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83-535: According to recent archaeological evidence, the Society Islands were probably settled from Samoa and Tonga around 200 CE. Nine tribal principalities emerged in the enclosed valleys, which in turn were subdivided into individual clans. The stratified society was characterized by a hierarchical leadership whose elite combined both political and religious power. The leading families of Moʻorea remained linked by marriage and kinship for centuries with those of

166-615: A grave, in the midst of the white men's sugar fields". The Germans, in particular, began to show great commercial interest in the Samoan Islands , especially on the island of Upolu, where German firms monopolised copra and cocoa bean processing. The United States laid its own claim, based on commercial shipping interests in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Pago Pago Bay in eastern Samoa, and forced alliances, most conspicuously on

249-665: A larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mataʻafa Iosefo . Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British and American warships. After several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were finally defeated. American and British warships shelled Apia on 15 March 1899, including the USS Philadelphia . Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States quickly resolved to end the hostilities and divided

332-593: A larger-scale war seemed imminent. A massive storm on 15 March 1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict. The Second Samoan Civil War reached a head in 1898 when Germany , the United Kingdom , and the United States were locked in dispute over who should control the Samoan Islands. The Siege of Apia occurred in March 1899. Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu were besieged by

415-422: A population of 14,226 inhabitants in the 2002 census which increased to 17,718 in 2017, distributed in the associated communes of Afareaitu, Haʻapiti, Paopao, Papetōʻai, and Teavaro. Together with Maiʻao it forms the commune of Moʻorea-Maiʻao, which had 14,550 inhabitants by 2002. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through population censuses conducted in the municipality since 1977. Since 2006,

498-453: A population of some 38,000 Samoans and 1,500 Europeans. However, native Samoans greatly resented New Zealand's colonial rule, and blamed inflation and the catastrophic 1918 flu epidemic on its misrule. By the late 1920s the resistance movement against colonial rule had gathered widespread support. One of the Mau leaders was Olaf Frederick Nelson , a half Samoan and half Swedish merchant. Nelson

581-457: A research station at the end of ʻŌpūnohu Bay. This Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (Centre for island research and environment observatory) is a research site for several international projects, including the monitoring of coral reefs throughout French Polynesia as well as the monitoring of the fish population on the Tīahurā transect of Moʻorea's reef. The majority of

664-530: Is Apia . The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity . Samoa is a unitary parliamentary democracy with 11 administrative divisions . It is a sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. Because of

747-679: Is Moʻorea's oldest worship platform, the Marae Umarea, built around 900 CE, with its enclosure of large coral slabs directly over the lagoon. Several ferries go to the Vaiʻare wharf in Moʻorea daily from Papeʻete , the Tahitian capital. Moʻorea's Temaʻe Airport has connections to the international airport in Papeʻete and onward to other Society Islands such as Tahiti. There is one road that goes around

830-414: Is a matai and a long-serving senior member of cabinet, who was elected Prime Minister in 2021. Other women in politics include Samoan scholar and eminent professor Aiono Fanaafi Le Tagaloa , orator-chief Matatumua Maimoana and Safuneituʻuga Paʻaga Neri (former Minister of Communication and Technology). The judicial system incorporates English common law and local customs. The Supreme Court of Samoa

913-750: Is also home to the Moʻorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Site (MCR LTER), part of a network established by the National Science Foundation in 1980 to support research on long-term ecological phenomena. The Moʻorea Coral Reef LTER became the 26th site in the network in September 2004. The French École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research; CNRS) maintain

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996-424: Is appointed by the head of state to form a government. The prime minister's choices for the 12 cabinet positions are appointed by the head of state, subject to the continuing confidence of the legislative assembly. Prominent women in Samoan politics include the late Laʻulu Fetauimalemau Mataʻafa (1928–2007) from Lotofaga constituency, the wife of Samoa's first prime minister. Their daughter Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa

1079-455: Is known as O le Ao o le Malo in Samoan, and since its establishment only paramount chiefs have held the office. The current head of state is Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II , who was elected by the legislature in 2017 and again in 2022. The Legislative Assembly or Fono is the unicameral legislature, consisting of 51 members serving five year terms. Forty-nine are matai title-holders elected from territorial districts by Samoans;

