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1899–1914

Teacher pack: German rule

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FSM HistoryLesson pack 3 of 10

German rule 1899–1914

Summary

Germany bought the islands from Spain and governed them from Pohnpei and Yap, putting what it called “pacification” first and copra second. A land reform on Pohnpei replaced tribute to chiefs with unpaid labor for the government, and in October 1910 Sokehs road workers rose up and killed the district officer, Gustav Boeder. Only Palikir joined Sokehs, and after German forces ended the revolt in February 1911, 15 men were shot in Kolonia and hundreds of Sokehs and Palikir people were sent into exile in Palau.

Main topics: Germany ruled from Pohnpei and Yap under Rabaul; A land reform turned tribute into state labor; The Sokehs Rebellion became a national memory; Germany also catalogued and collected.

Full chapter: German rule

Mini-timeline

Key events, 1899–1914, with one source each
1899 (Jan) American whalers sell arms to Madolenihmw; the Catholic residence at Aleniang, Kitti, is burned. [MicSem, Catholic Church: Pohnpei]
1899 (12 Oct) Ceremonial handover; the German flag is raised and Vice-Governor Albert Hahl takes charge of the Eastern Carolines. [Bundesarchiv, “Aufruhr auf Ponape”]
1900 (About 1900) About 35 traders work in Chuuk, selling guns, dynamite and liquor. [Hezel, Truk]
1903 The German administration disarms the people of Chuuk. [Habele, German Period]
1905 During the post-typhoon famine, Pohnpeians finally surrender many, not all, guns in exchange for food relief. [Habele, German Period]
1907 The seat of the Catholic prefecture moves to Yap; the last Spanish priest leaves the Carolines mission. [MicSem, Catholic Church: Yap]
1910 (Sep) Aged paramount chief “Tokoscha” dies; the outline separately dates Awane Na’s (Palikna, John) reign from 1910. Equating Tokoscha with Sa II is unverified. [Kolonial-Lexikon, Kusaie]
1911 (13 Jan) Warships shell the Sokehs ridge; a landing party with Melanesian police takes the main position. [Bundesarchiv]
1911 Eight Catholic schools on Yap enroll 267 boys and 98 girls. [MicSem, Catholic Church: Yap]
1913 (Jan) The first church and school open at Tamworoi, Madolenihmw. [MicSem, Catholic Church: Pohnpei]
1914 (October) Japan occupies the German Marshalls, Carolines and Marianas. [JACAR chronology]
1914 (late 1914) The German-era school system is disbanded; Yap had 473 pupils at the end of German rule. [Hezel, Schools in Micronesia Prior to American Administration (MicSem)]

Discussion questions

  1. What did the land reform change for chiefs and for ordinary landholders on Pohnpei?

  2. Trace the chain of events from the flogging order to the executions of February 1911.

  3. Why did only Palikir join Sokehs, and what happened to both afterward?

  4. How is the Sokehs Rebellion remembered in the FSM today?

  5. The Hamburg South Seas Expedition gathered thousands of objects across the Pacific, including from Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae and Yap. Who should decide what happens to them now?

Quiz

Circle one letter for each multiple-choice question. Write short answers on the lines. For ordering questions, fill the boxes in order, earliest first.

  1. Who led the Sokehs Rebellion?

  2. Pohnpei’s German land reform replaced tribute to chiefs with what?

  3. Which chiefdom was the only one to join Sokehs in the 1910–11 revolt?

    1. A Kitti
    2. B Palikir
    3. C Net
    4. D Madolenihmw

  4. Put these in order, earliest first:

    1. A Governor Hahl announces the “abolition of feudalism” on Pohnpei
    2. B After a typhoon causes famine, Pohnpeians trade many guns for food relief
    3. C Sokehs road workers revolt and kill District Officer Boeder

    Earliest Latest

  5. Source question Some sources say 17 men were executed after the Sokehs Rebellion, and others say 15. What do the German records support?

fsm-history.kamorale.com/teachers/german/

Teacher copyLesson pack 3 of 10

Teacher copy German rule, 1899–1914

Answer key

Each answer, with the explanation and where it comes from on this site.

  1. Who · Short answer

    Who led the Sokehs Rebellion?

    Answer: Soumadau en Sokehs, baptized Samuel. German files call him “Jomatau (Somadau en Sokehs)”.

    Source: German rule chapter: “The Sokehs Rebellion became a national memory”

  2. What changed · Short answer

    Pohnpei’s German land reform replaced tribute to chiefs with what?

    Answer: Unpaid labor for the government, and tenants became landowners. (English-language sources say this was 15 days a year, but no German source found confirms the number.)

    Source: German rule chapter: “A land reform turned tribute into state labor”

  3. Who / where · Multiple choice

    Which chiefdom was the only one to join Sokehs in the 1910–11 revolt?

    Answer: B. Net, U, Madolenihmw and Kitti backed the Germans.

    Source: German rule chapter: “The Sokehs Rebellion became a national memory”

  4. Which came first · Ordering

    Put these in order, earliest first:

    Answer: B (1905), A (1907), C (1910).

    Source: German rule chapter: “Germany ruled from Pohnpei and Yap under Rabaul”, “A land reform turned tribute into state labor”, “The Sokehs Rebellion became a national memory”

  5. Why do sources differ · Short answer Source question

    Some sources say 17 men were executed after the Sokehs Rebellion, and others say 15. What do the German records support?

    Answer: Fifteen men were shot in Kolonia on 24 February 1911. The historian Morlang counts 17 death sentences and the Bundesarchiv counts 15. The claim that 17 were executed, made by MicSem and Habele, has no German support. (Wikipedia, citing Morlang, adds that two of the condemned were not executed.)

    Sources: German rule chapter: “The Sokehs Rebellion became a national memory”; Contested facts: Sokehs executions

1914–1941 Next pack: Japanese rule

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