Unbekannt

This photograph shows the British consulate in Apia. Gathered in front of the building are uniformed British police of various ranks. British settlement in Sāmoa spanned from 1830 until 1900 when it fell under German administration. The first British settlers were missionaries who arrived in the 1830s to spread the word of the Bible. Later, the British entered into an agreement with the United States and Germany that the archipelago of Sāmoa was to be split into what is Western and American Sāmoa today. In return, Britain would receive some of Germany’s occupied territories, like Tonga and Zanzibar.

Author: Charlotte Klinge, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa