Easter Island

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Easter Island

Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui)

Isla de Pascua (Spanish)

Special Territory, Province and Commune

Rano Raraku quarry.jpg

Flag of Easter Island

Flag

Official seal of Easter Island

Seal

Emblem

Coat of arms

Easter Island map showing Terevaka, Poike, Rano Kau, Motu Nui, Orongo, and Mataveri; major ahus are marked with moai

Easter Island map showing Terevaka, Poike, Rano Kau, Motu Nui, Orongo, and Mataveri; major ahus are marked with moai

Easter Island is located in Pacific Ocean

Easter Island

Easter Island

Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean

Coordinates: 27°7′S 109°22′WCoordinates:

27°7′S 109°22′W

Country

Chile

Region

Valparaíso

Province

Isla de Pascua

Commune

Isla de Pascua

Seat

Hanga Roa

Government

• Type

Municipality

• Body

Municipal council

• Provincial Governor

Laura Alarcón Rapu (IND)

• Alcalde

Pedro Edmunds Paoa (PRO)

Area

[2]

• Total

163.6 km2 (63.2 sq mi)

Highest elevation

507 m (1,663 ft)

Lowest elevation

0 m (0 ft)

Population

(2017 census)

• Total

7,750[1]

• Density

47/km2 (120/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC−6 (EAST)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−5 (EASST)

Country Code

+56

Currency

Peso (CLP)

Language

Spanish, Rapa Nui

Driving side

right

Website

www

Edit this at Wikidata

NGA UFI=-905269

Rapa Nui National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Moai Rano raraku.jpg

Moai at Rano Raraku, Easter Island

Criteria

Cultural: i, iii, v

Reference

715

Inscription

1995 (19th Session)

Area

6,666 ha

Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui; Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, which were created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park.

Experts disagree on when the island's Polynesian inhabitants first reached the island. While many in the research community cited evidence that they arrived around the year 800, there is compelling evidence presented in a 2007 study that places their arrival closer to 1200.[3][4] The inhabitants created a thriving and industrious culture, as evidenced by the island's numerous enormous stone moai and other artifacts. However, land clearing for cultivation and the introduction of the Polynesian rat led to gradual deforestation.[3] By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population was estimated to be 2,000 to 3,000. European diseases, Peruvian slave raiding expeditions in the 1860s, and emigration to other islands such as Tahiti further depleted the population, reducing it to a low of 111 native inhabitants in 1877.[5]

Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888. In 1966, the Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship. In 2007 the island gained the constitutional status of "special territory" (Spanish: territorio especial). Administratively, it belongs to the Valparaíso Region, constituting a single commune (Isla de Pascua) of the Province of Isla de Pascua.[6] The 2017 Chilean census registered 7,750 people on the island, of whom 3,512 (45%) considered themselves Rapa Nui.[7]

Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world.[8] The nearest inhabited land (around 50 residents in 2013) is Pitcairn Island, 2,075 kilometres (1,289 mi) away;[9] the nearest town with a population over 500 is Rikitea, on the island of Mangareva, 2,606 km (1,619 mi) away; the nearest continental point lies in central Chile, 3,512 km (2,182 mi) away.

Contents

- 1Etymology

- 2History

- 2.1Introduction

- 2.2Rapa Nui settlement

- 2.3European contact

- 2.419th century

- 2.520th century

- 2.621st century

- 2.7Indigenous rights movement

- 3Geography

- 3.1Geology

- 3.2Climate

- 4Ecology

- 5Culture

- 5.1Mythology

- 5.2Stone work

- 5.2.1Statues

- 5.2.2Stone platforms

- 5.2.3Stone walls

- 5.2.4Stone houses

- 5.2.5Petroglyphs

- 5.2.6Caves

- 5.2.7Other stones

- 5.3Rongorongo

- 5.4Wood carving

- 5.521st-century culture

- 5.5.1Sports

- 5.6Tapati Festival

- 6Demographics

- 6.12012 census

- 6.2Demographic history

- 6.3Languages

- 7Administration and legal status

- 8Notable people

- 9Transportation

- 10Gallery

- 11See also

- 12References

- 13Bibliography

- 14Further reading

- 15External links

Etymology

The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday (5 April) in 1722, while searching for "Davis Land".[10] Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th-century Dutch for "Easter Island").[11][12] The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island".

The current Polynesian name of the island, Rapa Nui ("Big Rapa"), was coined after the slave raids of the early 1860s, and refers to the island's topographic resemblance to the island of Rapa in the Bass Islands of the Austral Islands group.[13] However, Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl argued that Rapa was the original name of Easter Island and that Rapa Iti was named by refugees from there.[14]

The phrase Te pito o te henua has been said to be the original name of the island since French ethnologist Alphonse Pinart gave it the romantic translation "the Navel of the World" in his Voyage à l'Île de Pâques, published in 1877.[15] William Churchill (1912) inquired about the phrase and was told that there were three te pito o te henua, these being the three capes (land's ends) of the island. The phrase appears to have been used in the same sense as the designation of "Land's End" at the tip of Cornwall. He was unable to elicit a Polynesian name for the island and concluded that there may not have been one.[16]

According to Barthel (1974), oral tradition has it that the island was first named Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka, "The little piece of land of Hau Maka".[17] However, there are two words pronounced pito in Rapa Nui, one meaning 'end' and one 'navel', and the phrase can thus also mean "The Navel of the World". Another name, Mata ki te rangi, means "Eyes looking to the sky".[18]

Islanders are referred to in Spanish as pascuense; however it is common to refer to members of the indigenous community as Rapa Nui.

Felipe González de Ahedo named it Isla de San Carlos ("Saint Charles' Island", the patron saint of Charles III of Spain) or Isla de David (probably the phantom island of Davis Land; sometimes translated as "Davis's Island"[19]) in 1770.[20]

History

Main article: History of Easter Island

Introduction

Oral tradition states the island was first settled by a two-canoe expedition, originating from Marae Renga (or Marae Toe Hau – otherwise known as Cook Islands), and led by the chief Hotu Matu'a and his captain Tu'u ko Iho. The island was first scouted after Haumaka dreamed of such a far-off country; Hotu deemed it a worthwhile place to flee from a neighboring chief, one to whom he had already lost three battles. At their time of arrival, the island had one lone settler, Nga Tavake 'a Te Rona. After a brief stay at Anakena, the colonists settled in different parts of the island. Hotu's heir, Tu'u ma Heke, was born on the island. Tu'u ko Iho is viewed as the leader who brought the statues and caused them to walk.[21]

The Easter Islanders are considered to be South-East Polynesians. Similar sacred zones with statuary (marae and ahu) in East Polynesia demonstrates homology with most of Eastern Polynesia. At contact, populations were about 3,000–4,000.[21]: 17–18, 20–21, 31, 41–45

By the 15th century, two confederations, hanau, of social groupings, mata, existed, based on lineage. The western and northern portion of the island belonged to the Tu'u, which included the royal Miru, with the royal center at Anakena, though Tahai and Te Peu served as earlier capitals. The eastern portion of the island belonged to the 'Otu 'Itu. Shortly after the Dutch visit, from 1724 until 1750, the 'Otu 'Itu fought the Tu'u for control of the island. This fighting continued until the 1860s. Famine followed the burning of huts and the destruction of fields. Social control vanished as the ordered way of life gave way to lawlessness and predatory bands as the warrior class took over. Homelessness prevailed, with many living underground. After the Spanish visit, from 1770 onwards, a period of statue toppling, huri mo'ai, commenced. This was an attempt by competing groups to destroy the socio-spiritual power, or mana, represented by statues, making sure to break them in the fall to ensure they were dead and without power. None were left standing by the time of the arrival of the French missionaries in the 1860s.[21]: 21–24, 27, 54–56, 64–65

Between 1862 and 1888, about 94% of the population perished or emigrated. The island was victimized by blackbirding from 1862 to 1863, resulting in the abduction or killing of about 1,500, with 1,408 working as indentured servants in Peru. Only about a dozen eventually returned to Easter Island, but they brought smallpox, which decimated the remaining population of 1,500. Those who perished included the island's tumu ivi 'atua, bearers of the island's culture, history, and genealogy besides the rongorongo experts.[21]: 86–91

Rapa Nui settlement

Traditional cultivars of sweet potato (kumara) were staple crops on Polynesian Rapa Nui

Estimated dates of initial settlement of Easter Island have ranged from 300 to 1200 CE, though the current best estimate for colonization is in the 12th century CE. Easter Island colonization likely coincided with the arrival of the first settlers in Hawaii. Rectifications in radiocarbon dating have changed almost all of the previously posited early settlement dates in Polynesia. Ongoing archaeological studies provide this late date: "Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about 1200 CE. Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement."[22][23]

According to oral tradition, the first settlement was at Anakena. Researchers have noted that the Caleta Anakena landing point provides the island's best shelter from prevailing swells as well as a sandy beach for canoe landings and launchings, so it is a likely early place of settlement. However radiocarbon dating concludes that other sites preceded Anakena by many years, especially the Tahai by several centuries.

The island was populated by Polynesians who most likely navigated in canoes or catamarans from the Gambier Islands (Mangareva, 2,600 km (1,600 mi) away) or the Marquesas Islands, 3,200 km (2,000 mi) away. According to some theories, such as the Polynesian Diaspora Theory, there is a possibility that early Polynesian settlers arrived from South America due to their remarkable sea-navigation abilities. Theorists have supported this through the agricultural evidence of the sweet potato. The sweet potato was a favoured crop in Polynesian society for generations but it originated in South America, suggesting interaction between these two geographic areas.[24] However, recent research suggests that sweet potatoes may have spread to Polynesia by long-distance dispersal long before the Polynesians arrived.[25] When James Cook visited the island, one of his crew members, a Polynesian from Bora Bora, Hitihiti, was able to communicate with the Rapa Nui.[26]: 296–297  The language most similar to Rapa Nui is Mangarevan, with an estimated 80% similar vocabulary. In 1999, a voyage with reconstructed Polynesian boats was able to reach Easter Island from Mangareva in 19 days.[27]

A View of the Monuments of Easter Island, Rapanui,  1775–1776 by William Hodges.[28]

According to oral traditions recorded by missionaries in the 1860s, the island originally had a strong class system: an ariki, or high chief, wielded great power over nine other clans and their respective chiefs. The high chief was the eldest descendant through first-born lines of the island's legendary founder, Hotu Matu'a. The most visible element in the culture was the production of massive moai statues that some believe represented deified ancestors. According to National Geographic, "Most scholars suspect that the moai were created to honor ancestors, chiefs, or other important personages, However, no written and little oral history exists on the island, so it's impossible to be certain."[29]

It was believed that the living had a symbiotic relationship with the dead in which the dead provided everything that the living needed (health, fertility of land and animals, fortune etc.) and the living, through offerings, provided the dead with a better place in the spirit world. Most settlements were located on the coast, and most moai were erected along the coastline, watching over their descendants in the settlements before them, with their backs toward the spirit world in the sea.

