American Samoa
 

1872 League of Tutuila Flag

Adopted 17 Apr 1900

Adopted 27 Apr 1960

Map of American Samoa Hear National Anthem "The Star Spangled Banner" Hear Local Anthem "Amerika Sāmoa" (American Samoa) Adopted 1950 Constitution (1 Jul 1967) Capital: Pago Pago Seat of Government: Fagatogo (from 1 Jul 1967) Currency: U.S. Dollar (USD) National Holiday: 4 Jul (1776) U.S. Independence Day (Aso Tuto'atasi o Amerika) ---------------------------------- Local Holiday: 17 April (1900) Aso o le Fu'a (Flag Day) Population: 43,895 (2024)  GDP: $871 million (2022) Exports: $409 million (2022) Imports: $677 million (2022) Ethnic Groups: Pacific Islander 88.7% (includes Samoan 83.2%, Tongan 2.2%, other 3.3%), Asian 5.8% (includes Filipino 3.4%, other 2.4%), mixed 4.4%, other 1.1% (2020) Total Active Police Forces: 200 (2012) Defense is the Responsibility of the U.S. Merchant Marine: None (2024) Religions: Christian 98% (incl. Protestant 76.02%, Roman Catholic 28.99%, independent 38.95%, unaffiliated Christian 0.72%), non-religious 0.88%, Agnostic 0.87%, Chinese folk-religionist 0.42%, Baha'i 0.37%, Buddhist 0.34%, others 0.01% (2020) International Organizations/Treaties: AOSIS (observer), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, PC, PIF (associate), UPU American Samoa Index Chronology 13 Jun 1722                Samoa sighted by Dutch Capt. Jacob Roggeveen (b.                              1659 - d. 1729). Rose Atoll is named 't Vuyle                              Eyland (The Foul Island, often mistranslated as                              Bird Island), the Manu’a Islands are named                              Boumans Eylanden, and Tutuila is named Eyland                              Thienhoven.  5 May 1768                Re-visited by French Capt. Louis Antoine de                               Bougainville, named L'Archipel des Navigateurs                              (Archipelago of the Navigators).  6 Dec 1787                French Capt. Jean-François de Galaup, comte de                              Lapérouse visits, Samoans attack a group of                              his men killing 12 in Tutuila. 21 Oct 1819                French Capt. Louis de Freycinet re-sights, renames                              Vuyle Eylandt as L'Ile Rose after his wife.  7 Oct - 10 Nov 1839       Samoa Islands visited by U.S. Capt. Charles Wilkes                              and his exploring expedition.   2 Nov 1871                New Zealand government recommends British                               annexation of the Samoa Islands.  2 Mar 1872                U.S. Commander Richard Meade on U.S.S. Narragansett                              signs a treaty ("Commercial Regulations, etc.")                              granting the United States a coaling station in                              Pago Pago (not ratified by Congress). 13 Feb 1878                U.S. Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Tutuila                              and Aunu'u Islands proclaimed (ratified 11 Feb                              1878, signed 17 Jan 1878).  7 Nov 1889                Tripartite German-U.K.-U.S. protectorate over Samoa                              (effected 21 May 1890)(see under Samoa). 17 Feb 1900                Occupied by U.S. 17 Feb 1900 - 30 Jun 1951  Administered by the U.S. Navy. 17 Apr 1900                Tutuila and Aunu'u Islands officially ceded to                               United States by local chiefs (American Samoa). 16 Jul 1904                Manu'a Islands (Manu'a, Ofu, Ta'u, etc.) and                              Rose Atoll ceded to United States.  2 Apr 1909                The Tui Manu`a lineage becomes extinct. 17 Jul 1911                U.S. Naval Station Tutuila renamed American Samoa.  4 Mar 1925                Swains Island annexed by U.S. 20 Feb 1929                U.S. Congress formally accepts the cession of                               Tutuila and Manu'a by their chiefs, with                              retroactive effect to 16 Jul 1904 (Territory of                              American Samoa). 11 Jul 1942                Japanese submarine I-20 shells U.S. Naval Station                              Tutuila.  1 Jul 1951                Administered by U.S. Department of Interior. 22 Apr 1960                Autonomy (American Samoa [Amerika Sāmoa]). Swains Island (1856-1958)

