Battle of A'asu 1787 in Samoan war history. The first military contact with Europeans.

For thousands of years, Samoa was isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This splendid isolation enabled the preservation of the Samoan cultural traditions untainted by more interactive and progressive cultures beyond the tranquil shores of the Samoan Island Groups. Samoans were not however isolated from their neighbouring Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian neighbours during the peopling of the Pacific Islands since Samoa was initially discovered by the Austronesian Speaking Polynesians over three and a half thousand years ago. Samoa, as the foundation of the Proto-Polynesians would consider themselves as the centre of all Polynesian people. Hence, the name, Sa Moa. Or the 'Sacred Centre' of all of Polynesia. 

Even though Samoans regarded themselves as the centre of Polynesia, they were amongst the last of the Polynesian Groups to be discovered by European explorers and to be Christianised, or as the Europeans would called it, amongst the last of Polynesia to be CIVILISED. 

Why was Samoa amongst the last of the Polynesians to be civilised? An event had occurred that earned the revulsion and pet aversion of the Samoan race amongst all European Explorers that can be explained by this single incident in history. The massacre of the French Sailors in A'asu Village, or Massacre Bay, in Tutuila Island, Samoa. Nowadays known as Asu Village, Tutuila, American Samoa. 

The incident occured in December 1787, during a replenishment foray by the La Perouse Expedition to A'asu Village, in Tutuila Island. There was an exchange of food and water supplies through bartering trade between the Samoans and the French Expedition which had unfortunately led to some misunderstanding and a confrontation had ensued resulting in the untimely deaths of eleven or twelve, depending of the source, of the French Shore party, which would include the Captain of one of the Three French Ships anchored on that fateful replenishment stop over at the A'asu Bay, in December 1787.  Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle led the shore party to engage the Samoan Villagers at A'asu Village. The hostility amongst the Samoans and French may invariably be blamed on avarice or French cultural conceit? But, one can deduce from the violent exchange was that the Samoans were deeply offended by the French Visitors with their audacious attitudes during their cultural interactions. 

The Aftermath of the Samoan French Skirmish

There was a violent confrontation between the Samoans and the French Sailors that turned lethal resulting in a direct skirmish. The result was numerous reports of Samoan Warriors casualties and eleven or twelve French Sailors, including Captain Paul De Langle, were amongst the French Shore Party killed in this unfortunate violent encounter.

With a lack of historical accuracy since the documentations of the Samoan losses cannot be verified, nor the French historical account regarding the losses of the Samoan Toa, Warriors, can not be accurately accounted for since historical embellishments would often flatter the Historian recording the events. The French assuredly confirm that they had killed more Samoans than the Samoans slaying 11 or 12 of their crew members. 

The Delay to Botany Bay.

However, what is noted with this seemingly isolated historical event is the significance in shaping the Geo-political Colonial boundaries of the competing Imperialist powers at the time, when this even had occurred. Specifically, the delay with having to bury the French Sailors in A'asu Bay, would delay the French by one week in arriving in Botany Bay, New South Wales, in order to hoist the French Tricolours and declaring Terra Australis, a French Colony. 

As fate with have it, the British Convict Fleet, led by Captain Arthur Phillips made landfall at Botany Bay, and hoisted the British Union Jack, declaring the new landmass, New South Wales, as a British Colony on behalf of King George III of Britain. Thus assuring that the British had secured the new found land of New South Wales ahead of the French La Perouse Expedition. Of course, we know what had transpired with the French replenishment shore party were set upon by the Samoans which delayed the La Perouse arrival to New South Wales. 

Consequences:

For the Samoan European relations, the A'asu Village encounter and skirmish had dire consequences for the Samoan reputation that had spread throughout Europe like a plague. The Samoan Islands would be avoided at all costs by Europeans for nearly half a century after the La Perouse encounter. 

Over four decades later, John Williams, on board the Messenger of Peace, would dare to visit Samoa. Insodoing, the British were able to weasel their way to attempt to cajole the notoriously volatile Samoans with the Bible on the one hand, and British Colonialism in the other, with the British Navy following the London Missionary Society's initial contact with Malietoa Va'inu'upo in 1830. 

The A'asu Village incident, then known as the Massacre of A'asu, would continue to isolate Samoa from Europeans since 1787 after Roggeveen's initial sighting of Samoa in 1722. The official European contacts with Samoans were marked by three significant years. 1722, 1787 and finally 1830, as the significant dates of European and Samoan contact and eventual Colonisation. 

Since 1830, there would be an influx of Europeans into Samoa. First, were the Christian Missionaries, then the European Beachcombers, or European displaced persons, Mainly Sailors who would venture and settle into Samoan villages. Then Colonial Powers arrived to lay claim to Samoa which would lead to direct confrontation between European Nations with local indigenous Samoans. As the A'asu Village precedent had revealed the Samoan Toa pedigree would become a common occurrence between the Europeans and Samoans since 1787 and moreso after the arrival of John Williams and the Messenger of Peace in 1830. There would be more confrontations between the Samoans and Europeans which would eventually confirm the notoriety of the Samoan people amongst European Visitors throughout European and Samoan History.

 (NativePride685)

(NativePride685) 

(NativePride685)

(NativePride685)

Conclusion:

The intermittent skirmishes throughout modern Samoan History have been briefly described in these historical montage which are annotated accounts of Samoan military encounters with their Colonial encounters which were very volatile to say the least. Three major Colonial Powers would contest the Colonial tutelage over the Samoan Islands. 

Briefly, the 1889 Berlin Tripartite Treaty would place Samoa squarely in the Global Imperialist ambitions of the European Colonial Powers, Samoa would be contested by the United States and Britain on the one side and German on the other. 

More importantly, was the exclusion of the French from the contest, owing to the 1787 A'asu Village skirmish, which had left an indelible insipid Franco-Samoan after taste, that would remind the French of their absolute pet aversion towards the Samoans. 

But, absent from the Francosphere influence of the Pacific Region, that could've happened, was the destiny for Australia becoming an Anglo-Saxon Colony for Great Britain. The Samoan influence in this history cannot be denied. 

Tim Tufuga

Source:

1.Paul Antoine Fleuriot De Langle, wikipedia.com, Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle - Wikipedia

2. Massacre Bay, wikipedia.com, Massacre Bay (American Samoa) - Wikipedia 

3. SamoaPride685,Battle of A'asu 1787, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/VK2qnC4PS68?si=qP3zzu4KdxGY0Rt9 

4. Le Perouse Museum, 1787 Massacre at Tutuila | La Perouse Museum & Headland 

5.Samoa Pride 685, Oportuno, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/ZzHbAJ9NmMU?si=is8_ekmc9fNFjoYr

6. Battle of Mulinu'u, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/LDL4bk4q4-0?si=kVurFZ7pJclEjkex

7. Samoa Pride 685, Battle of Fagali'i, youtube.com, https://youtu.be/QFWnaOnIJeY?

si=3fztxpLFgB_OGiK2

8. Samoa Pride 685, Battle of Apia, youtube.com,  https://youtu.be/8o3nflmk7sg?si=XoJKZDBweXUi-bzO