In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond suggested that cannibalism took place on Easter Island after the construction of the moai contributed to environmental degradation when extreme deforestation destabilized an already precarious ecosystem.[30] Archeological record shows that at the time of the initial settlement the island was home to many species of trees, including at least three species which grew up to 15 metres (49 ft) or more: Paschalococos (possibly the largest palm trees in the world at the time), Alphitonia zizyphoides, and Elaeocarpus rarotongensis. At least six species of land birds were known to live on the island. A major factor that contributed to the extinction of multiple plant species was the introduction of the Polynesian rat. Studies by paleobotanists have shown rats can dramatically affect the reproduction of vegetation in an ecosystem. In the case of Rapa Nui, recovered plant seed shells showed markings of being gnawed on by rats.[3] Barbara A. West wrote, "Sometime before the arrival of Europeans on Easter Island, the Rapanui experienced a tremendous upheaval in their social system brought about by a change in their island's ecology... By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population had dropped to 2,000–3,000 from a high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier."[31]

Rapa Nui people, painted by Louis Choris, 1816

By that time, 21 species of trees and all species of land birds became extinct through some combination of over-harvesting, over-hunting, rat predation, and climate change. The island was largely deforested, and it did not have any trees taller than 3 m (9.8 ft). Loss of large trees meant that residents were no longer able to build seaworthy vessels, significantly diminishing their fishing abilities. One theory is that the trees were used as rollers to move the statues to their place of erection from the quarry at Rano Raraku.[32] Deforestation also caused erosion which caused a sharp decline in agricultural production.[3] This was exacerbated by the loss of land birds and the collapse in seabird populations as a source of food. By the 18th century, islanders were largely sustained by farming, with domestic chickens as the primary source of protein.[33]

Motu Nui islet, part of the Birdman Cult ceremony

As the island became overpopulated and resources diminished, warriors known as matatoa gained more power and the Ancestor Cult ended, making way for the Bird Man Cult. Beverly Haun wrote, "The concept of mana (power) invested in hereditary leaders was recast into the person of the birdman, apparently beginning circa 1540, and coinciding with the final vestiges of the moai period."[34] This cult maintained that, although the ancestors still provided for their descendants, the medium through which the living could contact the dead was no longer statues but human beings chosen through a competition. The god responsible for creating humans, Makemake, played an important role in this process. Katherine Routledge, who systematically collected the island's traditions in her 1919 expedition,[35] showed that the competitions for Bird Man (Rapa Nui: tangata manu) started around 1760, after the arrival of the first Europeans, and ended in 1878, with the construction of the first church by Roman Catholic missionaries who formally arrived in 1864. Petroglyphs representing Bird Men on Easter Island are the same as some in Hawaii, indicating that this concept was probably brought by the original settlers; only the competition itself was unique to Easter Island.

According to Diamond and Heyerdahl's version of the island's history, the huri mo'ai – "statue-toppling" – continued into the 1830s as a part of fierce internal wars. By 1838, the only standing moai were on the slopes of Rano Raraku, in Hoa Hakananai'a in Orongo, and Ariki Paro in Ahu Te Pito Kura. A study headed by Douglas Owsley published in 1994 asserted that there is little archaeological evidence of pre-European societal collapse. Bone pathology and osteometric data from islanders of that period clearly suggest few fatalities can be attributed directly to violence.[36] Research by Binghamton University anthropologists Robert DiNapoli and Carl Lipo in 2021 determined that the island experienced steady population growth from its initial settlement until European contact in 1722. The island never had more than a few thousand people prior to European contact, and their numbers were increasing rather than dwindling.[37][38]

European contact

Jacob Roggeveen analyzing a Moai statue, 18th-century engraving.

The first recorded European contact with the island was on 5 April 1722, Easter Sunday, by Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen.[26] His visit resulted in the death of about a dozen islanders, including the tumu ivi 'atua, and the wounding of many others.[21]: 46–53

The next foreign visitors (on 15 November 1770) were two Spanish ships, San Lorenzo and Santa Rosalia, under the command of Captain Don Felipe Gonzalez de Ahedo.[26]: 238, 504  The Spanish were amazed by the "standing idols", all of which were erect at the time.[21]: 60–64

Four years later, in 1774, British explorer James Cook visited Easter Island; he reported that some statues had been toppled. Through the interpretation of Hitihiti, Cook learned the statues commemorated their former high chiefs, including their names and ranks.[26]: 296–297

La Pérouse at Easter Island in 1786

On 10 April 1786, French Admiral Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse anchored at Hanga Roa at the start of a circumnavigation of the Pacific. He made a detailed map of the bay, including his anchorage points, as well as a more generalised map of the island, plus some illustrations.[39]

19th century

A series of devastating events killed or removed most of the population in the 1860s. In December 1862, Peruvian slave raiders struck. Violent abductions continued for several months, eventually capturing around 1,500 men and women, half of the island's population.[40] Among those captured were the island's paramount chief, his heir, and those who knew how to read and write the rongorongo script, the only Polynesian script to have been found to date, although debate exists about whether this is proto-writing or true writing.

When the slave raiders were forced to repatriate the people they had kidnapped, carriers of smallpox disembarked together with a few survivors on each of the islands.[41] This created devastating epidemics from Easter Island to the Marquesas islands. Easter Island's population was reduced to the point where some of the dead were not even buried.[21]: 91

Tuberculosis, introduced by whalers in the mid-19th century, had already killed several islanders when the first Christian missionary, Eugène Eyraud, died from this disease in 1867. It ultimately killed approximately a quarter of the island's population. In the following years, the managers of the sheep ranch and the missionaries started buying the newly available lands of the deceased, and this led to great confrontations between natives and settlers.

"Queen Mother" Koreto with her daughters "Queen" Caroline and Harriette in 1877

Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier bought up all of the island apart from the missionaries' area around Hanga Roa and moved a few hundred Rapa Nui to Tahiti to work for his backers. In 1871 the missionaries, having fallen out with Dutrou-Bornier, evacuated all but 171 Rapa Nui to the Gambier islands.[42] Those who remained were mostly older men. Six years later, only 111 people lived on Easter Island, and only 36 of them had any offspring.[43] From that point on, the island's population slowly recovered. But with over 97% of the population dead or gone in less than a decade, much of the island's cultural knowledge had been lost.

Alexander Salmon, Jr., a son of an English Jewish merchant and a Pōmare Dynasty prince, eventually worked to repatriate workers from his inherited copra plantation. He eventually bought up all lands on the island with the exception of the mission, and was its sole employer. He worked to develop tourism on the island and was the principal informant for the British and German archaeological expeditions for the island. He sent several pieces of genuine Rongorongo to his niece's husband, the German consul in Valparaíso, Chile. Salmon sold the Brander Easter Island holdings to the Chilean government on 2 January 1888, and signed as a witness to the cession of the island. He returned to Tahiti in December 1888. He effectively ruled the island from 1878 until his cession to Chile in 1888.

Easter Island was annexed by Chile on 9 September 1888 by Policarpo Toro by means of the "Treaty of Annexation of the Island" (Tratado de Anexión de la isla). Toro, representing the government of Chile, signed with Atamu Tekena, designated "King" by the Roman Catholic missionaries after the paramount chief and his heir had died. The validity of this treaty is still contested by some Rapa Nui. Officially, Chile purchased the nearly all encompassing Mason-Brander sheep ranch, comprised from lands purchased from the descendants of Rapa Nui who died during the epidemics, and then claimed sovereignty over the island.

20th century

General Pinochet posing with a young Rapa Nui woman

Until the 1960s, the surviving Rapa Nui were confined to Hanga Roa. The rest of the island was rented to the Williamson-Balfour Company as a sheep farm until 1953. This exemplified the introduction of private property into Rapa Nui.[44] The island was then managed by the Chilean Navy until 1966, at which point the island was reopened in its entirety. The Rapa Nui were given Chilean citizenship in 1966. [45]

Following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état that brought Augusto Pinochet to power, Easter Island was placed under martial law. Tourism slowed, land was broken up, and private property was distributed to investors. During his time in power, Pinochet visited Easter Island on three occasions. The military built military facilities and a city hall.[46]

After an agreement in 1985 between Chile and United States, the runway at Mataveri International Airport was enlarged and was inaugurated in 1987. The runway was expanded 423 m (1,388 ft), reaching 3,353 m (11,001 ft). Pinochet is reported to have refused to attend the inauguration in protest at pressures from the United States over human rights.[47]

21st century

Manu Piri symbolizes love and union between two people. The slogan of the current administration is "Rapa Nui hai mahatu", translated as "Rapa Nui with love".

Fishers of Rapa Nui have shown their concern of illegal fishing on the island. "Since the year 2000 we started to lose tuna, which is the basis of the fishing on the island, so then we began to take the fish from the shore to feed our families, but in less than two years we depleted all of it", Pakarati said.[48] On 30 July 2007, a constitutional reform gave Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Islands (also known as Robinson Crusoe Island) the status of "special territories" of Chile. Pending the enactment of a special charter, the island continues to be governed as a province of the V Region of Valparaíso.[49]

Species of fish were collected in Easter Island for one month in different habitats including shallow lava pools and deep waters. Within these habitats, two holotypes and paratypes, Antennarius randalli and Antennarius moai, were discovered. These are considered frog-fish because of their characteristics: "12 dorsal rays, last two or three branched; bony part of first dorsal spine slightly shorter than second dorsal spine; body without bold zebra-like markings; caudal peduncle short, but distinct; last pelvic ray divided; pectoral rays 11 or 12".[50]

In 2018, the government decided to limit the stay period for tourists from 90 to 30 days because of social and environmental issues faced by the Island to preserve its historical importance.[51]

A tsunami warning was declared for Easter Island after the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami.[52]

Easter Island was closed to tourists from March 17, 2020 until August 4, 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[53] Then in early October 2022, just two months after the island was reopened to tourists, a forest fire burned nearly 148 acres (60 hectares) of the island, causing irreparable damage to some of the moai.[54] Arson is suspected.[55]

Indigenous rights movement

Souvenir Moai from Rapa Nui, bought at the Artisan's Market, 2020

Starting in August 2010, members of the indigenous Hitorangi clan occupied the Hangaroa Eco Village and Spa.[56][57] The occupiers allege that the hotel was bought from the Pinochet government, in violation of a Chilean agreement with the indigenous Rapa Nui, in the 1990s.[58] The occupiers say their ancestors had been cheated into giving up the land.[59] According to a BBC report, on 3 December 2010, at least 25 people were injured when Chilean police using pellet guns attempted to evict from these buildings a group of Rapa Nui who had claimed that the land the buildings stood on had been illegally taken from their ancestors.[60]

In January 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous People, James Anaya, expressed concern about the treatment of the indigenous Rapa Nui by the Chilean government, urging Chile to "make every effort to conduct a dialogue in good faith with representatives of the Rapa Nui people to solve, as soon as possible the real underlying problems that explain the current situation".[56] The incident ended in February 2011, when up to 50 armed police broke into the hotel to remove the final five occupiers. They were arrested by the government, and no injuries were reported.[56]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Easter Island

Easter Island, Isla Salas y Gómez, South America and the islands in between

Detailed map of Rapa Nui/Easter Island

Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands.[61] Its closest inhabited neighbours are the Chilean Juan Fernandez Islands, 1,850 km (1,150 mi) to the east, with approximately 850 inhabitants.[citation needed] The nearest continental point lies in central Chile near Concepción, at 3,512 kilometres (2,182 mi). Easter Island's latitude is similar to that of Caldera, Chile, and it lies 3,510 km (2,180 mi) west of continental Chile at its nearest point (between Lota and Lebu in the Biobío Region). Isla Salas y Gómez, 415 km (258 mi) to the east, is closer but is uninhabited. The Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic competes for the title of the most remote island, lying 2,430 km (1,510 mi) from Saint Helena island and 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from the South African coast.

