Samoa is a unitary parliamentarydemocracy with 11 administrativedivisions. It is a sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth ofNations. Western Samoa was admitted to the UnitedNations on 15 December 1976.^[15] Because of the Samoans'seafaring skills, pre-20th-century European explorers referred to theentire island group (whichincludes American Samoa) as the "Navigator Islands".^[16][17] The country was a colony ofthe German Empire from1899 to 1915, then came under a joint British and New Zealand colonialadministration until 1 January 1962, when it became independent.

Main article: History of Samoa

Earlyhistory[edit]

Samoa was discovered andsettled by the Lapita people (Austronesianpeople who spoke Oceanic languages),who travelled from Island Melanesia.The earliest human remains found in Samoa are dated to between roughly 2,900and 3,500 years ago. The remains were discovered at a Lapita site at Mulifanua, and the scientists' findings werepublished in 1974.^[18] The Samoans' origins have beenstudied in modern times through scientific research on Polynesian genetics, linguistics and anthropology. Although this research isongoing, a number of theories have been proposed. One theory is that theoriginal Samoans were Austronesians whoarrived during a final period of eastward expansion of the Lapita peoples outof Southeast Asia and Melanesia between2,500 and 1,500 BCE.^[19]

Intimate socioculturaland genetic ties were maintained between Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, and thearchaeological record supports oral tradition and native genealogies thatindicate interisland voyaging and intermarriage among precolonialSamoans, Fijians, and Tongans. Notable figures in Samoan historyincluded the Tui Manu'a line,Queen Salamasina, King Fonoti and the four tama-a-aiga: Malietoa, Tupua Tamasese, Mata'afa, and Tuimalealiifano. Nafanua was a famous woman warrior whowas deified in ancient Samoan religion and whose patronage was highly soughtafter by successive Samoan rulers.^[20]

Today, all of Samoa isunited under its two principal royal families: the Sā Malietoa of the ancientMalietoa lineage that defeated the Tongans in the 13th century; and the SāTupua, Queen Salamasina's descendants and heirs who ruled Samoa in the centuriesthat followed her reign. Within these two principal lineages are the fourhighest titles of Samoa - the elder titles of Malietoa and Tupua Tamasese ofantiquity and the newer Mata'afa and Tuimalealiifano titles, which rose toprominence in 19th-century wars that preceded the colonial period.^[20] These four titles form theapex of the Samoan matai system as it stands today.

Contact with Europeansbegan in the early 18th century. Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutchman, was the firstknown non-Polynesian to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit wasfollowed by French explorer Louis-Antoinede Bougainville, who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768.Contact was limited before the 1830s, which is when English missionaries of the London MissionarySociety, whalers, and traders began arriving.^[21]

19thcentury[edit]

Visits by Americantrading and whaling vessels were important in theearly economic development of Samoa. The Salem brig Roscoe (CaptainBenjamin Vanderford), in October 1821, was the first American trading vesselknown to have called, and the Maro (Captain Richard Macy)of Nantucket, in 1824, was the first recordedUnited States whaler at Samoa.^[22] The whalers came for fresh drinking water,firewood, provisions and, later, for recruiting local men to serve as crewmenon their ships. The last recorded whaler visitor was the GovernorMorton in 1870.^[23]

Christian missionarywork in Samoa began in 1830 when John Williams ofthe London MissionarySociety arrived in Sapapali'i from the Cook Islands and Tahiti.^[24] According to Barbara A. West, "TheSamoans were also known to engage in 'headhunting', a ritual of war in which awarrior took the head of his slain opponent to give to his leader, thus provinghis bravery."^[25]

In A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa (1892), Robert LouisStevenson details the activities of the great powers battling for influence inSamoa – the United States, Germany and Britain – and the political machinationsof the various Samoan factions within their indigenous political system.^[26][27] Even as they descended intoever greater interclan warfare, what most alarmed Stevenson was the Samoans'economic innocence. In 1894, just months before his death, he addressed theisland chiefs:

Thereis but one way to defend Samoa. Hear it before it is too late. It is to makeroads, and gardens, and care for your trees, and sell their produce wisely,and, in one word, to occupy and use your country... if you do not occupy anduse your country, others will. It will not continue to be yours or yourchildren's, if you occupy it for nothing. You and your children will in thatcase be cast out into outer darkness".

He had "seen thesejudgments of God" in Hawaii, where abandoned native churches stoodlike tombstones "over a grave, in the midst of the white men's sugarfields".^[28]

The Germans, inparticular, began to show great commercial interest in the Samoan Islands, especially on the island ofUpolu, where German firms monopolised copra and cocoa bean processing. The United Stateslaid its own claim, based on commercial shipping interests in Pearl Harborin Hawaii and Pago Pago Bay in easternSamoa, and forced alliances, most conspicuously on the islands of Tutuila and Manu'a, which became American Samoa.

