officially Territory of American Samoa
Unincorporated U.S. territory (pop., 2000: 57,291), southwest-central Pacific Ocean.
It includes the islands of Tutuila (the largest, with over two-thirds of the territory's land area and 95% of the population), Aunuu, Rose, Swains, and the Manua group. Area: 77 sq mi (199 sq km). Capital: Pago Pago (on Tutuila). Languages: Samoan, English (both official). Currency: U.S. dollar. Most of the islands are rocky, formed from extinct volcanoes, and are surrounded by coral reefs. Tutuila and the islands of Manua are dominated by central mountain ranges. Fishing and tourism are major industries, but the U.S. administration is the main employer. The majority of the population is of Samoan ancestry. The islands were probably inhabited by Polynesians 2,500 years ago. Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to visit the islands in 1722. A haven for runaway sailors and escaped convicts, the islands were ruled by local chiefs until 0441; 1860. The U.S. gained the right to establish a naval station at Pago Pago in 1872, and the U.S., Britain, and Germany administered a tripartite protectorate in 188999. The high chiefs ceded the eastern islands to the U.S. in 1904 (Britain ceded Swains in 1925). American Samoa was administered by the U.S. Department of the Navy until 1951 and afterward by the Department of the Interior. Its first constitution was approved in 1960, and in 1978 the territory's first elected governor took office.