Instead, the residents of Aʻoloau and A‘asu collectively chose to relocate their towns to the mountainous area (Mount Olotele) along the newly constructed road.

[12] In 1787, two French ships reached Massacre Bay in Aʻasu, marking the first recorded instance of Europeans setting foot in the Samoan Islands.

[13][14] This event was part of the Lapérouse expedition which was tasked by King Louis XVI with exploring the region to establish French influence and economic interests.

In response to this, a monument was erected by the French government in 1883 to commemorate the event; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[15][16] On December 11, 1787, Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle along with sixty men in two cutters and two longboats entered the bay of Aasu.

[19] Some have asserted that the violence was carried out by visiting warriors from Western Samoa, particularly from Aʻana, whose arrival coincided with Lapérouse's time at Aʻasu.

[20][21][22][23][24] For two days after the attack, Lapérouse patrolled the area outside Aʻasu Bay, either attempting to maneuver within firing range or contemplating a retaliatory strike.

During their search, the sailors discovered a French military uniform that had belonged to one of Pérouse’s men, who had been killed at Aʻasu.

[29] In 1824, the Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue visited the village of Aʻasu, anticipating an encounter similar to that experienced by Lapérouse in 1787, when numerous canoes had approached.

According to Kotzebue’s account, the Samoans promptly attempted to seize various items, displaying their acquisitions to those who remained in the canoes below.

[30] Among the visitors, one individual assumed a ceremonious demeanor, raising his gifts overhead and uttering phrases that provoked laughter among his compatriots.

While Kotzebue initially believed this individual to be a chief, it is more likely he was enacting a form of "fale aitu", a traditional Samoan style of comedic performance.

Concluding that hostilities might ensue, he decided to depart, narrowly avoiding an order for his men to open fire.

[33] The village is divided in half by the Aasu Stream which flows down from the high ground behind and cuts a channel through the off-lying reef.