Editing History of Samoa (section)

==After European contact==

===18th century===

Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century but did not intensify until the arrival of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] missionaries. In 1722, [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] [[Jacob Roggeveen]] was the first European to see the islands. This visit was followed by the French explorer [[Louis-Antoine de Bougainville]] (1729–1811), the man who named them the ''Navigator Islands'' in 1768. In 1787 [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse]] visited Samoa, where at Tutuila Island, in what is now American Samoa, there was a conflict leading to deaths on both sides, including the deaths of twelve Frenchmen.

===19th century===
{{Split section|Kingdom of Samoa|discuss=Talk:History of Samoa#Create "Kingdom of Samoa" Article|date=January 2024}}
European and Tahitian and Cook Islander [[Missionary|missionaries]] and traders, led by [[John Williams (missionary)|Rev. John Williams]] began arriving around 1830. Coming via Tahiti, they were known in Samoa as the Lotu Taiti. Williams was helped by the [[Ali'i]] Malietoa Vainu'upo to establish the [[London Missionary Society]] mission. The LMS missionaries brought Tahitian converts to share their acceptance of the new religion. This Christian endeavor laid the foundation of the [[Congregational Christian Church of Samoa]].

The [[United States Exploring Expedition]] (1838–42) under [[Charles Wilkes]] reached Samoa in 1839 and appointed an Englishman, John C. Williams, son of the missionary, as acting U.S. consul.<ref name="GHR"/> However this appointment was never confirmed by the [[U.S. State Department]]; John C. Williams was merely recognized as "Commercial Agent of the United States".<ref name="GHR"/> A British consul was already residing at [[Apia]].

In 1855 [[Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy|J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn]] expanded its trading business into the [[Samoan Islands]], which were then known as the Navigator Islands. During the second half of the 19th century [[German Empire|German]] influence in [[Samoa]] expanded with large plantation operations being introduced for coconut, cacao and hevea rubber cultivation, especially on the island of 'Upolu where German firms monopolized [[copra]] and [[cocoa bean]] processing. British business enterprises, harbour rights, and consulate office were the basis on which Britain had cause to intervene in Samoa. The United States Navy began operations at the harbor of [[Pago Pago]] on [[Tutuila]] in 1877 and formed alliances with local native chieftains, most conspicuously on the islands of [[Tutuila]] and [[Aunu'u]]. On April 17, 1900, the U.S flag was raised on Sogelau hill of Fagatogo village. Thus, Eastern Samoa became the U.S. Territory of [[American Samoa]]. The Kingdom of Manu'a joined as part of American Samoa in 1904.

In the 1880s Great Britain, Germany and the United States all claimed parts of the kingdom of Samoa, and established trade posts. The rivalry between these powers exacerbated tensions between the indigenous factions which were all jockeying for complete political authority. The islands were divided among the three powers in the 1890s, and between the United States and Germany in 1899.<ref>Paul M. Kennedy, ''The Samoan Tangle: A Study in Anglo-German-American Relations 1878–1900'' (University of Queensland Press, 2013).</ref>

===The First Samoan Civil War and the Samoan crisis===
[[File:Samoan Crisis wrecks 2.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Wrecked vessels at Apia (1889)]]
[[File:SMS Adler 1889 1.jpg|thumb|left|230px|SMS ''Adler'' wrecked at Apia (1889)]]
{{see also|Samoan Civil War|Samoan crisis}}
The First [[Samoan Civil War]] was fought roughly between 1886 and 1894, primarily between rival Samoan factions, although the rival powers intervened on several occasions with military forces. There followed an [[Samoan Civil War|eight-year civil war]], where each of the three powers supplied arms, training, and in some cases, combat troops to the warring Samoan parties.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Spencer Tucker|title=The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8V3vZxOmHssC&pg=PA569|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|pages=569–70|isbn=9781851099511}}</ref> The [[Samoan crisis]] came to a critical juncture in March 1889 when all three Western contenders sent warships into [[Apia harbour]], and a larger-scale war seemed imminent, until a massive storm on 15 March 1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict.<ref name=RLS>{{cite book|author=Stevenson, Robert Louis|title=A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-1-4264-0754-3|title-link=A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa|date=August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Robert Louis Stevenson]] arrived in Samoa in 1889 and built a house at [[Vailima, Samoa|Vailima]]. He quickly became passionately involved in the attendant political machinations. His influence spread to the Samoans, who consulted him for advice, and he soon became involved in local politics. These involved the three [[great power]]s battling for control of Samoa - America, Germany and Britain - and the indigenous factions which were all jockeying for complete political authority. He was convinced that the European officials appointed to rule the Samoans were incompetent, and after many futile attempts to resolve the matter, he published ''[[A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa|A Footnote to History]]''. The book covers the period from 1882 to 1892.<ref name=RLS/> This was such a stinging protest against existing conditions that it resulted in the recall of two officials, and Stevenson feared for a time it would result in his own deportation.<ref>Letter to Sidney Colvin, 17 April 1893, ''Vailima Letters'', [[S:Vailima Letters/Chapter XXVIII|Chapter XXVIII]]</ref>

===The Second Samoan Civil War and the Siege of Apia===
[[File:German, British, American warships in Apia harbour, Samoa 1899.jpg|thumb|right|230px|German, British and American warships in [[Apia]] harbour, 1899 ([[Alfred James Tattersall]])]]
{{see also|Second Samoan Civil War|Siege of Apia}}
The [[Second Samoan Civil War]] reached a head in 1898 when Germany, Great Britain and the United States disputed over who should control the Samoan Islands.

The '''[[Siege of Apia|Battle of Apia]]''' occurred in March 1899. Samoan forces loyal to [[Prince Tanu]] were besieged by a larger force of Samoan rebels loyal to powerful chief [[Mata'afa Iosefo]]. Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British and American warships. Over several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were defeated.<ref>Mains, P. John; McCarty, Louis Philippe (1906). The Statistician and Economist: Volume 23. p. 249</ref>

American and British warships shelled [[Apia]] on 15 March 1899; including the [[USS Philadelphia (C-4)|USS ''Philadelphia'']]. Following the initial defeat at Apia, Mata'afa's rebels defeated a combined American, British and Tanu allied force at [[Second Battle of Vailele|Vailele]] on 1 April 1899, with the allies in retreat.<ref name=jp>{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OIzreCGlHxIC&q=mataafa&pg=PT670|title=Dictionary of wars, Third Edition|first=George C.|last=Kohn|pages=479–480|year=1986|publisher=Facts on File Inc, factsonfile.com|isbn=978-0-8160-6577-6}}</ref> According to a war correspondent associated with the Auckland Star newspaper, the aftermath saw Mata'afa's warriors leaving American and British corpses on the field being severed of their heads.<ref>[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS18990412.2.60&l=mi&e=-------10--1----0--] Papers Past (website)</ref> Germany, Britain and the United States quickly resolved to end the hostilities by partitioning the island chain at the [[Tripartite Convention (1899)|Tripartite Convention of 1899]].<ref name="GHR">Ryden, George Herbert. ''The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa''. (Yale University Press, 1928), p. 574; the Tripartite Convention (United States, Germany, Great Britain) was signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900.</ref> With Tanu and his American and British allies' inability to defeat him in war, the Tripartite resulted in Mata'afa being promoted to Ali'i Si'i, the high chief of Samoa.<ref name="jp"/>