page_title: American Samoa
section_title: 19th century
hierarchical_section_title: American Samoa / History / 19th century
caption_attribution_description: English: German, British and American warships in Apia harbour, 1899, Samoa. Gagana Samoa: Va'a taua a Siamani, Peretania ma Amerika i Apia, i le tausaga 1899.
context_page_description: American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. Its location is centered on 14.2710° S, 170.1322° W. It is east of the International Date Line, while Samoa is west of the Line.
  American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory. All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group.
  As of 2020 the population of American Samoa is approximately 55,212 people.
  Most American Samoans are bilingual and can speak English and Samoan fluently.
  The total land area is 199 square kilometers, slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the rest of the United States.
context_section_description: Mission work in the Samoas had begun in late 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived from the Cook Islands and Tahiti. By that time, the Samoans had gained a reputation for being savage and warlike, as violent altercations had occurred between natives and European visitors. Nevertheless, by the late nineteenth century, French, British, German, and American vessels routinely stopped at Samoa, as they valued Pago Pago Harbor as a refueling station for coal-fired shipping and whaling.
  The US Exploring Expedition visited in 1839.
  In March 1889, an Imperial German naval force entered a village on Samoa, and in doing so destroyed some American property. Three American warships then entered the Apia harbor and prepared to engage the three German warships found there. Before any shots were fired, a typhoon wrecked both the American and German ships. A compulsory armistice was then called because of the lack of any warships.
caption: German, British and American warships in Apia Harbor, Samoa, 1899
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