The island is about 24.6 km (15.3 mi) long by 12.3 km (7.6 mi) at its widest point; its overall shape is triangular. It has an area of 163.6 km2 (63.2 sq mi), and a maximum elevation of 507 m (1,663 ft) above mean sea level. There are three Rano (freshwater crater lakes), at Rano Kau, Rano Raraku and Rano Aroi, near the summit of Terevaka, but no permanent streams or rivers.

Geology

Typical landscape on Easter Island; rounded extinct volcanoes covered in low vegetation.

Easter Island is a volcanic high island, consisting mainly of three extinct coalesced volcanoes: Terevaka (altitude 507 metres) forms the bulk of the island, while two other volcanoes, Poike and Rano Kau, form the eastern and southern headlands and give the island its roughly triangular shape. Lesser cones and other volcanic features include the crater Rano Raraku, the cinder cone Puna Pau and many volcanic caves including lava tubes.[62] Poike used to be a separate island until volcanic material from Terevaka united it to the larger whole. The island is dominated by hawaiite and basalt flows which are rich in iron and show affinity with igneous rocks found in the Galápagos Islands.[63]

Easter Island and surrounding islets, such as Motu Nui and Motu Iti, form the summit of a large volcanic mountain rising over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) from the sea bed. The mountain is part of the Salas y Gómez Ridge, a (mostly submarine) mountain range with dozens of seamounts, formed by the Easter hotspot. The range begins with Pukao and next Moai, two seamounts to the west of Easter Island, and extends 2,700 km (1,700 mi) east to the Nazca Ridge. The ridge was formed by the Nazca Plate moving over the Easter hotspot.[64]

Located about 350 km (220 mi) east of the East Pacific Rise, Easter Island lies within the Nazca Plate, bordering the Easter Microplate. The Nazca-Pacific relative plate movement due to the seafloor spreading, amounts to about 150 mm (5.9 in) per year. This movement over the Easter hotspot has resulted in the Easter Seamount Chain, which merges into the Nazca Ridge further to the east. Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez are surface representations of that chain. The chain has progressively younger ages to the west. The current hotspot location is speculated to be west of Easter Island, amidst the Ahu, Umu and Tupa submarine volcanic fields and the Pukao and Moai seamounts.[65]

Easter Island lies atop the Rano Kau Ridge, and consists of three shield volcanoes with parallel geologic histories. Poike and Rano Kau exist on the east and south slopes of Terevaka, respectively. Rano Kau developed between 0.78 and 0.46 Ma from tholeiitic to alkalic basalts. This volcano possesses a clearly defined summit caldera. Benmoreitic lavas extruded about the rim from 0.35 to 0.34 Ma. Finally, between 0.24 and 0.11 Ma, a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) fissure developed along a NE–SW trend, forming monogenetic vents and rhyolitic intrusions. These include the cryptodome islets of Motu Nui and Motu Iti, the islet of Motu Kao Kao, the sheet intrusion of Te Kari Kari, the perlitic obsidian Te Manavai dome and the Maunga Orito dome.[65]

Poike formed from tholeiitic to alkali basalts from 0.78 to 0.41 Ma. Its summit collapsed into a caldera which was subsequently filled by the Puakatiki lava cone pahoehoe flows at 0.36 Ma. Finally, the trachytic lava domes of Maunga Vai a Heva, Maunga Tea Tea, and Maunga Parehe formed along a NE-SW trending fissure.[65]

Terevaka formed around 0.77 Ma of tholeiitic to alkali basalts, followed by the collapse of its summit into a caldera. Then at about 0.3Ma, cinder cones formed along a NNE-SSW trend on the western rim, while porphyritic benmoreitic lava filled the caldera, and pahoehoe flowed towards the northern coast, forming lava tubes, and to the southeast. Lava domes and a vent complex formed in the Maunga Puka area, while breccias formed along the vents on the western portion of Rano Aroi crater. This volcano's southern and southeastern flanks are composed of younger flows consisting of basalt, alkali basalt, hawaiite, mugearite, and benmoreite from eruptive fissures starting at 0.24 Ma. The youngest lava flow, Roiho, is dated at 0.11 Ma. The Hanga O Teo embayment is interpreted to be a 200 m high landslide scarp.[65]

Rano Raraku and Maunga Toa Toa are isolated tuff cones of about 0.21 Ma. The crater of Rano Raraku contains a freshwater lake. The stratified tuff is composed of sideromelane, slightly altered to palagonite, and somewhat lithified. The tuff contains lithic fragments of older lava flows. The northwest sector of Rano Raraku contains reddish volcanic ash.[65] According to Bandy, "...all of the great images of Easter Island are carved from" the light and porous tuff from Rano Raraku. A carving was abandoned when a large, dense and hard lithic fragment was encountered. However, these lithics became the basis for stone hammers and chisels. The Puna Pau crater contains an extremely porous pumice, from which was carved the Pukao "hats". The Maunga Orito obsidian was used to make the "mataa" spearheads.[66]

In the first half of the 20th century, steam reportedly came out of the Rano Kau crater wall. This was photographed by the island's manager, Mr. Edmunds.[67]

Climate

See also: Climate of Chile

Under the Köppen climate classification, the climate of Easter Island is classified as a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) that borders on a tropical rainforest climate (Af). The lowest temperatures are recorded in July and August (minimum 15 °C or 59 °F) and the highest in February (maximum temperature 28 °C or 82.4 °F[68]), the summer season in the southern hemisphere. Winters are relatively mild. The rainiest month is May, though the island experiences year-round rainfall.[69] Easter Island's isolated location exposes it to winds which help to keep the temperature fairly cool. Precipitation averages 1,118 millimetres or 44 inches per year. Occasionally, heavy rainfall and rainstorms strike the island. These occur mostly in the winter months (June–August). Since it is close to the South Pacific High and outside the range of the intertropical convergence zone, cyclones and hurricanes do not occur around Easter Island.[70] There is significant temperature moderation due to its isolated position in the middle of the ocean.

hideClimate data for Easter Island (Mataveri International Airport) 1981–2010, extremes 1912–1990

Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Year

Record high °C (°F)

32.0

(89.6)

31.0

(87.8)

32.0

(89.6)

31.0

(87.8)

30.0

(86.0)

29.0

(84.2)

31.0

(87.8)

28.3

(82.9)

30.0

(86.0)

29.0

(84.2)

33.0

(91.4)

34.0

(93.2)

34.0

(93.2)

Average high °C (°F)

26.9

(80.4)

27.4

(81.3)

26.8

(80.2)

25.3

(77.5)

23.3

(73.9)

21.9

(71.4)

21.0

(69.8)

21.0

(69.8)

21.5

(70.7)

22.4

(72.3)

23.8

(74.8)

25.4

(77.7)

23.9

(75.0)

Daily mean °C (°F)

23.3

(73.9)

23.7

(74.7)

23.1

(73.6)

21.9

(71.4)

20.1

(68.2)

18.9

(66.0)

18.0

(64.4)

17.9

(64.2)

18.3

(64.9)

19.0

(66.2)

20.4

(68.7)

21.8

(71.2)

20.5

(68.9)

Average low °C (°F)

20.0

(68.0)

20.6

(69.1)

20.3

(68.5)

19.3

(66.7)

17.8

(64.0)

16.8

(62.2)

15.9

(60.6)

15.6

(60.1)

15.8

(60.4)

16.2

(61.2)

17.4

(63.3)

18.7

(65.7)

17.9

(64.2)

Record low °C (°F)

12.0

(53.6)

14.0

(57.2)

11.0

(51.8)

12.7

(54.9)

10.0

(50.0)

7.0

(44.6)

9.4

(48.9)

7.0

(44.6)

8.0

(46.4)

8.0

(46.4)

8.0

(46.4)

12.0

(53.6)

7.0

(44.6)

Average rainfall mm (inches)

70.4

(2.77)

80.2

(3.16)

99.2

(3.91)

139.9

(5.51)

143.4

(5.65)

110.3

(4.34)

130.1

(5.12)

104.8

(4.13)

108.5

(4.27)

90.6

(3.57)

75.4

(2.97)

75.6

(2.98)

1,228.1

(48.35)

Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)

9.3

10.1

10.8

12.1

12.6

11.5

12.1

10.7

10.0

8.4

9.2

9.2

126.0

Average relative humidity (%)

77

79

79

81

81

81

80

80

79

77

77

78

79

Mean monthly sunshine hours

274

239

229

193

173

145

156

172

179

213

222

242

2,437

Source 1: Dirección Meteorológica de Chile[71]

Source 2: World Meteorological Organization (precipitation days 1981–2010),[72] Ogimet (sun 1981–2010)[73] Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes and humidity)[74]

Ecology

Easter Island, together with its closest neighbour, the tiny island of Isla Salas y Gómez 415 km (258 mi) farther east, is recognized by ecologists as a distinct ecoregion, the Rapa Nui subtropical broadleaf forests. The original subtropical moist broadleaf forests are now gone, but paleobotanical studies of fossil pollen, tree moulds left by lava flows, and root casts found in local soils indicate that the island was formerly forested, with a range of trees, shrubs, ferns, and grasses. A large extinct palm, Paschalococos disperta, related to the Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis), was one of the dominant trees as attested by fossil evidence. Like its Chilean counterpart it probably took close to 100 years to reach adult height. The Polynesian rat, which the original settlers brought with them, played a very important role in the disappearance of the Rapa Nui palm. Although some may believe that rats played a major role in the degradation of the forest, less than 10% of palm nuts show teeth marks from rats. The remains of palm stumps in different places indicate that humans caused the trees to fall because in large areas, the stumps were cut efficiently.[75] In 2018, a New York Times article announced that Easter Island is eroding.[76]

The clearance of the palms to make the settlements led to their extinction almost 350 years ago.[77] The toromiro tree (Sophora toromiro) was prehistorically present on Easter Island, but is now extinct in the wild. However, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Göteborg Botanical Garden are jointly leading a scientific program to reintroduce the toromiro to Easter Island. With the palm and the toromiro virtually gone, there was considerably less rainfall as a result of less condensation. After the island was used to feed thousands of sheep for almost a century, by the mid-1900s the island was mostly covered in grassland with nga'atu or bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus tatora) in the crater lakes of Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. The presence of these reeds, which are called totora in the Andes, was used to support the argument of a South American origin of the statue builders, but pollen analysis of lake sediments shows these reeds have grown on the island for over 30,000 years.[citation needed] Before the arrival of humans, Easter Island had vast seabird colonies containing probably over 30 resident species, perhaps the world's richest.[78] Such colonies are no longer found on the main island. Fossil evidence indicates six species of land birds (two rails, two parrots, one owl, and one heron), all of which have become extinct.[79] Five introduced species of land bird are known to have breeding populations (see List of birds of Easter Island).

