The history of American Samoa begins long before the first European contact, a Dutchman named Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729). The first European explorer was Louis-Antone de Bougainville (1729-1811) from France, and he named the islands the "Navigator Islands" in 1768. It was not until the 1830's that English missionaries and traders began arriving. The Samoans ferociously battled the explorers and visitors, culminating in a battle at Massacre Bay that left them with the reputation of being savage and warlike. | The history of American Samoa begins long before the first European contact, a Dutchman named Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729). The first European explorer was Louis-Antone de Bougainville (1729-1811) from France, and he named the islands the "Navigator Islands" in 1768. It was not until the 1830's that English missionaries and traders began arriving. The Samoans ferociously battled the explorers and visitors, culminating in a battle at Massacre Bay that left them with the reputation of being savage and warlike. |