On this day, March 16, in 1889

A hurricane ripped through the coast of Samoa, destroying U.S., British, and German vessels that were fighting for control over Samoan land and selfishly fueling the Samoan civil war. Samoa was considered valuable for its prime location in the South Pacific Ocean. Although this massive storm ended the military conflict, the Berlin Conference later split the Samoan Islands into two parts, giving one to Germany and one to the U.S. Britain gave up Samoa in return for Fiji and some of the Melanesian territories. Believe it or not, it’s a common practice for Europe and the US to divide and claim land as if it were a piece of pie or something. Despite the fact that people already live there.