O’Keefe’s schooner Lilla is wrecked off Babeldaob, Palau.

What happened

When the Lilla went aground off northern Babeldaob, local people plundered the wreck. A British warship later fined the villages at O’Keefe’s request, and when they refused to pay, British troops blew up fourteen clubhouses, but O’Keefe never recovered any damages.

Who’s who

David O’KeefeIrish-born trader on Yap who shipped Palauan stone money in exchange for copra from the 1870s.

See it in the timeline Read the chapter: The contact era

Sources for this note

Hezel, O’Keefe

Sources for the event

Hezel, O’Keefe