Editing Micronesia (section)

===German–Spanish Treaty of 1899===
{{main|German–Spanish Treaty (1899)}}
[[File:German new guinea 1888 1899.png|thumb|[[German New Guinea]] before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899]]
In the [[Spanish–American War]], Spain lost many of its remaining colonies. In the Pacific, the United States took possession of the [[Spanish Philippines]] and Guam. On 17 January 1899, the United States also took possession of unclaimed and uninhabited Wake Island. This left Spain with the remainder of the Spanish East Indies, about 6,000 tiny islands that were sparsely populated and not very productive. These islands were ungovernable after the loss of the administrative center of Manila and indefensible after the loss of two Spanish fleets in the war. The Spanish government therefore decided to sell the remaining islands to a new colonial power: the [[German Empire]].

The treaty, which was signed by Spanish Prime Minister [[Francisco Silvela]] on 12 February 1899, transferred the Caroline Islands (Kosrae in the east to Palau in the west), the Mariana Islands, and other possessions to Germany. Under German control, the islands became a protectorate and were administered from [[German New Guinea]]. Nauru had already been annexed and claimed as a colony by Germany in 1888.