Samoans living overseas accounted for more than half of all tourist numbers.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi said that the purpose of adopting left-hand traffic was to allow Samoans to use cheaper RHD vehicles sourced from Australia, New Zealand or Japan, and so that the large number of Samoans living in Australasia can drive on the same side of the road when they visit their country of origin.

When Western Samoa achieved independence from New Zealand in 1962, the citizenship status of Western Samoans living in New Zealand became uncertain.

The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called “ Navigators Islands ” by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans ' seafaring skills.

By that time, the Samoans had gained a reputation of being savage and warlike, as violent altercations had occurred between natives and French, British, German and American forces, who, by the late nineteenth century, valued Samoa as a refueling station for coal-fired shipping and whaling.

By 1918, Samoa had population of some 38, 000 Samoans and 1, 500 Europeans.

American Samoans still use the terms " Western Samoa " and " Western Samoans.

While other Polynesian legends tell stories of great journeys from a ' homeland ,' like the mythologies of Hawai ' i and New Zealand Māori, Samoans differ, in that they say they have always been on Samoa, the Earth.

Overall, Samoa has strong links with New Zealand, where many Samoans now live and many others were educated.

* Davidson, J. W. Samoa mo Samoa for the Samoans, The Emergence of the Independent State of Western Samoa.

Some Samoans also considered the swamphen to be the incarnation of a mischievous, aggressive demon called Vave ( Corey & Shirley Muse, " The Birds and Birdlore of Samoa ," 1982 ).

A key event occurred in 1908, in a dispute between the German colonial administration and the Malo o Samoa, or Samoan Council of Chiefs, over the establishment of a copra business owned and controlled by native Samoans.

In 2002, Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand made an unprecedented move and apologised to Samoa for New Zealand's treatment of Samoans during the colonial era.

The motto of the group became the same as the motto of the Mau movement ; Samoa Mo Samoa, or Samoa for Samoans.

* Davidson, J. W. Samoa mo Samoa for the Samoans, The Emergence of the Independent State of Western Samoa.

For information about the American Samoan people, see Demographics of American Samoa, Samoans, and Culture of Samoa.

About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the NFL.

Dwayne Johnson, Peter Maivia, Yokozuna, Umaga / Jamal, Manu, Rosey, Samoa Joe, Wild Samoans, The Headshrinkers, Rikishi, and Sonny Siaki all have a Samoan heritage.

Intimate sociocultural and genetic ties were maintained between the eastern Lapita colonies and the archaeological record supports oral tradition and native genealogies that indicate inter-island voyaging and intermarriage between prehistoric Samoans, Fijians, and Tongans.

West, " The Samoans were also known to engage in “ headhunting ,” a ritual of war in which a warrior took the head of his slain opponent to give to his leader, thus proving his bravery.

He was convinced the European officials appointed to rule the Samoans were incompetent, and after many futile attempts to resolve the matter, he published A Footnote to History.

British Samoans were doing a " Seabee version " of the jitterbug by January 1944.

Up to 11 Samoans were killed, including Mau leader and high chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III with many others wounded.

It was already known that Samoans were susceptible to the smallest European diseases, as they had never encountered them before.

His uncles were the Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika, who trained him from an early age in the family business.

In the fall of 1989, Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the Samoans were given a new manager: " The Big Kahuna " Oliver Humperdink.

Rodney Anoa ' i also signed with the WWF but he was repackaged as " Yokozuna " and the family ties between him and the Samoans were not mentioned on air.

He is very similar to the Minister character in the recurring sketch Milburn Place, part of the Skitz comedy series in which several Naked Samoans were involved.

The Scots won comfortably 28 – 6, but the Samoans were clearly the personality team of the tournament.

The Samoans were full of running and put considerable strain on the Bok's defensive line.

Most residents were Hawaiians, but there were also Samoans, Māori, Portuguese, Scots, and English.

Although the Samoan Natives ( Tagata Mao ' i ) have long claimed to be the indigenous people of their islands, holding firm to the belief that Samoans were birthed by special creation in Samoa, it has been theorized by many linguists and anthropologists, based on linguistic commonalities as well as archaeological findings, that migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan Islands approximately 3500 years ago, settling in what has come to be known as " Polynesia " further to the east.

Olotele, the Massacre Bay in Assau village where a monument has been installed in 1883 with stone cross to honor of the 11 French sailors only who were members of the Astrolabe and Boussole ships during the La Parouse expedition who were killed by the local Samoans in a clash on December 11, 1787 ; 11 Chinese and 39 Samoans also died in this conflict but not mentioned in the honor list.

By the 1870s modern economic conditions were well established and accepted by the Samoans, who had just enough of a government that could be manipulated at will by the foreign business interests in Samoa.

In the fall of 1989 Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the Samoans were given a new manager: " The Big Kahuna " Oliver Humperdink.

On March 31, 2007, the Wild Samoans were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Afa's son, Samu, and Sika's son, Matt.

The Mau movement had not gone unnoticed by the population of New Zealand, and the treatment of Samoans at the hands of the administration had become a contentious issue in some New Zealand electorates during the 1929 election.

There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: ' We told you he was never going to make it.

The Samoans also took over the " Original " Midnight Express ’ feud with the Midnight Express, winning at Clash of the Champions VI on April 2, 1989.

The Samoans teamed with former rival Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Jimmy Garvin at the 1989 Great American Bash, losing a WarGames match to the Road Warriors, the Midnight Express, and Steve Williams.

The match was played at 7am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a large tree on the halfway line.

The match was played at 7am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a large tree on the halfway line.

Voodoo Glow Skulls first played out at backyard parties and later at Spanky's Café in their hometown of Riverside, where they played shows with the Angry Samoans, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Firehose, Murphy's Law and The Dickies.

For the Samoans the convention meant that their immediate future was decided in the light of Western interests, as they now lost an independence that had been nominal at best.

This third gender is so well accepted in Samoan culture that most Samoans state that they have friendship relationships with at least one Fa ' afafine.

Other successful New Zealand names in theatre and comedy have presented early works at BATS, including Flight of the Conchords, Duncan Sarkies, So You're a Man, The Naked Samoans and Maori playwrights Hone Kouka and Riwia Brown.

The Samoans also took over the " Original " Midnight Express ’ feud with the Midnight Express beating the team at Clash of the Champions VI on April 2, 1989.

Under this new law, Samoan citizens who were in New Zealand at any point on 14 September 1982 ( legally or illegally ) or arrived in New Zealand as permanent residents after that date were eligible to be granted New Zealand citizenship, but other Samoans born before 1949 and their children were not.

He was part of a 200 man force of Americans, Britons and Samoans which was defeated at the First Battle of Vailele in 1899 during the Second Samoan Civil War.