Samoa.

11. THE 1889 BERLIN ACT Malietoa Laupepa as King. An independent Samoan government. A Supreme Court of Justice. A Land Commission to analyse the land claims made by the Europeans. Avoided going to war.

12. THE SECOND SAMOAN CIVIL WAR 1899 Ten years after the Samoan Crisis, Samoa was again on the brink of an all out civil war. The war happened in 1899.

13. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CIVIL WARS It was decided that the only method of settling the Samoan question was the partition of Samoa. The Samoan Tripartite Convention of December 1899 signed in Washington gave control of the western islands of Upolu and Savai’i, later known as Western Samoa, to Germany as a protectorate (protected as a colony).

14. SAMOAN INDEPENDENCE At the war's conclusion in 1899, the United States was granted the eastern section of the islands, the Germans were granted the western section of the islands , and the British were given the northern Solomon Islands of Choiseul, Isabel and the Shortland Islands that had formerly belonged to Germany. The German half is now an independent nation – Samoa . The U.S. half still remains under the control of the U.S. government as the territory of American Samoa.