2-982-081 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Council House, Samoa, the Scene of the Late Conflict, 1876. '...the insurrection, or revolution...caused an intervention on the part of a British ship of war, and...some lives were lost in the conflict. It appears that the natives, or a party of them, had dethroned King Malitoa. Captain Stevens, commanding the British steamer 'Barracouta', landed with marines, and marched to the Council House, where the Legislature was assembled, the Captain intending to restore the King. The natives showing opposition, the marines were ordered to disarm them, and a battle ensued...[View after a sketch by Lieutenant Nassau Stephens, of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, of] the Council House, where the native chiefs meet to deliberate. Behind the houses the thick tropical vegetation affords capital cover for the natives, not easily passable by European troops'. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.