After a shipwreck off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 1904, Carl Emil Pettersson married the princess of Tabar Island and was eventually crowned the king.

Tumbling out of the warm Pacific waters, Carl Emil Pettersson found footing on terra firma after the ordeal of his shipwreck. Blinking in the tropical sun, he must have taken in the lush setting of Tabar Island bit by bit. The volcanic foliage and exotic fauna of the atoll were so different from the crags and cliffs of Pettersson’s native Sweden.

Dry land was a welcome feeling, but he was far from salvation.

In the distance, perhaps he could make out the Tabar natives, allegedly known for their practice of cannibalism. Soon, this poor sailor from the suburbs of Stockholm would rule over this island and its people as king.

In 1904, C

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