The history of Samoa since the arrival of the palagi explorers, traders, and missionaries was written mostly around events in the more populous islands of the Samoan archipelago. The large island of Upolu attracted the attention of Europeans who moved to Apia, the main port village, and set up businesses there. During the 19th century, Apia became a favorite stop over hub for traders and whalers. They built trading posts and created a small western style economy. These businesses brought in Melanesian and Chinese workers to augment their workforce. Next came soldiers to protect the business interests. With the military came the ever-present bureaucrats vying for their niche during the most active part of European and American expansion.

As part of this group of visitors were missionaries coming to Samoa to spread Christianity. Thanks to their tireless work, Samoans are now primarily Christians. The missionary contacts were initially made in the western islands of Samoa and gradually and reluctantly their Christian message made its way to the Manu'a islands. From that initial contact, Christianity became popular and it merged with the fa'a Samoa (the Samoan culture) into something that is uniquely Samoan.

Today, it's possible to see a church building in each of the villages in Samoa that serve an important role in the lives of the locals. Some of these villages have no more than 300 people.

With the Berlin treaty of 1899, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States divided the Samoan islands into two: the western islands that included Savai'i, Upolu, Apolima and Manono were annexed to Germany. It became known as Western Samoa. The islands of Tutu'ila, Tau, Olosega, and Ofu became a United States territory - American Samoa. Upolu and Savai'i, being the largest islands, were ideal for large plantations to supply export. American Samoa is strategically located halfway between California and Australia and it has a safe and protected harbor that is ideal for Naval use.

After World War I, Germany lost Western Samoa to Great Britain and New Zealand, its colonial possession. New Zealand administered Western Samoa during most of the first half of the 20th century until it became an independent nation in 1962. American Samoa became a U.S. territory in 1900 when the islands of Tutu'ila and Aunu'u were ceded over to the United States. Manu'a followed suit and ceded to the United States of America in 1904. Twenty years later, the US congress recognized these signed 'deeds' and so remains this relationship between the United States and American Samoa to this day.

Significant Dates

MARGARET MEAD Margaret Mead's name will surfaced when people talk about Samoa because of her book, Coming of Age in Samoa. In there she documented the lives of some Samoan adolescents. What she wrote was later challenged by others and it became the subject of many discussions; more than the book itself. It became a center piece in the nature-nurture debate.

The Controversy behind Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa is probably an outcome of a much larger struggle in the West as it comes to term with its self.

From the outset, coming into the 20th century, the West was on a course of great development. The discoveries of the sciences and engineering provided citizens with higher standards of living. But despite these accomplishments, there were ensuing efforts to define morals and ethics of the new generations. These efforts were discussed and clarified in churches, universities, government hearings, media, and in the homes. The work of Mead was an extension of these dialogs. She chose to do her research in a place she believed far removed of the sophistication, and furthest from anything resembling, of her home and surrounding. She chose to do her research in Samoa, primarily in the village of Ta'u on the Manu'a islands.

In some degree, I sympathized with Meads relentless attempt to show her people that there was more to life than material possessions. To show that there was more to life than winning the rat race. There were also issues dealing the treatment of minorities and other less fortunate of the society.

"As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own." (from Coming of Age in Samoa, Margaret Mead, 1928)

In retropect, many Samoans think that she went too far in her writings to portraying them as lacking strong and complicated emotion and passion that she disliked so much in the West. What is more puzzling is why an intelligent student skimmed some very basic facts that show the corollary that the Samoans by nature are agressive, and that they live in a very demanding society. Whatever her reasons, or lack of, we'll leave it to the scholars.

It suffices us to know that Samoans are similar to every other group of people. Nonetheless, living on these rustic beautiful islands with an abundance of crops and fish might have caused a unique approach to life that could be misinterpreted by the uninitiated eyes.

From the outside, the Samoans appear content with life, easy going and view achievement with distaste. This view might give an observer a mistaken notion about Samoans. Like every other people, Samoans lacks none of the human frailties and they're clearly empowered with the human drive to compete to win and to succeed. But the natural surroundings of the islands and years of refined traditions have created a markedly Samoan way.