American Samoa
Encyclopedia : A : AM : AME : American Samoa
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| National motto: Samoa, Muamua Le Atua (Samoa, Let God Be First) | |||||
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| Official languages | English, Samoan | ||||
| Capital | Pago Pago | ||||
| Head of State | George W. Bush | ||||
| Governor | Togiola Tulafono | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 212th 199 km² (76.8 sq. mi) 0% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2005) - Density | Ranked 203rd
64,869 353/km² (914/sq. mi) | ||||
| Currency | USD | ||||
| Time zone | UTC -11 (no DST) | ||||
| National anthem | Amerika Samoa | ||||
| Internet TLD | .as | ||||
| Calling Code | +1 684 | ||||
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History
Main article: History of Samoa, History of American SamoaOriginally 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 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 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 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.
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
- More information on politics and government of American Samoa can be found at the Politics and government of American Samoa series.
Administrative Divisions
American Samoa is administratively divided into 3 districts and 2 "unorganized" islands. These districts are subdivided into 73 villages. Districts:- Eastern
- Western
- Manu'a
The villages for Eastern and Western districts are:
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The villages for the Manu'a district are:
- Faleasao
- Leusoali'i
- Luma
- Maia
- Ofu
- Olosega
- Si'ufaga
- Sili
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).
- 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 ).
- 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.
- 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.
- On April 11 2001 in a 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.
See also
Government
Sports
- American Samoa at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- American Samoa at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- American Samoa national rugby league team
- American Samoa national soccer team
CIA 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
External links
- CIA World Factbook entry on [American Samoa]
- ["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
- [Photographs of American Samoa]
- [American Samoa Travel Photos]
| The U.S. Territory of American Samoa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | Politics · Former Governors · Elections | ||||
| Capital | Fagatogo | ||||
| Governor | Togiola Tulafono | ||||
| Islands | Tutuila · Manua Group ( Ta'u · Ofu · Olosega) · Olosega · Swains Island | ||||
| Geography | Economy | Demographics | Communications | Transportation |
- redirect
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