WESTERN SAMOA [Western Samoa] officially Independent State of Western Samoa, constitutional monarchy (1995 est. pop. 209,000), South Pacific, comprising the western half of the Samoa island chain. There are nine major islands: Upolu , Savai'i , Apolima, Manono, Fanuatapu, Namua, Nuutele, Nuula, and Nuusafee, with a total land area of 1,097 sq mi (2,842 sq km). Apia , the capital, is on Upolu. Land, People, and Economy All the islands are mountainous, fertile, and surrounded by coral reefs; extensive volcanic activity occurred on Savai'i early in the 20th cent. The population, which is predominantly Polynesian and Christian, speaks Samoan (a Polynesian language) and English. The people are engaged largely in subsistence agriculture; the chief exports are copra, cocoa, and bananas. Tourism is also important. History All of the Samoan islands west of long. 171°W were awarded to Germany under the terms of an 1899 treaty among Germany, the United States, and Great Britain. New Zealand seized the islands from Germany in 1914 and obtained a mandate over them from the League of Nations in 1921. The United Nations made Western Samoa a trusteeship of New Zealand in 1946. New Zealand rule was unpopular, and in the 1930s a resistance movement (known as mau ) emerged among Europeans and native Polynesians. In 1961 a United Nations-supervised plebiscite was held, and on Jan. 1, 1962, independence was proclaimed. Western Samoa, a constitutional monarchy, has a 49-member...
WESTERN SAMOA [Western Samoa] officially Independent State of Western Samoa, constitutional monarchy (1995 est. pop. 209,000), South Pacific, comprising the western half of the Samoa island chain. There are nine major islands: Upolu , Savai'i , Apolima, Manono, Fanuatapu, Namua, Nuutele, Nuula, and Nuusafee, with a total land area of 1,097 sq mi (2,842 sq km). Apia , the capital, is on Upolu. Land, People, and Economy All the islands are mountainous, fertile, and surrounded by coral reefs; extensive volcanic activity occurred on Savai'i early in the 20th cent. The population, which is predominantly Polynesian and Christian, speaks Samoan (a Polynesian language) and English. The people are engaged largely in subsistence agriculture; the chief exports are copra, cocoa, and bananas. Tourism is also important. History All of the Samoan islands west of long. 171°W were awarded to Germany under the terms of an 1899 treaty among Germany, the United States, and Great Britain. New Zealand seized the islands from Germany in 1914 and obtained a mandate over them from the League of Nations in 1921. The United Nations made Western Samoa a trusteeship of New Zealand in 1946. New Zealand rule was unpopular, and in the 1930s a resistance movement (known as mau ) emerged among Europeans and native Polynesians. In 1961 a United Nations-supervised plebiscite was held, and on Jan. 1, 1962, independence was proclaimed. Western Samoa, a constitutional monarchy, has a 49-member...
