Following the sale of the Northern Marianas by Spain to the German Empire in 1899, Agrigan was administered as part of German New Guinea. The island was used as a penal colony from 1900-1906. The prisoners, who lived some with their families on Sarigan were mainly employed by the coconut plantations. In 1909, the island was leased by the Pagan Society, a German-Japanese partnership, which continued to export copra. The company also employed fowlers to hunt birds for feathers for export to Japan and Europe. However, the Pagan Society fell into financial difficulties from 1912.