Who the first Polynesians were, who settled in what is now American Samoa, will probably never be accurately determined, but most archaeologists fix the date at around 600 B.C. These first inhabitants probably arrived in Tonga and the Samoas from the west, perhaps by way of Indonesia, the New Hebrides and Fiji. Samoa's long isolation from the western world ended in 1722 when the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen came upon the islands. It wasn't until 1831, however that european influence had any real impact. In that year, Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived with eight Tahitian missionaries. Samoans took to christianity with great enthusiasm and remain a deeply religious people to this day. By 1900 the Samoan islands were being claimed by both Germany and the United States. Germany annexed several islands which now comprise Western Samoa; the US took Tutuila to use Pago Pago bay as a coaling station for naval ships. As Japan began emerging as an international power in the mid-1930's, the U.S. Naval Station on Tutuila began to acquire new strategic importance. By 1940, the Samoan islands had become a training and staging area for the u.s. Marine corps. It was this massive influx of Americans that gave Samoans a sudden taste of the benefits of a modern western society. Today,American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its people are classified as American Nationals. Visitors to American Samoa will find it a truly special place, offering the warmth and charm of the South Pacific, seasoned with enough Americans to make them feel very much at home, and with a few expats thrown in to give our islands the feel of Old Key West in Hemingway's days. Top: Flowerpot island at the mouth of Pago Pago harbor. Below: A Secluded beach on Tutuila's North Shore.                 Updated: July 7, 1997