Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Samoa: The Cradle of Polynesia

Episode Date: May 1, 2022

Located approximately 1500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator and split by the International Date Line, is a small chain of islands which was was believed to be the birthplace of Polynesian civilization. Today these islands are divided between two different countries. Despite a common culture and language, the differences between them keep getting larger over time. Learn about Samoa, both Western Samoa and American Samoa, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://podfollow.com/everythingeverywhere/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact [e-mail] to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Located approximately 1,500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator, and split by the international dateline, is a small chain of islands which was believed to be the birthplace of Polynesian civilization. Today, these islands are divided between two countries. Despite a common culture and language, the differences between them keep getting larger over time. Learn more about Samoa, both Western Samoa and American Samoa, on this episode of Everything everywhere daily. I first visited Samoa back in 2007. It was one of my first stops I had in my around the world trip. I instantly fell in love with the country, and when people ask me what my favorite country is, the answer I will often give is Samoa. Samoa is a pretty small country,

situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it's rather hard to reach. As a result, not many people visit. The vast majority of its visitors come from other Pacific islands, especially New Zealand and Australia. Before I go any further, I should mention the pronunciation. I'm going to be using the Samoan pronunciation, which is putting the accent on the first syllable and using an elongated A. Most people will pronounce it without any emphasis just as Samoa, but it should be Samoa. Kind of similar to how Tuvalu is Tuvalu and not Tuvalu. The history of Samoa dates back about 3,000 to 3,500 years ago when the islands were settled by the Austronesian people who were working their way across the Pacific Ocean. The ancestors of the Samoans are called the Lapita culture.

and they began their expansion eastward from what is today considered Melanesia, just to the east of the island of New Guinea. The early history of Samoa is intertwined with the islands of Fiji and Tonga. Fiji lies southwest of Samoa, and Tonga is south-by-southwest. These islands were the closest, and so this is where there was the most trade in communication. Over a thousand years ago in the 9th century, the Samoan Empire was established, also known as the Tuimanoa Empire or the Tuimanoa Confederacy. This was a wide-ranging empire that included Tonga and Fiji, but went much further to include some of Kiribati, the eastern Solomon Islands, and much of what is today French Polynesia.

It was loosely ruled, as you might expect, given the vast distances in time it took to travel. This began to fall apart around the year 1050 with the rise of the Tuitongan Empire. Eventually, the two largest and westernmost islands in Samoa, Uppalu, and Savai, came under Tongan control and remained that way for several hundred years. It was during the Samoan and Tongan. empires that Polynesian expansion began, which resulted in the settling of islands from Hawaii to Easter Island to New Zealand. This is the reason why Samoa is known as the cradle of Polynesia. This was also one of the last migrations of humans to parts of the

earth that had never been inhabited before. The lateness of this migration is one of the other reasons why Polynesian languages are still so similar to each other. The next big change in Samoa and civilization occurred in the 18th century, when first contact was made with Europeans. The first European to spot Samoa was the Dutch explorer Yaakov-Rogavin, who saw it in 1722. However, it wasn't until the early 19th century that significant contact with Europeans began. In the 1830s, missionaries began visiting Samoa with the intent of converting the local population to Christianity, and it was very successful, as you'll see in a bit. There was also interest in Samoa commercially from Germany, Britain, and the United States.

In fact, in the 1880s, all three countries claimed all of what was. then the kingdom of Samoa. Things came to head with the first Samoan civil war, which lasted from 1886 to 1894. Opposing fashions clashed over control of the island and who would be king. The Western powers tried to use the war to stake their positions. In 1889, all three Western powers sent warships to Appiah Harbor, which was the capital of Samoa. On March 15th of that year, a major cyclone hit and damaged or sunk many of the Western ships. 145 Americans and Germans were killed. This led directly to a conference in June, which led to the, quote, final act of the Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs. This act guaranteed Samoan independence, brought back the exiled king,

and established rules regarding conflicts and land sales between Samoa and Western countries. However, the exiled king died just two years later, and conflicts began anew in 1894. The British writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, moved to Samoa during this period in December of 1890. He built a house and stayed there the rest of his life. He served as a pro-Samoan advisor to the Samoan people to help them navigate the politics of Western countries. He died there in 1894 and was buried on the island, and today his home is a museum. The Civil War resumed in 1898, and this time, on March 15, 1899, 10 years to the day after the Apia cyclone, British and American ships shelled the Samoan capital. This resulted in another negotiated settlement, but this time the

implications were far more pronounced. Britain agreed to renounce all claims to Samoa in exchange for German seating claims to Tonga, the Solomon Islands, and West Africa. Germany gained control over Western Samoa, including the islands of Upol and Savai, which are by far the two largest in terms of population and area. This became known as the territory of German Samoa. The United States gained control over the eastern islands, which included the islands of Tutulia and Manua. Tutalia is the location of Pongo Pongo Harbor, which is the best deep water harbor in the Pacific. This became the territory of American Samoa. German Samoa lasted until 1914 in the start of the First World War.

