The Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa) is a Pacific country that consists of two comparatively large islands, Savaiʻi and Upolu, surrounded by a couple smaller islands. It is part of Polynesia, a cultural region that includes Hawaii, Tonga, and Tuvalu, among other islands. The nearest major island is Tutuila, part of the American Samoa, a territory of the United States.
The islands were first settled in the 3rd millennium BCE. Samoa was once a kingdom ruled by two principal royal families, who cultivated relationships with nearby Polynesian states. The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen spotted Samoa in 1722, making him the first European to do so. Thereafter, the Europeans called it "Navigator Islands" because of how good the seafaring skills of the Samoans were, setting aside that the Samoans weren't particularly kind to them. As with the rest of Oceania, the islands used to be feared for the headhunting culture that the native Samoans practiced. This disappeared when they were evangelized to Christianity in the 19th century.
The islands experienced a civil war from 1887 to 1894, pitting the royal families backed by Germans and Americans against each other. The conclusion of the war led to the Tripartite Convention, which partitioned the islands into two separate colonies: the United States got Tutuila (American Samoa), while the Germans got Savaiʻi and Upolu (German Samoa, also known as Western Samoa).
After World War I, the Germans lost all of their overseas colonies, with New Zealand taking over the administration of German Samoa. During said administration, a fifth of the population died of an influenza epidemic that was probably carried over by a ship. It also suffered an event known as the Black Saturday: on 29 December 1929, the Samoans' peaceful protest against the Zealander government was dispersed with machine guns, killing off Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, the Paramount Chief of Samoa at the time.
On New Year's Day 1962, Western Samoa declared independence, making it the first Pacific country to do so. In 1997, it changed its name to simply Samoa, though it is (understandably) still called "Western Samoa" by American Samoans.
In 2009, Samoa became the most recent country to switch the side of the road they drive on. However, bucking the trend of the 20th century, they switched to driving on the left. This made it easier to import cars to the country from the biggest auto manufacturers in the region, namely Japan and Australia. The change also made it easier for members of the large ethnic Samoan communities in both Australia and New Zealand to ship their used cars to Samoa.
Samoa lies near the eastern edge of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+13), while American Samoa lies near the western edge (UTC-11). This means that a simple 30-minute flight from Samoa to American Samoa will set back your clock by a full day (and the opposite vice versa). If you want to experience back-to-back New Year's Days, this is the place to do it.
As a last note, the place seems to be a breeding ground for professional wrestlers, though it must be said they also come from other islands of the region.
The Samoan flag
The Samoan national anthem
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Government
- Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
- O le Ao o le Malonote : Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II
- Prime Minister: Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa
- Assembly Speaker: Papali’i Li’o Taeu Masipau
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Apia
- Population: 202,506
- Area: 2,842 sq km (1,097 sq mi) (167th)
- Currency: Samoan tālā ($) (WST)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: WS
- Country calling code: 685
- Highest point: Mauga Silisili (1857 m/6,093 ft) (134th)
- Lowest point: Pacific Ocean (10,911 m/35,797 ft) (-)