1162-406: Is located about 20 miles west of Papeete , the capital of French Polynesia . Opunohu bay is in western Moorea where Mt. Rotui towers over the bay. Mt. Tohivea is Moorea's highest mountain just to the south. Papetoai is located to the west of the bay. People from the east of the bay would drive through the bay and reach Papetoai . Piheana is located to the east of the bay. People mainly come into

1245-595: Is offered to tourists. The island is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Moʻorea-Maiʻao , itself in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands . The main village is ʻĀfareaitu . The largest village is Pao Pao at the bottom of Cook's Bay. The second largest is Maharepa. This island is one of the main tourist destinations in French Polynesia , where there are several luxury resorts. Transportation to this island

1328-525: Is the court of highest jurisdiction. The Chief Justice of Samoa is appointed by the head of state upon the recommendation of the prime minister. Samoa comprises eleven itūmālō (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts which predate European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation ( faʻavae ) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditional salutations). The capital village of each district administers and coordinates

1411-502: Is the multi-level Marae Ahu-o-Mahine, also well preserved. The trail continues to the Belvédère lookout overlooking Mount Rotui, Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay. Due to the short distance to Tahiti and similarities in climate and soil structure, the flora of Moʻorea is comparable to that of Tahiti. The narrow coastal strip is dominated by anthropic plants, due to dense settlement and centuries of human use. However, significant remnants of

1494-624: Is usually done from Tahiti by air transport in flights of about 5 minutes or through numerous ferries that move from the port of Papeʻete to Moʻorea. It is also possible to hire a private boat transport. Moʻorea is visited by many western tourists who travel to French Polynesia. Especially popular as a honeymoon destination, Moʻorea can often be seen in advertisements in American wedding magazines. Arthur Frommer declared in Frommer's travel guide that he considered it "the most beautiful island in

1577-587: The Aleipata Islands ( Nuʻutele , Nuʻulua , Fanuatapu and Namua ). Samoa is located 64 km (40 mi) west of American Samoa , 889 km (552 mi) northeast of Tonga , 1,152 km (716 mi) northeast of Fiji , 483 km (300 mi) east of Wallis and Futuna , 1,151 km (715 mi) southeast of Tuvalu , 519 km (322 mi) south of Tokelau , 4,190 km (2,600 mi) southwest of Hawaii , and 610 km (380 mi) northwest of Niue . The capital and largest city

1660-621: The League of Nations , then through the United Nations. Between 1919 and 1962, Samoa was administered by the Department of External Affairs , a government department which had been specially created to oversee New Zealand's Island Territories and Samoa. In 1943, this department was renamed the Department of Island Territories after a separate Department of External Affairs was created to conduct New Zealand's foreign affairs. During

1743-689: The Moʻorea Airport , which opened the following month. The island was formed as a volcano 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago, the result of the Society hotspot in the mantle under the oceanic plate that formed the whole of the Society Archipelago. It is theorized that the current bays were formerly river basins that filled during the Holocene searise. Moʻorea is about 16 km (10 miles) across. There are two small, nearly symmetrical bays on

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1826-530: The Society Islands ; they were introduced exclusively by humans. Early Polynesian settlers brought dogs, pigs, chickens and the Polynesian rat as food animals, while Europeans introduced goats, cows, sheep and horses. The indigenous land animals are only insects, land crabs, snails and lizards. Many Moʻorean endemic species that have gone extinct or been extirpated . The Polynesian tree snails of

1909-450: The common myna . Another bird species extinct on Moʻorea is the Moʻorea sandpiper , of which only two specimens are known from 1777. The tree Glochidion nadeaudii is endemic to the island, growing in montane rain forests above 400 meters elevation. There are no animals on Moʻorea that are dangerous to humans. Sand fleas on the beach and mosquitoes, which are everywhere in the interior of

1992-625: The election , ending the rule of long-term Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), although the constitutional crisis complicated and delayed this. On 24 May 2021, she was sworn in as the new prime minister, though it was not until July that the Supreme Court ruled that her swearing-in was legal, thus ending the constitutional crisis and bringing an end to Tuilaʻepa's 22-year premiership. The FAST party's success in

2075-522: The "Society Chain" from a hot spot on the Pacific Plate and is between 1.5 and 2 million years old. The enclosed reef surrounds the entire island, but has several navigable passages. The reef is relatively close to the island , so Moʻorea has formed only a narrow lagoon. Moʻorea is located in the Earth's tropical belt. The climate is tropical-warm and very humid, which favors the lush vegetation of

