American Samoa
American Samoa (
Samoan:
Amerika Samoa) is an
unorganized,
unincorporated territory of the
United States located in the South
Pacific Ocean southeast of the sovereign state of
Samoa. The main (largest and most populous) island is
Tutuila, with the Islands,
Rose Atoll, and
Swains Island also included in the territory. American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the
Cook Islands, north of
Tonga, and some 300
miles (500 km) south of
Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the
Wallis and Futuna group. The
2000 census showed a total population of 57,291 [
1]. The total land area is 200.22 km² (77.305 sq mi).
Main article: History of Samoa, History of American Samoa
Originally inhabited as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was not reached by
European explorers until 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 portionâ€"a smaller group of eastern islands with the noted harbor of
Pago Pagoâ€"the following year. The western islands are now the independent state of
Samoa.
After the U.S. took possession 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 in 1904. The last sovereign of , the , was forced to sign a Deed of Cession of following a series of US Naval trials, known as the "Trial of the Ipu", in Pago Pago, , 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.
Employment on the island is historically hard to come by. Most people who have jobs travel to nearby Hawaii for work or join the U.S. military; in fact, the military is the largest employer on the islands.
Politics of American Samoa takes place in a framework of a
presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the
Governor is the
head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. American Samoa is a unincorporated and
unorganized territory of the
United States, administered by the
Office of Insular Affairs,
U.S. Department of the Interior. Its constitution was ratified 1966 and came into effect 1967.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the legislature. The party system is a copy of the United States party system. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
American Samoa is administratively divided into 3
districts and 2 "unorganized" islands. These districts are subdivided into 73 villages.Districts:
*
Eastern*
Western*
Manu'aUnorganized Islands:
*
Rose Island*
Swains Island |
Map of the districts of American Samoa |
The villages for Eastern and Western districts are:
|
Map of the villages of the Manua districts and Swain's Atoll |
Note: One village,
Pagai, has been unexplainedly left off the above map of Tutuila. It lies between Alofau and Faga'itua.
The villages for the
Manu'a district are:
#
Faleasao#
Leusoali'i#
Luma#
Maia#
Ofu#
Olosega#
Si'ufaga#
SiliThere is one village on Swains Island. Rose Island is an uninhabited wildlife refuge.
* 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).
* About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the
National Football League. A 2002 article from
ESPN 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. Such status is only conferred on persons born in American Samoa and
Swains Island.
* 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 Samoaâ€"known as the
Fonoâ€"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.
*On
April 11 2001 in a
FIFA World Cup qualifying match,
American Samoa was beaten 31-0 by
Australia.
*In
1938, famous aviator
Ed Musick and his crew died on the
Pan American World Airways S-42
Samoan Clipper over Pago Pago, on a survey flight to
Auckland, New Zealand. Sometime after take-off the aircraft experienced trouble and Musick turned it back toward Pago Pago. As the crew began dumping fuel in preparation for an emergency landing a spark in the fuel pump caused an explosion that tore the aircraft apart in mid-air.
*
Scouting in American SamoaGovernment
*
Politics of American Samoa*
List of American Samoa Governors*
Elections in American SamoaSports
*
American Samoa at the 1996 Summer Olympics*
American Samoa at the 2000 Summer Olympics*
American Samoa national rugby league team*
American Samoa national soccer teamCIA Factbook Data
From the CIA World Factbook 2000:*
Geography of American Samoa*
Demographics of American Samoa*
Politics of American Samoa*
Economy of American Samoa*
Communications in American Samoa*
Transportation in American Samoa*
Military: Defense is the responsibility of the US*
American Samoa, its districts and unorganized islands, United States Census Bureau*
"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 â€" American_samoa List of rulers for American Samoa
*
Photographs of American Samoa*
American Samoa Travel Photos
