Mataafa Josefo
Mataafa Josefo ("Ali'i Sili" (High Lord); * 1832 in Savaiʻi ; † February 6, 1912 in Apia ) was chief and tribal leader in Samoa during the German colonial period . He was the most important politician of the Samoan self-government, as founded by Governor Wilhelm Solf .
Life
Mataafa Josefo was born in 1832 on the Samoan island of Savai'i as a member of a local chieftain's family. King Talavou died in 1881, whose successor King Laupepa was strongly influenced by the British and Americans who had come to the country. Therefore, the Germans, who had tried since 1879 to declare Samoa a German protected area , relied on Laupepa's arch rival, Tamasese. During a German Kaiser birthday party, there was a crush between Germans and Samoans, whereupon the Germans demanded Laupepa's disempowerment. This fell into the hands of the Germans and was sent into exile in Cameroon.
The British and American representatives on Samoa viewed this as a diplomatic defeat and in 1887 proclaimed Chief Mataafa from the neighboring island of Savai'i to be the anti-king. Mataafa went into battle against the German settlers on Anglo-American instructions and on December 18, 1888 defeated an imperial naval unit on the Vailele plantation near Apia. Four weeks later, Mataafa's troops set fire to the German consulate in Apia. Dr. Knappe, the consul, then declared war on Mataafa as well as America and England, which prompted Bismarck to step in, recall the consul and thus defuse the situation. In 1889 King Laupepa was recalled from exile through the "Samoa Act" and Samoa was declared a neutral area.
In 1893 conflicts broke out again. This time, however, Mataafa was subject to the German-British alliance and, like Laupepa, was sent into exile.
When the western part of the Samoan Islands became a colony of German Samoa on February 17, 1900 , the first official act of Governor Wilhelm Solf was surprisingly Mataafa, who had the vast majority of the population behind him, to become chief chief and Ali'i Sili (high lord) to appoint, to abolish the royal rule and to give Mataafa an assembly of dignitaries (faipule), which was composed of the local district leaders and the respected Samoan aristocratic families. German rule was thus limited to central power. Factual issues were negotiated equally by the Gouvernement and Faipule.
From then on Mataafa received an annual salary of 3,000 marks as an "official". He also received a German fly whisk, awarded by Kaiser Wilhelm II (in the Samoan power structure, the Kaiser was called "Tupu Sili", for example: Supreme Lord) as a symbol of his power and dignity. Through this compromise Solf brought the peace that had paved the way for today's independent state on Samoa, which had been divided for centuries.
In 1912 Mataafa died, who was by now a friendship with Solf, who was loyal to the colonial administration, but a chief chief who was conscious of Samoa's independence. He was laid out on precious mats and many Samoans, but also the German settlers, paid him their last respects. Mataafa was buried in a stone mausoleum on the Mulinu'u peninsula near Apia in the immediate vicinity of the Faipule. The heads of Samoa are buried on Mulinu'u to this day, but Mataafa's grave stands out clearly from the other graves and has become something of a Samoan national monument.
Wilhelm Solf's successor, Erich Schultz-Ewerth , abolished self-administration without further ado after Mataafa's death and only appointed two chiefs as advisors to the governor.
literature
- Längin, Bernd: The German colonies. Locations and fates 1884 - 1918. Hamburg 2005.
- Vietsch, Eberhard from: Wilhelm Solf. Ambassadors between the ages. Tubingen 1961.
- Westphal, Winfried: History of the German colonies. Munich 1984.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mataafa, Josefo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ali'i Sili |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Samoan politician and chief of Samoa |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1832 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Savai'i |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 6, 1912 |
| Place of death | Apia |