Paramount chiefs (title Tui Manu`a)
c.1828                     Taalolomana Fanaese
c.1836                     Tauveve
c.1888                     Tauilima Alalamua
 1 Jul 1891 - 29 Oct 1895  Matelita (f)                       (b. 1872? - d. 1895)
1899 -  2 Apr 1909         Elisara                            (b. 18.. - d. 1909)
Commandants U.S. Naval Station, Tutuila
17 Feb 1900 - 27 Nov 1901  Benjamin Franklin Tilley           (b. 1848 - d. 1907) 
27 Nov 1901 - 16 Dec 1902  Uriel Sebree                       (b. 1848 - d. 1922) 
16 Dec 1902 -  5 May 1903  Henry Minett (acting)              (b. 1857 - d. 1952) 
 5 May 1903 - 30 Jan 1905  Edmund Beardsley Underwood         (b. 1853 - d. 1928)
Governors
30 Jan 1905 - 21 May 1908  Charles Brainard Taylor Moore      (b. 1853 - d. 1923) 
21 May 1908 - 10 Nov 1910  John Frederick Parker              (b. 1853 - d. 1911)
10 Nov 1910 - 14 Mar 1913  William Michael Crose              (b. 1867 - d. 1929) 
14 Mar 1913 - 14 Jul 1913  Nathan Woodworth Post (1st time)   (b. 1881 - d. 1938) 
                             (acting)
14 Jul 1913 -  2 Oct 1914  Clark Daniel Stearns               (b. 1870 - d. 1944) 
 2 Oct 1914 -  6 Dec 1914  Nathan Woodworth Post (2nd time)   (s.a.) 
                             (acting)
 6 Dec 1914 -  1 Mar 1915  Charles Armijo Woodruff (acting)   (b. 1884 - d. 1945) 
 1 Mar 1915 - 10 Jun 1919  John Martin Poyer                  (b. 1861 - d. 1922) 
10 Jun 1919 -  3 Nov 1920  Warren Jay Terhune                 (b. 1869 - d. 1920) 
 3 Nov 1920 - 11 Nov 1920  Arthur Clifton Kail (acting)       (b. 1874 - d. 1953)
11 Nov 1920 -  1 Mar 1922  Waldo Evans                        (b. 1869 - d. 1936) 
 1 Mar 1922 -  4 Sep 1923  Edwin Taylor Pollock               (b. 1870 - d. 1943)
 4 Sep 1923 - 17 Mar 1925  Edward Stanley Kellogg             (b. 1870 - d. 1948) 
17 Mar 1925 -  9 Sep 1927  Henry Francis Bryan                (b. 1865 - d. 1944)
 9 Sep 1927 -  2 Aug 1929  Stephen Victor Graham              (b. 1874 - d. 1955) 
 2 Aug 1929 -  3 Apr 1931  Gatewood Sanders Lincoln           (b. 1875 - d. 1957) 
                             (1st time) 
 3 Apr 1931 - 22 Apr 1931  James Sutherland Spore (acting)    (b. 1885 - d. 1937) 
23 Apr 1931 - 18 Jul 1931  Arthur Tenney Emerson (acting)     (b. 1893 - d. 1975) 
18 Jul 1931 -  8 Jul 1932  Gatewood Sanders Lincoln           (s.a.) 
                             (2nd time) 
 8 Jul 1932 - 10 Apr 1934  George Bertram Landenberger        (b. 1879 - d. 1936) 
10 Apr 1934 - 14 Apr 1934  Thomas Calloway Latimore (acting)  (b. 1890 - d. 1941) 
14 Apr 1934 - 15 Jan 1936  Otto Carl Dowling                  (b. 1881 - d. 1946) 
15 Jan 1936 - 20 Jan 1936  Thomas Benjamin Fitzpatrick        (b. 1896 - d. 1974) 
                             (acting)
20 Jan 1936 -  3 Jun 1938  MacGillivray Milne                 (b. 1882 - d. 1959) 
 3 Jun 1938 -  6 Jun 1938  Joseph Collins Van Cleve (acting)  (b. 1900 - d. 1941)
 6 Jun 1938 - 30 Jul 1940  Edward William Hanson              (b. 1889 - d. 1959) 
30 Jul 1940 -  9 Aug 1940  Jesse Rink Wallace (acting)        (b. 1899 - d. 1961) 
 9 Aug 1940 -  5 Jun 1942  Laurence Wild                      (b. 1890 - d. 1971)
17 Jan 1942 - 25 Apr 1942  Henry Louis Larsen                 (b. 1890 - d. 1962)
                             (military governor)
28 Apr 1942 -  1 May 1944  Charles Frederick Berthold Price   (b. 1881 - d. 1954)
                             (military commander Defense Force, Samoan Group)
 6 Jun 1942 -  8 Feb 1944  John Gould Moyer                   (b. 1893 - d. 1976)
