Located at approximately 1500 kilometers or 950 miles south of the equator

and split by the international date line is a small chain of islands which was believed

to be the birthplace of Polynesian civilization. Today these islands are divided between two countries.

Despite a common culture and language, the differences between them keep getting larger over time.

Learn more about Samoa, both Western Samoa and American Samoa, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. I first visited Samoa back in 2007.

It was one of my first stops I had in my around the world trip.

I instantly fell in love with the country and when people ask me what my favorite country is,

the answer I will often give is Samoa.

Samoa is a pretty small country situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it's

rather hard to reach. As a result, not many people visit. The vast majority of

its visitors come from other Pacific islands,

especially New Zealand and Australia. Before I go any further I should mention the

pronunciation. I'm going to be using the Samoan pronunciation, which is putting the accent on the first syllable

and using an elongated A. Most people will pronounce it without any emphasis just as

Samoa, but it should be Samoa. Kind of similar to how Tuvalu is Tuvalu and not Tuvalu.

The history of Samoa dates back about 3,000 to 3,500 years ago when the islands were settled by

the Austronesian people who were working their way across the

Pacific Ocean.

The ancestors of the Sammoans are called the Lapita culture, and they began their expansion

eastward from what is today considered Melanesia just to the east of the

island of New Guinea.

The early history of Samoa is intertwined with the islands of Fiji and Tonga.

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