The Treaties of 1898
The two wars in the Pacific in 1894-95, the Island War between the United States and Germany and the Sino Japanese War had upset the balance of power in the Pacific. It also caused the British to become increasingly worried that the balance of power their grandfathers had fought Napoleon for was coming part at the seams as new powers who were hungry and wanting their own empires. Even more since the United States was refusing to take part in the European Affairs. Japan was the Yellow Peril not withstanding the fact they have when to great lengths to modernize their nation. The Japanese were even using Europe as their model and even adopting some of European culture to their own as they were trying to find their own voice on the world stage. Then you had the Russians who were looking to expand at the cross of everyone else and had flexed their muscles when they forced the Italians to stop their colonial campaign in East Africa.
For Germany their defeat in the Pacific War ended their hopes of a Pacific base of power within their Empire. Prior to the Island War there had been some serious talk in Berlin about buying the Philippines and other remaining Spanish Pacific colonies to expand their power base in the Pacific. And with the Spanish in need of money from fighting a war with the Filipino people was viewed by Berlin as agreeable to a sell. Yet with the loss of the bulk of their Pacific Colonies and rights to the Samoa Archipelago the only toe hold they had in the Pacific was the rights they held to the Tonga Archipelago and any talk of buying the Philippines died quickly once they admitted defeat in the Island War. However, the British also held the rights to the Tonga Archipelago which meant the Germans had choices to make in the aftermath of the Island War. Like the rest of the world they did see the Chinese get crushed by the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War.
Germany wanted a part of China so as they could maintain a present in the Pacific along with hold a part of the Chinese markets. However, in the aftermath their ability to project power in the Pacific was questionable at best. So, the Germans turned to the British to achieve their goals. This would lead to the Treaty of London (1898). Under the terms of this treaty the Germans would concede their claims to the Tonga Archipelago to the British. In return the British would help the Germans achieve a German “Hong Kong” on the Shandong Peninsula around Jiaozhou Bay.
As the German were meeting with the British the Americans were getting ready to do the same. They had been holding off on annexing the territories they had won from the Germans in the Island War as they understood they would still need to make a deal with the British to clear up the mess of claims they held between the two nations. Their goal was to trade away part of their gains from the Island war to gain the rights to annex both the Hawaiian and Samoan Archipelagos. The areas they were looking at for these trades were in the form of the part of New Guinea and some of the Solomon Islands.
Going into their meetings with the Americans the British had a simple goal. First and foremost they wanted to force the United States out of the SW Pacific as much as possible. They had become very alarmed by the growth of the United States since the Spanish-American War. Further with the fact they were staying aloof of European affairs made them a wild card, something the British couldn’t have. With the United States having defeated a Great Power the threat that United State presented to the British Empire in its current form was too dangerous to be left loose and needed to be check.
Unlike the meetings between the British and Germans, the Anglo-American meetings was a hard fought affair that when on months and almost came to breaking points on several occasions during the course of the meetings before an agree was reached. Instead of the three week affair and civil affair that led to the Germans and British signing the Treaty of London, the Anglo-American meetings lasted for almost five months and would lead to both nations having bitter taste in their mouths. However, an agreement was reached and this led to the signing of the Treaty of Baltimore being signed and later ratified by both nations.
The Treaty of Baltimore saw the US turn over a number of the gains from the Island War to the British. This including totally withdrawing from New Guinea. However it when far deeper than that. The US withdrew most of their control of the Solomon Islands as well. The United States maintain control of Nauru, the Marshall Islands, New Britain[1], New Ireland, Bougainville Island, and Manus Island along with all of the islands within near New Ireland and Manus[2]. In return the British concede their rights to Hawaii. However the British refused to concede their rights to the Samoan Archipelago[3]. This was at the center of the prolong and painful debate between the British and Americans in Baltimore. It was finally agreed that the United States would be allowed to control Tutuila of the Samoan Archipelago along with all islands east of 171 degree west of Greenwich. The British took full control of all of the Samoan Archipelago that was west of 171 degree west Greenwich.
Even through the Treaty of Baltimore found a peaceful way to end the duel claims of Pacific Islands it would have a profound impact of foreign policy of the United States for decades to come. In the days following the ratification the US would move to formally annex Hawaii, their part of Samoa, and all the islands they had remained from their gains in the Island War.
[1] Once the US took over they returned the name of this and New Ireland back to the names they had in the 1700 only in English not Latin.
[2] At Bougainville Island the British pushed the US into giving up the Shortland Islands which they wanted to keep. At New Britain, the border between the British Territory of Papua and the American held parts of New Britain is the Dampier Straits. The US wanted the Vitiaz Straits. The British for their part wanted to pry Nauru and the Marshall Islands away from the United States as well but the US refused to budge here and made it clear they were keeping thoses.
[3] This was where the bad blood really comes from. The whole Island War started over the Samoa Islands and the British just flat out refuse to allow the US to have them all. This really pissed the US off.