The Documented History & Modern Economic State Of Tutuila, American Samoa
In today’s article we will be discussing the long & complicated history behind the American Samoan island of Tutuila. Tutuila is the largest island & the island with the capital in the archipelago of American Samoa. Tutuila is the largest & capital island in the archipelago known as American Samoa. This island is a territory of the United States Of America. It is in the middle of Oceania. It exists as part of the Samoan islands in the central Pacific Ocean. It is incredibly far from the closest continent that is considered mainland. It stands at 17,439.11 nautical miles from the continent of Australia. It is 15,939.46 miles from the country of China. It is also 7,830.43 Nautical miles from Antarctica. This island has changed many hands throughout its history. It is extremely biodiverse & attracts animals from most corners of Polynesia, this is often seen throughout its history. This was also a reason for conflicts between the natives & others. The island itself was formed during the early Pliocene age. This places it at between 5.4 million & 3.4 million years ago. It was formed by a volcanic eruption, it is not clear if this eruption also formed the surrounding islands or not. Its largest settlement is known as Pago Pago, it is the capital of American Samoa. During its last census it had 11,500 people, or 20.581287135801% of the total population on the island. The total population of the island in its last census in 2000 registered as 55,876 people. Its highest elevation is Matafao peak, standing at a mere 653 meters (2142.39 feet). The island is a popular sight for hiking, recreational swimming, surfing, fishing, scuba diving, & snorkelling. These all contribute to the industry of Eco-tourism. The reason for the majority of its scuba diving is due to the beautiful shallow coral reefs off of the coast. Sunken world war 2 relics can also be found off the coast, this is a contributing factor to the large scuba diving / snorkelling industry. These coral reefs are found all around the island. The island also has mountainous regions, which is what makes hiking popular. The oceans surrounding Tutuila are of importance to the legends of the island. These legends will be discussed later in the article. The island is divided into 2 administrative districts, the western & the eastern. The eastern area has 5 counties & so does the western. Even though there are multiple counties, American Samoa has only 1 zip-code, that zip-code is 96799. In this article we will discuss the discovery & documented history of Tutuila as a whole, The known aboriginals of Tutuila, the most destructive man caused & natural disasters of Tutuila, & finally a segment on the American Samoan economy. With that being said, let us delve into the island of Tutuila.
The Documented History Of Tutuila
Before Colonization
Before Colonization by the Europeans, the Polynesians occupied Tutuila along with the rest of Samoa. The Polynesians most likely arrived in 1000 B.C. However it may have been as late as 800 B.C. None the less, By 600 B.C they established a village at the modern day area of Tula. Tula is on the eastern side of Tutuila. There is much evidence to believe that after this point Polynesians still came in & out. The reason for this hypothesis is because the Polynesians on Tutuila managed to keep in contact with the majority of the neighbouring islands. After this point, Tutuila served as a place of exile for the warriors & the chiefs who had been defeated in the wars that ravaged much of Upolu for centuries. It also served as a place for Political Prisoners. Namely Upolu rulers & warriors. After this point unfortunately not much is known about Polynesian activity on the island. However it is believed that this was the first inhabited island of Samoa & from Tutuila they spread to the other samoan islands.
After Colonization
18th Century
In the year of 1722 Jacob Roggeveen a dutch explorer, visited the island chain that contains Tutuila. He was the first to make European contact with this island chain. From our knowledge he visited the eastern side of the island. However it seems that he did not do much with this information. In the year of 1786 french admiral & explorer Louis Antonie de Bougainville visited the Samoan islands, he called them the Navigator islands. His reasoning for this name in particular is because of his observation of the Polynesians practice of navigating the water in dug out canoes to catch Tuna. Unfortunately after this point there were no major historical events that were recorded on the island.