Britain also sent troopsto protect British business enterprise, harbour rights, and consulate office.This was followed by an eight-year civil war, during which each of thethree powers supplied arms, training and in some cases combat troops to thewarring Samoan parties. The Samoan crisis came to a critical juncturein March 1889 when all three colonial contenders sent warships into Apiaharbour, and a larger-scale war seemed imminent. A massive storm on 15 March1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict.^[29]

The Second Samoan CivilWar reached a head in 1898 when Germany, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States were locked in dispute over whoshould control the Samoan Islands. The Siege of Apia occurred in March 1899.Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu werebesieged by a larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mata'afa Iosefo. Supporting Prince Tanu werelanding parties from four British and American warships. After several days offighting, the Samoan rebels were finally defeated.^[30]

The joint commissionof Germany, theUnited States and Great Britain abolishedthe Samoan kingship in June 1899. Exiled orator Lauaki Namulau'ulu Mamoe(standing third from left with orator's staff) and other chiefs aboard Germanwarship taking them to exile in Saipan, 1909

American and Britishwarships shelled Apia on 15 March 1899, including the USS Philadelphia.Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States quickly resolved to end thehostilities and divided the island chain at the TripartiteConvention of 1899, signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 withratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900.^[31][32]

The eastern island-groupbecame a territory of the United States (the Tutuila Islands in 1900 andofficially Manu'a in 1904) and was known as American Samoa. The westernislands, by far the greater landmass, became German Samoa. The United Kingdom had vacatedall claims in Samoa and in return received (1) termination of German rightsin Tonga, (2) all of the Solomon Islands south ofBougainville, and (3) territorial alignments in West Africa.^[33]

GermanSamoa (1900–1914)[edit]

Chiefs from allaround Samoa mourning the 1929 death of Mau Movement leader, Tupua TameseseLealofi III, after the Black Saturday killings by NZ soldiers

Main article: German Samoa

The German Empire governed the western partof the Samoan archipelago from 1900 to 1914. Wilhelm Solf was appointed the colony'sfirst governor. In 1908, when the non-violent Mau a Pule resistance movement arose,Solf did not hesitate to banish the Mau leader Lauaki Namulau'uluMamoe to Saipan in the German Northern MarianaIslands.^[34]

The German colonialadministration governed on the principle that "there was only onegovernment in the islands."^[35] Thus, there was no Samoan Tupu (king),nor an alii sili (similar to a governor), but two Fautua (advisors)were appointed by the colonial government. Tumua and Pule (traditionalgovernments of Upolu and Savai'i) were for a time silent; all decisions onmatters affecting lands and titles were under the control of the colonialGovernor.

In the first monthof World War I, on 29 August 1914, troops of theNew Zealand Expeditionary Force landed unopposed on Upolu and seized control fromthe German authorities, following a request by Great Britain for New Zealand toperform this "great and urgent imperial service."^[36]

NewZealand rule (1914–1961)[edit]

Main article: Western SamoaTrust Territory

From the end of World War I until 1962, New Zealandcontrolled Western Samoa as a Class CMandate under trusteeship through the League of Nations,^[32][37] then through the United Nations. Between1919 and 1962, Samoa was administered by the Departmentof External Affairs, a government department which had beenspecially created to oversee New Zealand's Island Territories and Samoa.^[38] In 1943, this department wasrenamed the Departmentof Island Territories after a separate Departmentof External Affairs was created to conduct New Zealand'sforeign affairs.^[39] During the period of NewZealand control, their administrators were responsible for two major incidents.

Flupandemic[edit]

In the first incident,approximately one fifth of the Samoan population died in the influenzaepidemic of 1918–1919.^[40][32]

In 1918, during thefinal stages of World War I,the Spanish flu had taken its toll, spreadingrapidly from country to country. On Samoa, there had been no epidemic ofpneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of the SS Talune from Auckland on 7 November 1918. The NZadministration allowed the ship to berth in breach of quarantine; within sevendays of this ship's arrival, influenza became epidemic in Upolu and then spreadrapidly throughout the rest of the territory.^[41] Samoa suffered the most of allPacific islands, with 90% of the population infected; 30% of adult men, 22% ofadult women and 10% of children died.^[42] The cause of the epidemic was confirmed in1919 by a Royal Commission ofInquiry into the Epidemic concluded that there had been no epidemic ofpneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of the Talune fromAuckland on 7 November 1918.^[41]

The pandemic underminedSamoan confidence in New Zealand's administrative capacity and competence.^[32] Some Samoans asked that therule of the islands be transferred to the Americans or the British.^[32]

Maumovement[edit]

The second majorincident arose out of an initially peaceful protest by the Mau (which literally translates as"strongly held opinion"), a non-violent popular pro-independencemovement which had its beginnings in the early 1900s on Savai'i, led by Lauaki NamulauuluMamoe, an orator chief deposed by Solf. In 1909, Lauaki was exiledto Saipan and died en route back to Samoa in1915.

