!!!Samoa %%image_right [{GoogleMap location='Samoa' type='embedded' zoom='bounds' width='450' height='350'}] %% [{Image src='ws-lgflag.gif' class='image_left' height='150' width='226'}] [{Image src='samoa.jpg' class='image_left' }] New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997. %%menu-geo %%cols-r * %%icon-geo,geo %% [Geography|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Geography] * %%icon-geo,maps %% [Maps|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Maps] * %%icon-geo,culture %% [Culture|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Culture] ---- * %%icon-geo,special %% [Special Information|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Special_Information] * %%icon-geo,picture %% [Pictures|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Pictures] * %%icon-geo,community %% [Community Contributions|Geography/Australia/Samoa/Community_Contributions] %% %%