American Samoa

Located in the southwest Pacific, midway between Hawaii and New Zealand, the Samoan archipelago has been inhabited for more than three millennia—but Europeans only ‘discovered’ it in the 18th century. Late in the 19th century, Samoa was split, and the U.S. absorbed the eastern part. American Samoa is a territory, not a state, consisting of five islands (Tutuila, Anu’u, Ofu, Olosega and Ta’ū) and two coral atolls (Rose and Swains Islands); the capital is Pago Pago.