The Samoan Islands were first settled some 3,500 years ago as part of the Austronesian
expansion. Both Samoa's early history and its more recent history are strongly connected
to the histories of Tonga and Fiji, nearby islands with which Samoa has long had genealogical
links as well as shared cultural traditions.
European explorers first reached the Samoan islands in the early 18th century. In 1768,
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville named them the Navigator Islands. The United States Exploring
Expedition , led by Charles Wilkes, reached Samoa in 1839. In 1855, J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn
expanded its trading business into the Samoan archipelago. The first Samoan Civil War led
to the so-called Samoan crisis, a struggle between Western powers for control of the
area. This in turn led to the Second Samoan Civil War , which was resolved by the Tripartite
Convention, in which the United States, Great Britain and Germany agreed to partition the
islands into German Samoa and American Samoa.
After World War I, New Zealand took over the administration of what had been German Samoa,
and the area was renamed the Western Samoa Trust Territory. This area became independent
in 1962 and was renamed Samoa. American Samoa remains an unincorporated territory of the
United States. Early history
Archeologists estimate that the earliest human settlement of the Samoan archipelago was around
2900–3500 years before the present . This estimate is based on dating the ancient Lapita
pottery shards that are found throughout the islands. The oldest shards found so far have
been in Mulifanua and in Sasoa'a, Falefa. The oldest archaeological evidence found on
the islands of Polynesia, Samoa and Tonga all date from around that same period, suggesting
that the first settlement occurred around the same time in the region as a whole. Little
is known about human activity in the islands between 750 BC and 1000 AD, though this may
have been a period of mass migrations that led to the settlement of present-day Polynesia.
Mysteriously, during this period, the making of pottery appears to have suddenly stopped.
The Samoan peoples have no oral tradition that purports to explain this. Some archaeologists
have suggested that Polynesia lacked pottery-making materials, and that most of the pottery used
during the migration period in Polynesia was imported rather than sourced or crafted locally.
Samoa's early history is interwoven with the history of certain chiefdoms of Fiji and of
the kingdom of Tonga. The oral history of Samoa preserves the memories of many battles
fought between Samoa and neighboring islands. Intermarriage between Tongan and Fijian royalty
and Samoan nobility helped build close relationships between these island nations that still exist
today. These royal blood ties are routinely acknowledged at special events and cultural
gatherings. According to Samoan folklore, two maidens from Fiji brought to Samoa the
tools that were necessary to engage in the art of tatau , and this is the origin of the
traditional Samoan malofie .
The dominant cultural traditions of Samoa, known as the fa'asamoa, originated with the
warrior queen Nafanua. Her rule instituted the fa'amatai: decentralized family, village,
and regional chiefly systems. Her niece, Salamasina, continued this system, and their era is considered
to be a golden age of Samoan cultural traditions. Linguistically, the Samoan language belongs
to the Polynesian sub-branch of the Austronesian language family, which is thought by linguists
to have originated in Taiwan.
According to oral tradition, Samoa and Polynesian share a common ancestor: Tagaloa. The earliest
history of Samoa concerns a political center in the easternmost Samoan islands of Manu'a,
under the rule of the Tui Manu'a. In the Cook Islands to the east, the tradition is that
Karika, or Tui Manu'a 'Ali'a, came to the Cook Islands from Manu'a; suggesting that
the rest of Polynesia was settled from Manu'a and Samoa.
After European contact 18th century
Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century but did not intensify until the
arrival of the British missionaries. In 1722, Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first European
to see the islands. This visit was followed by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville
, the man who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768. In 1787 Jean-François de Galaup,
comte de Lapérouse visited Samoa, where at Tutuila Island, in what is now American Samoa,
there was a conflict leading to deaths on both sides, including the deaths of twelve
Frenchmen.
19th century European and Tahitian and Cook Islander Missionaries
and traders, led by John Williams began arriving around 1830. Coming via Tahiti, they were
known in Samoa as the Lotu Taiti. The Rev. John Williams was helped by the Ali'i Malietoa
Vainu'upo to establish the Lotu Taiti, which became the Christian Congregational Church
of Samoa.
The United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes reached Samoa in 1839 and appointed
an Englishman, John C. Williams, son of the missionary, as acting U.S. consul. However
this appointment was never confirmed by the U.S. State Department; John C. Williams was
merely recognized as "Commercial Agent of the United States". A British consul was already
residing at Apia.
