The treaty is signed in Madrid: 25 million pesetas, equal to 16.75 million marks.

What happened

German and Spanish records agree that the treaty was signed in Madrid on 30 June 1899. It transferred the Caroline Islands, Palau and the Northern Marianas to Germany. Spain had claimed these islands for centuries but governed them directly only from the mid-1880s, through small posts on Yap and Pohnpei.

Why it matters

It began German rule, which lasted only 15 years, until Japan seized the islands in 1914.