Study, Work or Volunteer in American Samoa

A group of islands in the South Pacific, The Territory of American Samoa is often called the ‘heart of Polynesia’. The territory was colonized by European explorers in the eighteenth century but after the Treaty of Berlin in 1899, the United Kingdom and Germany gave up their rights over the place and American Samoa became an unorganized and unincorporated territory of the United States.

Halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, the region has much in common with its neighboring region of Western Samoa, or Independent Samoa. The Samoans have tried hard to hold on to their traditional ways but symptoms of commercialism and cultural colonization are clearly visible in many parts of the country.

The capital of American Samoa is Pago Pago. It is a small city located on the island of Tuitula, which consists of some semi-urban communities, a small town, tuna canneries and the only harbour in American Samoa.