Villa Vailima by junge1

Photography • Historical • posted on Feb 15, 2018

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Description

In December 1889 the famous Scottish author and poet, Robert Louis Stevenson, arrived with his wife Fanny Osborne from Europe in search of some relief from worsening tuberculosis and the distressing general sickness that had plagued him all his life. Enchanted by Samoa, in 1890 he purchased 1 1/4 sq km of land in the hills above Apia for 200 UK pounds from the American trader Harry Jay Moors and constructed Vailima. For their home they imported furniture from Stevenson's native Scotland and dressed their Samoan employees in lavalava in patterns of the Stuart tartan. In the late 1800s, during the period of strife between Britain, USA, and Germany Stevenson became an activist for Samoan rights, maintaining that the people should be left to govern themselves and determine their own destiny in accordance with their customs. Most of the Europeans would have liked to see him deported at the time but to do so would have been very unpopular. Stevenson came to be loved by the Samoans for his friendliness toward them and his ability to entertain with stories. Stevenson died on 3 December 1894. The Samoan chief Tu'imaleal'ifano, while paying his respects, uttered the words that echoed the sentiments of many Samoans:' Talofa e i lo matou Tusitala. Ua tagi le fatu ma le 'ele'ele.' This means: 'Our beloved Tusitala. The stones and the earth weep' (Source: Lonely Planet, Samoa, 2nd ed., September 1994). This picture was taken on 31 December 2017, Sig...