Midkiff 1933 R.Pdf

RULES ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII MAY s i. 1948, WITH REGARD TO THE REPRODUCTION OF MASTERS THESES (a) Mo person or corporation may publish or reproduce in any manner, without the consent of the Board of Regents, a thesis which ha's been submitted to the University in partial fulfillm ent of the requirements for an advanced degree, lb) No individual or corporation or other organization may publish quotations or excerpts from a graduate thesis without the consent of the author and of .the University. SA IH TE ÁJMIHI STRATI OS IH TJSSfESI BAHOA by le o r l Loe B§ek MlQMSt ntxim Awrnirznitim m r»m m mmM. by Fcvxl L&ö Beck M ñ k ift T A mRFIB ■mmms m wn fam m m m s mavsBfirx or m m ii m !>/■?.$u z (w m $ m .üiHimaïs r a m n x m m x of MABVm CW AT.m WZTMBTm W HAWAII 1933 Approvo< ! Hawn. IN} CB5 - i - ! H3 Qs. no .32 ^ cop.2 ro oo PREFACE The riin of this study has "boon to make a brief and accurate survey o f the political. and h is to ric a l de velopment of T'estera Frnoe, for the purpose of finding out what political institutions existed when the white men first came In contact with the natives, and then de termining to whet extent these Institution s have been used by the "tripartite I'owerc, ” Germany and L'ow Zeeland, in tho administration of native affairs* The introductory chapter sets tho sta^a for tho reader, giving him an accurate and clear out picture of the land and the people at the present timo* Then follow s a detailed study of the early t r ib a l government of the Samoans* The h is to ric a l and p o lit ic a l development o f the ^ country is approached from the angle of "international relations*w fh© reader is often taken behind the econos C-) jo and shown tho reason for certain polloies and actions on *'•> tho port of interested Powers, and tho Importance o f those 0 tiny islands in the development of the colonial p o lic ie s of Germany, Great Britain and the United States* At tho Mj rr> present time, estern Samoa, as a mandate, conferred upon lew Zealand, through Great Britain, b the Treaty Powers ’ and administered under tho striot eurvelllmoo of tho i League of Nations, presents ©n international problem worthy of consideration. 1 - i i - COITEBTS Cliíiptor Prre I THE MUD A HD THE PEOPLE...,...................... 1 11 EARLY TRIBAL GOVEHIMSRT OP THE SAMQAIÎS. 9 I I I HISTORICAL AHR POLITICAL DSVBLOP1OTT: 1722-1889............................................ ........ 56 IV G0V2RSMKIT ÜHDER A TRIPARTITE AGRE : 5 9 V HATIVE POLICY OP THE GERMAS PERIOD: 1900-1914................................... 74 VI WESTERS SAMOA: A HAHDATE OP HEW ZSAIAHD 06 V II GOHCLURIOSS .............................................. 140 BIBLIOGRAPHY............ 157-162 * TBS LAUD ABB JHE PEOPluS The Samoan Islands have never been considered geo grap h ically , eco#to*alctJLly, ><or p o lit ic a lly important♦ Yet these tiny dot© in the P a c ific have w ritten chap tore in the colonial history of thro© world power© - Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Yhe influence of geogrn* phy upon history can hardly he over-estimated; hut a Mere glance at a map of the Pacific area give© no key to the history of this ©mall group of Island© in Central Polynesia, She Samoan group, formerly known as the lavlgator Islands, ere 8,000 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands in an almost direct line between Pan Ireneleco end Australia« S*he group, comprising fourteen island©, lies about 2,410 miles north of ¿vufcland, low U>aland, and about 4,£00 mile© eouthwest of San Franc ieco; it extends from latitude 13° to 1&'J south and from longitude 168° to ITS0 west# B r it ish or ¡‘©stern Semoe - now a mandate of Hew Sealend - In clude© the i ©land© of ¿-avail, Manono, Apollon, Upolu, Punuatapu, Manna, Buutele, and Huuludu SlMi ieim d® of American Samoa from oast to woet are; Beee Island, leu, Olosega, O f», Aunuu, and Tutulie. The island© o f f r a , iVlo - sega, and Ofu are generally known a© '’the Menu - roup” and the tiny islan d of Atmuu is embraced in the nr me "T utu H e." Bobo I »land is a coral atoll, uninhabited, and of practi cally no value . Tho total ¡«roc Is estimated at 1,700 square miles* A ll of the i Blands, except Roe© I eland, ere poalrs of c sub marine chain of volcanic mountains. Barrier reefs more or lees oneirole the large islands end between those reefs and the shore stretches a lagoon of ©elm water which