American Samoa consists of several islands in the eastern portion of the Samoan archipeligo. The Samoan islands were first settled by immigrants from the Lau Islands in Fiji, approximately 3,500 years ago.

Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century, and by the mid 19th century, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States of America, had all established trading posts and were all claiming parts of the islands. The 1899 Treaty of Berlin divided the Samoan islands between Germany, and the United States of America, and U.S. Navy subsequently established a coaling station at Pago Pago Bay.

Read the rest of this entry »