German warship SMS Albatros claims Chuuk; chiefs sign a treaty ceding the islands.

What happened

The German warship SMS Albatros, with John Kubary as interpreter, hoisted the German flag over Fefan and had neighboring chiefs sign a treaty ceding the islands, part of Germany’s 1885 push to claim the Carolines. Within weeks Pope Leo XIII’s mediation gave the Carolines to Spain, and no Spanish post in Chuuk is documented afterward.