History

Main article: History of Samoa, History of American Samoa

Originally inhabited as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was reached by European explorers in the 18th century.

International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 Treaty of Berlin in which Germany and the U.S. divided the Samoan archipelago. The U.S. formally occupied its portion—a smaller group of eastern islands with the noted harbor of Pago Pago—the following year. The western islands are now the independent state of Samoa.

After the U.S. took possesion of American Samoa, the U.S. Navy built a coaling station on Pago Pago Bay for its Pacific Squadron and appointed a local Secretary. The navy secured a Deed of Cession of Tutuila in 1900 and a Deed of Cession of Manuʻa in 1904. The last sovereign of Manuʻa, the Tui Manuʻa Elisala, was forced to sign a Deed of Cession of Manuʻa following a series of US Naval trials, known as the "Trial of the Ipu", in Pago Pago, Taʻu, and aboard a Pacific Squadron gunboat.

During World War II, U.S. Marines in American Samoa outnumbered the local population, having a huge cultural influence. After the war, Organic Act 4500, a U.S. Department of Interior-sponsored attempt to incorporate American Samoa, was defeated in Congress, primarily through the efforts of American Samoan chiefs, led by Tuiasosopo Mariota. These chiefs' efforts led to the creation of a local legislature, the American Samoa Fono, which meets in the village of Fagatogo, the territory's de facto and de jure capital. (See the Trivia section below for more information on Fagatogo.)

In time, the Navy-appointed governor was replaced by a locally elected one. Although technically considered "unorganized" in that the U.S. Congress has not passed an Organic Act for the territory, American Samoa is self-governing under a constitution that became effective on July 1, 1967. The U.S. Territory of American Samoa is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, a listing which is disputed by territorial government officials. Image:Fatu Rock.jpg.

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Trivia

American Samoa is the location of Rose Atoll, the southernmost point in the United States (if insular areas and territories are included); see extreme points for more information).
Goods manufactured in territories or protectorates of the United States, including American Samoa, can be labeled "Made in the USA."
About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. It has been estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. A number have also ventured into professional wrestling (see especially Anoai wrestling family).
Persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. This is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other.
The American Samoa national soccer team holds an unwanted world record in international soccer—the record defeat in an international match, a 31-0 crushing by Australia on April 11, 2001.
Although many respected reference sources list the neighboring village of Pago Pago as the capital, Fagatogo is the de facto and de jure (i.e., constitutionally designated; cf. Article 5, Section 9) seat of government. Additionally, the governor's office is located in the village of Utulei, located on the opposite side of Fagatogo from Pago Pago. The reason why many sources list Pago Pago is because the name Pago Pago, the most popular port of call in American Samoa, has become associated with the harbor itself; thus Pago Pago is now generally applied to the harbor area and the capital. However, both the port itself and the legislature of American Samoa—known as the Fono—are located in Fagatogo, a village that is adjacent to (and for all practical purposes indistinguishable from) Pago Pago. (Cf. Wikipedia entry for Pago Pago.)
In March of 1889, a German naval force shelled a village in Samoa, and by doing so destroyed some American property. Three American warships then entered the Samoan harbor and were prepared to fire on the three German warships found there. Before guns were fired, a hurricane blew up and sank all the ships, American and German. A compulsory armistice was called because of the lack of warships.

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Administrative Divisions

Image:American Samoa Districts.png

American Samoa is administratively divided into 3 districts and 2 "unorganized" islands. These districts contain 73 villages. The districts are:

Districts

Unorganized Islands

Image:American Samoa Counties1.png

The villages for Eastern and Western districts are:

The villages for the Manu'a district are:

Image:American Samoa Counties2.png

There is one village on Swains Island. Rose Island is an uninhabited wildlife refuge.

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Map

Image:Samoa islands 2002.gif

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External links

Image:Wikinews-logo.png

Wikinews has news related to:

American Samoa

CIA - The World Factbook -- American Samoa - CIA's Factbook on American Samoa
[1]"The Passive Resistance of Samoans to US and Other Colonialisms", article in "Sovereignty Matters", ed. Joanne Barker, University of Nebraska Press, 2005.
History of American Samoa- Essay which looks at the history of the territory from ancient to more modern times.
Jane's American Samoa Page
Library of Congress Portals of the World - American Samoa - Library of Congress resource which provides links to resources on American Samoa.
Map of American Samoa - Map showing the basic layout of American Samoa.
Revised Constitution of American Samoa - Provides the text of the constition of American Samoa.
The Official Webpage of the American Samoa Government - Lists information on the territorial government including officials and recent legislation.
United Nations Decolonization Papers - Online United Nations Decolonization Documents including current and past Working Papers on American Samoa
ChooHoo! - An online community for Samoans. Features include forums, chat, blogs, etc.
Rulers.org — American_samoa List of rulers for American Samoa

Image:Flag of American Samoa.svg	American Samoa Geography \| Economy \| Demographics \| Communications \| Transportation
Government:	Politics \| Former Governors \| Elections
Capital:	Fagatogo
Governor:	Togiola Tulafono
Islands:	Tutuila \| Manua Group {Ta'u \| Ofu \| Olosega} \| Rose Atoll

Countries in Oceania
Image:Australia.png	Australia : Australia · Norfolk Island
Image:Melanesia.png	Melanesia : East Timor · Fiji · Indonesia (Maluku Islands & Western New Guinea) · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu
Image:Micronesia.png	Micronesia : Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Northern Mariana Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · Palau
Image:Polynesia.png	Polynesia : American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · New Zealand · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna

Island groups in Polynesia
Cook Islands ^N.Z. \| Easter Island (Rapa Nui) ^Chile \| French Polynesia ^Fr. \| Hawai‘i ^U.S. \| Kermadec Islands ^N.Z. \| Loyalty Islands ^Fr. \| New Zealand (Aotearoa) \| Niue ^N.Z. \| Pitcairn Islands ^U.K. \| Samoa (American) ^U.S. incl. Swains I. \| Samoa (western, independent) \| Tokelau ^N.Z. \| Tonga \| Tuvalu \| Wallis and Futuna ^Fr.
In the Federated States of Micronesia: In the extreme north of Fiji: In Papua New Guinea: In the Solomon Islands: In Vanuatu:		Kapingamarangi \| Nukuoro Rotuma Nuguria \| Nukumanu \| Takuu Anuta \| Ontong Java \| Pileni \| Rennell \| Sikaiana \| Tikopia Emae \| Mele

Political divisions of the United States

Image:Flag of the United States.svg

States	Alabama \| Alaska \| Arizona \| Arkansas \| California \| Colorado \| Connecticut \| Delaware \| Florida \| Georgia \| Hawaii \| Idaho \| Illinois \| Indiana \| Iowa \| Kansas \| Kentucky \| Louisiana \| Maine \| Maryland \| Massachusetts \| Michigan \| Minnesota \| Mississippi \| Missouri \| Montana \| Nebraska \| Nevada \| New Hampshire \| New Jersey \| New Mexico \| New York \| North Carolina \| North Dakota \| Ohio \| Oklahoma \| Oregon \| Pennsylvania \| Rhode Island \| South Carolina \| South Dakota \| Tennessee \| Texas \| Utah \| Vermont \| Virginia \| Washington \| West Virginia \| Wisconsin \| Wyoming
Federal district	District of Columbia
Insular areas	American Samoa \| Guam \| Northern Mariana Islands \| Puerto Rico \| Virgin Islands
Minor outlying islands	Baker Island \| Howland Island \| Jarvis Island \| Johnston Atoll \| Kingman Reef \| Midway Atoll \| Navassa Island \| Palmyra Atoll \| Wake Island