 8 Feb 1944 - 27 Jan 1945  Allen Hobbs                        (b. 1899 - d. 1960) 
27 Jan 1945 -  3 Sep 1945  Ralph Waldo Hungerford             (b. 1896 - d. 1977) 
 3 Sep 1945 - 10 Sep 1945  Samuel Wakefield Canan (acting)    (b. 1898 - d. 1964)
10 Sep 1945 - 22 Apr 1947  Harold Alexander Houser            (b. 1897 - d. 1981) 
22 Apr 1947 - 15 Jun 1949  Vernon Huber                       (b. 1899 - d. 1967) 
15 Jun 1949 -  7 Jul 1949  .... (acting)
 7 Jul 1949 - 23 Feb 1951  Thomas Francis Darden, Jr.         (b. 1900 - d. 1961) 
23 Feb 1951 - 30 Jun 1952  Phelps Phelps                      (b. 1897 - d. 1981)  Dem 
 8 Apr 1952 -  1 Dec 1952  John Chauncey Elliott              (b. 1919 - d. 2001)  Dem
                             (acting [for Phelps to 30 Jun 1952] to 16 Jul 1952)
25 Nov 1952 - 26 Dec 1953  Arthur Albert Morrow               (b. 1893 - d. 1985)  Dem
                             (acting for Elliott)
26 Dec 1952 -  4 Mar 1953  James Arthur Ewing                 (b. 1916 - d. 1996)  Dem
 9 Jan 1953 - 1953         James Reeve Dean (acting for Ewing)(b. 1891 - d. 1960)  Rep?
1953 - 17 Apr 1953         Leland "Lee" Park Draney (1st time)(b. 1902 - d. 1988)  Rep
                             (acting [for Ewing to 4 Mar 1953])
17 Apr 1953 -  5 Aug 1953  Lawrence McCully Judd              (b. 1887 - d. 1968)  Rep
23 May 1953 - 12 Nov 1953  Leland "Lee" Park Draney (2nd time)(s.a.)               Rep
                             (acting [for Judd to 5 Aug 1953])
12 Nov 1953 - 15 Oct 1956  Richard Barrett Lowe               (b. 1902 - d. 1972)  Rep
17 Oct 1956 - 24 May 1961  Peter Tali Coleman (1st time)      (b. 1919 - d. 1997)  Rep
24 May 1961 - 31 Jul 1967  Hyrum Rex Lee (1st time)           (b. 1910 - d. 2001)  Dem
17 Jul 1967 -  1 Aug 1967  M. Johnson (acting) 
 1 Aug 1967 - 31 Jul 1969  Owen Stewart Aspinall              (b. 1927 - d. 1997)  Dem
 1 Aug 1969 -  5 Aug 1969  .... (acting)
 5 Aug 1969 - 14 Oct 1974  John Morse Haydon                  (b. 1920 - d. 1991)  Rep 
15 Oct 1974 - 24 Feb 1975  Frank Carpenter Mockler (acting)   (b. 1909 - d. 1993)  Rep
24 Feb 1975 - 30 Sep 1976  Earl Baker Ruth                    (b. 1916 - d. 1989)  Rep 
 1 Oct 1976 - 27 May 1977  Frank Elliott Barnett              (b. 1933 - d. 2016)  Dem
28 May 1977 -  3 Jan 1978  Hyrum Rex Lee (2nd time)           (s.a.)               Dem 
 3 Jan 1978 -  3 Jan 1985  Peter Tali Coleman (2nd time)      (s.a.)               Rep
 3 Jan 1985 -  2 Jan 1989  Lutali Aifili Paulo Lauvao         (b. 1919 - d. 2002)  Dem
                             (1st time) 
 2 Jan 1989 -  3 Jan 1993  Peter Tali Coleman (3rd time)      (s.a.)               Rep
 3 Jan 1993 -  3 Jan 1997  Lutali Aifili Paulo Lauvao         (s.a.)               Dem
                             (2nd time) 
 3 Jan 1997 - 26 Mar 2003  Tauese Pita Fiti Sunia             (b. 1941 - d. 2003)  Dem
26 Mar 2003 -  3 Jan 2013  Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono      (b. 1947)            Dem
                             (acting to 7 Apr 2003)
 3 Jan 2013 -  3 Jan 2021  Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga        (b. 1949)           Ind;2016 Dem
28 Feb 2019 - 16 Jul 2019  Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga       (b. 1949)            Dem
                             (acting for Moliga)
 3 Jan 2021 -  3 Jan 2025  Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga       (s.a.)               Dem
 3 Jan 2025 -              Pulaali'i Tuiteleleapaga Iuli      (b. 1955)            Rep
                             Nikolao Pula