2158-434: The 1984 movie The Bounty were filmed. The two bays are connected by a steep, winding scenic road. In the once densely populated Opunohu Valley , the indigenous Polynesians built numerous worship platforms ( marae ). The remains of these religious sites can be found everywhere off the road, some of them are signposted. Marae Titiroa is surrounded by banyan trees and was reconstructed in the late 1960s. A few hundred meters away

2241-505: The 2021 election and subsequent court rulings also ended nearly four decades of HRPP rule. The 1960 constitution , which formally came into force with independence from New Zealand in 1962, builds on the British pattern of parliamentary democracy , modified to take account of Samoan customs. The national modern Government of Samoa is referred to as the Malo . The head of state of Samoa

2324-556: The Americans or the British. The second major incident arose out of an initially peaceful protest by the Mau (which literally translates as "strongly held opinion"), a non-violent popular pro-independence movement which had its beginnings in the early 1900s on Savai'i, led by Lauaki Namulauulu Mamoe , an orator chief deposed by Solf. In 1909, Lauaki was exiled to Saipan and died en route back to Samoa in 1915. By 1918, Western Samoa had

2407-567: The INSEE publishes annually the legal populations of the municipalities, but the law on local democracy of February 27, 2002, in its articles dedicated to the population census, introduced population censuses every five years in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Mayotte and the Wallis and Futuna islands, which was not the case before. For the municipality , the first comprehensive census under

2490-506: The Mau as a legitimate political organisation, and Olaf Nelson was allowed to return from exile. In September 1936, Samoans exercised for the first time the right to elect the members of the advisory Fono of Faipule , with representatives of the Mau movement winning 31 of the 39 seats. After repeated efforts by the Samoan independence movement, the New Zealand Western Samoa Act of 24 November 1961 terminated

2573-736: The Moʻorea Marathon, held annually in February, is promoted by the tourism industry as the most beautiful in the world. Another international sporting event is the Aitoman Triathlon , held in October each year. Until the end of the 20th century, coffee was still grown on Moʻorea. Due to falling coffee prices, this is no longer profitable and the cultivation of agricultural export crops has shifted to pineapple and Tahitian vanilla. Some small family farms continue to produce copra in

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2656-562: The New Zealand authorities banned the organisation. As many as 1500 Mau men took to the bush, pursued by an armed force of 150 marines and seamen from the light cruiser HMS Dunedin , and 50 military police. They were supported by a seaplane flown by Flight Lieutenant Sidney Wallingford of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force . Villages were raided, often at night and with fixed bayonets. In March, through

2739-616: The Samoans' seafaring skills, pre-20th-century European explorers referred to the entire island group , including American Samoa, as the "Navigator Islands". The country was a colony of the German Empire from 1899 to 1915, then came under a joint British and New Zealand colonial administration until 1 January 1962, when it became independent. The islands of Samoa were formed during the Miocene period around 7 million years ago. For

2822-699: The Solomon Islands south of Bougainville, and (3) territorial alignments in West Africa. The German Empire governed the western part of the Samoan archipelago from 1900 to 1914. Wilhelm Solf was appointed the colony's first governor. In 1908, when the non-violent Mau a Pule resistance movement arose, Solf did not hesitate to banish the Mau leader Lauaki Namulau'ulu Mamoe to Saipan in the German Northern Mariana Islands . The German colonial administration governed on

2905-674: The Trusteeship Agreement and granted the country independence as the Independent State of Western Samoa , effective 1 January 1962. Western Samoa, the first small-island country in the Pacific to become independent, signed a Treaty of Friendship with New Zealand later in 1962. Western Samoa joined the Commonwealth of Nations on 28 August 1970. While independence was achieved at the beginning of January, Samoa annually celebrates 1 June as its independence day. At

2988-701: The UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . In June 2017, Parliament amended Article 1 of the Samoan Constitution to make Christianity the state religion. In September 2019, a measles outbreak resulted in the deaths of 83 people. Following the outbreak, the government imposed a curfew in December later during the same year. In May 2021, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa became Samoa's first female prime minister. Mataʻafa's FAST party narrowly won

3071-463: The activities of the great powers battling for influence in Samoa ;– the United States, Germany and Britain – and the political machinations of the various Samoan factions within their indigenous political system. Even as they descended into ever greater interclan warfare, what most alarmed Stevenson was the Samoans' economic innocence. In 1894, just months before his death, he addressed