By 1918, Western Samoahad a population of some 38,000 Samoans and 1,500 Europeans.^[43]

However, native Samoansgreatly resented New Zealand's colonial rule, and blamed inflation and thecatastrophic 1918 flu epidemic on its misrule.^[44] By the late 1920s the resistance movementagainst colonial rule had gathered widespread support. One of the Mau leaderswas Olaf Frederick Nelson,a half Samoan and half Swedish merchant.^[45] Nelson was eventually exiled duringthe late 1920s and early 1930s, but he continued to assist the organisationfinancially and politically. In accordance with the Mau's non-violentphilosophy, the newly elected leader, High Chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi, ledhis fellow uniformed Mau in a peaceful demonstration in downtown Apia on 28December 1929.^[46]

The New Zealand policeattempted to arrest one of the leaders in the demonstration. When he resisted,a struggle developed between the police and the Mau. The officers began to firerandomly into the crowd and used a Lewis machine gun, mounted in preparation forthe demonstration, to disperse the demonstrators.^[47] Mau leader and paramount chief Tupua TamaseseLealofi III was shot from behind and killed while trying tobring calm and order to the Mau demonstrators. Ten others died that day andapproximately 50 were injured by gunshot wounds and police batons.^[48] That day would come to be known in Samoa asBlack Saturday.

On 13 January 1930, theNew Zealand authorities banned the organisation. As many as 1500 Mau men tookto the bush, pursued by an armed force of 150 marines and seamen from the light cruiser HMS Dunedin, and 50 militarypolice. Villages were raided, often at night and with fixed bayonets. In March,through the mediation of local Europeans and missionaries, Mau leaders met NewZealand's Minister of Defence and agreed to disperse.^[49]

Supporters of the Maucontinued to be arrested, so women came to the fore rallying supporters andstaging demonstrations. The political stalemate was broken following thevictory of the Labour Party in New Zealand's 1935 general election. A 'goodwillmission' to Apia in June 1936 recognised the Mau as a legitimate politicalorganisation, and Olaf Nelson was allowed to return from exile.^[49] In September 1936, Samoansexercised for the first time the right to elect the members of theadvisory Fono of Faipule,^[50] with representatives of the Mau movement winning 31 of the 39 seats.^[51]

Independence[edit]

As WesternSamoa (1962–1997)[edit]

After repeated effortsby the Samoan independence movement, the New Zealand WesternSamoa Act 1961 of 24 November 1961 terminated the TrusteeshipAgreement and granted the country independence as the Independent Stateof Western Samoa, effective on 1 January 1962.^[52][53] Western Samoa, the first small-islandcountry in the Pacific to become independent, signed a Treaty ofFriendship with New Zealand later in 1962. Western Samoa joinedthe Commonwealth ofNations on 28 August 1970. While independence was achieved atthe beginning of January, Samoa annually celebrates 1 June as its independenceday.^[54][55]

On 15 December 1976,Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations as the 147th memberstate. It asked to be referred to in the United Nations as the IndependentState of Samoa.^[56]

Travel writer Paul Theroux noted marked differencesbetween the societies in Western Samoa and American Samoa in 1992.^[57]

As Samoa (1997onwards)[edit]

On 4 July 1997 thegovernment amended the constitution to change the name of the countryfrom Western Samoa to Samoa,^[58] the name it had been called by in theUnited Nations since it joined.^[59] American Samoa protested against the namechange, asserting that it diminished its own identity.^[59]

In 2002, New Zealandprime minister Helen Clark formallyapologised for New Zealand's role in the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918that killed over a quarter of Samoa's population and for the Black Saturdaykillings in 1929.^[60][61]

On 7 September 2009, thegovernment changed the rule of the road from right to left,in common with most other Commonwealth countries - most notably countries inthe region such as Australia and New Zealand, home to large numbers of Samoans.^[62] This made Samoa the first country in the21st century to switch to driving on the left.^[63]

At the end of December2011, Samoa changed its time zone offset from UTC−11 to UTC+13, effectivelyjumping forward by one day, omitting Friday, 30 December from the localcalendar. This also had the effect of changing the shape of the International DateLine, moving it to the east of the territory.^[64] This change aimed to help thenation boost its economy in doing business with Australia and New Zealand.Before this change, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change means it is now threehours ahead. The previous time zone, implemented on 4 July 1892, operated inline with American traders based in California.^[65] In October 2021, Samoa ceased daylight saving time.^[66]

In 2017, Samoa signedthe UN treatyon the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.^[67]

In June 2017, Parliamentamended Article 1 of the Samoan Constitution to make Christianity the state religion.^[2][68]

In September 2019, witha state of emergency, Samoa declared a measlesoutbreak, which resulted in the deaths of 83 people. Following theoutbreak, the government imposed a curfew in December later during the sameyear.

