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39-525: The Tuʻi Manuʻa Confederacy , or Samoan Empire , are descriptions sometimes given to Samoan expansionism and projected hegemony in Oceania which began with the founding of the Tui Manu'a title. Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Manu'a talks of a widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire"). The Tui Manu'a is the oldest title of Ancient Samoa. According to Samoan oral histories,

78-607: A Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island. In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French explorer Bougainville , who named them the Navigator Islands . That name was used by missionaries until about 1845, and in official European dispatches until about 1870. Politically , the Samoan Islands are divided into two jurisdictions: In the late 19th century, competition for political control of

117-898: A west to east direction. The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nuʻulopa lie in the Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savaiʻi. The four small, uninhabited islands – Nuʻutele, Nuʻulua, Namua and Fanuatapu – are situated off the east coast of Upolu and comprise the Aleipata Islands . The islands are approximately 800 km (500 mi) from Fiji , 530 km (330 mi) from Tonga , 2,900 km (1,800 mi) from New Zealand , and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Hawaii , U.S. The islands lie between 13° and 14° south latitude and 169° and 173° west longitude, and span an area of about 480 km (300 mi) from west to east. The larger islands are volcanic in origin, mountainous, and covered in tropical moist forest. Some of

156-467: Is exceeded only by the two substantially larger main islands of New Zealand Te Waipounamu and Te Ika-a-Māui as well as Rakiura , and the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui . The island of Upolu has more inhabitants than the island of Savai'i does. The next largest island is Tutuila , where the city and harbor of Pago Pago (with a population of 3,519 in 1990)

195-671: Is geographically distant from the Samoan archipelago. In 1892, the Samoan islands shifted to the eastern side of the International Date Line . The ruler Malietoa Laupepa issued a proclamation that Monday, July 4 would occur twice, giving an extra day in July 1892. This change, which occurred on the American Independence Day , was likely due to increasing trade with Americans. The islands would be on

234-466: Is located. Tutuila is much smaller than Upolu and Savai‘i, at 136.2 km (52.6 sq mi) in area, but it is the largest island in American Samoa. The highest point on Tutuila is Matafao Peak. Smaller islands in the archipelago include the three islets ( Manono Island , Apolima and Nu'ulopa ) located in the Apolima Strait between Savai'i and Upolu; the four Aleipata Islands off

273-696: The High Court of American Samoa . The court recognized Young's right to the title and affirmed his familial relationship to the anoalo . However, it ruled that "If the name Tuimanua were still in existence it is very likely that Chris Young would be legally entitled to the name Taliutafa, but as the Tuimanua has been abolished by law, the name Taliutafa should also be abolished as the perpetuation of this name can lead only to local strife and discord in Manua." A minority of modern Samoans still regard Chris Young as

312-524: The American takeover in the early 20th century. Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Tonga speaks of a widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire") that was prehistorically ruled by the successive Tui Manu'a dynasties. Manu'an genealogies and religious oral literature also suggest that the Tui Manu'a had long been one of the most prestigious and powerful paramounts of the Pacific and

351-803: The Earth's fundamental processes. Growing inside the summit crater of Vailulu'u is an active underwater volcanic cone , named after Samoa's goddess of war, Nafanua . The Samoan climate is tropical, with a rainy season from November to April. The island group is frequently hit by tropical cyclones between December and March, due to its position in the South Pacific Ocean. 14°16′S 171°12′W  /  14.267°S 171.200°W  / -14.267; -171.200 Chris Taliutafa Young Taliutafa Christopher Leiesilika Young , also known as Christopher Taliutafa Young , Chris Young or Kilisi Young (December 20, 1892 – December 21, 1967)

390-525: The Samoa island chain, creating an enigma for scientists. For one thing, Savai'i , the most western of the Samoa island chain, and Ta'u Island , the most eastern, both erupted in the last century. For another thing, the subaerial rock samples initially collected from Savai'i, the westernmost of the islands, are too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain. These facts led some scientists to suggest that

429-466: The Samoa islands are inconsistent with this theory. The classic hotspot model (based mostly on studies of the Hawaii hotspot ) predicts that, if plate movement over a hotspot is what created a volcanic island chain, then the farther away from the hotspot the islands and seamounts in the chain are, the older they will prove to be. Some of the evidence is inconsistent with this explanation for the creation of

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468-472: The Samoa islands were not formed by the hotspot plume. One possible explanation for the inconsistency of the data with the hotspot formation theory is the fact that the island chain lies just north of the Tonga Trench . An alternative theory is that the islands were formed by magma seeping through cracks in stressed fracture zones. However, in 2005, an international team found new evidence that supports

507-472: The Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000. The inhabitants have in common the Samoan language , a culture known as fa'a Samoa , and an indigenous form of governance called fa'amatai . Samoans are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry. The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from

