Tripartite Convention partitions Samoa

Background. By the 1870s, modern economic conditions were established in Samoa, and foreign business interests could manipulate the local government. The Second Samoan Civil War reached a head in 1898 when Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States were locked in dispute over control of the islands. American and British warships, including the USS Philadelphia, shelled Apia on 15 March 1899. The three powers then quickly resolved to end the hostilities and divided the island chain under the Tripartite Convention of 1899.

Negotiations. Forerunners to the convention included the Washington Conference of 1887, the Treaty of Berlin of 1889, and the Anglo-German Agreement on Samoa of 1899. In April 1899, the British government agreed to a joint commission of Germany, the US and the UK. The United Kingdom was embroiled in the Second Boer War, weakening its bargaining position, while Germany sought to rapidly conclude negotiations. A settlement was reached at London by 9 November 1899 and signed on 14 November; this instrument was the Anglo-German agreement on Samoa, distinct from the Tripartite Convention signed in Washington on 2 December 1899.

Implementation. The Tripartite Convention was signed in Washington on 2 December 1899. Ratifications were exchanged on 16 February 1900. President McKinley signed an executive order on 19 February 1900, placing Tutuila and islands east of 171 degrees west longitude under the Department of the Navy. The western islands, including Upolu and Savaii, were declared a protectorate of the German Empire, becoming German Samoa with a flag raising on 1 March 1900.