3154-423: The affairs of the district and confers each district's paramount title, amongst other responsibilities. For example: Opunohu Bay Opunohu Bay is a 3-km long bay on the island of Moorea , Tahiti . The water is 80 metres deep at the mouth. The bay is subject to wind-driven currents and upwellings . Sailboats and tour boats regularly enter the bay. Opunohu bay is west of Cook's Bay and Pao Pao . It

3237-469: The archaeological record supports oral tradition and native genealogies that indicate interisland voyaging and intermarriage among precolonial Samoans, Fijians , and Tongans . Notable figures in Samoan history included the Tui Manu'a line, Queen Salamasina , King Fonoti and the four tama a ʻāiga : Malietoa , Tupua Tamasese , Mataʻafa , and Tuimalealiʻifano . Nafanua was a famous woman warrior who

3320-551: The arrival of the SS Talune from Auckland on 7 November 1918. The NZ administration allowed the ship to berth in breach of quarantine; within seven days of this ship's arrival, influenza became epidemic in Upolu and then spread rapidly throughout the rest of the territory. Samoa suffered the most of all Pacific islands, with 90% of the population infected; 30% of adult men, 22% of adult women and 10% of children died. The cause of

3403-535: The bay to get to Papetoai. They mainly come to Papetoai to shop at the shopping center. Pao Pao is not too far away from the bay. Some people stop at a small road that goes all the way to Mount Tohivea with views of the 2 bays of Moorea. International flights land at the Faa'a International Airport . The tourist would take either ferry or airplane to reach Moorea. Air Tahiti would land in the Moorea Airport . Then

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3486-410: The center of Moʻorea. It dominates the vista from the two bays and can be seen from Tahiti . There are also hiking trails in the mountains. Vaiʻare Bay is another small inlet, smaller than the two main bays, on the east shore. The main village is located just south of the bay. Moʻorea is an atoll whose main island consists mainly of igneous rocks . The island, like neighboring Tahiti, formed as part of

3569-525: The coast, who succeeded in uniting all the other clans in the valley under their rule. In addition to a further increase in population, this phase also saw a lively construction activity of representative religious structures - large marae in the style of a step pyramid. Towards the end of this period, the Opunohu valley became a refuge for the Ariki who resisted European influence. The first European to sight

3652-636: The demonstration. When he resisted, a struggle developed between the police and the Mau. The officers began to fire randomly into the crowd and used a Lewis machine gun , mounted in preparation for the demonstration, to disperse the demonstrators. Mau leader and paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was shot from behind and killed while trying to bring calm and order to the Mau demonstrators. Ten others died that day and approximately 50 were injured by gunshot wounds and police batons. That day would come to be known in Samoa as Black Saturday. On 13 January 1930,

3735-644: The early economic development of Samoa. The Salem brig Roscoe (Captain Benjamin Vanderford), in October 1821, was the first American trading vessel known to have called, and the Maro (Captain Richard Macy) of Nantucket , in 1824, was the first recorded United States whaler at Samoa. The whalers came for fresh drinking water, firewood, provisions and, later, for recruiting local men to serve as crewmen on their ships. The last recorded whaler visitor

3818-484: The environment resulted in major changes in the form of society. The so-called Pre-Atiroʻo phase, prior to 1000 CE, is characterized by extensive clearing and cultivation of the valley slopes, which by the end of the period had led to erosion and the formation of alluvial soils. Society was not yet stratified, but was relatively homogeneous. In the Atiroʻo period (1000–1650 CE), artificial cultivation terraces were built on

3901-578: The epidemic was confirmed in 1919 by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Epidemic concluded that there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of the Talune from Auckland on 7 November 1918. The pandemic undermined Samoan confidence in New Zealand's administrative capacity and competence. Some Samoans asked that the rule of the islands be transferred to

3984-552: The first known non-Polynesian to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit was followed by French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville , who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768. Contact was limited before the 1830s, which is when British missionaries of the London Missionary Society, whalers, and traders began arriving. Visits by American trading and whaling vessels were important in

4067-553: The first month of World War I , on 29 August 1914, troops of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force landed unopposed on Upolu and seized control from the German authorities, following a request by Great Britain for New Zealand to perform this "great and urgent imperial service." From the end of World War I until 1962, New Zealand controlled Western Samoa as a Class C Mandate under trusteeship through

