George Handy Bates Samoan papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0125

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The George Handy Bates Samoan papers are comprised of correspondence, documents, memoranda, clippings, photographs, and other material relating to George Handy Bates's tenure as a special investigator into Samoan affairs beginning in 1886, and as a commissioner to the 1889 Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs.

Correspondence from the Berlin Conference in 1889 includes letters from the U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine as well as copies of letters from Bates and an abstract of the correspondence between the U.S. Secretary of State Blaine and the U.S. commissioners. The documents from the Berlin Conference include protocols for ten sessions of the negotiations, minutes of the meetings taken by Bates, drafts of Bates' remarks at the sixth session, reports on the negotiations, and drafts of the treaty on Samoa.

The material gathered by Bates in his investigation of the Samoan situation prior to the Berlin Conference includes publications by the Samoan government and financial records for the Apia Agency and the Deutsches Handels and Plantagen Gesellschaft. Newspaper clippings, a proposed constitution for Samoa under King Malietoa, correspondence with U.S. Secretary of State T. F. (Thomas F.) Bayard, lists of exports, imports, and land holdings are also present. A photocopy of Jan Thurston's Report of the Condition of the Samoan Islands , issues of the Tonga Government Blue Book and Samoa Times , and a copy of Arthur Gordon's British Despotism in the South Sea Islands are also included in these papers.

The papers also include over one hundred and forty photographs of persons and scenic views of Samoa, Pago Pago, Fiji, and Hawaii.

These papers are valuable for studying the culture and history of Samoa, particularly during the 1880s. The issues of colonialism and foreign intervention are chronicled in these papers. In addition, the material related to the 1889 Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs provides insight into diplomatic relations among Germany, Great Britain, and the United States during the late 1880s.

Dates

Creation: 1869-1916
Creation: Majority of material found within 1880-1899

Creator

Bates, George Handy, 1845-1916 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials in English and German.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

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Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Biographical Note

George Handy Bates was born November 19, 1845, at Dover, Delaware. A lawyer and politician, he visited the Island of Samoa at the request of President Grover Cleveland and helped to settle which nation could legally claim it.

Mr. Bates was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. After being admitted to the bar in 1869, he opened a law office in Wilmington, Delaware. He became a successful attorney and was considered an expert on international and constitutional law.

Bates was also active in Delaware politics. In 1881, he was elected to the Delaware Legislature as a Democrat and by 1882, he was the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In 1886, President Grover Cleveland appointed Mr. Bates as a special agent to investigate the conditions in Samoa. Bates was subsequently appointed as a United States Commissioner to the 1889 Joint Conference on Samoan Affairs held in Berlin. As a special envoy he participated in the negotiations with England and Germany over the ownership of the Island of Samoa.

George Handy Bates died at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1916, at the age of 73.

"George Handy Bates Dead."The New York Times, November 1, 1916. p. 11.

Extent

3 linear foot (9 boxes)

1 oversize removal

Additional Description

Abstract

The George Handy Bates Samoan papers are made up of correspondence, documents, memoranda, clippings, photographs, and other material relating to George Handy Bates's tenure as a special investigator into Samoan affairs beginning in 1886, and as a commissioner to the 1889 Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged first by type of material and then chronologically. The four series are: I. Correspondence and Documents, II. Clippings, III. Photographs, and IV. Newspapers. Within each series, material is arranged in chronological order.

Numerous enclosures, such as protocols and copies of original clippings, are found with the correspondence in Series I. The clippings which were enclosed in the letters in Series I. have been removed to Series II., but preservation photocopies of these clippings have been made and placed with the letters.

Finding Aid Note

A copy of the calendar to the Bates Samoan Papers, prepared by William D. Lewis in 1942, is available with the print finding aid in the University of Delaware Library, Special Collections.

Source

Gift of Daniel Moore Bates, 1942.

Materials Available in Alternative Format

Digital copies of the photographs in Series III. are available through the University of Delaware Library's Digital Collections website at ARTstor Commons.

Related Materials in this Repository

MF 687, A microfilm copy of selected material from the George Handy Bates Samoan Papers is also available in the University of Delaware Library. MF 687 is a copy of a series of papers from the Department of State and was filmed at the National Archives. The microfilm is located in the Microform Unit of the Student Multimedia Design Center. MF 2354, A microfilm copy of the George Handy Bates Samoan Papers is available in the University of Delaware Library. The microfilm includes a copy of the calendar prepared by William Ditto Lewis as well as the contents of the collection. The collection was filmed in 1973 by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The microfilm is located in the Microform Unit of the Student Multimedia Design Center.

Shelving Summary

Boxes 1-5: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes
Boxes 6A-6D: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)
Removals: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (28 inches)

Processing

Processed by William D. Lewis, 1942; updated by Anita Wellner, 1992. Encoded by Anita Wellner, 1992; additional encoding by Caitlin Farthing and Jaime Margalotti, March 2014. Further encoding by Tiffany Saulter, November 2015.