Lack of studies results in poor understanding of the oceanic fauna of Easter Island and waters in its vicinity; however, possibilities of undiscovered breeding grounds for humpback, southern blue and pygmy blue whales including Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez have been considered.[80] Potential breeding areas for fin whales have been detected off northeast of the island as well.[81]

- Vegetation on the island

- Satellite view of Easter Island 2019. The Poike peninsula is on the right.

Satellite view of Easter Island 2019. The Poike peninsula is on the right.

- Digital recreation of its ancient landscape, with tropical forest and palm trees

Digital recreation of its ancient landscape, with tropical forest and palm trees

- Hanga Roa seen from Terevaka, the highest point of the island

Hanga Roa seen from Terevaka, the highest point of the island

- View of Rano Kau and Pacific Ocean

View of Rano Kau and Pacific Ocean

The immunosuppressant drug sirolimus was first discovered in the bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a soil sample from Easter Island. The drug is also known as rapamycin, after Rapa Nui.[82] It is now being studied for extending longevity in mice.[83]

Trees are sparse, rarely forming natural groves, and it has been argued whether native Easter Islanders deforested the island in the process of erecting their statues,[84] and in providing sustenance for an overconsumption of natural resources from a overcrowded island.[citation needed] Experimental archaeology demonstrated that some statues certainly could have been placed on "Y" shaped wooden frames called miro manga erua and then pulled to their final destinations on ceremonial sites.[84] Other theories involve the use of "ladders" (parallel wooden rails) over which the statues could have been dragged.[85] Rapa Nui traditions metaphorically refer to spiritual power (mana) as the means by which the moai were "walked" from the quarry. Recent experimental recreations have proven that it is fully possible that the moai were literally walked from their quarries to their final positions by use of ropes, casting doubt on the role that their existence plays in the environmental collapse of the island.[86]

Given the island's southern latitude, the climatic effects of the Little Ice Age (about 1650 to 1850) may have exacerbated deforestation, although this remains speculative.[84] Many researchers[87] point to the climatic downtrend caused by the Little Ice Age as a contributing factor to resource stress and to the palm tree's disappearance. Experts, however, do not agree on when the island's palms became extinct.

Jared Diamond dismisses past climate change as a dominant cause of the island's deforestation in his book Collapse which assesses the collapse of the ancient Easter Islanders.[88] Influenced by Heyerdahl's romantic interpretation of Easter's history, Diamond insists that the disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th centuries. He notes that they stopped making statues at that time and started destroying the ahu. But the link is weakened because the Bird Man cult continued to thrive and survived the great impact caused by the arrival of explorers, whalers, sandalwood traders, and slave raiders.

Midden contents show that the main source of protein was tuna and dolphin. With the loss of the trees, there was a sudden drop in the quantities of fish bones found in middens as the islanders lost the means to construct fishing vessels, coinciding with a large increase in bird bones. This was followed by a decrease in the number of bird bones as birds lost their nesting sites or became extinct. A new style of art from this period shows people with exposed ribs and distended bellies, indicative of malnutrition, and it is around this time that many islanders moved to live in fortified caves, and the first signs of warfare and cannibalism appear.

Soil erosion because of lack of trees is apparent in some places. Sediment samples document that up to half of the native plants had become extinct and that the vegetation of the island drastically altered. Polynesians were primarily farmers, not fishermen, and their diet consisted mainly of cultivated staples such as taro root, sweet potato, yams, cassava, and bananas. With no trees to protect them, sea spray led to crop failures exacerbated by a sudden reduction in freshwater flows. There is evidence that the islanders took to planting crops in caves beneath collapsed ceilings and covered the soil with rocks to reduce evaporation. Cannibalism occurred on many Polynesian islands, sometimes in times of plenty as well as famine. Its presence on Easter Island (based on human remains associated with cooking sites, especially in caves) is supported by oral histories.[citation needed]

Benny Peiser[5] noted evidence of self-sufficiency when Europeans first arrived. The island still had smaller trees, mainly toromiro, which became extinct in the wild in the 20th century probably because of slow growth and changes in the island's ecosystem. Cornelis Bouman, Jakob Roggeveen's captain, stated in his logbook, "... of yams, bananas and small coconut palms we saw little and no other trees or crops." According to Carl Friedrich Behrens, Roggeveen's officer, "The natives presented palm branches as peace offerings." According to ethnographer Alfred Mètraux, the most common type of house was called "hare paenga" (and is known today as "boathouse") because the roof resembled an overturned boat. The foundations of the houses were made of buried basalt slabs with holes for wooden beams to connect with each other throughout the width of the house. These were then covered with a layer of totora reed, followed by a layer of woven sugarcane leaves, and lastly a layer of woven grass.

Peiser claims that these reports indicate that large trees existed at that time, which is perhaps contradicted by the Bouman quote above. Plantations were often located farther inland, next to foothills, inside open-ceiling lava tubes, and in other places protected from the strong salt winds and salt spray affecting areas closer to the coast. It is possible many of the Europeans did not venture inland. The statue quarry, only one kilometre (5⁄8 mile) from the coast with an impressive cliff 100 m (330 ft) high, was not explored by Europeans until well into the 19th century.

Panorama of Anakena beach, Easter Island. The moai pictured here was the first to be raised back into place on its ahu in 1955 by Thor Heyerdahl[89] using the labor of islanders and wooden levers.

Easter Island has suffered from heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, perhaps aggravated by agriculture and massive deforestation. This process seems to have been gradual and may have been aggravated by sheep farming throughout most of the 20th century. Jakob Roggeveen reported that Easter Island was exceptionally fertile. "Fowls are the only animals they keep. They cultivate bananas, sugar cane, and above all sweet potatoes." In 1786 Jean-François de La Pérouse visited Easter Island and his gardener declared that "three days' work a year" would be enough to support the population. Rollin, a major in the Pérouse expedition, wrote, "Instead of meeting with men exhausted by famine... I found, on the contrary, a considerable population, with more beauty and grace than I afterwards met in any other island; and a soil, which, with very little labor, furnished excellent provisions, and in an abundance more than sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants."[90]

According to Diamond, the oral traditions (the veracity of which has been questioned by Routledge, Lavachery, Mètraux, Peiser, and others) of the current islanders seem obsessed with cannibalism, which he offers as evidence supporting a rapid collapse. For example, he states, to severely insult an enemy one would say, "The flesh of your mother sticks between my teeth." This, Diamond asserts, means the food supply of the people ultimately ran out.[91] Cannibalism, however, was widespread across Polynesian cultures.[92] Human bones have not been found in earth ovens other than those behind the religious platforms, indicating that cannibalism in Easter Island was a ritualistic practice. Contemporary ethnographic research has proven there is scarcely any tangible evidence for widespread cannibalism anywhere and at any time on the island.[93] The first scientific exploration of Easter Island (1914) recorded that the indigenous population strongly rejected allegations that they or their ancestors had been cannibals.[35]

Culture

Bird paintings in the cave called "Cave of the Men Eaters"

Mythology

Main article: Rapa Nui mythology

The most important myths are:[citation needed]

- Tangata manu, the Birdman cult which was practised until the 1860s.

- Makemake, an important god.

- Aku-aku, the guardians of the sacred family caves.

- Moai-kava-kava a ghost man of the Hanau epe (long-ears.)

- Hekai ite umu pare haonga takapu Hanau epe kai noruego, the sacred chant to appease the aku-aku before entering a family cave.

Stone work

The Rapa Nui people had a Stone Age culture and made extensive use of local stone:

- Basalt, a hard, dense stone used for toki and at least one of the moai.

- Obsidian, a volcanic glass with sharp edges used for sharp-edged implements such as Mataa and for the black pupils of the eyes of the moai.

- Red scoria from Puna Pau, a very light red stone used for the pukao and a few moai.

- Tuff from Rano Raraku, a much more easily worked rock than basalt that was used for most of the moai.

Statues

The large stone statues, or moai, for which Easter Island is famous, were carved in the period 1100–1680 CE (rectified radio-carbon dates).[18] A total of 887 monolithic stone statues have been inventoried on the island and in museum collections.[94] Although often identified as "Easter Island heads", the statues have torsos, most of them ending at the top of the thighs; a small number are complete figures that kneel on bent knees with their hands over their stomachs.[95][96] Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks by shifting soils.

Almost all (95%)[citation needed] moai were carved from compressed, easily worked solidified volcanic ash or tuff, found at a single site on the side of the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. The native islanders who carved them used only stone hand chisels, mainly basalt toki, which lie in place all over the quarry. The stone chisels were sharpened by chipping off a new edge when dulled. While sculpting was going on, the volcanic stone was splashed with water to soften it. While many teams worked on different statues at the same time, a single moai took a team of five or six men approximately a year to complete. Each statue represented the deceased head of a lineage.[citation needed]

Only a quarter of the statues were installed. Nearly half remained in the quarry at Rano Raraku, and the rest sat elsewhere, presumably on their way to intended locations. The largest moai raised on a platform is known as "Paro". It weighs 82 tonnes (90 short tons) and is 9.89 m (32 ft 5 in) long.[97][98] Several other statues of similar weight were transported to ahu on the north and south coasts.

Possible means by which the statues were moved include employment of a miro manga erua, a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces, pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the hau tree[99] and tied around the statue's neck. Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Among other researchers on moving and erecting the moai was Vince Lee, who reenacted a moai moving scenario. Some 50 of the statues were re-erected in modern times. One of the first was on Ahu Ature Huke in Anakena beach in 1956.[100] It was raised using traditional methods during a Heyerdahl expedition.

Another method that might have been used to transport the moai would be to attach ropes to the statue and rock it, tugging it forward as it rocked. This would fit the legend of the Mo'ai 'walking' to their final locations.[101][102][103] This might have been managed by as few as 15 people, supported by the following evidence:

- The heads of the moai in the quarry are sloped forward, whereas the ones moved to final locations are not. This would serve to provide a better centre of gravity for transport.

- The statues found along the transport roads have wider bases than statues installed on ahu; this would facilitate more stable transport. Studies have shown fractures along the bases of the statues in transport; these could have arisen from rocking the statue back and forth and placing great pressures on the edges. The statues found mounted on ahu do not have wide bases, and stone chips found at the sites suggest they were further modified on placement.

- The abandoned and fallen statues near the old roads are found (more often than would be expected from chance) face down on ascending grades and on their backs when headed uphill. Some were documented standing upright along the old roads, e.g., by a party from Captain Cook's voyage that rested in the shade of a standing statue. This would be consistent with upright transport.

