"In 1865 a trading captain called at the tiny atoll of Nukulaelae in Tuvalu and obtained a 25-year lease to the estern islet of Niuoku on behalf of the German firm of J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn. The firm then developed a coconut plantation which was never free of controversy. There were quarrels between the people of Nukulaelae and the imported labourers and endless disagreements betwen Godeffroys and the people over the terms of the lease. The alienation of their largest islet caused considerable suffering to the people of Nukulaelae, whose numbers had been decimated by Peruvian slave raids a few years earlier, but the Germans refused to leave until the lease expired in 1890. Today, the events surrounding the German plantation at Niuoku is a tale of note in Nukulaelae recollection, and every year the community commemorates the day of rejoicing when the lease finally expired."--Back cover