Samoa

Perhaps no other region conjures up so many romantic visions as Polynesia—swaying palms plopping their coconuts onto deserted beaches, the fabled missionaries, and beachcombers. Michener and Maugham have described it, Gauguin captured it on canvas. The names of Captain Cook, William Bligh, Bloody Mary and Sadie Thompson mingle together in a confusion of history and fantasy. Surely the islands of the South Pacific are among the most romanticized and stereotyped areas in our world.

But the Pacific is not a dream and since World War II, the area has been cautiously bringing itself into touch with modern times. Today most of the countries of the South Pacific are independent nations. Samoa became the first independent Polynesian nation in 1962.

The immensity of the Pacific, with its distance and relative isolation, together with the differing island habitats, presents supreme challenges for modernization. The increasing pressures of population, the depletion of natural sea and land resources, the lack of capital, the limited infrastructure, and the continual shortages of skilled, educated people add to the problems.

Geography and Climate

The islands of Samoa lie about 1,600 miles northeast of New Zealand and about 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii . The narrow coastal plains on the four inhabited islands support most of the people, while the rugged island interiors are covered with dense forest. The islands are protected by coral reefs and lagoons. Sea breezes temper the tropical climate, and temperatures average about 80 degrees Fahrenheit yearround. Although rain is an almost daily event, most of the 115 inches of annual rainfall (average) occurs between October and March.

The approximately 175,000 Samoans live in about 400 coastal villages ranging in size from one hundred to two thousand people. The only large town is Apia , the capital and commercial center, with a population of about 40,000.

Economy and Government

Archaeological evidence suggests that Polynesians came to Samoa as early as 1000 B.C. Regular contact with Europeans was established throughout the 1800s with the British, Germans and Americans establishing consulates in Samoa. A succession dispute among the Samoan royal families after the death of King Malietoa Laupepa led to Samoan annexation in 1898: Germany took Western Samoa (the “Western" was dropped in the late 1990s), and the United States took Eastern (now American) Samoa.

Until recently, the economy of Samoa was based on the export of copra (dried coconut), cocoa and bananas. Due to declining world market prices for these commodities, the relatively low quality of Samoan agricultural products, and the growing demand for imported consumer goods, Samoa faces a widening trade gap. The government is working to diversify the economy.

Fishing, the most underutilized available resource, has received a significant boost from Japanese and Australian aid, and other sectors of the economy are also receiving international development assistance. The beauty of the islands and the hospitality of Samoans are natural bases for the tourism industry, and new hotels, handicraft shops, tour companies and vendors are all parts of this growing sector.

Samoa's parliament is modeled after the British Westminster system, and its head of state is appointed for life.

Culture

Despite close contact with Europeans for over 160 years, the Samoans have retained a great deal of their own Polynesian cultural traditions. The Fa'aSamoa, or, the " Samoan Way ," is the dominant social force. Samoan life revolves around the family group, which includes a wide group of relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, who acknowledge one person as the leader, or matai. The Samoan system provides for the cultivation of family lands by younger members of the family, the resulting produce being shared among the whole family at the direction of the matai, who is thus able to care for the sick, the very young, and the aged members of his or her family.

Most Samoans are Christians; and church observances have been assimilated into the patterns of Samoan daily life. Over half of the people are Congregationalists, and trace the origin of their religion to the arrival of the Congregationalist London Missionary Society in 1830.

Education is compulsory (Years 1-8) but not free in government and mission schools. Literacy levels are high; nearly all Samoans over age 15 are literate in the Samoan language, and perhaps half of them functionally literate in English.

Last updated Sep 28 2008