an American warship, the USS Lackawanna, either imposed or negotiated a peace treaty, with the approval of the Western consuls. Under it Laupepa continued as king, and Tamasese as vice-king. This peace lasted four years. Captain Zembsch, the Imperial German Consul who had acquired a good reputation with the Samoans as someone willing to advocate for them even against his fellow countrymen running the plantations, was recalled in 1883. His replacement, Stuebel, was more directly loyal to the German Firm. Stuebel increased pressure on Laupepa, complaining of routine theft of food from the plantations, and demanding the right to imprison Samoans caught stealing in German-operated private jails. Laupepa eventually conceded to Stuebel's demands, but quietly contacted the British seeking aid to foil the new German demands. The Germans quickly got wind of this and soured on Laupepa; rumors of a German annexation flew through Samoa in 1885. The Germans attempted to convince vice-king Tamasese to act against Laupepa and provided him with arms; Tamasese declared his kingship at Leulumoega in Aʻana in January 1885, but did not immediately act against Laupepa, however. In late 1885, the Germans forced Laupepa out of his home, raised the German flag at Mulinu'u, and built a fort there. The Americans weakly supported Laupepa, but counseled patience and largely waited on replies from their distant home governments. The British were largely passive, and weakly favored the German position to the extent they opined at all. A new wild card entered the fray in January 1887: the prime minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the adventurer Walter M. Gibson, had deployed a "homemade battleship" Kaimiloa on a friendship tour across the South Pacific looking for an alliance against colonial powers. The Hawaiian embassy was greeted warmly and a treaty of confederation signed with Tamasese, much to Germany's displeasure. However, after German threats, the Hawaiians sailed away. Gibson would be overthrown and jailed during the Hawaiian rebellion of 1887, removing the Hawaiians as a concern. The Germans brought in the engineer and artillerist to strengthen their fortifications in Mulinu'u and drill troops in early 1887. By August 1887, Samoa was virtually in the possession of Germany. Both Tamasese and Laupepa were largely powerless to stop this. Conflict First phase: 1887–1889 On August 19, 1887, four German ships arrived at Apia Harbor, looking to expand Germany's new empire. Germany then issued an ultimatum to the nearly powerless Laupepa