There is debate regarding the effects of the monument creation process on the environment. Some believe that the process of creating the moai caused widespread deforestation and ultimately a civil war over scarce resources.[104]

In 2011, a large moai statue was excavated from the ground.[105] During the same excavation program, some larger moai were found to have complex dorsal petroglyphs, revealed by deep excavation of the torso.[106]

In 2020, a pickup truck crashed into and destroyed a moai statue due to brake failure. No one was injured in the incident.[107][108]

- Moais

- Tukuturi, an unusual bearded kneeling moai

Tukuturi, an unusual bearded kneeling moai

- All fifteen standing moai at Ahu Tongariki, excavated and restored in the 1990s

All fifteen standing moai at Ahu Tongariki, excavated and restored in the 1990s

- Ahu Akivi, one of the few inland ahu, with the only moai facing the ocean

Ahu Akivi, one of the few inland ahu, with the only moai facing the ocean

Stone platforms

Two ahu at Hanga Roa. In foreground Ahu Ko Te Riku (with a pukao on its head). In the mid-ground is a side view of an ahu with five moai showing retaining wall, platform, ramp and pavement. The Mataveri end of Hanga Roa is visible in the background with Rano Kau rising above it.

Ahu are stone platforms. Varying greatly in layout, many were reworked during or after the huri mo'ai or statue-toppling era; many became ossuaries, one was dynamited open, and Ahu Tongariki was swept inland by a tsunami. Of the 313 known ahu, 125 carried moai – usually just one, probably because of the shortness of the moai period and transportation difficulties. Ahu Tongariki, one km (0.62 mi) from Rano Raraku, had the most and tallest moai, 15 in total.[109] Other notable ahu with moai are Ahu Akivi, restored in 1960 by William Mulloy, Nau Nau at Anakena and Tahai. Some moai may have been made from wood and were lost.

The classic elements of ahu design are:

- A retaining rear wall several feet high, usually facing the sea

- A front wall made of rectangular basalt slabs called paenga

- A fascia made of red scoria that went over the front wall (platforms built after 1300)

- A sloping ramp in the inland part of the platform, extending outward like wings

- A pavement of even-sized, round water-worn stones called poro

- An alignment of stones before the ramp

- A paved plaza before the ahu. This was called marae

- Inside the ahu was a fill of rubble.

On top of many ahu would have been:

- Moai on squarish "pedestals" looking inland, the ramp with the poro before them.

- Pukao or Hau Hiti Rau on the moai heads (platforms built after 1300).

- When a ceremony took place, "eyes" were placed on the statues. The whites of the eyes were made of coral, the iris was made of obsidian or red scoria.

Ahu evolved from the traditional Polynesian marae. In this context, ahu referred to a small structure sometimes covered with a thatched roof where sacred objects, including statues, were stored. The ahu were usually adjacent to the marae or main central court where ceremonies took place, though on Easter Island, ahu and moai evolved to much greater size. There the marae is the unpaved plaza before the ahu. The biggest ahu is 220 m (720 ft) and holds 15 statues, some of which are 9 m (30 ft) high. The filling of an ahu was sourced locally (apart from broken, old moai, fragments of which have been used in the fill).[89] Individual stones are mostly far smaller than the moai, so less work was needed to transport the raw material, but artificially leveling the terrain for the plaza and filling the ahu was laborious.

Ahu are found mostly on the coast, where they are distributed fairly evenly, except on the western slopes of Mount Terevaka and the Rano Kau and Poike[110] headlands. These are the three areas with the least low-lying coastal land and, apart from Poike, the furthest areas from Rano Raraku. One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s but had fallen to the beach before the Routledge expedition.[35]

A Hare Moa, a Chicken House, image cut from a laser scan collected by nonprofit CyArk.

Stone walls

One of the highest-quality examples of Easter Island stone masonry is the rear wall of the ahu at Vinapu. Made without mortar by shaping hard basalt rocks of up to 7,000 kg (6.9 long tons; 7.7 short tons) to match each other exactly, it has a superficial similarity to some Inca stone walls in South America.[111]

Stone houses

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Two types of houses are known from the past: hare paenga, a house with an elliptical foundation, made with basalt slabs and covered with a thatched roof that resembled an overturned boat, and hare oka, a round stone structure. Related stone structures called Tupa look very similar to the hare oka, except that the Tupa were inhabited by astronomer-priests and located near the coast, where the movements of the stars could be easily observed. Settlements also contain hare moa ("chicken house"), oblong stone structures that housed chickens. The houses at the ceremonial village of Orongo are unique in that they are shaped like hare paenga but are made entirely of flat basalt slabs found inside Rano Kao crater. The entrances to all the houses are very low, and entry requires crawling.

In early times the people of Rapa Nui reportedly sent the dead out to sea in small funerary canoes, as did their Polynesian counterparts on other islands. They later started burying people in secret caves to save the bones from desecration by enemies. During the turmoil of the late 18th century, the islanders seem to have started to bury their dead in the space between the belly of a fallen moai and the front wall of the structure. During the time of the epidemics they made mass graves that were semi-pyramidal stone structures.

Petroglyphs

Easter Island has one of the richest collections of petroglyphs in all Polynesia. Around 1,000 sites with more than 4,000 petroglyphs are catalogued. Designs and images were carved out of rock for a variety of reasons: to create totems, to mark territory, or to memorialize a person or event. There are distinct variations around the island in the frequency of themes among petroglyphs, with a concentration of Birdmen at Orongo. Other subjects include sea turtles, Komari (vulvas) and Makemake, the chief god of the Tangata manu or Birdman cult.[112]

- Petroglyphs

- Makemake with two birdmen, carved from red scoria

Makemake with two birdmen, carved from red scoria

- Fish petroglyph found near Ahu Tongariki

Fish petroglyph found near Ahu Tongariki

Caves

The island[113] and neighbouring Motu Nui are riddled with caves, many of which show signs of past human use for planting and as fortifications, including narrowed entrances and crawl spaces with ambush points. Many caves feature in the myths and legends of the Rapa Nui.[114]

Other stones

The Pu o Hiro or Hiro's Trumpet is a stone on the north coast of Easter Island. It was once a musical instrument used in fertility rituals.[115][116][117]

Sample of rongorongo

Rongorongo

Main article: Rongorongo

Easter Island once had an apparent script called rongorongo. Glyphs include pictographic and geometric shapes; the texts were incised in wood in reverse boustrophedon direction. It was first reported by French missionary Eugène Eyraud in 1864. At that time, several islanders said they could understand the writing, but according to tradition, only ruling families and priests were ever literate, and none survived the slave raids and subsequent epidemics. Despite numerous attempts, the surviving texts have not been deciphered, and without decipherment it is not certain that they are actually writing. Part of the problem is the small amount that has survived: only two dozen texts, none of which remain on the island. There are also only a couple of similarities with the petroglyphs on the island.[118]

Wood carving

Skeletal easter island statue.JPG

Fat wooden Moai.JPG

Skeletal statuette

Atypical portly statuette

Wood was scarce on Easter Island during the 18th and 19th centuries, but a number of highly detailed and distinctive carvings have found their way to the world's museums. Particular forms include:[119]

Ancestor figure, circa 1830, from LACMA collections

- Reimiro, a gorget or breast ornament of crescent shape with a head at one or both tips.[120] The same design appears on the flag of Rapa Nui. Two Rei Miru at the British Museum are inscribed with Rongorongo.

- Moko Miro, a man with a lizard head. The Moko Miro was used as a club because of the legs, which formed a handle shape. If it wasn't held by hand, dancers wore it around their necks during feasts. The Moko Miro would also be placed at the doorway to protect the household from harm. It would be hanging from the roof or set in the ground. The original form had eyes made from white shells, and the pupils were made of obsidian.[121]

- Moai kavakava are male carvings and the Moai Paepae are female carvings.[122] These grotesque and highly detailed human figures carved from Toromiro pine, represent ancestors. Sometimes these statues were used for fertility rites. Usually, they are used for harvest celebrations; "the first picking of fruits was heaped around them as offerings". When the statues were not used, they would be wrapped in bark cloth and kept at home. There were a few times that are reported when the islanders would pick up the figures like dolls and dance with them.[122] The earlier figures are rare and generally depict a male figure with an emaciated body and a goatee. The figures' ribs and vertebrae are exposed and many examples show carved glyphs on various parts of the body but more specifically, on the top of the head. The female figures, rarer than the males, depict the body as flat and often with the female's hand lying across the body. The figures, although some were quite large, were worn as ornamental pieces around a tribesman's neck. The more figures worn, the more important the man. The figures have a shiny patina developed from constant handling and contact with human skin.[citation needed]

- Ao, a large dancing paddle

21st-century culture

The Rapanui sponsor an annual festival, the Tapati, held since 1975 around the beginning of February to celebrate Rapa Nui culture. The islanders also maintain a national football team and three discos in the town of Hanga Roa. Other cultural activities include a musical tradition that combines South American and Polynesian influences and woodcarving.

Sports

The Chilean leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series takes place on the Island of Rapa Nui.

Tapati Festival

Tapati Rapa Nui festival ("week festival" in the local language) is an annual two-week long festival celebrating Easter Island culture.[123] The Tapati is centered around a competition between two families/ clans competing in various competitions to earn points. The winning team has their candidate crowned 'queen' of the island for the next year. The competitions are a way to maintain and celebrate traditional cultural activities such as cooking, jewelry-making, woodcarving, and canoeing.[124]

Demographics

Further information: Europeans in Oceania

2012 census

Population at the 2012 census was 5,761 (increased from 3,791 in 2002).[125] In 2002, 60% were persons of indigenous Rapa Nui origin, 39% were mainland Chileans (or their Easter Island-born descendants) of European (mostly Spanish) or mestizo (mixed European and indigenous Chilean Amerindian) origin and Easter Island-born mestizos of European and Rapa Nui and/or native Chilean descent, and the remaining 1% were indigenous mainland Chilean Amerindians (or their Easter Island-born descendants).[126] As of 2012, the population density on Easter Island was 35/km2 (91/sq mi).

Demographic history

The 1982 population was 1,936. The increase in population in the last census was partly caused by the arrival of people of European or mixed European and Native American descent from the Chilean mainland. However, most married a Rapa Nui spouse. Around 70% of the population were natives. Estimates of the pre-European population range from 7–17,000. Easter Island's all-time low of 111 inhabitants was reported in 1877. Out of these 111 Rapa Nui, only 36 had descendants, and all of today's Rapa Nui claim descent from those 36.

Languages

Easter Island's traditional language is Rapa Nui, an Eastern Polynesian language, sharing some similarities with Hawaiian and Tahitian. However, as in the rest of mainland Chile, the official language used is Spanish.