4150-464: The formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Moʻorea while standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame", referring to the barrier reef encircling the island. Don the Beachcomber lived here briefly in the late 1920s. His houseboat was destroyed by tropical cyclones after he moved it from Waikiki after 1947. On October 7, 1967, construction was completed on

4233-401: The four highest titles of Samoa – the elder titles of Malietoa and Tupua Tamasese of antiquity and the newer Mataʻafa and Tuimalealiʻifano titles, which rose to prominence in 19th-century wars that preceded the colonial period. These four titles form the apex of the Samoan matai system as it stands today. Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century. Jacob Roggeveen , a Dutchman, was

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4316-490: The genus Partula were largely wiped out after the rosy wolf snail was introduced in 1977, although captive and small refuge populations on Tahiti still exist. In 2019 both Partula rosea and Partula varia were reintroduced to the island. Until the 1980s, the Moʻorea reed warbler , an endemic species, was recorded on the island. This songbird was closely related to the Tahiti reed warbler and may have been displaced by

4399-475: The government changed the rule of the road from right to left , in common with most other Commonwealth countries - most notably countries in the region such as Australia and New Zealand, home to large numbers of Samoans. This made Samoa the first country in the 21st century to switch to driving on the left. At the end of December 2011, Samoa changed its time zone offset from UTC−11 to UTC+13, effectively jumping forward by one day, omitting Friday, 30 December from

4482-699: The island chain at the Tripartite Convention of 1899 , signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900. The eastern island-group became a territory of the United States (the Tutuila Islands in 1900 and officially Manu'a in 1904) and was known as American Samoa. The western islands, by far the greater landmass, became German Samoa . The United Kingdom had vacated all claims in Samoa and in return received (1) termination of German rights in Tonga , (2) all of

4565-560: The island chiefs: There is but one way to defend Samoa. Hear it before it is too late. It is to make roads, and gardens, and care for your trees, and sell their produce wisely, and, in one word, to occupy and use your country ... if you do not occupy and use your country, others will. It will not continue to be yours or your children's, if you occupy it for nothing. You and your children will in that case be cast out into outer darkness. He had "seen these judgments of God" in Hawaii , where abandoned native churches stood like tombstones "over

4648-556: The island was Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , in 1606. The first European settlers arrived during the 18th century. The first Europeans to arrive on the island were the Englishmen Samuel Wallis and James Cook . Captain James Cook first landed on Tahiti , where he planned the 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti and Moʻorea. At Moʻorea, where Taʻaroa was chief, Cook first landed in ʻŌpūnohu Bay, Cook's Bay

4731-416: The island, can be unpleasant. The marine fauna of the lagoon and coral reef is very rich in species. In addition to more than 500 species of coral fish , divers and snorkelers can observe numerous molluscs, echinoderms, and crustaceans of the tropical sea. Behind the fringing reef are sharks, rays, swordfish, and sea turtles. From July to October, humpback whales pass by the island. Whale and dolphin watching

4814-540: The island. [REDACTED] Moorea travel guide from Wikivoyage [REDACTED] Media related to Moorea at Wikimedia Commons Samoa Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa ( Samoan : Sāmoa i Sisifo ), is an island country in Polynesia , consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu ); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima ); and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including

4897-460: The island. The average temperature ranges between 28 and 30 °C, with little difference between months. The rainiest months are from December to February, the ( winter ) months from July to September are drier. There is a constant wind that moderates temperatures. However, an occasional cyclone cannot be ruled out. In the 1982–83 season, a series of cyclones in the Society Islands also caused considerable property damage in Moʻorea. The island had

4980-481: The islands of Tutuila and Manu'a , which became American Samoa . Britain also sent troops to protect British business enterprise, harbour rights, and consulate office. This was followed by an eight-year civil war , during which each of the three powers supplied arms, training and in some cases combat troops to the warring Samoan parties. The Samoan crisis came to a critical juncture in March 1889 when all three colonial contenders sent warships into Apia harbour, and

5063-679: The local calendar. This also had the effect of changing the shape of the International Date Line , moving it to the east of the territory. This change aimed to help the nation boost its economy in doing business with Australia and New Zealand. Before this change, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney , but the change means it is now three hours ahead. The previous time zone, implemented on 4 July 1892, operated in line with American traders based in California . In October 2021, Samoa ceased daylight saving time . In 2017, Samoa signed

