Mau (movement)

Mau is a nonviolent national liberation movement on the Samoa islands, directed against the colonial authorities of Germany , and then New Zealand .

The reason for the deployment of the Mau movement was the dispute between the Samoan council of leaders and the German governor V.G. Zolf about the creation of enterprises for the production of copra on the island.

Lauati Namulaouulu Mamoe

Lauati Namulauluulu Mamoe took charge of the movement. In 1908, Mau members blocked the island of Upolu with their ships. In March 1909, Governor Zolf advanced his warships against the protesters, thereby forcing them to surrender. The leaders of Mau and Lauati Namulaouulu Mamoe were exiled to the Mariana Islands , from where they were released only in 1914 after the capture of the islands by New Zealand.

In the early 1920s, traffic resumed. It was led by Olaf Frederick Nelson, half Samoan, half Swede. Among the forms of protest used were tax evasion, termination of work on plantations , disobedience to the colonial court, and the creation of their own governing bodies ^[1] . The patriotic newspaper Samoa Guardian was also published ^[2] . In 1926, Nelson arrived in Wellington and demanded that the New Zealand government grant Samoa self-government, as well as a visit to the island by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since no one arrived on the island in the same year, he organized two rallies in Apia in protest. These rallies were dispersed by the authorities. Nelson was expelled from the country in 1928, but continued to support the organization financially and politically.

The newly elected leader of the Tupua movement, Tamasese Lealofi, launched a response to civil disobedience and boycotted New Zealand goods. By order of the New Zealand administrator J.S. Richardson, about 400 activists were arrested.

On December 28, 1929, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi brought the Mau to a peaceful demonstration in Apia ^[3] . New Zealand police tried to arrest one of the leaders of the demonstration, which led to a clash. The police began indiscriminate firing on the crowd from the Lewis machine gun ^[4] . The leader of the Tamaseses movement, trying to bring calm and order to the demonstrators, was killed. Another 10 demonstrators died on the same day, and 50 as a result of police actions received bullet wounds and injuries ^[5] . This day in Samoa is known as Black Saturday. Despite constant repression, the Mau grew, remaining a non-violent movement. The intensification of repression forced the participants to go to the mountainous areas of the island.

With the advent of Labor in New Zealand, the persecution of Mau supporters was stopped, and local residents were accepted for public and administrative service.

After the end of World War II, Western Samoa received the status of the Trust Territory of the UN and autonomy in internal affairs. Guardianship was carried out by New Zealand. Mau members continued their struggle for independence and secured a referendum on independence for the islands on May 9, 1961. January 1, 1962 independence was proclaimed. Tupua Tamasese Meaole (son of Tupua Tamasese Lealofi) became co-ruler of the supreme leader Malietoa Tanumafili II for life, although he died in 1963.