American Samoa — books & literature

The story of American Samoa

The Samoan archipelago was settled by Polynesian voyagers roughly three millennia ago, part of the great Lapita migration that seeded much of the Pacific , making Samoan culture, or fa'a Samoa ("the Samoan way"), one of the oldest continuously living cultures in Polynesia. Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen sighted the islands in 1722, and London Missionary Society missionaries brought Christianity in the 1830s, which remains central to daily life. Rival imperial interest from the United States, Germany, and Britain over the strategic harbor at Pago Pago was resolved by the Tripartite Convention of 1899, which split the archipelago: the western islands became German (later independent Samoa), and the eastern islands came under the United States as local chiefs signed Deeds of Cession , Tutuila in 1900, the Manu'a islands in 1904. Administered first by the US Navy and later the Department of the Interior, the territory adopted its own constitution in 1960 and elected its first governor in 1977. Today American Samoa remains an unincorporated US territory that has preserved its matai (chief) system, communal land tenure, and Samoan language alongside American institutions , a rare living blend of ancient Polynesian governance and modern US territorial status.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 1000 BCE

   Lapita Polynesian voyagers settle the Samoan archipelago.

2. 1722

   Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen becomes the first European to sight the Samoan Islands.

3. 1830

   London Missionary Society missionaries arrive, introducing Christianity.

4. 1899

   The Tripartite Convention divides the Samoan Islands between the United States and Germany.

5. 1900

   Tutuila's chiefs sign the Deed of Cession, placing the island under US control.

6. 1904

   The Manu'a islands are ceded to the United States, completing today's territory.

7. 1911

   The eastern islands are officially designated "American Samoa" (7 July).

8. 1960

   American Samoa ratifies its first constitution, establishing local self-government.

9. 1977

   Peter Tali Coleman becomes the first popularly elected Governor of American Samoa.

Top 10 things to know about American Samoa

1. American Samoa is the only inhabited US territory south of the Equator.
2. Pago Pago Harbor is one of the deepest natural harbors in the South Pacific, prized by 19th-century naval powers.
3. People born in American Samoa are US nationals but not automatically US citizens at birth , a status unique among US territories.
4. Fa'a Samoa ("the Samoan way"), built on the matai chiefly system and communal land, still governs daily and civic life.
5. Most land in American Samoa is communally owned under traditional title, not sold as private property.
6. The territory has produced an outsized number of US National Football League players relative to its tiny population.
7. The National Park of American Samoa protects paleotropical rainforest, coral reefs, and flying foxes across three islands.
8. Samoan and English are both official languages; Samoan is one of the oldest living Polynesian languages.
9. American Samoa uses the US dollar and shares zip codes with the US postal system, despite being 2,600+ miles from Hawaii.
10. The territory is split from independent Samoa only by the Tripartite Convention of 1899 , the two Samoas share one language and culture.

Famous people from American Samoa

Say it in American Samoa's language

Did you know?

• ★American Samoans are US nationals, not automatically US citizens , they carry a US passport stamped 'non-citizen national'.
• ★The National Park of American Samoa is the only US national park located south of the Equator and the only one where land is leased from local villages rather than owned by the federal government.
• ★Despite a population of roughly 45,000, American Samoa has sent dozens of players into the US National Football League, one of the highest per-capita rates in the world.

American Samoa culture

• Fa'a Samoa ('the Samoan way') centers on the matai chief system, extended family (aiga), and communal obligation over individual ownership.
• The ta'alolo and traditional siva dances mark ceremonies, welcomes, and church and village celebrations.
• Sunday is reserved for church and family , most commerce and public activity pauses out of respect for Christian tradition.
• Siapo (bark-cloth) making and tatau (traditional tattooing) are living crafts passed down through families and honored as cultural heritage.

Why read American Samoa's books

American Samoa's story lives mostly in oral tradition, chiefly genealogy (gafa), and hymn , but its writers and chroniclers, from Hollywood screenwriters to local historians, have carried fa'a Samoa onto the page for the wider world to read.