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5146-736: The local population are Christians , a consequence of European colonization and the activity of missionary groups from both the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant groups . The Catholic Church controls four church buildings and a religious center on the island, all under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeʻete with headquarters on the island of Tahiti: St. Joseph Church in Paopao (Église Saint Joseph), Holy Family Church in Haʻapiti (Église de la Sainte-Famille), St. Michael Church in Papetōʻai (Église de Saint-Michel) St. Patrick Church in Afareaitu (Église de Saint-Patrice) and St. Francis Xavier Religious Center in Varari ( Centre religieux Saint-François-Xavier ). Near Afareaitu

5229-419: The mediation of local Europeans and missionaries, Mau leaders met New Zealand's Minister of Defence and agreed to disperse. Supporters of the Mau continued to be arrested, so women came to the fore rallying supporters and staging demonstrations. The political stalemate was broken following the victory of the Labour Party in New Zealand's 1935 general election. A 'goodwill mission' to Apia in June 1936 recognised

5312-426: The name it had been called by in the United Nations since it joined. American Samoa protested against the name change, asserting that it diminished its own identity. In 2002, New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark formally apologised for New Zealand's role in the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918 that killed over a quarter of Samoa's population and for the Black Saturday killings in 1929. On 7 September 2009,

5395-496: The neighboring island of Tahiti. These connections led to important alliances, but at other times were also the source of bloody conflicts. Intensive research on the Opunohu Valley, which continues to this day, initiated by Kenneth P. Emory in the 1920s and continued in the 1960s by archaeologist Roger C. Green of the University of Auckland , provides an exemplary picture of the evolution of Moʻorean society. The interaction between increasing population density and human modification of

5478-417: The new system was conducted in 2002; previous censuses took place in 1996, 1988, 1983, 1977 and 1971. The most famous sight of Moʻorea is Cook's Bay, where cruise ships regularly anchor. It is a deep blue bay that often has white sailing yachts and in the background the 830 m high Mount Mouaputa, this being probably the most photographed South Seas image. Next door is Opunohu Bay, where many exterior shots of

5561-466: The north and northwest coast. Most of the beaches on the northwest coast belong to hotels and are not open to the public. On the northeast coast, in Temaʻe, near the airfield, there is a public beach. Moʻorea is sometimes visited by cruise ships. On the west coast, a traditional Polynesian village, the Tiki Village, has been rebuilt for tourists. There are dance performances, demonstrations of Polynesian handicrafts, and souvenir stores. The race called

5644-402: The north shore. The one to the west is called ʻŌpūnohu Bay . The main surrounding communes of the bay are Pihaʻena in the east and Papetōʻai to the west. The one to the east is Cook's Bay, also called Pao Pao Bay since the largest commune of Moʻorea is at the bottom of the bay. The other communes are Pihaʻena to the west and busy Maharepa to the east. The highest point is Mount Tohivea , near

5727-637: The original plant communities have survived in the uninhabited and partially inaccessible interior of the island. The University of California at Berkeley maintains a permanent research institute on Moʻorea, Gump Station, to study tropical biodiversity and interactions between cultural processes and the ecosystem. From 2008 to 2010, Moʻorea was the site of the Moʻorea Biocode project, the first comprehensive inventory of all macroscopic (>2mm) life in an ecosystem. They collected specimens, photographs, and genetic barcodes for over 5,700 species of plants, animals, and fungi. Terrestrial mammals did not originally exist on

5810-405: The other two are chosen by non-Samoans with no chiefly affiliation on separate electoral rolls. At least ten per cent of the MPs must be women. Universal suffrage was adopted in 1990, but only chiefs ( matai ) may stand for election to the Samoan seats. There are more than 25,000 matais in the country, about five per cent of whom are women. The prime minister , chosen by a majority in the assembly,

5893-409: The past 2 million years, the Samoan archipelago has experienced records of volcanic hotspots . Samoa was discovered and settled by the Lapita people (Austronesian people who spoke Oceanic languages ), who travelled from Island Melanesia . The earliest human remains found in Samoa are dated to between roughly 2,900 and 3,500 years ago. The remains were discovered at a Lapita site at Mulifanua , and

