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The article discusses the history surrounding the 1858 petition from the governors and chiefs of Raiatea, French Polynesia and Tahaa, French Polynesia requesting to be an American protectorate. An overview of the French and British involvement in the Society Islands, including Tahiti becoming a French protectorate in 1842 and Great Britain and France's recognition of the autonomy of the Leeward Islands, West Indies, is provided. The relationship between the political disputes among native rulers in the Society Islands and the foreign intervention of the U.S., Great Britain and France is discussed.

This article looks at an episode which though it happened in Tunisia had a direct link to the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62), and thus propelled the war to an international conflict that pitted the Western powers, namely; France, Britain and America against each other. By the time the incident occurred the Algerian War had been going on for just over three years with the French seemingly gaining the upper hand. This article endeavours to show how this incident complicated the Algerian conflict and how the episode was viewed internationally, especially from the British Government and media perspectives both had keen interest on the Algerian conflict as a result of their own empire in other parts of Africa. The article is based largely on archival research at the Public Record Office at Kew, (England) and Newspaper archives at Colindale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]