Editing Politics of Samoa (section)

===Pre-Colonial===

* By the time Christianity came to Samoa via the [[London Missionary Society]] (LMS) missionary [[John Williams (missionary)|John Williams]], Malietoa Vaiinupo was the holder of the Tafa'ifa. The two met at [[Sapapali'i]] village (Savaii) in 1830 where Malietoa converted to the new religion. This opened up Samoa for more Christian denominations, who promptly followed the LMS. Malietoa died with his mavaega (last wishes) being that the Tafa'ifa titles be held by four different people in an effort to keep the peace in Samoa. This wish never fully bore fruit. For much of the 19th century after Malietoa Vaiinupo's death, Samoa's clans again fought over succession to the Tafa'ifa titles in various civil wars as had been the case for centuries. This set the scene for the European Colonial powers to take sides, as the American, British, and German consuls played out their own political rivalries at the same time.