In May 2021, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa becameSamoa's first female prime minister. Mataʻafa's FAST partynarrowly won the election,ending the rule of long-term Prime Minister Tuila'epaSa'ilele Malielegaoi of the Human RightsProtection Party (HRPP),^[69] although the constitutionalcrisis complicated and delayed this. On 24 May 2021, she wassworn in as the new prime minister, though it was not until July that theSupreme Court ruled that her swearing-in was legal, thus ending theconstitutional crisis and bringing an end to Tuila'epa's 22-year premiership.The FAST party's success in the 2021 election and subsequent court rulings alsoended nearly four decades of HRPP rule.^[70]

In August 2022, Samoa'sLegislative Assembly reappointed Tuimaleali’ifanoVaaletoa Sualauvi II as the Head of State for a second term offive years.^[71]

Main articles: Politics of Samoa and Fa'amatai

The 1960 constitution,which formally came into force with independence from New Zealand in 1962,builds on the British pattern of parliamentarydemocracy, modified to take account of Samoan customs.^[72] The national modern Governmentof Samoa is referred to as the Malo.

FiamēMataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II, one of the four highest-ranking paramount chiefs in the country, becameSamoa's first Prime Minister.Two other paramount chiefs at the time of independence were appointedjoint heads of state forlife. Tupua TamaseseMeaʻole died in 1963, leaving Malietoa TanumafiliII sole head of state until his death on 11 May 2007. The nextHead of State was Tui Atua TupuaTamasese Efi, who was elected by the legislature on 17 June 2007 fora fixed five-year term,^[73] and was re-elected unopposed in July 2012.He was succeeded by TuimalealiʻifanoVaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II in 2017. Tuimalealiʻifano wasreappointed for a second term of five years in 2022.^[74]

The unicamerallegislature (the Fono) consists of 51 members serving 5-yearterms. Forty-nine are matai title-holders elected fromterritorial districts by Samoans; the other two are chosen by non-Samoans withno chiefly affiliation on separate electoral rolls. At least, 10% of the MPsare women.^[75] Universal suffrage was adoptedin 1990, but only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Samoan seats.There are more than 25,000 matais in the country, about 5% of whom are women.^[76] The prime minister, chosen by a majority inthe Fono, is appointed by the head of state to form a government. The primeminister's choices for the 12 cabinet positions are appointed by thehead of state, subject to the continuing confidence of the Fono.

Prominent women inSamoan politics include the late LauluFetauimalemau Mata'afa (1928–2007) from Lotofaga constituency, the wife ofSamoa's first prime minister. Their daughter Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa isa high chief and a long-serving senior member of cabinet, who was elected PrimeMinister in 2021. Other women in politics include Samoan scholar and eminentprofessor Aiono Fanaafi LeTagaloa, orator-chief Matatumua Maimoana and Safuneitu'ugaPa'aga Neri (as of 2016 the Minister of Communication andTechnology).

The judicial systemincorporates English common law andlocal customs. The Supreme Court ofSamoa is the court of highest jurisdiction. The Chief Justice ofSamoa is appointed by the head of state upon the recommendationof the prime minister.

Administrativedivisions[edit]

Main articles: Districts of Samoa and Electoralconstituencies of Samoa

Samoa compriseseleven itūmālō (political districts). These are thetraditional eleven districts which predate European arrival. Each district hasits own constitutional foundation (fa'avae) based on the traditionalorder of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditionalsalutations).^[77] The capital village of eachdistrict administers and coordinates the affairs of the district and conferseach district's paramount title, amongst other responsibilities.

For example:

A'ana has its capital at Leulumoega. The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royallineage) title of A'ana is Tuimalealiifano. The paramount pāpā titleof A'ana is the Tui A'ana. The orator group which confers this title –the Faleiva (House of Nine) – is based at Leulumoega.

Ātua has its capital at Lufilufi. The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royallineage) titles of Ātua are Tupua Tamasese (based in Falefa and Salani) and Mata'afa (based inAmaile and Lotofaga). The two main political families who confer the respectivetitles are 'Aiga Sā Fenunuivao and 'Aiga Sā Levālasi. The paramount pāpā titleof Ātua is the Tui Ātua.The orator group which confers this title - the Faleono (Houseof Six) - is based at Lufilufi.

