A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa
A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa is an 1892 historical non-fiction work by Robert Louis Stevenson, detailing the Samoan Civil War from 1882 to 1892. The book examines the political and social turmoil in Samoa, highlighting the struggles between native leaders and the competing interests of the United States, Germany, and Britain. Stevenson's firsthand account provides insight into the complexities of indigenous governance and foreign intervention, making it a significant critique of colonial politics that even led to the recall of two officials. His observations reflect the tension between tradition and modernity in Samoan society during a pivotal era.
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“And for the real noble a whole private dialect is set apart. The common names for an axe, for blood, for bamboo, a bamboo knife, a pig, food, entrails, and an oven are taboo in his presence, as the common names for a bug and for many offices and members of the body are taboo in the drawing-rooms of English ladies. Special words are set apart for his leg, his face, his hair, his belly, his eyelids, his son, his daughter, his wife, his wife's pregnancy, his wife's adultery, adultery with his wife, his dwelling, his spear, his comb, his sleep, his dreams, his anger, the mutual anger of several chiefs, his food, his pleasure in eating, the food and eating of his pigeons, his ulcers, his cough, his sickness, his recovery, his death, his being carried on a bier, the exhumation of his bones, and his skull after death. To address these demigods is quite a branch of knowledge, and he who goes to visit a high chief does well to make sure of the competence of his interpreter. To complete the picture, the same word signifies the watching of a virgin and the warding of a chief; and the same word means to cherish a chief and to fondle a favourite child.””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
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<a href="https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622"><img src="https://lex-books.com/badges/read-on-lex.svg" alt="Read A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa by Robert Louis Stevenson free on Lex" width="160" height="40"></a>[](https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622)[url=https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622][img]https://lex-books.com/badges/read-on-lex.svg[/img][/url]Read A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa by Robert Louis Stevenson free on Lex: https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622Cite this book
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Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa. Lex, lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622.Stevenson, R. L. (n.d.). A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/a-footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-e4ad40d0-495d-4da3-b967-d69836f4f622.
