 The Tumua communities joined with the Sā Talavou and Matā‘afa parties in immediately protesting Tanumafili's appointment, prompting the One Day War in which Tanumafili and Tamasese allies were defeated on 1 January 1899.Fearing for their lives, King Tanumafili I and Vice-King Tamasese Lealofi boarded a British ship where they lived for over two months to avoid assassination attempts.The Germans then declared Matā‘afa the "head of all chiefs" while the British and the American consuls nominated Tanumafili as the ruler of Samoa (Hart, Hart & Harris 105).