The

political union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

(an

independent state Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

previously known as Western Samoa) and

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

US territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

also known as Eastern Samoa), both of which are part of the

Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa an ...

, has been proposed ever since their current status was established in the first half of the 20th century under the

Tripartite Convention The Tripartite Convention of 1899 concluded the Second Samoan Civil War, resulting in the formal partition of the Samoan archipelago into a German colony and a United States territory. Forerunners to the Tripartite Convention of 1899 were the ...

, and even earlier: In 1919, Western Samoa expressed a desire to unite with American Samoa. The

Samoan people Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between ...

in both Western Samoa and American Samoa share ethnicity and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, but their islands have remained politically separated. The western islands were incorporated as the

Western Samoa Trust Territory Western Samoa Mandate, then Western Samoa Trust Territory, officially Territory of Western Samoa was the name of Western Samoa during its civil administration by New Zealand between 1920 and Samoan independence in 1962. Six years earlier, Ge ...

under British administration from 1920–1946, and under New Zealand administration from 1946 to 1962. The Inter-Samoan Consultative Committee was established in 1955 to promote cooperation between the two.

Richard Barrett Lowe Richard Barrett Lowe (July 8, 1902 – April 16, 1972) was the List of governors of American Samoa, governor (and fifth appointed civil governor)Dakota State University (2004). of American Samoa (October 1, 1953 – October 15, 1956) and the ...

, the governor of American Samoa from 1953 to 1956, said during his tenure that it had been decided that reunification with Western Samoa was not to be discussed by the Committee. In 1969, a political commission in American Samoa rejected a proposal for unification with Western Samoa. Sentiments for and against unification exist in varying degrees. Nevertheless, some Western Samoan political leaders have argued in favor either of unification or of making Western Samoa an American Trust Territory. Although inhabitants of American Samoa have a strong Samoan national identity, there is no large movement among them in favor of independence or unification with Western Samoa. American Samoa protested Western Samoa's official name change to "Samoa" in 1997, concerned that it would imply that Western Samoan has authority over all the Samoan islands, including the eastern Samoan islands that are part of American Samoa.

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* * {{Irredentism Politics of Samoa Politics of American Samoa National unifications Samoan Islands Proposed political unions

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