Timeline of Samoa

Chronology

8 events spanning the history of Samoa. BCE/CE dating.

1. 1722

   Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen is the first European to explore Samoa.

   Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen is the first European to explore Samoa.

2. 1899

   Germany annexes Western Samoa.

   Germany annexes Western Samoa, the US takes over eastern Samoa and Britain withdraws its claim to the islands in accordance with treaty between Germany, Britain and the US.

3. 1914

   New Zealand occupies Western Samoa during World War I.

   New Zealand occupies Western Samoa during World War I and continues to administer it after the war by virtue of a League of Nations mandate (and a United Nations mandate after World War II).

4. 1939 – 1945

   US troops stationed in Western Samoa during World War II.

   US troops stationed in Western Samoa during World War II, but no battles are fought on the islands.

5. 1962

   Western Samoa becomes independent, the first Pacific island nation to do so.

   Western Samoa becomes independent, the first Pacific island nation to do so.

6. 1962

   Western Samoa becomes independent, the first Pacific island nation to do so.

   Western Samoa becomes independent, the first Pacific island nation to do so.

7. 1997

   Western Samoa changes its name to Samoa.

   Western Samoa changes its name to Samoa, a move which causes some tension with American Samoa.

8. 2007

   King Malietoa Tanumafili II dies.

   King Malietoa Tanumafili II dies aged 94, after 45 years on the throne. He was appointed king for life at independence in 1962. He was the world’s third-longest reigning monarch, after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth.