 The murder of Bishop John Patteson of the Melanesian Mission at Nukapu in the Reef Islands had provoked public outrage, which was compounded by the massacre by crew members of more than 150 Fijians on board the brig Carl.Two British commissioners were sent to Fiji to investigate the possibility of an annexation.The negotiations were concluded with Thurston himself acting as Premier, from 23 March to 10 October 1874, when Cakobau and his fellow-chiefs formally ceded the archipelago to the United Kingdom.