It is supposed[127] that the 2,700 indigenous Rapa Nui living in the island have a certain degree of knowledge of their traditional language; however, census data does not exist on the primary known and spoken languages among Easter Island's inhabitants and there are recent claims that the number of fluent speakers is as low as 800.[128] Indeed, Rapa Nui has been declining in its number of speakers as the island undergoes Hispanicization, because the island is under the jurisdiction of Chile and is now home to a number of Chilean continentals, most of whom speak only Spanish. For this reason, most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish, and those who do learn Rapa Nui begin learning it later in life.[129] Even with efforts to revitalize the language,[130] Ethnologue has established that Rapa Nui is currently a threatened language.[127]

Easter Island's indigenous Rapa Nui toponymy has survived with few Spanish additions or replacements, a fact that has been attributed in part to the survival of the Rapa Nui language.[131]

Administration and legal status

Main articles: Isla de Pascua (commune) and Isla de Pascua Province

Easter Island shares with Juan Fernández Islands the constitutional status of "special territory" of Chile, granted in 2007. As of 2011 a special charter for the island was under discussion in the Chilean Congress.

Administratively, the island is a province (Isla de Pascua Province) of the Valparaíso Region and contains a single commune (comuna) (Isla de Pascua). Both the province and the commune are called Isla de Pascua and encompass the whole island and its surrounding islets and rocks, plus Isla Salas y Gómez, some 380 km (240 mi) to the east. The provincial governor is appointed by the President of the Republic.[132] The municipal administration is located in Hanga Roa, led by a mayor and a six-member municipal council, all directly elected for a four-year mandate.

In August 2018, a law took effect prohibiting non-residents from staying on the island for more than 30 days.[133]

Since 1966 rape, sexual abuse and crimes against property in Easter Island have lower sentences than corresponding offences in mainland Chile.[134]

Notable people

Angata, 1919

Thor Heyerdahl, 1980

Mahani Teave, 2012

- Laura Alarcón Rapu, governor (since 2018)

- Tiare Aguilera Hey, member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention (since 2021)

- Felipe González de Ahedo (1714–1802), a Spanish navigator and cartographer; annexed Easter Island in 1770.

- Angata (ca.1853–1914), native catechist and prophetess who led a 1914 rebellion

- Thomas Barthel (1923–1997) a German ethnologist and epigrapher

- Carmen Cardinali (born 1944) a Rapa Nui Chilean professor, governor of Easter Island, 2010-2014.

- Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier (1834–1876) a French mariner, removed many of the Rapa Nui people and turned the island into a sheep ranch.

- Sebastian Englert (1888–1969), missionary and ethnologist

- Eugène Eyraud (1820–1868), missionary

- Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002), a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer

- Melania Hotu (born 1959), governor (2006–2010, 2015–2018)

- Marta Hotus Tuki (born 1969), governor (2014–2015)

- Riro Kāinga (died 1898 or 1899), last person to hold title of king and rule before Chilean consolidation

- Kings of Easter Island

- Hotu Matuꞌa, island founder

- William Mulloy (1917–1978), an American anthropologist and archaeologist

- Nga'ara (died 1859), one of the last ‘ariki

- Jacobo Hey Paoa, first Rapa Nui male to earn a law degree and become an attorney

- Pedro Edmunds Paoa (born 1961), mayor and former governor

- Juan Edmunds Rapahango (1923–2012), former mayor

- Hippolyte Roussel (1824–1898), a French priest and missionary

- Katherine Routledge (1866–1935), an English archaeologist and anthropologist

- Alexander Ariʻipaea Salmon (1855–1914) English-Jewish-Tahitian de facto ruler of Easter Island, 1878-1888.

- Mahani Teave (born 1983), a Chilean American classical pianist

- Atamu Tekena (ca.1850–1892), missionary installed King who ceded island to Chile

- José Fati Tepano, first Rapa Nui male to serve as a titular judge upon completing training in Chile

- Juan Tepano (1867–1947), indigenous leader and cultural informant

- Valentino Riroroko Tuki (1932—2017) last claimant to the Rapa Nui throne

- Lynn Rapu Tuki (born 1969), head-teacher, promotes the arts and traditions of the Rapa Nui People.

- Luz Zasso Paoa a Rapa Nui politician, Mayor of Easter Island, 2008-2012.

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Pitcairn

Der Titel dieses Artikels ist mehrdeutig. Weitere Bedeutungen sind unter Pitcairn (Begriffsklärung) aufgeführt.

Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn, Satellitenbild

Gewässer

Pazifischer Ozean

Inselgruppe

Pitcairninseln

Geographische Lage

♁25° 4′ 12″ , 130° 6′ 25″ Koordinaten: 25° 4′ 12″ , 130° 6′ 25″  |

|

OSM

Länge

3,5 km

Breite

1,8 km

Fläche

4,5 km²

Höchste Erhebung

Pawala Valley Ridge

347

Einwohner

50 (2020[1])

11 Einw./km²

Hauptort

Adamstown

Karte von Pitcairn

Pitcairn ist die Hauptinsel der Pitcairninseln (englisch Pitcairn Islands) und liegt im Pazifik, etwa 5000 km von Neuseeland und rund 5400 km von Südamerika entfernt. Sie ist die einzige bewohnte Insel des Archipels. Weitere Inseln der Gruppe sind Oeno mit dem dazugehörigen winzigen Sandy Island, Henderson und das Atoll Ducie. In der Kreolsprache, dem Pitcairn-Englisch, heißt sie Pitkern.

Pitcairn wurde am 2. Juli 1767 von dem Seekadetten Robert Pitcairn, Sohn des Marineoffiziers John Pitcairn, entdeckt und ist seit 1838 britische Kronkolonie bzw. britisches Überseegebiet. Die Pitcairninseln sind die letzte britische Kolonie im Pazifik.

Die Einwohner der Hauptinsel sind zu einem Teil Nachfahren der Meuterer von der Bounty und ihrer polynesischen Frauen. Hier wurde 1838 das erste nachhaltige Frauenwahlrecht eingeführt.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1Geographie

- 2Flora und Fauna

- 2.1Flora

- 2.2Fauna

- 3Geschichte

- 3.1Vorgeschichte

- 3.2Entdeckungsgeschichte

- 3.3Die Meuterer der Bounty

- 3.4Wiederentdeckung

- 3.5Eingliederung in das Vereinigte Königreich

- 3.6Emigration auf die Norfolkinsel

- 3.720. Jahrhundert

- 3.8Einwohnerentwicklung

- 4Pitcairn heute

- 4.1Politik

- 4.2Wirtschaft

- 4.3Infrastruktur

- 4.4Tourismus

- 4.5Der Vergewaltigungsprozess

- 4.6Sonstiges

- 5Sprache

- 6Literatur

- 7Weblinks

- 8Einzelnachweise

Geographie[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Bounty Bay, „Hill of Difficulties“ und Adamstown im Morgenlicht

Südwestseite der Insel

Die 4,5 km² große Insel liegt isoliert im Südpazifik. Die nächstgelegenen bewohnten Inseln sind im Osten die Osterinsel in 2000 km Entfernung und im Westen die Gambierinseln in 500 km Entfernung.

Pitcairn ist der Überrest eines geologisch jungen Schildvulkans, der aus Alkaliolivinbasalt, Hawaiit, Mugearit und Trachyt besteht.[2] Die heutige Insel entstand in mehreren Ausbruchsphasen ungefähr zwischen 0,93 Mio. und 0,45 Mio. Jahren BP. Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Inseln des Südpazifiks fehlt der umgebende Korallensaum, sodass eine starke Brandung die ungeschützte Küste erreicht. Der Inselsockel ist schmal und fällt abrupt bis in Tiefen von über 3000 Meter ab. Die steilen Klippen der Insel erheben sich unmittelbar aus dem Meer, eine Küstenebene oder einen Strand gibt es nicht. Darüber befindet sich ein stark profiliertes Plateau mit den besiedelten und kultivierten Flächen. Die höchste Erhebung, Pawala Valley Ridge, liegt 347 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel.[3]

Vulkanische Schlacke verursacht die auffallend rote Färbung des Bodens. Die Erde ist fruchtbar und das feucht-subtropische Klima mit ergiebigen Regenfällen begünstigt üppiges Wachstum. Die Niederschlagsmenge ist mit jährlich etwa 1700 mm ungefähr zwei- bis dreimal so hoch wie in Deutschland; die monatlichen Niederschläge weisen beträchtliche jahreszeitliche Unterschiede auf. In manchen Sommern kann es zu länger dauernden Trockenperioden kommen. Die Temperaturen liegen je nach Jahreszeit zwischen 13 und 28 °C.[4]

Ganzjährig fließende Bäche, Flüsse und Seen fehlen, sodass die Einwohner zur Wasserversorgung auf Zisternen angewiesen sind. Inzwischen hat es auch einen Versuch gegeben, nach Grundwasser zu bohren.

Die einzige Ansiedlung ist das auf dem Hochplateau oberhalb der Bounty Bay gelegene Adamstown, in dem sämtliche Einwohner der Insel wohnen.

Flora und Fauna[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Flora[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Rest ursprünglicher Vegetation am Garnets Ridge

Weite Bereiche von Pitcairn sind durch menschliche Eingriffe geprägt, verbuscht und mit nichtheimischer Flora bedeckt. Weitere Gebiete sind als landwirtschaftliche Kulturflächen angelegt und großflächig mit Rosenapfel (Syzygium jambos) bepflanzt, einem ursprünglich aus Asien stammenden, immergrünen Myrtenstrauch, der bis zu 15 Meter hoch werden kann. Heimischer Pflanzenwuchs bedeckt inzwischen nicht einmal mehr 30 Prozent der Oberfläche, überwiegend Steillagen und abgelegene Täler.[5] Eine Untersuchung durch Mitarbeiter des botanischen Institutes des Trinity College in Dublin aus dem Jahr 2002 führt 81 heimische (davon 10 endemische), aber 250 durch den Menschen eingeführte Pflanzenarten auf. 18 Arten zählen zu den weltweit bedrohten.[4] Die heimische Flora Pitcairns stammt ursprünglich aus Südost-Polynesien, durch die isolierte Lage und das relativ junge geologische Alter der Insel ist sie allerdings im Vergleich zu derjenigen anderer polynesischer Inseln eher unterentwickelt.

Die Reste des heimischen Waldes – den man zu den subtropischen Bergnebelwäldern zählen kann – werden vom endemischen Baum Homalium taypau dominiert, von den Insulanern Sharkwood Tree genannt, weil sich aus dem Holz Schnitzereien (Haie und Delfine) herstellen lassen. In abgelegenen, schattigen Taleinschnitten findet sich ein ausgedehnter Bewuchs mit Farnen. Endemisch und inzwischen sehr bedroht ist der zu den Wurmfarngewächsen (Dryopteridaceae) gehörende Ctenitis cumingii.[6]

Eine weitere endemische Pflanze ist der zu den Korbblütlern zählende Bodendecker Bidens mathewsii, der überwiegend in den Kliffs der Südostküste wächst.[7]

Im Norden und Osten der Insel sind die verbuschten Flächen von Hibiskus sowie Pandanusbäumen durchsetzt, deren Blätter von den Insulanern zu allerlei Flechtwerk verarbeitet werden.

Zu den kultivierten Pflanzen gehören Kokospalme, Ananas, Zitruspflanzen, Banane, Papaya, Melone, Guave (die inzwischen ausgewildert ist), Zuckerrohr, Yams, Taro, Süßkartoffel und Brotfruchtbaum.