5976-492: The period of New Zealand control, their administrators were responsible for two major incidents. In the first incident, approximately one fifth of the Samoan population died in the influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 . In 1918, during the final stages of World War I , the Spanish flu had taken its toll, spreading rapidly from country to country. On Samoa, there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before

6059-419: The principle that "there was only one government in the islands." Thus, there was no Samoan Tupu (king), nor an alii sili (similar to a governor), but two Fautua (advisors) were appointed by the colonial government. Tumua and Pule (traditional governments of Upolu and Savai'i) were for a time silent; all decisions on matters affecting lands and titles were under the control of the colonial Governor. In

6142-623: The scientists' findings were published in 1974. The Samoans' origins have been studied in modern times through scientific research on Polynesian genetics , linguistics , and anthropology . Although this research is ongoing, a number of theories have been proposed. One theory is that the original Samoans were Austronesians who arrived during a final period of eastward expansion of the Lapita peoples out of Southeast Asia and Melanesia between 2,500 and 1,500 BCE. Intimate sociocultural and genetic ties were maintained between Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, and

6225-613: The slopes and simple stone buildings, such as the Marae Tapauruʻuru. The remains of rectangular houses ( fare haupape ) and those with elongated oval floor plans ( fare poteʻe ), reserved for the power elite, indicate a strictly stratified and hierarchical form of society. The later Marama period (1650–1788 CE) is marked by the conquest of the Opunohu Valley by the chiefs ( ariki ) of the Marama tribe, originally settled on

6308-488: The time of independence, Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II , one of the four highest-ranking paramount chiefs in the country, became Samoa's first prime minister . Another paramount chief, Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II , was admitted to the Council of Deputies ; the remaining two – Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole and Malietoa Tanumafili II – became joint heads of state for life. On 15 December 1976, Western Samoa

6391-471: The traditional way. Breadfruit, yams, taro, sweet potatoes, bananas, coconuts, and other tropical and subtropical fruits are grown for home consumption and hotel kitchens. Fishing continues to play an important, though declining, role in the island's economy. The University of California, Berkeley maintains the Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station on the west coast of Cook's Bay. The Gump station

6474-512: The world". The main source of income is the tourism from the decade of 1960. An American company constructed in 1961 the Bali Shark Hotel, the first hotel of luxury of Moʻorea, in the north coast, near the town of Maharepa. Since then, the tourism has continuously increased, so that at the present time - according to affirm some guides of trips - Moʻorea has even more tourist hotels than Tahiti. The hotel complex are located mainly on

6557-402: Was admitted to the United Nations as the 147th member state . It asked to be referred to in the United Nations as the Independent State of Samoa . Travel writer Paul Theroux noted marked differences between the societies in Western Samoa and American Samoa in 1992. On 4 July 1997 the government amended the constitution to change the name of the country from Western Samoa to Samoa ,

6640-596: Was deified in ancient Samoan religion and whose patronage was highly sought after by successive Samoan rulers. Today, all of Samoa is united under its two principal royal families: the Sā Malietoa of the ancient Malietoa lineage that defeated the Tongans in the 13th century; and the Sā Tupua, Queen Salamasina's descendants and heirs who ruled Samoa in the centuries that followed her reign. Within these two principal lineages are

6723-412: Was eventually exiled during the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he continued to assist the organisation financially and politically. In accordance with the Mau's non-violent philosophy, the newly elected leader, High Chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi, led his fellow uniformed Mau in a peaceful demonstration in downtown Apia on 28 December 1929. The New Zealand police attempted to arrest one of the leaders in

6806-634: Was later named in his honor. Spanish sailor Domingo de Bonechea visited it in 1774 and named it Santo Domingo . It is likely that Teraura , a Polynesian woman who accompanied the Bounty mutineers to Pitcairn Island , was from Moʻorea. The island was among those visited by the United States Exploring Expedition on its tour of the South Pacific in 1839. Charles Darwin found inspiration for his theory regarding

6889-776: Was the Governor Morton in 1870. Christian missionary work in Samoa began in 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived in Sapapali'i from the Cook Islands and Tahiti . According to Barbara A. West, "The Samoans were also known to engage in 'headhunting', a ritual of war in which a warrior took the head of his slain opponent to give to his leader, thus proving his bravery." In A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa (1892), Robert Louis Stevenson details

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