...sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by mountains from high winds.

American Samoa became an unorganized U.S. territory in 1900. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The navy secured a Deed of Cession of Tutuila in 1900 and a Deed of Cession of Manua in 1904. The last sovereign of Manua, the Tui Manua Elisala, was forced to sign a Deed of Cession of Manua following a series of U.S. Naval trials, known as the "Trial of the Ipu”. During World War II, the Samoan islands acquired strategic importance and infrastructure projects were undertaken. Roads, airport, docks and medical facilities were built. Many of these structures still exist today. The Jean P. Haydon Museum of American Samoa, a national historic building that formerly housed the United States Navy Commisary during World War II, was officially dedicated by famous anthropologist Margaret Mead, author of the controversial book “Coming of Age in Samoa”. Tuna processing/canning is the most important economic activity in American Samoa. In the 1950s, tuna canneries were built in American Samoa. Since then, it has dominated the economic life of the people of American Samoa. In 2004, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of American Samoa was $500 million. $446 million was attributed to the two canneries which includes canned tuna and by-products such as fish meal and pet food. In 2004, the canneries accounted for 56% of the island’s total imports and 93% of the island’s total exports. When the Tuna Embargo began in 1981 and the major tuna canneries in San Diego closed, most of the U.S. tuna purse seine vessels moved their homeport from San Diego to American Samoa. Life in American Samoa is dominated by tuna fishing and tuna processing. About 5000 people from American Samoa, Western Samoa, and Tonga work for the canneries. A decrease in production or a departure of one or both of the tuna canneries would lead to massive unemployment and insurmountable financial difficulties. The tuna canned in American Samoa goes to the U.S. market where products from American Samoan enter duty-free. For many years, the U.S. Fedeeral government through “IRS Code Section 936” provided tax credits to the canneries. Section 936 was initially set to expire in the early 1990s, but was extended in 1995 with a 10-year sunset clause. A one-year extension was proposed last year and attached to the Budget Reconciliation Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives. That bill is now in the U.S. Senate's Finance Committee. Reportedly, the Senate has drafted its own budget reconciliation bill, but without the Section 936 extension. Several alternative tax credits...