Tuamasaga has its capital at Afega.The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royal lineage) title ofTuamasaga is the Malietoa title,based in Malie. The main political family that confersthe Malietoa title is 'Aiga Sā Malietoa, with Auimatagi as the main speaker forthe family. The paramount pāpā titles of Tuamasaga areGatoaitele (conferred by Afega) and Vaetamasoalii (conferred by Safata).^[27]

On Upolu

1. Tuamasaga (Afega)¹

2. A'ana (Leulumoega)

3. Aiga-i-le-Tai (Mulifanua)²

4. Atua (Lufilufi)³

5. Va'a-o-Fonoti (Samamea)

On Savai'i

6. Fa'asaleleaga (Safotulafai)

7. Gaga'emauga (Saleaula)⁴

8. Gaga'ifomauga (Safotu)

9. Vaisigano (Asau)

10. Satupa'itea (Satupa'itea)

11. Palauli (Vailoa)

Humanrights[edit]

Seealso: Human rights in Samoa

Majorareas of concern include the under-representation of women, domestic violenceand poor prison conditions. Homosexual acts areillegal in Samoa.^[78]

Statereligion[edit]

In June 2017, an Act waspassed changing the country's constitution to include a reference to the Trinity. As amended, Article 1 of the SamoanConstitution states that "Samoa is a Christian nation founded on God theFather, the Son and the Holy Spirit".^[79] According to The Diplomat, "What Samoa has done isshift references to Christianity into the body of the constitution, giving thetext far more potential to be used in legal processes."^[80] The preamble to theconstitution already described the country as "an independent State basedon Christian principles and Samoan custom and traditions."^[80]

Militaryand police[edit]

Samoa has no formal defence structure or regular armedforces. It has informal defence ties with New Zealand, which is required to consider anyrequest for assistance from Samoa under the bilateral Treaty ofFriendship of 1962.^[81]

Officers of the nationalpolice force, the Samoa Police Service,are regularly unarmed, but may be armed in exceptional circumstances withministerial approval.^[82] As of 2022 there are between 900 and 1,100police officers in Samoa.

Samoa lies south of theequator, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean.The total land area is 2,842 km² (1,097 sq mi),^[83] consisting of the two large islandsof Upolu and Savai'i (which together account for 99%of the total land area) and eight small islets.

The islets are:^[84]

·       the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa)

·       the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end ofUpolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua,and Fanuatapu)

·       Nu'usafe'e, which isless than 1 ha (2+¹⁄₂ acres)in area and lies about 1.4 km (0.87 mi) off the south coast of Upoluat the village of Vaovai

The main island of Upoluis home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and to the capitalcity, Apia.

The Samoan islandsresult geologically from volcanism, originatingwith the Samoa hotspot,which probably results from a mantle plume.^[85][86] While all of the islands have volcanicorigins, only Savai'i, the westernmost island in Samoa, remains volcanicallyactive, with the most recent eruptions at Mt Matavanu (1905–1911), Mata o le Afi (1902) and Mauga Afi (1725). The highest point inSamoa is Mt Silisili, at 1,858 m (6,096 ft).The Saleaula lava fields situated on thecentral north coast of Savai'i result from the Mt Matavanu eruptions, whichleft 50 km² (19 sq mi) of solidified lava.^[87]

Savai'i is the largestof the Samoan islands and the sixth-largest Polynesian island (after NewZealand's North, South and Stewart Islands andthe Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui).The population of Savai'i is 42,000 people.

Climate[edit]

Samoa has an equatorialclimate, with an average annual temperature of 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) anda main rainy season from November to April, although heavy rain may fall in anymonth.^[88] Ecology[edit]

Further information: List of mammals ofSamoa and Samoan plant names

See also: List of birds ofSamoa and List ofprotected areas of Samoa

Samoa forms part ofthe Samoantropical moist forests ecoregion.^[90] Since human habitation began,about 80% of the lowland rainforests have disappeared. Within the ecoregionabout 28% of plants and 84% of land birds are endemic.^[91]

Main article: Economy of Samoa

Central Bank of SamoaSamoaelectricity production by sourceTaro, a root crop,traditionally was Samoa's largest export, generating more than half of allexport revenue in 1993. A fungal blight devastated the plants, and in each yearsince 1994 taro exports have accounted for less than 1% of export revenue.