19th Century
During the 1810’s & 1820’s many European whalers & protestant missionaries arrived on the islands. However the majority of them arrived in the 1830’s. In doing so, the whalers severely weakened & disrupted the local whale population. This caused the local whale population to go into near extinction. The most notable of these visitors were sir English missionary John Williams of the London Missionary Society,
& french naval officer Louis de Freycinet who arrived in October of 1819. This caused him to rename Tutuila “Rose island”. He named it this after his wife Rose de Freycinet who was a fellow french explorer. European (majority of which were french) settlers & Samoan people chose to develop a village on the island of Upolu instead of further developing Tutuila. This village was named Apia. After they had fully developed Apia, it became their main major trading station. In 1872 the United States Naval Force decided that Tutuilas deep water Pago Pago harbour would be the best place for a refuelling station for the brand new vessel service from San Francisco, CA to Sydney, AU. They decided to negotiate with the natives to make this happen, & they did. After 6 years of negotiations the US congress ratified the treaty. This would go on to be implemented. After such success many other foreign countries became interested in the tiny island. Great Britain & Germany in particular, were expressing their interest in claiming this island. In 1879 the native Samoans said they they would like to trade with all 3 of the countries. This boosted their international relations by a large percentage. The 3 countries then decided to form a Tripartite government over all of the Samoan islands after this. In the year of 1889, the three countries decided to hold a conference in Berlin to discuss the political future of the islands & to attempt to resolve their differences on that topic. The Americans expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with not having government rein over the islands. The countries ongoing differences led to a rather quick proposal in 1899. This proposal proposed to apportion their control among different parts of the Samoan islands that had been occupied. This ended up forming the political territory of American Samoa. The western islands then went under European control.
20th Century
The Samoans ended up signing off on the ides to apparition the islands & the flag of the U.S.A was raised on Tutuila on April 17th of 1900. At this time the territory was not called American Samoa, it remained that way until 1911. The proposal was also not officially ratified by U.S congress until 1929. During the 2nd world war Tutuila became extremely convenient due to its close placement to Asia. Led by Colonel Lester A. Dessez, the U.S Marine Corps established a military base on Tutuila as well as erected concrete bunkers along the island’s coast. Despite the island’s strategic importance, it escaped almost unscathed from the war. The only exception being attacked was a launch from a Japanese submarine on January 11th of 1942. Since 1951, administration of Tutuila & the other islands of American Samoa has been the responsibility of the US Department of the Interior. In 1956 Peter Tali Coleman became the first Samoan-born governor of American Samoa. In 1960 during his tenure, protections for the islanders were approved. This included protection from confiscation of their lands & from loss of their cultural practices. After 1960, the official flag of American Samoa was made the territories official flag. In 1961 the US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy , appointed Hyrum Rex Lee as governor of American Samoa & approved US expenditure of massive funds to develop Tutuila. Which throughout the 1960s was used to finance the building of an international airport, seaport facilities, roads, schools, houses, a hospital, a tuna cannery, a modern hotel, and the installation of electricity throughout the country. In 1962, Western Samoa became independent of New Zealand, leading to uncertainty about whether the US would continue to have control of American Samoa. The massive US development efforts during the 1960s served to effectively solidify support for the continuation of Tutuila and the rest of American Samoa as a dependency of the United States. In July of 1997 Western Samoa officially changed its name to just Samoa. The reason for this name change was most likely because it would include the Americans of American Samoa. Modernly, American Samoa is an unincorporated Territory of the United States Of America. It is governed & protected by the Department’s Office of Insular Affairs. American Samoa is primarily divided into two political districts; the Eastern District & The Western District. The western district has 4 counties while the eastern district has 5 counties.