At the behest of Great Britain, the island was invaded by New Zealand, and the island was taken over without a struggle. The Western Samoa and Trust Territory was created by the League of Nations, which was to be administered by New Zealand. Western Samoa was now the colony of a colony. This state of affairs remained until 1962, when the territory became the new independent country of western Samoa. Meanwhile, the other part of Samoa, American Samoa, was and still remains a United States territory. I should note that the two Samoas are not that

far apart from each other. Their closest point is only 44 miles or 70 kilometers apart. Before their partition, there was one common Samoan culture across all the islands. This Samoan way of life is known as Fa'a Samoa. For the most part, this is still the case. The Samoan language is spoken in both regions, and you can still find traditional fallets, which are the thatched roof bungalows. However, over a century of being separate territories has given each Samoa its own character. Western Samoa actually changed its name in 1997 to just Samoa. This actually caused a spat with American Samoa because they felt they had an equal claim to being called Samoa. To this day, the upper-level domain name for Samoa is WS for Western Samoa.

The name wasn't the only thing that was changed. In 2009, Samoa became the only country in history to change the side of the road that they drove on from the right to the left. In 2011, they made another huge change when they moved across the international date line. They went from minus 11 UTC time zone to the plus 13 UTC time zone. Prior to this change, Samoa was considered the westernmost country in the world because it had one of the last inhabited islands where the sun would set on a gillade. calendar day. Samoa did this by completely skipping the day of December 30th, 2011. The reasons for both the date change and the driving change was to align themselves closer with New Zealand and Australia. Many Samoans live and work in New Zealand or Australia, and they're

also the biggest trade partners than the largest source of tourism. However, in the course of doing this, they further distance themselves from American Samoa. The international date line now runs between the two Samoas, and you can't drive a car the same way in either side. One of the other cultural differences which has arisen is sports. The nation of Samoa is crazy about rugby. They consistently have one of the best rugby seven teams in the world. American Samoa has embraced American sports, especially American football. There have been several dozen players with American Samoan roots who have played in the NFL,

including such sandouts as Junior Seow, Tuotunga Vailoa, Marcus Marriota, and Troy Polamalu. I also have to recognize the incredible success that the American Samoan Anouai family has had in professional wrestling. Almost every Samoan in professional wrestling has come from this one family, including the likes of the Wild Samoans, Rakishi, Yokosuna, the Uso's, Roman reigns, and of course,

The Rock. They actually had a photo of the Rock at the Appia McDonald's when I visited. Where many people will go from Samoa to New Zealand or Australia, American Samoans will often live or work in Hawaii or California. American Samoa is also known for having

the highest rate of enlistment in the armed forces of any U.S. state or territory. American Samoa has a very unique status in the United States. All other populated territories are what are called organized territories. American Samoa is the only unorganized territory. That means that unlike people in Puerto Rico or Guam, American Samoans are not U.S. citizens. They are considered U.S. nationals.

They can live, travel, work anywhere in the United States, and they can travel under a U.S. passport. The only difference is that they can keep. can't vote in federal elections or hold federal office, and their passport say U.S. national instead of U.S. citizen. Traveling between Samoa and American Samoa isn't hard. The flight is only about 20 minutes. However, it can be difficult for Samoans who want to visit American Samoa because they need

a visa to make the short trip. American Samoa is home to American Samoan National Park, which is one of the 63 national parks in the United States. Both Samoans are profoundly Christian countries. In the nation of Samoa, 98% of the country professes to be Christian. However, the odd thing is that no one denomination is predominant. The three largest denominations are congregationalists, Catholic, and Mormon. And people of different denominations will often be found within the same village.

Almost everyone in both Samoas are bilingual, speaking both Samoan and English. If you want to visit Samoa or American Samoa, it isn't hard, but it will take some effort. flights to American Samoa only come from Apia and Honolulu. Flights from Hawaii are very expensive because Hawaiian Airlines has a monopoly on the route. There are regional airlines that service the nation of Samoa from Tonga and Fiji, but most international visitors will be flying in on Air New Zealand from Auckland. One constant debate is what the future of Samoa and American Samoa will be, especially American Samoa.

One option would be for an independent American Samoa, However, with a population of only 46,000, this would be rather difficult. Another option which has been talked about since the split of Samoa is Samoa in renification. A combined country would have a population a bit under a quarter million people, and it would certainly be easier for family members on each side to visit each other. The problem is that recent moves by the nation of Samoa, with regards to the time zone and the side of the road they drive on, has made unification that much more difficult.

In fact, there hasn't been much action on the part of a member. American Samoa at all to do anything. They have a high degree of autonomy in managing their own affairs, but they also have the financial and military support of the United States behind them. Both Samoa and American Samoa are great places to visit, and the people there are friendly and welcoming. Most people only think of Samoa as an exotic faraway place, but visiting is actually quite doable if you're willing to make the effort. Everything Everywhere Daily is an Airwave Media podcast. The executive producer is Darcy Adams. The associate producers, are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett.

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