Fauna[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Die ursprüngliche Fauna an Land beschränkt sich auf Insekten, Schnecken und kleine Reptilien. Alle anderen Tiere wurden vom Menschen eingeführt. Eine große Plage ist inzwischen – seit sie ausgewildert ist und nicht mehr kontrolliert als Nahrungstier gehalten wird – die von den ersten polynesischen Siedlern eingeführte Pazifische Ratte (Rattus exulans). Für den Menschen gefährliche Tiere oder Krankheitsüberträger gibt es nicht. Die seit Besiedlung durch die Meuterer auf der Insel gehaltenen Schweine wurden ausgerottet, nachdem Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten, die Schweine für unrein halten, die Inselbewohner missioniert und Ende 1890 sämtliche Einwohner getauft hatten.[8]

Pitcairn verfügt über eine interessante, aber nicht sehr artenreiche Vogelwelt. Einzigartig und zugleich bedroht ist der Pitcairnrohrsänger (Acrocephalus vaughani), ein zu den Sperlingsvögeln zählender, für Pitcairn endemischer Landvogel.

Insbesondere auf den vorgelagerten steilen Klippen nisten zahlreiche Arten von Seevögeln in großen Populationen. Eine vollständige Bestandsaufnahme steht noch aus.

Wegen des Fehlens eines Korallensaumes überwiegen in der Umgebung Pitcairns Hochseefische und Riffbewohner. Die unregelmäßig erscheinende Inselzeitung „The Pitcairn Miscellany“ listet akribisch auf, welche und wie viele Fische die Bewohner gefangen haben. Darunter befinden sich hauptsächlich Haie, Doraden, Barrakudas, Red Snapper, Thunfische und gelegentlich ein Marlin. Am Schelf gibt es Hummer und Langusten. Einmal im Jahr kommen Buckelwale auf ihrem Zug durch den Pazifik vorbei.

Geschichte[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Vorgeschichte[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

St. Pauls Point an der Ostküste

Die Vorgeschichte Pitcairns liegt weitgehend im Dunkeln. Man nimmt heute an, dass Pitcairn um 1000 n. Chr. von der nordwestlich gelegenen Insel Mangareva aus im Rahmen der polynesischen Expansion nach Osten besiedelt wurde.[9] Auf Mangareva wird die Legende von Mataki-te-rangi erzählt, einer Insel im Südosten, die von den Häuptlingen kolonisiert und mit Brotfruchtbäumen bepflanzt worden sei.[10] Beim Betreten der Insel Pitcairn im Jahr 1790 fanden die Meuterer der Bounty tatsächlich zahlreiche Brotfruchtbäume vor. Das wesentliche Indiz für eine frühere Besiedlung durch Polynesier sind aber sorgfältig gearbeitete Steinwerkzeuge aus schwarzem Basalt, die heute noch gelegentlich bei der Feldarbeit aufgefunden werden und in dem kleinen Museum von Pitcairn ausgestellt sind.

Als die Meuterer der Bounty die Insel betraten, waren noch Spuren der Ureinwohner sichtbar, darunter Standbilder, die, obwohl weniger kunstfertig bearbeitet, der Beschreibung nach eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit mit Bildwerken der Marquesas und der Osterinsel aufwiesen. Überreste davon konnte der britische Forscher Frederick William Beechey noch finden, als er im Rahmen einer Südseeexpedition 1826 die Insel Pitcairn besuchte. Er schreibt dazu:

„Linker Hand von ‚The Rope‘ ist ein Hügel von beträchtlicher Höhe, der die Bounty Bay überragt [gemeint ist wahrscheinlich St. Pauls Point]. Auf dieser Anhöhe fanden die Meuterer bei ihrer Ankunft vier etwa sechs Fuß [2 m] hohe Standbilder auf einer Plattform, die – gemäß der Beschreibung von Adams – den Moais der Osterinsel nicht unähnlich, jedoch wesentlich kleiner waren. Eines dieser Standbilder, als einziges noch erhalten, war das grobe Abbild eines Menschen bis zur Hüfte und aus einem einzigen Stück roter Lava gehauen. In der Nähe dieser Figuren, so erzählte man uns, wurden gelegentlich menschliche Knochen und Steinbeile ausgegraben, aber wir konnten lediglich zwei Knochen finden, mittels derer wir auf die Statur der Ureinwohner schließen zu können glaubten. Es waren dies ein Oberschenkelknochen und ein Teil eines Schädeldaches von ungewöhnlicher Größe und Dicke. Die Steinbeile, von denen wir mehrere Exemplare fanden, waren aus einer kompakten Basalt-Lava gefertigt, [die,] nicht unähnlich dem Phonolith, sehr hart und gut zum Polieren geeignet [ist].“

– FREDERICK WILLIAM BEECHEY: Narrative of a voyage to the Pacific and Beering’s strait[11]

Der belgische Geschäftsmann und Ethnologe Jacques-Antoine Moerenhout, der noch die Gelegenheit hatte, mit John Adams, dem letzten überlebenden Meuterer, zu sprechen, beschreibt offensichtlich die gleiche Zeremonialplattform, allerdings in einem bereits weit verfalleneren Zustand:

„Ich erreichte den Platz, an dem der Tempel errichtet worden war und an dem das Volk, dessen Spuren nun verwischt sind, seine Götter verehrte, von denen wir nichts mehr wissen. Ich sah nichts, was mich davon überzeugte, dass dort ehemals etwas gewesen war, außer dem Rest einer Statue, eine Büste von dreieinhalb Fuß [ca. 1,20 m] Länge, deren Gesichtszüge sich kaum noch abzeichneten, aber deren Kopf, Schulterpartie und Körper gut proportioniert waren. Außerdem gab es auch noch einen Haufen Steine, aber nichts mehr wies darauf hin, wo der ‚marai‘ [Zeremonialplattform] einst errichtet war.“

– JACQUES-ANTOINE MOERENHOUT: Voyages aux îles du Grand océan[12]

Moerenhout berichtet weiterhin, aus Gesprächen mit den Bewohnern von Pitcairn habe er erfahren, dass man in der jetzt zerstörten Plattform ein Skelett aufgefunden habe, dessen Schädel auf die Schale einer großen Perlenauster (die auf Pitcairn nicht vorkommt) gebettet war. Außerdem habe man auf der Insel steinerne Hausfundamente und mit Steinen ausgekleidete Erdöfen gefunden.

Katherine Routledge, die Pitcairn im August 1915 besuchte, berichtet von insgesamt drei Marae auf Pitcairn. Einer davon, von dem sie noch Überreste auffinden konnte, befand sich auf dem St. Paul’s Point an der Ostküste, einer signifikanten Anhöhe, die die Bounty Bay überragt. Sie beschreibt die Anlage als Erdaufschüttung von 4 m Höhe, zu der eine mit großen Strandkieseln verkleidete, ansteigende Erdrampe von 11 m Länge führte. Insoweit besteht Vergleichbarkeit mit Bauformen auf der Osterinsel. Nach den Berichten der Bewohner sollen auf der Plattform ursprünglich drei Steinstatuen gestanden haben.[13]

1934/35 hielt sich eine französisch-belgische Expedition unter der Leitung von Alfred Métraux, die von der Osterinsel kam, auf Pitcairn auf. Der belgische Archäologe Henri Lavachery, Mitglied dieser Expedition, untersuchte bei „Down-Rope“, einer Bucht im Süden der Insel mit einer von den Ureinwohnern genutzten Lagerstätte von Obsidian, Felsritzungen mit Darstellungen von Tieren, Menschen und grafischen Symbolen. Die Petroglyphen an dieser schwer zugänglichen Stelle, deren Name darauf hinweist, dass man sich abseilen musste, um dorthin zu gelangen, sind auch heute noch auffindbar.[14] Lavachery erkundete außerdem drei Standorte von Zeremonialplattformen, die ihm von den Insulanern genannt wurden. Es waren jedoch nur noch geringe Spuren der Bauwerke zu erkennen. Unter dem Haus von Norris Young fand er aber eine Statue, ein kopfloses Fragment von 79 cm Höhe und 30 cm Durchmesser aus porösem Tuffstein, die Young als Stütze für den Fußboden benutzte. Der menschliche Torso endet, ähnlich wie die Moai der Osterinsel, unterhalb des Nabels. Die beiden übergroßen Hände bedecken das Abdomen, auch dies eine Parallele zu den Statuen der Osterinsel. Die Figur hatte Young am Fuß der Klippen in der Bounty Bay gefunden. Sie gehörte vermutlich zu einer der von Moerenhout und Routledge beschriebenen, inzwischen zerstörten Zeremonialplattformen.[15] Die Skulptur ist das einzige erhaltene Bildwerk von den Ureinwohnern der Pitcairn-Inseln und befindet sich heute im Otago-Museum, Dunedin, Neuseeland.

Auf der Basis der vorliegenden Berichte ist nicht zu ermitteln, wie viele Steinstatuen es ursprünglich auf Pitcairn gegeben hat. Lavachery vermutete drei oder vier. Der Archäologe Arne Skjølsvold, der 1956 mit der „Norwegischen Archäologischen Expedition zur Osterinsel und in den Ostpazifik“ von Thor Heyerdahl nach Pitcairn kam, nimmt an, es seien ursprünglich deutlich mehr gewesen.[16]

Der Archäologe Marshall Weisler von der University of Otago in Neuseeland hat im Rahmen neuerer Forschungen Handelsbeziehungen zwischen Mangareva, Pitcairn und Henderson nachgewiesen. Seine Forschungen belegen den Export von Austernschalen zur Fertigung von Schmuck und Angelhaken von Mangareva nach Pitcairn und Henderson einerseits und den Import von Steinwerkzeugen aus Pitcairn sowie wahrscheinlich Vogelfedern und Meeresschildkröten aus Henderson andererseits.[17][18][19] Das dicht besiedelte Mangareva dürfte die Drehscheibe für diesen Dreieckshandel gewesen sein, der auch die Tuamotu- und Austral-Inseln umfasste. Die Handelsbeziehungen endeten um 1450 n. Chr., die Gründe dafür lassen sich nicht mehr ermitteln. Der Evolutionsbiologe Jared Diamond vermutet in seinem Buch Kollaps eine von Menschen ausgelöste ökologische Katastrophe auf Mangareva als Ursache; Weisler und Walter nennen durch Überbevölkerung und Ressourcenmangel ausgelöste soziale Spannungen als Gründe.[20] Pitcairn wurde vermutlich im Verlauf des 17. Jahrhunderts verlassen;[21] als die Insel erstmals von Europäern aufgesucht wurde, war sie bereits unbewohnt.

Entdeckungsgeschichte[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Das erste europäische Schiff, das Pitcairn erreichte, war 1767 die HMS Swallow unter Kapitän Philipp Carteret. Er benannte die Insel nach dem Seekadetten Robert Pitcairn, der sie zuerst gesichtet hatte.

