10 Tala - Tanumafili II 'Eber'

The Eber was a German gunboat whose 1889 destruction in Apia Harbor during a catastrophic cyclone became one of the more consequential maritime disasters in Pacific colonial history. Seven warships from three nations — Germany, the United States, and Britain — were caught at anchor when the storm struck in March; six were wrecked or beached, killing nearly 150 sailors. Only the British HMS Calliope managed to steam out of the harbor under full power. The episode cooled imperial tensions over Samoa considerably and accelerated the tripartite agreement that briefly placed the islands under joint foreign administration.