Emma Forsayth

Emma Eliza Coe (September 26, 1850, in Apia, Samoa – July 21, 1913, in Monte Carlo, Monaco; formally styled Princess Tui Mālietoa Coe) was a Samoan-American princess and businesswoman who became the most prominent woman in commercial enterprise across Melanesia. Born to Joana Le'utu Taletale, a member of the Samoan royal Mālietoa dynasty, and Jonas Myndersse Coe, a representative of the United States in Apia, she was recognized at birth by her Mālietoa family with the royal title, Princess Tui Mālietoa Coe, which conferred land rights and privileges. Known via her three successive marriages as Emma Forsayth, Emma Farrell, and Emma Kolbe, she became recognized throughout the Pacific as Queen Emma — a designation earned through both her royal Samoan ancestry and her substantial economic influence in the region.

Biography Emma Eliza Coe was born on 26 September 1850 in Apia, Samoa. Her father was Jonas Myndersse Coe, a United States commercial representative. Her mother was Joana Le'utu Taletale, a member of the Samoan Mālietoa dynasty. Her mother's bloodline was related to the Moli tribe, and Emma was recognized by the Mālietoa as a princess. At the age of twelve, she entered the school at Subiaco , near Parramatta, to be educated for a time in the care of the Benedictine Nuns.

In 1869, she married a Scottish seaman named James Forsayth. Together they set up a shipping and trading business in Samoa. Emma Coe participated in island politics with her father but fell out of favor with the local population after he was deported in 1876. Around this time, her husband was said to be lost at sea, but there was no confirmation that he was dead. Her commercial empire was still in full swing when she learned of increasing tensions between Germany and Britain in the colonies and Europe towards the end of 1907. Emma sold off most of her assets in c. 1910 to Heinrich Rudolph Wahlen of Hamburgische Südsee AG.

She died in Monte Carlo in 1913, and her ashes were subsequently buried in New Guinea.

Legacy Forsyth is portrayed by Barbara Carrera in the 1988 television serial Emma: Queen of the South Seas, which was directed by John Banas for Australia's Network 10. She is featured in Christian Kracht's 2012 novel Imperium, which focuses on August Engelhardt.