In 1855 J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn expanded its trading business into the Samoan Islands,
which were then known as the Navigator Islands. During the second half of the 19th century
German influence in Samoa expanded with large plantation operations being introduced for
coconut, cacao and hevea rubber cultivation, especially on the island of 'Upolu where German
firms monopolized copra and cocoa bean processing. British business enterprises, harbour rights,
and consulate office were the basis on which Britain had cause to intervene in Samoa. The
United States began operations at the harbor of Pago Pago on Tutuila in 1877 and formed
alliances with local native chieftains, most conspicuously on the islands of Tutuila and
Manu'a .
In the 1880s Great Britain, Germany and the United States all claimed parts of the kingdom
of Samoa, and established trade posts. The rivalry between these powers exacerbated tensions
between the indigenous factions which were all jockeying for complete political authority.
The islands were divided among the three powers in the 1890s, and between the United States
and Germany in 1899.
The First Samoan Civil War and the Samoan crisis
The First Samoan Civil War was fought roughly between 1886 and 1894, primarily between rival
Samoan factions, although the rival powers intervened on several occasions with military
forces. There followed an eight-year civil war, where each of the three powers supplied
arms, training, and in some cases, combat troops to the warring Samoan parties. The
Samoan crisis came to a critical juncture in March 1889 when all three Western contenders
sent warships into Apia harbour, and a larger-scale war seemed imminent, until a massive storm
on 15 March 1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict.
Robert Louis Stevenson arrived in Samoa in 1889 and built a house at Vailima. He quickly
became passionately involved in the attendant political machinations. His influence spread
to the Samoans, who consulted him for advice, and he soon became involved in local politics.
These involved the three great powers battling for control of Samoa - America, Germany and
Britain - and the indigenous factions which were all jockeying for complete political
authority.. He was convinced that the European officials appointed to rule the Samoans were
incompetent, and after many futile attempts to resolve the matter, he published A Footnote
to History. The book covers the period from 1882 to 1892. This was such a stinging protest
against existing conditions that it resulted in the recall of two officials, and Stevenson
feared for a time it would result in his own deportation.
The Second Samoan Civil War and the Siege of Apia
The Second Samoan Civil War reached a head in 1898 when Germany, Great Britain and the
United States disputed over who should control the Samoan Islands.
The Battle of Apia occurred in March 1899. Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu were besieged
by a larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to powerful chief Mata'afa Iosefo. Supporting
Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British and American warships. Over several
days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were defeated.
American and British warships shelled Apia on 15 March 1899; including the USS Philadelphia.
Following the initial defeat at Apia, Mata'afa's rebels defeated a combined American, British
and Tanu allied force at Vailele on 1 April 1899, with the allies in retreat. According
to a war correspondent associated with the Auckland Star newspaper, the aftermath saw
Mata'afa's warriors leaving American and British corpses on the field being severed of their
heads. Germany, Britain and the United States quickly resolved to end the hostilities by
partitioning the island chain at the Tripartite Convention of 1899. With Tanu and his American
and British allies' inability to defeat him in war, the Tripartite resulted in Mata'afa
being promoted to Ali'i Si'i, the high chief of Samoa.
Division of islands The Samoa Tripartite Convention of 1899, a
joint commission of three members composed of Bartlett Tripp for the United States, C.
N. E. Eliot, C.B. for Great Britain, and Freiherr Speck von Sternburg for Germany, agreed to
divide the islands.
The Tripartite Convention gave control of the islands west of 171 degrees west longitude
to Germany, , containing Upolu and Savaii and other adjoining islands. These islands
became known as German Samoa. The United States was given control the eastern islands of Tutuila
and Manu'a, . In exchange for Britain ceding claims in Samoa, Germany transferred their
protectorates in the North Solomon Islands and other territories in West Africa. It does
not appear that any Samoans were consulted about the partition and the monarchy was also
abolished.
Independence From 1908, with the establishment of the Mau
movement , Western Samoans began to assert their claim to independence. The Mau movement
began in 1908 with the 'Mau a Pule' resistance on Savai'i, led by orator chief Lauaki Namulau'ulu
Mamoe. Lauaki and Mau a Pule chiefs, wives and children were exiled to Saipan in 1909.