546-463: The Tui Manu'a dynasty grew through its success in obtaining control over the oceanic trade of currency goods such as finely woven ceremonial mats, whale ivory " tabua ", obsidian and basalt tools, chiefly red feathers, and seashells reserved for royalty (such as polished nautilus and the egg cowry ). Eventually, the maritime empire began to decline and a new empire rose from the South. In 950 AD,

585-583: The United States possession now called American Samoa . The presidency of the United States, and the military authorities of the US Navy, supplanted the native administrative role of the Tui Manu'a, through the arrests of chiefs of the Tui Manu'a and two trials of the Tui Manu'a, one on an American warship off the coast of Ta'u, called the "Trial of the Ipu". On 6 July 1904 Tui Manu'a Elisala officially ceded

624-618: The activity of the Samoa hotspot at the eastern end of the Samoa Islands. In theory, that hotspot was created by the movement of the Pacific tectonic plate over a 'fixed' deep and narrow mantle plume spewing up through the Earth's crust. One piece of evidence that this activity may have created the islands is that they generally lie in a straight east-to-west line, and the plate is moving from east to west. However, some characteristics of

663-516: The brother of Tui Manu'a Matelita who reigned between 1890 and 1895, was named Tui Manu'a by the general assembly of the Faletolu and Anoalo . American officials were worried that the Manu'ans were restoring a "king" who would cause trouble for the administration. Governor Edward Stanley Kellogg opposed the bestowal and had the new Tui Manu'a brought to Tutuila where he was prevented from exercising

702-581: The central South Pacific , forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania . Administratively , the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of American Samoa (apart from Swains Island , which is geographically part of the Tokelau Islands ). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by 64 km (40 mi; 35 nmi) of ocean at their closest points. The population of

741-532: The chiefs who elected him to Pago Pago on Tutuila in order to prevent him form exercising the power of his office. The American authorities worried that the Samoans were in effect reviving a monarchy or native kingship under their jurisdiction and the ramification it would have on Samoan nationalism. Kellogg also argued that the idea was incompatible with the Constitution of the United States and Young

780-403: The desire for Samoa autonomy lived on." In July 1924, a group of native high chiefs within the assembly of the faletolu and anoalo elected Chris Young to the vacant title. Before this point, he had been residing outside Samoa for seventeen years. The restoration was immediately denounced by the colonial authority in American Samoa under Governor Edward Stanley Kellogg who exiled Young and

819-598: The early Tongan kings and thus were never occupied by the Tongans, allowing for it to remain under Tui Manu'a rule. By the time of the tenth Tu’i Tonga Momo, and his successor, Tuʻitātui, the Tu'i Tonga's empire had grown to include much of the former domains of the Tui Fiti and Tui Manu'a. The expulsion of the Tongans in the 13th century from neighbouring Upolu and Savaii would not lead to the islands returning to Tui Manu'a but to

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858-477: The eastern end of Upolu ( Nu'utele , Nu'ulua , Namua , and Fanuatapu ); and Nu‘usafe‘e. Aunu'u is a small island off the eastern end of Tutuila. To the east of Tutuila, the Manu'a group comprises Ofu, Olosega , and Ta’u . An uninhabited coral atoll, Rose Atoll , is the southernmost point in the territory of the United States. Another coral atoll, Swains Island , is within the territory of American Samoa but

897-431: The first Tu'i Tonga 'Aho'eitu started to expand his rule outside of Tonga. Samoa's Savaii, Upolu and Tutuila islands were to eventually succumb to Tongan rule, and would remain part of the empire for almost 400 years. However, as the ancestral homeland of the Tu'i Tonga dynasty and the abode of deities such as Tagaloa 'Eitumatupu'a, Tonga Fusifonua, and Tavatavaimanuka, the Manu'a islands of Samoa were considered sacred by

936-441: The first Tui Manu'a was a direct descendant of the Samoan supreme god, Tagaloa . In Samoan lore, the islands of Manu'a (Ofu, Olosega, and Ta'u) are always the first lands to be created or drawn from the sea; consequently the Tui Manu'a is the first human ruler mentioned. This "senior" ranking of the Tui Manu'a title continues to be esteemed and acknowledged by Samoans despite the fact that the title itself has not been occupied since

975-403: The first pre-eminent ruler of all Samoa. Oral history suggests that the Tui Manu'a kings governed a confederacy of far-flung islands which included Fiji , Tonga as well as smaller western Pacific chiefdoms and Polynesian outliers such as Uvea , Futuna , Tokelau , and Tuvalu . Commerce and exchange routes between the western Polynesian societies is well documented and it is speculated that

1014-443: The hotspot model. They gathered additional samples from Savai'i – submarine samples from the deep flanks and rifts of the island. Tests found that these samples are much older than the previously collected samples: They are about five million years old, an age that fits the hotspot model. The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami killed more than 170 people in the Samoa Islands and Tonga . The M8.1 submarine earthquake took place in