The United Nations has classified Samoa asan economically developingcountry since 2014.^[92] As of 2017 Samoa's gross domesticproduct in purchasing-powerparity was estimated at $1.13 billion U.S. dollars,ranking the country 204th in the world. The servicessector accounted for 66% of GDP, followed by industry and agriculture at 23.6% and 10.4%respectively.^[93] For the same year, theSamoan labour force was estimated at 50,700.^[93]

The Central Bank of Samoa issuesand regulates Samoa's currency, the Samoan tālā.^[94] The economy of Samoa has traditionallydepended on agriculture and fishing at the local level. In modern times, development aid, private family remittances fromoverseas, and agricultural exports have become key factors in thenation's economy. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labour force andfurnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, noni (juiceof the nonu fruit, as it is known in Samoan), and copra.^[1]

Sixty percent of Samoa'selectricity comes from renewable hydro, solar, and wind sources, with theremainder produced by diesel generators. The Electric Power Corporation set agoal of 100% renewable energy by2021.^[95]

Agriculture[edit]

In the period beforeGerman colonisation (from the late 19th century), Samoa produced mostly copra.German merchants and settlers were active in introducing large-scale plantation operations and in developingnew industries, notably cocoa beans and rubber, relying on imported labourersfrom China and Melanesia. When the value of natural rubber fell drastically, aboutthe end of the Great War (World War I) in1918, the New Zealand government encouraged the production of bananas, forwhich there is a large market in New Zealand.^[96]

Because of variations inaltitude, Samoa can cultivate a large range of tropical and subtropical crops.Land is not generally available to outside interests. Of the total land area of2,934 km² (725,000 acres), about 24.4% is in permanentcrops and another 21.2% is arable. About 4.4% is Western Samoan Trust EstatesCorporation (WSTEC).^[97]

The staple products ofSamoa are copra (dried coconut meat), cocoa beans (for chocolate), rubber, andbananas.^[98] The annual production of bothbananas and copra has been^[when?] inthe range of 13,000–15,000 tonnes (14,000–17,000 tons). If the Asiaticrhinoceros beetle in Samoa were eradicated, Samoa could producein excess of 40,000 tonnes (44,000 tons) of copra. Samoan cocoa beans are ofvery high quality and are used in fine New Zealand chocolates. Most are Criollo-Forasterohybrids. Coffee grows well, but production has been uneven. WESTEC is thebiggest coffee producer.

Other agriculturalindustries have proven less successful. Sugarcane production was originallyestablished by Germans in the early 20th century. Old train tracks fortransporting cane can be seen at some plantations east of Apia. Pineapples grow well in Samoa, but havenot moved beyond local consumption to become a major export.^[99][100]

Samoa reported apopulation of 194,320 in its 2016 census.^[5] About three-quarters of thepopulation live on the main island of Upolu.^[72]

Health[edit]

Main article: 2019 Samoameasles outbreak

A measles outbreak beganin October 2019. By the time the outbreak subsided in early January, the numberof deaths reached 83 (0.31 per 1,000, based on a population of 201,316^[101]) and over 4,460 cases (2.2% of thepopulation) of measles in Samoa,^[102][103] mainly children under fouryears old, and 10 reported cases in Fiji.^[104]

Ethnicgroups[edit]

The population is96% Samoans, 2% dual Samoan-New Zealander and 1.9% other, accordingto a 2011 estimate in the CIA World Factbook.^[93]

Languages[edit]

Further information: Polynesian languages

Samoan (GaganaFa'asāmoa) and English are the official languages. Includingsecond-language speakers, there are more speakers of Samoan than English inSamoa.^[105] Samoan Sign Language isalso commonly used among the deaf population of Samoa. To emphasizethe importance of full inclusion with sign language, elementary Samoan SignLanguage was taught to members of the Samoa Police Service, Red Cross Society,and public during the 2017 International Week of the Deaf.^[106]

Religion[edit]

Further information: Religion in Samoa

Since 2017, Article 1 ofthe Samoan Constitution states that "Samoa is a Christian nation foundedof God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit".^[2]

Samoans' religious adherence includes thefollowing: ChristianCongregational Church of Samoa 31.8%, Roman Catholic 19.4%, Methodist 15.2%, Assembly of God 13.7%, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 7.6%, Seventh-dayAdventist 3.9%, Worship Centre 1.7%, other Christian 5.5%,other 0.7%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 estimate).^[1] The Head of State until2007, MalietoaTanumafili II, was a Baháʼí. Samoa hoststhe seventh (of nine current) Baháʼí Houses ofWorship in the world; completed in 1984 and dedicated by theHead of State, it is located in Tiapapata, 8 km (5.0 mi) from Apia.

