American Samoa has been a territory of the United States since the signing
of the April 17, 1900 Deed of Cession. The Pago Pago Harbor area was the
site of the coaling station and a naval base. During the late 1930's, the
strategic importance of American Samoa proved valuable in its aggressive
retaliation with the Japanese Empire. In 1940, the Port of Pago Pago became
a training and staging area for the U.S. Marine Corps. During the War Years,
the United States built roads, airstrips, docks and medical facilities
exposing island residents to the American way of life. It was also then that
American Samoans enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, thereby establishing a
home guard unit. In 1945, the Marines left the island territory to resume
its peaceful lifestyle.
Since World War II, American Samoa has developed into a modern,
self-governing political system. The government is divided into three
branches, similar to the United States. The Executive Branch is led by the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the Legislative Branch is led by the local
legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives, who are elected by
popular vote and the Senate, who are represented by the village matai. The
judicial branch is part of the U.S. judicial system, and American Samoa has
a non-voting representative elected to the U.S. Congress.
Traditional Samoan society is based on a chieftain system of hereditary
rank, and is known as the "Samoan Way" or fa'a Samoa way of life. Despite
the inroads of modern, Western Civilization, local cultural institutions are
the strongest single influence in American Samoa. The fa'a Samoa way of life
stems from the aiga, the extended family with a common allegiance to the
matai, the family chief who regulates the family's activities. Religious
institutions are very influential in the community and the village minister
is accorded a privileged position, equal in status to a chief or matai. The
Fa'a Samoa also reflects a communal lifestyle with non-public ownership and
90% of the communal lands controlled by the family matai.
Initial contact with the outside world came with the introduction of
Christianity by John Williams of the London Missionary Society. The adoption
of Christianity by the ranking chiefs proved to be successful, for within 40
years, Samoans were sending missionaries to Melanesia.
Linguistic and cultural
evidence suggest that the first Samoa inhabitants migrated from the West,
possibly by way of Indonesia, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga, to the eastern tip of
Tutuila near the present village of Tula around 600 B.C.. It is believed
that there was at least an 800 year history of contact with Fiji and Tonga,
before the Samoan islands were "officially" discovered by Dutch Explorer
Jacob Roggeveen in 1722.
The islands of American Samoa have a total land area of 76
square miles. Tutuila contains about two thirds of the total area and is
home to 95% of the 65,000 islanders. American Samoa is located 14 degrees
south of the equator, and 172 degrees meridian west, and is the center of
Polynesia. Located 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii and 1,600 miles northeast
of New Zealand, it forms a strategic midpoint on vital shipping and air
routes.