1053-771: The islands between the United States , Germany , and the United Kingdom resulted in the December 1899 Tripartite Convention , which formally partitioned the Samoan archipelago into a German colony ( German Samoa ) in the western half and a United States territory (American Samoa) in the eastern half. New Zealand began occupying the western islands in World War I, while they were still a German colony and continued as an occupying force until 1920. Then, from 1920 until Samoa's independence in 1962, New Zealand governed

1092-489: The islands in that group under a League of Nations Class C Mandate from 1920 to 1946, and as a United Nations Trust Territory from 1946 to 1962. The force that eventually led to the political independence of the western islands in 1962 was the pro-independence Mau movement , which gained popularity across the area. The eastern islands remain a political territory of the United States. The Samoan Islands has total of 18 islands spread 3,030 km (1,170 sq mi) in

1131-517: The islands of Manu'a to the United States through the signing of the Treaty of Cession of Manu'a . He was relegated the office of Governor of Manu'a for the term of life and the understanding that the Tui Manu'a title would follow him to the grave. He died on 2 July 1909. After a fifteen-year break, the office was revived in 1924 when Chris Young , a member of the Anoalo clan of the Tui Manu'a family and

1170-477: The main two villages of 'o Lumā and Sī'ufaga, on Ta‘ū , the main island of the Manu'a group, where his father was a trader. The family lived in a two-story stone house in the center of the two villages near the Protestant Christian church. The family also had connections and lived in the western Samoan Islands at Apia (capital of German Samoa ). After the short reign of his sister Matelita,

1209-480: The powers of his office. The Governor did not recognise the title on the basis that a monarchy was incompatible within the framework of the Constitution of the United States , stating that the previous Tui Manu'a had pledged under duress to be the last person to hold the title. The descendants of Tui Manu'a are numerous. Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands ( Samoan : Motu o Sāmoa ) are an archipelago covering 3,030 km (1,170 sq mi) in

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1248-477: The region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 (17:48:11 UTC , September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks. It was the largest earthquake of 2009. The Vailulu'u Seamount , an active submerged volcano, lies 45 km (28 mi) east of Ta'u in American Samoa . It was discovered in 1975 and has since been studied by an international team of scientists, contributing towards understanding of

1287-655: The rise of a new dominant polity in the western isles: the Malietoa, whose feats in liberating Samoa from the Tongan occupants led to the establishment of a new political order in Upolu and Savaii which remained unchallenged for nearly 300 years. Although the Tui Manu'a would never again regain rulership of the surrounding islands, it is permanently held in high esteem as the progenitor of the great Samoan and Tongan lineages. The Manu'a islands were grouped with Tutuila and Aunu'u as

1326-511: The same day as the United States. By 2011, the government of independent Samoa decided to shift back to the western side in order to have the same day as Australia and New Zealand. Being one day behind these countries, Samoa's primary trading partners, left only four business days in a week. The shift was implemented by skipping Friday, December 30; workers were paid for this "missed" day. Neighboring Tokelau shifted as well on this day. The volcanic Samoa island chain may have been formed by

1365-630: The smaller islands are coral atolls with black sand beaches. The highest point in Samoa is Mt. Silisili , on the island of Savai'i . At 1,858 m (6,096 ft), it is also one of the highest peaks in Polynesia. The highest peak in American Samoa is on Ta’u , Lata Mountain , at 966 m (3,169 ft). Upolu and Savai'i in Samoa are among the largest of the Polynesian islands, at 1,718 km (663 sq mi) and 1,125 km (434 sq mi), respectively, Their size

1404-403: The title went to Tui Manuʻa Elisala (from another branch of the family). He ceded the islands to the United States with the Treaty of Cession of Manu'a on 16 July 1904 thus becoming a part of American Samoa . After Elisala's death in 1909, it was noted that "the title effectively died – at least in the eyes of the American government – with him. But the status of the title was not forgotten and

1443-489: Was forbidden to keep the title or return to the island of Ta‘ū . These actions led to native protests in Manu'a. Young also received a letter from the President of the United States concurring with Kellogg's decision ending the succession of the title and stating that the United States' "system of government does not permit it." He was eventually allowed to return to Manu'a. In 1927, Young sued and brought his case to

1482-524: Was half-Samoan and half-white; his grandfather was either a British or American surnamed Young and his grandmother was a Samoan woman of Fasito'o (located in the western Samoan Islands ). On his mother's side, Young was a descendant of Tui Manu'a Taliutafa Tupolo , son of Tui Manu'a Moaatoa , of the anoalo class, the lineal descendants of the Tui Manu'a line. His elder sister Tui Manu'a Matelita ruled briefly from 1891 to 1895. The family resided in

1521-525: Was the last claimant to the traditional title Tui Manu'a (paramount chief or king) of Manu'a , a group of islands in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands (present day American Samoa ). He was deposed from this title and exiled by American Governor Edward Stanley Kellogg because the idea of monarchy was incompatible with the Constitution of the United States . His parents were Arthur Paʻu Young and of Amipelia or Amepelia. His father's heritage

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