The new German acquisitions in the South Seas and their colonial benefits. In the German-Spanish Treaty of 1899, the German Empire acquired the Caroline and Palau Islands, as well as the northern Mariana Islands, for the price of 25 million pesetas (almost 17 million marks) from Spain. As German Samoa, the German Empire was granted the two Samoan islands of Upolu and Savai'i following the treaty of 1900 with Great Britain and the USA. This was the last German colonial acquisition in the South Seas. Consequently, public interest in the new overseas imperial territory was significant, which was satisfied by this richly illustrated work.