The Samoan Islands consist of three large islands, Savaii, Upolu, and Tutuila, with several neighboring smaller ones . The smaller islands are Aunulu, Ta'u, Ofu, Olosega, Rose and Swains. The latter two islands are coral atolls . The islands are of volcanic origin and form a chain from...
in 1889 was prevented only by a great typhoon, which sank six of their warships. They subsequently signed the Berlin Act to provide for the neutrality of the islands and toavoidfurther conflict; however, in 1899 the United States annexed eastern Samoa, whereas Germany annexed the western part ...
The article presents information on the history of Samoa. The Samoan islands 2,000 years ago were inhabited by migrants from Southeast Asia. In the early 1700s, Europeans had inhabited the land but did not intensify until the arrival of English missionaries and traders in the 1830s. From Germ...
recognized as the center of Polynesia, whence people migrated eastward to the Marquesas, southward to Niue and the Pukapuka islands of Rarotonga, and northward to the Tokelau and Tuvalu island groups; in all these islands, oral tradition is maintained of ancestoral voyages from the Samoan islands...
The great majority of the population is of Samoan ancestry. The islands were probably inhabited by Polynesians 3,000 years ago. Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to visit the islands in 1722. Missionaries began arriving in the islands in the 1830s. The U.S. gained the right to ...
Oral tradition holds that the Samoan archipelago was created by the god Tagaloa at the beginning of history. Until 1997, the western islands were known as Western Samoa or Samoa I Sisifo to distinguish them from the nearby group known as American Samoa or Amerika Samoa. The distinction was nec...
Before the end of the 18th century, German influence had also begun to surface throughout the islands. By the end of the 19th century, the Samoan islands were seen as an important refueling stop for whalers and traders. Therefore, British, German, and US forces arrived into the area, bent...
Culture of American Samoa American Samoa Culture Name American Samoan Alternative Names An early explorer, Louis de Bougainville called the Samoan islands the Navigator's Islands, and some early government reports may refer to American Samoa as Eastern Samoa. Orientation...
Fighting ensued, which was complicated by the long-standing rivalry between the U.S., Britain and Germany for de facto control over the Samoan Islands. On March 15, 1899, warships of the American and British Navies bombarded the Samoan city of Apia to intimidate the reigning Samoan king, who...
The 8.1 Mw, 2009 Samoa earthquake, hit the Samoan Islands on September 29, 2011. As a result of the earthquake, a 15 ft tsunami was generated, which killed a total of 189 people in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. A 3-inch rise in the sea levels was recorded by the Pacific Tsunami...