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Pitcairn Islands: Difference between revisions
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[[File:pitcairn-islands-map_1895.gif|frame]]
The Pitcairn Islands are a tiny group of desolate islands in the far east (well technically the far west) of Oceania. It is the least populated 'country' in the world with a population of only about 50 people, and only one of the islands is inhabited. Pitcairn also only has nine surnames and you can probably tell by now that they are all related, very closely related.
Pitcairn is a British territory and administration usually takes place from New Zealand. The British High Commissioner to New Zealand also serves as the Governor of Pitcairn and usually appoints people to make daily visits to the island. Pitcairn is often
Archaeological evidence shows that a Polynesian society existed on the islands at some point prior to their re-discovery. The original inhabitants populated all of the islands and appeared at some time around the 11th century, though by the 1500's they seem to have completely disappeared. Theories have been put forward to try and explain why but it is usually accepted that they just ran out of reliable food supplies due to a decline of trade routes in this part of the Pacific.
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By 1793 the Tahitians led an uprising against the British during which Fletcher Christian was killed, along-with most of the British men. By the end of the conflict all of the Tahitian men had died. This left only four British men and the Tahitian woman, the survivors did not treat the woman any better and learnt how to make alcohol on the island. The woman tried to escape from the island but because of the islands isolation, escape was impossible. This led to the woman eventually rebelling against the men. Some of the men committed suicide and by 1800 only one of the original mutineers remained, John Adams, after which the 'capital' village of Pitcairn is named.
The island now only consisted of John Adams, nine Tahitian woman and many children. Adams had kept a bible from the bounty and used it to convert the islanders to Christianity. They built a small church and Christianity became a major part of life for those on the island. Adams created a small
During its time as a British colony, the island gained a trivial reputation and for a minority gained a certain appeal. During the 1820's, three more Britons moved to Pitcairn and married the Pitcairner woman. In 1829 John Adams died and the island once again became completely lawless, they were now able to import alcohol and fights and disease became commonplace once again. In 1832 an American named Joshua Hill arrived on the island, Hill banned alcohol and made a makeshift prison which he used to imprison anyone who made the slightest mistake, as to try and return order to the island. Hill was driven off the island in 1838 after a British ship captain helped the islanders draw up a legal code.
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Today Pitcairn is still under strict surveillance and to many degrees no longer enjoys such isolation as it had in the past. Conspiracy theories have been drawn up by some of the islanders to suggest that the 2004 trials were produced by the British to 'destroy their island'. Because of the ingrained 'culture of abuse' in Pitcairn, the very existence of the Pitcairn community is at risk of being made to move, indeed many Pitcairner's have moved to New Zealand or Australia to escape the island. Despite its dark history the island still enjoys a strange 'Island Paradise' reputation.
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[[Category:Useful Notes/Oceania]]
[[Category:Pitcairn Islands]]
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