Dave, G4BUO will be active as 5W0UO from Samoa, IOTA OC - 097, 23 February - 4 March 2025.
He will operate on HF Bands CW only.
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Dave Lawley, 1515 High Road, London N20 9PJ, England.
Samoa: between two fires!
Geopolitically, the islands of Samoa are divided into two parts: the much larger portion, the Independent State of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa) and the relatively small island nation of American Samoa (the only U.S. territory south of the equator). Even though they have different systems of government, the Polynesians inhabiting both Pacific island nations share a common language and culture, and the hereditary power of chiefs still has a significant impact on people's daily lives.
Sand of Samoa in Samoana resort. salt water infinity pool. Author - Alain Perez.
Who discovered Samoa and under what conditions, and how the island lives today
These atolls are located in the center of Polynesia, forming, together with Hawaii, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and New Zealand, the three points of the Polynesian triangle. They were first discovered by European explorers in the 18th century, but were most likely inhabited three thousand years earlier. During the colonial competition between countries, the Samoan archipelago was divided between Germany and the United States. In 1899 the division of atolls was “legalized” by the Treaty of Berlin. In 1900, this document was supplemented by the “Act of Cession”, which formalized the transfer of part of Samoa to North America.
Today the total population of the islands is about 250 thousand people (188 thousand - the State of Samoa; 65 thousand - American Samoa). The independent State of Samoa, which changed its name from Western Samoa in 1997, has close ties with New Zealand. American Samoa, with a very large American population, has close economic ties with the United States. Despite the different territories of residence, the population of the islands are united by common customs and language - Samoan and English. The vast majority of the inhabitants are Christian.
The economies of the atolls revolve around fishing and agriculture, in the past highly vulnerable to natural disasters. On both islands, the tradition of placing executive power in the hands of paramount chiefs has survived. Nevertheless, the islands have been divided since the colonial era, when the coconut oil trade provided the opportunity to secure a naval base to defend the archipelago from Western empires, particularly Japan and China. These countries at the time were vying for influence in the Pacific.
Samoa sunset. Author - Marcello Olla.
Is New Zealand's protectorate good or bad?
The independent state of Samoa is much larger than the eastern atolls and covers an area of 2,830 square kilometers. After the First World War, Samoa was under the administration of New Zealand for a long time. Due to the incompetent actions of the New Zealand authorities in organizing quarantine during the influenza epidemic, almost one-fifth of the entire population of the atoll died out. The negligence and disregard for the needs of Samoans was opposed by the popular movement “Opinion”.
The movement grew from peaceful demonstrators devoting themselves to non-violent methods into an organization with its own governing bodies. It called for refusing to pay taxes, disobeying the courts, and disrupting and stopping work on the plantations. In 1929 there was an armed skirmish between police and protesters that became known as Black Saturday. In 1961, the people of Samoa voted in a referendum to grant the island independence. In 1962, the atoll was granted full sovereignty, while maintaining a foreign economic focus on cooperation with New Zealand.
Samoan skies. Author - Rafael Zwiegincew.
Modern development of the islands: is there potential?
Of a population of almost 190,000, 99% of the inhabitants live on one of the nine largest atolls, the volcanic island of Upolu. More than 100,000 Samoans have immigrated to New Zealand. Not so long ago, namely in 1970, Samoa became the first country to change the side of the road on which cars travel. The economy of the island nation is based on agriculture and fishing. Almost 25% of GDP falls on the tourism sector. Not badly developed light industry and offshore banking business. The economy of American Samoa is based on catching of tuna and export of canned fish to the USA. Politically, Samoa is considered a parliamentary democracy, although the country is still socially conservative and devoutly Christian. In the past, many young Samoans migrated to New Zealand from Samoa and to the United States from American Samoa.
The eastern atolls were first occupied by the U.S. in 1989 and anchored by a strong naval presence during World War II. Residents of American Samoa are both citizens and non-citizens of the United States. They cannot vote in national elections, although they are able to enter the United States freely. Tens of thousands of American Samoans have migrated to the states of Washington and California and sociologists estimate that about 20,000 Samoans have migrated to Hawaii. About 90% of the island nation's population lives on the largest atoll, Tutuila.