The Samoan governmentprovides eight years of primary and secondary education that is tuition-freeand is compulsory through age 16.^[107]

Samoa's mainpost-secondary educational institution is the NationalUniversity of Samoa, established in 1984. The country is also hometo several branches of the multi-national Universityof the South Pacific and the OceaniaUniversity of Medicine.^[108]

Education in Samoa hasproved to be effective as a 2012 UNESCO report stated that 99 per cent ofSamoan adults are literate.^[109]

The Human RightsMeasurement Initiative (HRMI)^[110] finds that Samoa isfulfilling only 88.0% of what it should be fulfilling for the right toeducation based on the country's level of income.^[111] HRMI breaks down the right toeducation by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondaryeducation. While taking into consideration Samoa's income level, the nation isachieving 97.7% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) forprimary education but only 78.3% for secondary education.^[111]

Main article: Culture of Samoa

See also: Music of Samoa

The fa'a Samoa, or traditional Samoan way, remainsa strong force in Samoan life and politics. As one of the oldest Polynesiancultures, the fa'a Samoa developed over a period of 3,000 years, withstandingcenturies of European influence to maintain its historical customs, social andpolitical systems, and language. Cultural customs such as the Samoa 'ava ceremony aresignificant and solemn rituals at important occasions including the bestowalof matai chiefly titles. Items of greatcultural value include the finely woven 'ie toga.^[112][113]

Samoan mythology includes many gods withcreation stories and figures of legend such as Tagaloa and the goddess of war Nafanua, the daughter of Saveasi'uleo, ruler of the spirit realm Pulotu. Other legends include the well knownstory of Sina and the Eel whichexplains the origins of the first coconut tree.

Some Samoans arespiritual and religious, and have subtly adapted the dominant religion ofChristianity to 'fit in' with fa'a Samoa and vice versa. Ancient beliefscontinue to co-exist side by side with Christianity, particularly in regard tothe traditional customs and rituals of fa'a Samoa. The Samoan culture iscentred on the principle of vāfealoa'i, the relationships between people. Theserelationships are based on respect, or fa'aaloalo. When Christianity wasintroduced in Samoa, most Samoan people converted. Currently 98% of thepopulation identify themselves as Christian.^[114]

Some Samoans live acommunal way of life, participating in activities collectively. Examples ofthis are the traditional Samoan fale (houses)which are open with no walls, using blinds made of coconut palm fronds duringthe night or bad weather.

The Samoan siva dance has unique gentlemovements of the body in time to music and tells a story, although the Samoanmale dances can be more snappy.^[115] The sasa is also a traditional dancewhere rows of dancers perform rapid synchronised movements in time to therhythm of wooden drums (pate) orrolled mats. Another dance performed by males is called the fa'ataupati or the slap dance,creating rhythmic sounds by slapping different parts of the body. This isbelieved to have been derived from slapping insects on the body.^{[citation needed]}

The form andconstruction of traditional architecture of Samoa wasa specialised skill by Tufuga fai fale that was also linked toother cultural artforms.

Media[edit]

Main articles: List ofnewspapers in Samoa and Listof television stations in Samoa

Tattooing[edit]

As with other Polynesiancultures (Hawaiian, Tahitian and Māori) with significant and unique tattoos,Samoans have two gender specific and culturally significant tattoos. For males,it is called the Pe'a and consists ofintricate and geometrical patterns tattooed that cover areas from the kneesup towards the ribs. A male who possesses such a tatau is called a soga'imiti. A Samoan girl or teine isgiven a malu, which covers the area from just belowher knees to her upper thighs.^[116]

Contemporaryculture[edit]

Albert Wendt is a significant Samoanwriter whose novels and stories tell the Samoan experience. In 1989, hisnovel Flying Fox ina Freedom Tree was made into a feature film in New Zealand,directed by Martyn Sanderson.^[117] Another novel Sons for theReturn Home had also been made into a feature film in 1979,directed by Paul Maunder.^[118]

The late John Kneubuhl, born in American Samoa, was anaccomplished playwright and screenwriter and writer. His play Think ofGarden premiered in Auckland in 1993 a year after his death, it wasdirected by Nathaniel Lees,is set in 1929 and is about Samoa's struggle for independence.^[119][120]

Sia Figiel won the 1997 CommonwealthWriters' Prize for fiction in the south-east Asia/South Pacificregion with her novel "Where We Once Belonged".

Momoe MalietoaVon Reiche is an internationally recognised poet and artist.

Tusiata Avia is a performance poet. Herfirst book of poetry Wild Dogs Under My Skirt was published byVictoria University Press in 2004. Dan TaulapapaMcMullin is an artist and writer.

Other Samoan poets andwriters include Sapa'u RuperakePetaia, Eti Sa'aga and Savea Sano Malifa, the editor of the Samoa Observer.

In music, popular localbands include The Five Stars,Penina o Tiafau and Punialava'a. The Yandall Sisters'cover of the song Sweet Inspiration reached number one on theNew Zealand charts in 1974.

King Kapisi was the first hip hop artistto receive the prestigious New Zealand APRA SilverScroll Award in 1999 for his song Reverse Resistance. The musicvideo for Reverse Resistance was filmed in Savai'i at hisvillages.

