Samoa has the distinction of being the first formerly colonized nation in the Pacific to gain independence - in 1962 from the British/New Zealand. Prior to that, it had been under German control there for a while, with the UK and USA bickering about who gets what for a time before that [thus: American Samoa]. After independence, as Western Samoa, the Samoans decided to drop the “Western” in the late 1990s (to great outrage on their American Samoan neighbors’ part, who took umbrage at the apparent attempt to claim true Samoanness).
Stamp details: Top left: Issued in: 1877 From: Apia, Kingdom of Samoa MC #1
Top right: Issued on: December 10, 1900 From: Apia, German Samoa MC #7
Second row left: Issued on: December 23, 1921 From: Apia, Western Samoa Trust Territory MC #56
Second row right: Issued in: 1947 From: Apia, Western Samoa Trust Territory MC #89
Third row: Issued on: July 2, 1962 From: Apia, Western Samoa MC #116, 120
Bottom left: Issued on: June 1, 2002 From: Apia, Independent State of Samoa MC #941
Bottom right: Issued on: November 16, 2015 From: Apia, Independent State of Samoa MC #BL102
Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: Yes (since December 15, 1976) Official name: Independent State of Samoa; Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa Member of the Universal Postal Union: Yes (since August 9, 1989)