provides good fishing grounds end a highway for tho canoes travel ing between different points of the ielrn&e* Lofty mountains rise in the interior of the Islands, leaving broad stretches of comparatively level land border ing the chore end roaching up to tho low -lyin g fo o th ills * The s o il of e l l the inhabited islands is rich and ie formed chiefly from the decomposition of volcanic roolrc and vege tation . She climate of tho Samoan group is tropical with abundant rain fall and c mean temperature of 80° in Jocomber and 70° in July. This rainy, low latitude type of cilia:to affords little variation of temperature from day to day. There Is much bed weather in the islands, particularly from iiovomber to March when long and heavy rain s, attended at tiraBS with high winds and fierce hurricanes, are frequent. Tho people, a handsome branch of the Malay race, are Polynesians and are related to the Meoris, Tahitians, end Hemal lane« There is nothing in Samoa to indicate a race Prior to tho present people. It ie quit© clear that this off shoot of the Holey race has long resided. In the islands, for to the®, tojaoa ie the earth. To prove this, Watson prints one of their legends. The pod Tael on, who dwelt in space and lardo the Heoveno m d of whom it is net 'm om how or whence he os!®, had a grand»<m named I«» On one occasion Taglsa. being annoyed with the bey, seised and beat him with the handle of the great god’s fly switch* hn escaped, ran down to the earth'and named it Samoa. 1 The bemoans nr© the most perfect type of £olyne elans, o f a lig h t brown co lo r, splendid physique and h a n d s «» reg ular features* The face of the Zm om has ma.ny of the die» tinctive works of the European end there is nothing to eng. goat the Begro. She nose is straight, short, and wide at the base. The chin ie fir® and strong, the check bones rather prominent, and tho forehead unusually narrow. The mouth ie large and ell filled with strong white teeth, with full and well shaped lips. The large soft ©yes and black h e ir, sometime© wavy, suggest the Honth American Spaniard. The countonanoe is pleasing and suggests that indefinable quality known a© wpereonality*, Their mental and social standard is high among Poly nesian people. They are simple, honorable, generous end hospitable, but bravo fighters* Their religion, a poly- Tiobwirt xa&okenssl© Watson, hletory of Samoa {Whitoombe ©nd Sooatos, ltd ., Wellington, »* !* , 19181, p. 19. 4 - tb o istio id o latry , was iinacooiìipaniod "by human s a c r ific e . The whole of the nr.tivo population now lives on car no or the const la villages of mushroom shaped houses l orr- erod in banana groves and elwiwt? of brerd-fruit and towering coconut palms. She Samoan house is merely a c irc le or slight oval of posts topped by rafters and crossbeams, thatched with sugar erne and pandanus leave®, end carpo tod b, water worn fragments » * oven mete, fastened between the posts form the sides of the house; however, they are iropt r o lle d up unless needed fo r protection against the weather* The fumlchlnge of the home, almost entirely supplied by nature, include pandanuo mats, spread on the floor for guests or ucod for both bod and cover at nightt the many leggoa bava bowl carved from a single piece of live, hard redwood, a stove made from rook©, utensils fashioned from wood and coconut shells, end palm loaf banket©* One house sheltors a family of from ten to thirty members bound together by ties of blood or adoption, and ruled over by a mat al f the official title of the head of a fam ily group* The people liv e in group© because a l l land is communal and the land as well as the products belong to tho village or family. inch person contributes the profit© of M s industry to the family fund, thus there is no desire for wealth In this social system that makes no provision for private ownership of property. However, the hoad of the fam ily, by an example of energy and ambition, may bring increased prosperity for the whole group. Good means of oommrniaation and transportation, both neeoeeary to the development of any region, are lacking in the group. Pago fa go, connected to other porta by a throe wool:® sob©dale by the Hoteon navigation Uon$>any, le thirteen days from Ban francisco, ©even from Honolulu, two from Suva, and six from Sidney, limy freighters make regular calls at the ports of "estern Samoa.

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