About thirty Englishmen live on Pohnpei; chiefs nearly decide to kill all whites but are overruled.

What happened

Hezel says the chiefs were angry that a group of white castaways had refused island custom and would not hand over their boat to the Pohnpeians who had helped them. The plan to kill all the whites was dropped when the spokesman for one of the most powerful chiefs refused and said he would protect the whites in his own territory.

Why it matters

Hezel argues that because Pohnpei was divided into five independent chiefdoms, foreigners could always find a protector, unlike on Kosrae with its single paramount chief.