The Aboriginals Of Tutuila
The Polynesians of Tutuila
The Polynesians were a sea migrating group of people who absolutely dominated Oceania before the Europeans came. They would migrate by sea & take over each island. They most likely originated in Taiwan or Vietnam. They had their own languages that were unfortunately, completely lost to time. They developed the majority of their languages between 3,000 & 1,000 B.C. They had their own Polynesian mythology. This religion is still practiced by some Polynesian tribes to this day. This mythology is meant to recount ancient times & the adventures of their gods, which are known as Atua. Their religion also involves traditional tattooing. One of the most interesting of their Atua the atua known as Tāne Mahuta. Tāne Mahuta is the creator of all life, the Sky father, & the earth mother. Tāne Mahuta is male in traditional mythology. He may also be known as Tāne-nui-a-rangi. The Polynesians would often fish around the island & effectively have a system of trade with the fish. They most often caught Tuna & it seems that Tuna was incredibly high value. The ancient Polynesians would cultivate Taro, sweet potato, banana, coconut, & breadfruit. This along with seafood & a few other meats would compose an ancient Polynesians diet. They made canoes from the trees on Tutuila, as Tutuila is incredibly densely wooded. They also developed their own navigational system. This system was developed to utilize the stars & the clouds in order to guide them. The Polynesians from this area most likely migrated from Taiwan to Papua New Guinea, Then from Papua New Guinea to Vanuatu, Them from there to Tutuila. Overall, Polynesians migrated all throughout Oceania & to southern parts of Asia. They migrated in a pattern that is a kin to a triangle. This pattern is now officially known as the Polynesian Triangle. However it will never truly be known the exact way they they dispersed. There are currently 3 major models as to how they could have dispersed throughout the Pacific. The first settlement that they built on the island was Tula. This village still exists to this day. They did have a chief system & a type of organized government system. This strong system was heavily influenced & made by 2 early female chiefs. These chiefs were Nafanua & Salamasina. This system was heavily matriarchal. It seems they also were a very social society, as they would often have many festivals & celebrations.
The Most Destructive Natural & Man-Caused Disasters That Have Affected Tutuila
No. 1 Tropical Cyclone Val
Tropical cyclone Val was a Tropical Cyclone in the Pacific ocean. It lasted from the dates of December 4th 1991 to December 17th 1991. It affected the majority of Eastern Oceania. It caused a total of 17 direct & indirect fatalities. This storm was also the direct cause of multiple chemical spills around the island. It’s highest wind speed 1 minute sustained was 145 miles per hour (233.355 kilometers). Its lowest recorded pressure is 940 mbar. It caused 381 million USD in damages for all countries. Adjusted for modern inflation that would be 832,803,898.68 or 832 Million dollars.
No. 2009 Samoa Earthquake & Tsunami
The 2009 Samoan Earthquake & tsunami took place on the 29th of September. It was set off by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake. It then set off a tsunami due to the earthquake originating from the ocean. It affected the majority of Polynesia & Oceania. It went as far south as New Zealand & as far north as San Francisco bay. It did slightly affect the bay area. This caused a total of 189 confirmed fatalities on all countries.
No. 3 Crown Of Thorns Outbreak (Environmental Disaster)
This was an environmental catastrophe of the Crown Of Thorns spreading at a rapid uncontrollable pace. The crown of thorns is a type of starfish that has long spikes that protrude out of its body & appendages. When it was released near Tutuila, it caused absolute havoc. It grew over the coral & prevented it from sucking in nutrients. This caused approximately 90 percent of all Tutuilan coral to die within a few years. Luckily, this issue is being addressed & resolved by way of releasing certain fish who will consume the crown of thorns.
The Economic State Of Tutuila / American Samoa
The economy of American Samoa is rather stable as of 2024. It did take somewhat of a hit during 2020 due to the lack of tourism however since tourism isn’t their only industry they recovered alright. Their GDP is approximately 709 million USD. Their GDP rank is 187th Nominal.Their gdp per capita is 12,844.90 USD. They use USD has their currency on American Samoa & do not seem to accept any other currency. Their largest industries as of 2024 are tuna fishing, tuna canning, & handicrafts. Their current labor force is 17,630. Their unemployment rate is 8.36% of the population or 4,606.6108 people as the total population of American Samoa is 55,103. Their labor force by occupation is 34% agriculture (5994.2 persons), 33% manufacturing (5817.9 persons) & 33% services (5817.9 persons). Their main export partners were Indonesia, Australia, Japan, & Samoa. Their publicly traded stock markets are the New York Stock Exchange & Nasdaq. The average fair market price for a 1 bedroom apartment on American Samoa is 568 USD per month, for a 2 bedroom it is 748 USD per month, for a 3 bedroom it is 1,079 USD per month, for a 4 bedroom it is 1,147 USD per month.
Directories / Credits
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https://www.doi.gov/emergency/factsheets/american-samoa-earthquake-and-tsunami-damage
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/preliminary-analysis-2009-samoa-tsunami
http://itic.ioc-unesco.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1657&Itemid=2824
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/preliminary-analysis-2009-samoa-tsunami
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/may15/crown-of-thorns.html
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