Territorial Dispute: Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution; Swains Island has been administered by American Samoa since 1925; the 1980 Treaty of Tokehega delineates the maritime boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau; while not specifically mentioning Swains Island, the treaty notes in its preamble that New Zealand does not claim as part of Tokelau any island administered as part of American Samoa.

Party abbreviations: Dem = Democratic Party (liberal, center-left, est.1829); Ind = Independent; Rep = Republican Party (conservative, center-right, est.1854)

 2 Mar 1606                Discovered by Spanish Capt. Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (b. 1563?
                             - d. 1615) who calls the island La Peregrina (Handsome). The
                             Mission's historian calls it Isla de la Gente Hermosa. Later
                             it is called Quiros Island.
 1 Feb 1841                Re-sighted by U.S. Capt. William H. Hudson (b. 1794 - d. 1862),
                             aboard the Peacock, of U.S. Exploring Expedition and named it
                             Swain's Island after a Captain Swain of Nantucket, who he claimed
                             to learn about the island's location from.
13 Oct 1856                Semi-independent proprietary settlement founded by the American
                             Jennings family on Quiros Island (often called "Jennings
                             Island"). 
1860                       Swains Island filed under name "Quiros" as part of the giant
                             Number 9 group of Alfred G. Benson's U.S. Guano Company under
                             the Guano Act, but no evidence of guano ever being taken from
                             there, nor that it was ever occupied under that act.
1907                       Claimed by British Resident Commissioner of Gilbert and Ellice
                             Islands (as part of Union [Tokelau] Islands).
1909                       Britain recognizes the U.S. claim after a tax dispute (confirmed]
                             30 Jan 1918).
1913                       Eli Jennings Jr. requests Swains be placed under U.S. Navy.
 4 Mar 1925                Annexed to American Samoa. On 13 May 1925, Lt. Cmdr. C.D. Edgar of
                             U.S.S. Ontario raises the U.S. flag on Swains Island.
11 May 1938 - 1945         U.S. maintains weather and plane tracking outpost on Swains.
1958                       American Samoa's administration appoints the first government
                             agent (Piatala Afalava) to administer the island.
25 Mar 1981                New Zealand confirms U.S. sovereignty over Swains Island.
 3 Sep 1983                Treaty on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between
                             Tokelau and the U.S. (signed 2 Dec 1980) is ratified.
19 Feb 2006                Tokelau claims Swains in its draft constitution as Olohega Island.

Proprietors (managing owners)
13 Oct 1856 -  4 Dec 1878  Eli Hutchinson Jennings            (b. 1814 - d. 1878)
 4 Dec 1878 - 25 Oct 1891  Malia Jennings (= Malia Su'a)(f)   (b. 18.. - d. 1891)
25 Oct 1891 - 24 Oct 1920  Eli Hutchinson Jennings, Jr.       (b. 1863 - d. 1920)
                             "King Jennings" 
24 Oct 1920 - 13 Aug 1921  Annie Eliza Jennings Carruthers (f)(b. 1888 - d. 1921)
                           - jointly with -
24 Oct 1920 - 1958         Alexander Eli Jennings             (b. c.1896 - d. 1958)