Pitcairn Islands

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Flag of the Pitcairn Islands
Coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands
A map of the islands.
The mutineers turning Bligh and part of the officers and crew adrift from the Bounty, 29 April 1789

The Pitcairn Islands are a group of islands in the southern Pacific. People only live on the second-largest of the four islands. That island is named Pitcairn. It is governed by the United Kingdom. It has the smallest number of people of any country. In 2019, 50 people lived there.

The islands are best known as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them, an event retold in numerous books and films. This history still shows in the surnames of many of the islanders. There are only four family names (as of 2010): Christian, Warren, Young and Brown.

History[change | change source]

Originally people from Polynesia lived on the Pitcairn Islands, but there was no one living on the islands when they were discovered (found) by Captain Philip Carteret of H.M.S. Swallow on 2 July 1767. The island was named after Robert Pitcairn, a 15 year old midshipman who was the first person on the Swallow to see it. Robert is believed to have been lost at sea in early 1770 when the ship he was on, HMS Aurora, went missing in the Indian Ocean.[1]

Recent sex crimes[change | change source]

In 2004 charges were laid against seven men living on Pitcairn and six living abroad with sex-related offences dating back a number of years. On 25 October 2004, six men were convicted, including the island's mayor at the time. After the six men lost their final appeal, the British government set up a prison on the island at Bob's Valley. The men began serving their sentences in late 2006, as of 2010 all men have served their sentences or been granted home detention status (Pitcairn News, 2010).

In 2010 the island received a new and updated constitution.[2]

Currency[change | change source]

While the Pitcairn Islands are a British Overseas Territory, the islands use the New Zealand dollar, not pound sterling. The US dollar is also used. [3]

The Islands[change | change source]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Major John Pitcairn". Henderson Island Website. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  2. Presenter: Paul Allen Speaker: Pitcairn Island Governor, George Fergusson. Pitcairn Island proclaims new constitution. Radio Australia, March 11, 2010
  3. "Already Booked | Pitcairn Islands Tourism". Visit Pitcairn. Retrieved 2022-07-03.