American Samoa (Samoan: Amerika Sāmoa), also known as Eastern Samoa, is a U.S. territory in the South Pacific Ocean, 199 square kilometers, nearly 60,000 people, positioned in U.S. law as "non-cooperative and not organized territory." Settled since 1000 BC, European explorers arrived in Samoa in the 18th century. Pago Pago, the capital, is one of the natural harbors in the Pacific Ocean. The main islands are Tutuila (the largest and most populous), while the remaining islands are the Manua Islands, Ross Atoll and Swains Island. In the second half of the 19th century, Germany, great Britain and the United States engaged in serious international confrontation over Samoa. Finally, under the terms of the 1899 Treaty, Germany and the United States divided Samoa. The following year the United States officially occupied the eastern half of the archipelago, consisting of five volcanic islands and two coral reefs. Western Samoa is now an independent State of Samoa. The United States passed a congressional act of February 20, 1929, formally accepting the contract to cede these islands to the United States. The act provides that local residents have U.S. national status. The Act provides for the establishment of a Government of American Samoa whose civil, judicial and military powers belong to persons designated by the President of the United States. Since U.S. interests in the region are primarily military, the territory is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. An executive order in 1951 transferred authority over the Territory to the Ministry of the Interior.
Pago Pago (Samoa: Pago Pago) is located on the Pacific island of Tutuila and is the capital of American Samoa with a population of 11,500 (2000). The city is serviced by air from Pago Pago International Airport. Tourism, the entertainment industry, and tuna canning are the city's main industries.
Pago Pago
A glimpse of the port area in the village of Fagatogo in Pago Pago City, with Rainbow (Pioa) Hill behind it. The village of Fagatogo was hit by a tsunami on 29 September 2009 and suffered some damage.