American Samoa Colonial Records

European Colonization (18th century- 20th century)
European contact with the Samoan islands began in the 18th century with Dutch and French explorers. In the 1830s British missionaries from the Cook Islands and Tahiti came to the Samoan islands. During the 19th century, the islands became frequent stopping places for French, British, German, and United States ships. In 1899, during the Tripartite Convention, the islands were partitioned and divided between Germany and the United States.