Other successful Samoanhip hop artists include rapper Scribe, Dei Hamo, Savage and Tha Feelstyle whose music video Suamalie wasfilmed in Samoa.

Lemi Ponifasio is a director andchoreographer who is prominent internationally with his dance Company MAU.^[121] Neil Ieremia's company Black Grace has also receivedinternational acclaim with tours to Europe and New York.

Hip hop has had a significant impact onSamoan culture. According to Katerina Martina Teaiwa, PhD from the Universityof Hawaii at Manoa, "Hip hop culture in particular is popular amongstSamoan youth."^[122] As in many other countries,hip hop music is popular. In addition, the integration of hip hop elements intoSamoan tradition also "testifies to the transferability of the dance formsthemselves," and to the "circuits through which people and all theirembodied knowledge travel."^[123] Dance both in its traditionalform and its more modern forms has remained a central cultural currency toSamoans, especially youths.^[122]

The artsorganisation Tautai PacificArts Trust was an informal collective of visual artistsincluding Fatu Feu'u, Johnny Penisula, Shigeyuki Kihara, Michel Tuffery, and Lily Laita in the 1980s and formalisedinto a trust in 1995 and is now a leading Pacific arts organisation directedby Aanoalii Rowena Fuluifaga.^[124][125] Marilyn Kohlhase ran a Pacific focusedgallery called Okaioceanikart from2007 to 2013.^[126] Other important Samoancontemporary artists include Andy Leleisi'uao, and Raymond Sagapolutele.^[127][128]

Director Sima Urale is a filmmaker. Urale's shortfilm O Tamaiti won the prestigious Best Short Film atthe Venice Film Festival in1996. Her first feature film Apron Strings opened the2008 NZInternational Film Festival. The feature film Siones Wedding, co-written by Oscar Kightley, was financially successfulfollowing premieres in Auckland and Apia. The 2011 film The Orator was the first ever fullySamoan film, shot in Samoa in the Samoan language with a Samoan cast telling auniquely Samoan story. Written and directed by Tusi Tamasese, it received much criticalacclaim and attention at film festivals throughout the world.

Sport[edit]

See also: Sport in Samoa

The main sports playedin Samoa are rugby union, Samoan cricket and netball. Rugby union is the national footballcode of Samoa. In Samoan villages, volleyball is also popular.

Rugby union is thenational sport in Samoa and the nationalteam, nicknamed the Manu Samoa, is consistently competitive againstteams from vastly more populous nations. Samoa has competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1991, andmade the quarter finals in 1991, 1995 andthe second round of the 1999 WorldCup.^[129] At the 2003 world cup, ManuSamoa came close to beating eventual world champions, England. Samoa alsoplayed in the Pacific Nations Cup andthe Pacific Tri-Nations.The sport is governed by the Samoa RugbyFootball Union, who are members of the PacificIslands Rugby Alliance, and thus, also contribute to theinternational PacificIslanders rugby union team.

At club level, there isthe NationalProvincial Championship and Pacific Rugby Cup. They also took home the cupat Wellington and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens in 2007—for which the PrimeMinister of Samoa, also chairman of the national rugby union, Tuila’epaSa’ilele Malielegaoi, declared a national holiday. They were also the IRB World SevensSeries Champions in 2010 capping a year of achievement for theSamoans, following wins in the US, Australia, Hong Kong and Scotland Sevenstournaments.

Prominent Samoan playersinclude Pat Lam and Brian Lima. In addition, many Samoans haveplayed for or are playing for NewZealand.

Thenational rugby league team reached the quarter finals ofthe 2013 RugbyLeague World Cup, the team comprising players from the NRL and Super League plus domestic players. ManySamoans and New Zealanders or Australians of Samoan descent play in the SuperLeague and National Leagues in Britain, including Francis Meli, Ta'ane Lavulavuof Workington Town, Maurie Fa'asavalu of St Helens, David Fatialofa ofWhitehaven and Setaimata Sa, who signed with London Irish rugby club. Othernoteworthy players from NZ and Australia have represented the SamoanNational team. The 2011 domestic Samoan rugby league competitioncontained 10 teams with plans to expand to 12 in 2012.^{[130][failed verification][131]} Samoa reached the final ofthe 2021 RugbyLeague World Cup to face Australia.

Samoans have been veryvisible in boxing, kickboxing, wrestling,and sumo; some Samoan sumo wrestlers, mostfamously Musashimaru and Konishiki, have reached the highest rankof Ozeki and yokozuna.

American football is occasionally playedin Samoa, reflecting its wide popularity in American Samoa, where the sport is playedunder high school sanction. About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa,currently play in the National FootballLeague. A 2002 article from ESPN estimatedthat a Samoan male (either an American Samoan or a Samoan living in themainland United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than anon-Samoan American.^[132]