Many died in exile.
World War I broke out in August 1914, and soon after, New Zealand sent an expeditionary
force to seize and occupy German Samoa. Although Germany refused to officially surrender the
islands, no resistance was offered and the occupation took place without any fighting.
New Zealand continued the occupation of Western Samoa throughout World War I. Under the Treaty
of Versailles in 1919, Germany relinquished its claims to the islands.
In November 1918, the Spanish flu strongly hit the territory. 90% of the 38,302 native
inhabitants were infected and 20% died. The American Samoa population was largely spared
this devastation, due to vigorous efforts of its governor, John Martin Poyer. This led
to some Samoan citizens petitioning in January 1919 for transfer to U.S. administration,
or at least away from the New Zealand administration. The petition was recalled a few days later.
The Mau movement gained momentum with Samoa's royal leaders becoming more visible in supporting
the movement but opposing violence. On 28 December 1929 Tupua Tamasese was shot along
with eleven others during an otherwise peaceful demonstration in Apia. Tupua Tamasese died
the following day; his final words included a plea that no more blood be shed.
New Zealand administered Western Samoa, or Samoa i Sisifo in the Samoan language, first
as a League of Nations Mandate and then as a United Nations Trust Territory until the
country received its independence on 1 January 1962 as Western Samoa. Samoa's first prime
minister following independence was paramount chief Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II.
Samoa i Sisifo was the first Polynesian people to be recognized as a sovereign nation in
the 20th century. Samoa became one of the Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
on 28 August 1970. In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II visited Samoa during her tour of the Commonwealth.
A conflict briefly emerged between Samoa and American Samoa following Samoa's decision
to drop the adjective "Western" from its name. The change was made by an act of the Legislative
Assembly of Western Samoa adopted on 4 July 1997. The step caused "surprise and uproar"
in neighboring American Samoa, as for some American Samoans the change of name implied
a claim to be the "real" Samoa and implied that American Samoa was just an American appendix.
Some in the American territory said it implied that there was only one Samoa. Two members
of American Samoa's legislature traveled to Apia in September 1997 to meet with Samoan
head of State Malietoa Tanumafili II, and lobbied to have the name change reversed in
order to maintain peace and good relations. An American Samoan petition to the United
Nations for a ban on Samoa's using the name Samoa was seriously discussed and ten American
Samoan representatives sponsored an unsuccessful bill aimed at preventing American Samoa from
recognizing independent Samoa's new name. The proposed American Samoan bill was criticized
by independent Samoa's Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana who called the bill "rash and
irresponsible".
In 2002, New Zealand's prime minister Helen Clark formally apologized for two incidents
during the period of New Zealand's administration: a failure in 1918 to quarantine the SS Talune,
which carried the 'Spanish 'flu' to Samoa, leading to an epidemic which devastated the
Samoan population, and the shooting of leaders of the non-violent Mau movement during a ceremonial
procession in 1929.
In 2007, Samoa's first head of state, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, died at age
95. He held this title jointly with Tupua Tamasese Lealofi until the latter's death
in 1963. Malietoa Tanumafili II was Samoa's Head of State for 45 years. He was the son
of Malietoa Tanumafili I, who was the last Samoan king recognized by Europe and the Western
World.
Samoa's current head of state is His Highness Tui-Atua Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Efi, who was
anointed the head of state title with the unanimous endorsement of Samoa's Parliament,
a symbol of traditional Samoan protocol in alignment with Samoan decision-making stressing
the importance of consensus in the 21st century. In May 2021, Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa became
Samoa's first female prime minister. Fiame's FAST party won narrowly the election, ending
the rule of long-term Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi. On 24 May 2021, she was
sworn in as the new prime minister. Calendar usage in Samoa
As European traders began commercial activities in the Samoan Islands, they imposed their
datekeeping system on their transactions. Thus by the 19th century, Samoan calendars
were aligned with those of the other Asiatic countries to the west and south. However,
in 1892, American traders convinced the king to alter the country's dating system to align
with the United States; thus the country lived through 4 July 1892, twice. But 119 years
later, the economic geography of the island had changed, and most business was being done
with Australia and New Zealand. To make the jump back to the Asian date Samoa and Tokelau
skipped 30 December 2011.