American Samoa

American Samoa Parks

• US National Parks

  National Park of American Samoa

• Marine Sanctuaries

  Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary

American Samoa has been a U.S. territory since 1899; its inhabi­tants are considered U.S. nationals.

Capital: Pago Pago Motto: Samoa—Muamua le Atua (Samoan “Samoa—Let God

Be First”)
Flower: Paogo (ulafala)
Plant: Ava (kava)
Song: “Amerika Samoa”
Tree: Paogo or pandanus

GOVERNMENT OFFICES:

Government web site:
americansamoa.gov

Office of the Governor
Executive Office Bldg
Third Floor, Utulei
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
011-684-633-4116
fax: 011-684-633-2269
americansamoa.gov/gov_office/gov_office.htm

Department of Local Government
011-684-633-5201
fax: 011-684-633-5590

Feleti Barstow Public Library
997687 Utulei Way
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
011-684-633-5816
fax: 011-684-633-5816

(Eastern Samoa), a country in the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. American Samoa includes Tutuila, the largest island (137 sq km), the Manua Islands, Aunuu, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island, a member of the Tokelau group, that is administered as part of American Samoa. A US possession, American Samoa has an area of 197 sq km. In 1974 the population was 30,000. The administrative center is Pago Pago on Tutuila, and the country is divided into three districts.

Except for a small coastal plain in the south, mountains occupy almost the entire island of Tutuila, which has a maximum elevation of 652 m. Along the island’s eastern coast is one of the best bays in the Pacific, Pago Pago. The country has a tropical trade-wind climate, with mean monthly temperatures of 25°–27°C. Precipitation ranges from 80 mm to 450 mm a year. More than half of the total is occupied by forests of predominantly treelike ferns. Animal life is represented by a few species of mammals (rats, bats). The sea abounds in sharks, tuna, bonito, mackerel, and swordfish, as well as mollusks; palolo is especially prized.

Samoans, including mestizos, constitute the bulk of the population. There are also small groups of Americans and peoples from other islands of Oceania. Most of the population is Christian, primarily Protestant. The official language is English.

Between 1963 and 1972 the population grew at an average rate of 3.9 percent a year. The economically active population totals 9,600 persons, or roughly 35 percent of the population in 1970. Of these, more than 34 percent are clerical and manual workers for the American administration, 11 percent are employed at fish canning factories, and the remainder are engaged in agriculture, providing services, and trade.

The chief economic sectors are fish canning and copra production. Most of the agricultural land belongs to Samoans. Two-fifths of the country’s area is farmed, and the main export crop is coconuts. Some 4,500 tons of coconuts and 300 tons of copra were exported in 1972. Among crops raised for local consumption are bananas, taro, yams, and sugarcane. In 1972, about 1,000 hectares were planted to bananas, yielding a harvest of 2,000 tons. Hogs and chickens are also raised. Industry is represented by American-owned fish canneries and factories manufacturing cans. Canned fish and shrimp, as well as other fish products, constitute 99 percent of the value of exports. American Samoa imports canned goods from the USA and taro and bananas from Western Samoa. Some 14,000 tourists visited the country in 1969, bringing $1.6 million to the islands. The monetary unit is the US dollar.

As a result of rivalry between Germany, Great Britain, and the USA for possession of the Samoan Islands in the second half of the 19th century, the archipelago was divided and the territory east of 171 °W long. came under US influence. In 1899 eastern Samoa was declared a US possession. American Samoa was administered by the US Department of the Navy until 1951, when it was turned over to the US Department of the Interior. The population of American Samoa has persistently struggled for broader political rights. The most significant development was the Mau, or opinion, movement of the 1920’s and 1930’s. In 1948 the American administration was obliged to establish a bicameral advisory legislature under the governor. A constitutional act adopted in 1960 slightly expanded the rights of the population. In 1968 the first political parties were formed, and in 1969 a commission was set up to work out the fundamental principles of the future political status of American Samoa.