„Wir segelten unseren Kurs weiter westwärts bis zum Abend des 2. Juli, als wir Land nördlich von uns entdeckten. Als wir uns am nächsten Tag näherten, sah es aus wie ein riesiger Fels, der sich direkt aus dem Meer erhob, nicht mehr als fünf Meilen im Umfang und augenscheinlich unbewohnt. Der Fels war mit Bäumen bewachsen, und wir sahen ein schmales Rinnsal von Frischwasser, das an der Seite ins Meer ablief. Ich wollte landen, aber die Brandung, die zu dieser Jahreszeit besonders heftig war, ließ das unmöglich erscheinen. Ich segelte in etwas weniger als einer Meile Abstand von der Küste zur Westseite des Felsens, dort ist in 25 Faden Tiefe Sand- und Korallenboden. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass bei ruhigem Wetter hier eine Landung nicht nur möglich, sondern sogar einfach sein wird. Wir sahen eine Vielzahl von Seevögeln über den Felsen hinwegstreichen, und etwa eine Meile von der Küste entfernt dürfte es auch gute Fischgründe geben. Er liegt auf 20°2′ südlicher Breite und auf 133°21′ westlicher Länge und etwa 1000 Leagues westlich des amerikanischen Kontinents. Er ist so hoch, dass wir ihn aus einer Entfernung von 15 Leagues sehen konnten, und da der Fels zuerst von einem jungen Herrn, Sohn des Majors Pitcairn von der Marineinfanterie, der unglücklicherweise mit der Aurora untergegangen war, gesichtet wurde, nannten wir ihn PITCAIRN’S ISLAND. Als wir uns in der Nähe dieser Insel befanden, war das Wetter extrem stürmisch, mit langen, von Süden heranrollenden Wogen, höher als alles was ich zuvor gesehen hatte.“

– PHILIPP CARTERET: An account of a voyage round the world, in the years MDCCLXVI, MDCCLXVII, MDCCLXVIII, and MDCCLXIX[22]

Die von Carteret angegebene Position ist sowohl in der Längen- als auch in der Breitenbestimmung ungenau. Dies führte dazu, dass die Insel zwar in den Seekarten verzeichnet war, jedoch weitab von der tatsächlichen Position.

James Cook hatte Carterets Logbuch gelesen und beabsichtigte, auf seiner zweiten Südsee-Expedition 1773 die Insel aufzufinden. Das Auftreten von Skorbut auf dem Begleitschiff Adventure verhinderte jedoch eine langwierige Suche, und Cook lief stattdessen direkt Tahiti an.

Die Meuterer der Bounty[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Bounty Bay mit Bootsschuppen und Landestelle (unten rechts)

Dieser Artikel oder nachfolgende Abschnitt ist nicht hinreichend mit Belegen (beispielsweise Einzelnachweisen) ausgestattet. Angaben ohne ausreichenden Beleg könnten demnächst entfernt werden. Bitte hilf Wikipedia, indem du die Angaben recherchierst und gute Belege einfügst.

Fletcher Christian, der Anführer der Meuterei, kannte ebenfalls Carterets Bericht und hielt die Insel für den geeigneten Zufluchtsort vor den britischen Schiffen, die die Admiralität zur Festnahme der Meuterer entsenden würde. Die insgesamt neun Europäer, sechs polynesischen Männer und zwölf polynesischen Frauen sichteten die felsige Insel am 15. Januar 1790. Die acht Briten, die Christian begleiteten, waren der Seekadett Edward „Ned“ Young, die Matrosen John Adams alias Alexander Smith, Isaac Martin, William McCoy, John Mills, Matthew Quintal, John Williams und der zweite Gärtner William Brown. Sie konnten aber wegen der starken Brandung erst drei Tage später mit einem Beiboot anlanden.

Christian erkundete mit zwei Gefährten die Insel zwei Tage lang und fand sie unbewohnt, aber bewohnbar. Es gab Kokospalmen und Brotfruchtbäume, und er fand Anzeichen früherer polynesischer Besiedlung. Schweine, Ziegen, Hühner, Yamswurzeln und Süßkartoffeln wurden auf der Bounty mitgeführt. Er fand in der heutigen Bounty Bay die einzige geeignete Landungsstelle für die Bounty. Ausrüstungsgegenstände und brauchbare Schiffsteile wurden in den folgenden zwei Tagen an Land gebracht. Aus der Siedlung, die die Meuterer bereits am ersten Tag oberhalb der Bounty Bay errichteten, entstand das heutige Adamstown.

Nach längeren Debatten steckte der Matrose Matthew Quintal am 23. Januar 1790 aus eigenem Entschluss das Schiff in Brand, um eine Entdeckung auszuschließen.[23] Das Zusammenleben der Siedler orientierte sich an den Wertvorstellungen der Europäer, was von Anfang an Konflikte verursachte. Jeder Europäer hatte eine Gefährtin; die sechs Polynesier mussten sich die übrigen drei Frauen teilen und wurden eher wie Sklaven behandelt.

Als die Frau des Schmiedes John Williams starb und er sich eine der drei den Polynesiern „gehörenden“ Frauen aneignete, eskalierte der Konflikt. Am 20. September 1793 töteten die Polynesier Williams und drei weitere Meuterer, am 3. Oktober ermordeten sie Fletcher Christian. Diese Tat zog weitere Racheakte nach sich. Bald darauf waren alle polynesischen Männer und eine Frau getötet. 1794 lebten nur noch Young, der inzwischen die Führung übernommen hatte, Adams, Quintal, McCoy, zehn Frauen und deren Kinder.

Der Schotte McCoy begann, aus der zuckerhaltigen Wurzel der Keulenlilie (Cordyline fruticosa, polynesisch: ti; aus den verbrannten Blättern dieser Pflanze stellten die Polynesier die Tätowierfarbe her) Schnaps zu brennen, verfiel dem Alkohol und starb bei einem Sturz von den Klippen. Nachdem der ebenfalls dem Alkohol verfallene, gewalttätige Quintal gedroht hatte, alle Kinder umzubringen, beseitigten ihn 1799 Young und Adams gemeinsam.

Bibel der Bounty

Als Edward Young am 25. Dezember 1800 an Asthma starb, blieb John Adams als einziger erwachsener Mann übrig, zusammen mit zehn Polynesierinnen und inzwischen 23 Kindern der Europäer. Die polynesischen Männer hatten keine Nachkommen hinterlassen. Young hatte kurz vor seinem Tod dem ungebildeten Adams anhand der Schiffsbibel der Bounty das Lesen beigebracht. Adams las täglich in der Bibel, begann ein gottesfürchtiges Leben, verbot den Alkohol und hielt regelmäßige Gottesdienste ab. Am 5. März 1829 starb er als angesehenes Oberhaupt der kleinen Gemeinde eines natürlichen Todes.[24]

Die Admiralität hatte im November 1790 die Fregatte HMS Pandora unter Captain Edward Edwards ausgesandt, um die Meuterer aufzuspüren und festzunehmen. Auf der Hinreise kam Edwards zwar der Insel Pitcairn nahe, sichtete sie jedoch nicht. Er segelte nach Tahiti und nahm alle vierzehn noch dort lebenden Mannschaftsmitglieder der Bounty gefangen. Auf der Rückreise durchkreuzte das Schiff die weiter westlich gelegenen polynesischen Inseln auf der erfolglosen Suche nach weiteren Meuterern. Am Great Barrier Reef, vor der Nordostküste von Australien, lief die Pandora im August 1791 auf ein Korallenriff und sank. Dabei ertranken vier der Gefangenen, die zehn überlebenden Männer der Bounty erreichten im September Timor und wurden von dort nach Portsmouth gebracht, wo ihnen im September 1792 der Prozess gemacht wurde. Drei wurden gehängt, die anderen freigesprochen bzw. begnadigt.

Wiederentdeckung[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Wiederentdeckt wurde Pitcairn von Mayhew Folger, einem amerikanischen Robbenjäger, der auf seinem Schiff Topaz am 6. Februar 1808 eine Insel sichtete, die es auf dieser Position eigentlich nicht geben durfte. Nach der Beschreibung vermutete er, dass er Carterets Insel entdeckt hatte. Allerdings wunderte er sich über den Rauch auf der als unbewohnt beschriebenen Insel. Als die Topaz in der Bounty Bay ankerte, ruderten drei junge Inselbewohner zum Schiff, die Folger auf Englisch mitteilten, dass sie Nachkommen der Bounty-Meuterer seien. Folger war einige Tage Gast in der 35 Personen zählenden Kolonie und führte mit Adams lange Gespräche. Zum Abschied schenkte ihm Adams den Kompass und den Kendall-Chronometer der Bounty. Folgers Bericht, den er nach seiner Rückkehr an die britische Admiralität sandte, stieß aber dort wegen der Napoleonischen Kriege auf wenig Interesse.

Eingliederung in das Vereinigte Königreich[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Am 17. September 1814 kamen die beiden Kriegsschiffe HMS Briton und HMS Tagus vor Pitcairn an. Die Kapitäne Staines und Pipon, die von der Entdeckung Folgers sechs Jahre zuvor nichts wussten, waren beeindruckt von der friedlichen und gottesfürchtigen Gemeinschaft, die sie vorfanden. Adams wollte freiwillig mit nach England zurücksegeln und sich dem Seegericht stellen, aber die Bewohner flehten die Kapitäne an, ihn auf der Insel zu lassen. In seinem späteren Bericht an die Admiralität schrieb Staines, dass es ein Akt von großer Grausamkeit gewesen wäre, den letzten noch lebenden Meuterer gefangen zu nehmen.

In den Folgejahren gab es weitere Besuche. Walfänger nutzten die Möglichkeit, sich mit frischem Gemüse zu versorgen. In den Berichten, die sporadisch in der Presse erschienen, wurde die isolierte Gemeinschaft romantisch verklärt und daher von frommen Spendern mit Bibeln, Gesang- und Gebetbüchern, aber auch mit Hausrat und Werkzeug versorgt. Im Jahr 1823 blieb als erster neuer Siedler nach den Meuterern der Schiffszimmermann John Buffet auf der Insel; 1828 kam George Nobbs, angeblich der uneheliche Sohn eines Marquis, der sich als Prediger etablierte.

Im März 1831 wurden alle Bewohner nach Tahiti evakuiert, nachdem Befürchtungen einer drohenden Übervölkerung und einer damit einhergehenden Hungersnot dazu geführt hatten, dass sich die britischen Kolonialbehörden um einen alternativen Siedlungsort bemühten. Dem Angebot, nach Tahiti zu gehen, folgten schließlich alle Bewohner. Nachdem dort etliche Pitcairner, darunter Fletcher Christians Sohn Thursday October, an Infektionskrankheiten gestorben waren, kehrten 65 Überlebende bereits im September 1831 auf ihre isolierte Insel zurück.[25]

Im Oktober 1832 landete der amerikanische Abenteurer Joshua Hill auf Pitcairn, gab sich als Gesandter der britischen Regierung aus und ließ sich zum Präsidenten des kleinen Gemeinwesens ausrufen. In der Folge übte er eine diktatorische Herrschaft über die Inselbewohner aus und verhängte harte Strafen schon für kleine Vergehen. Nachdem offenbar geworden war, dass seine Behauptung, die britische Regierung zu vertreten, unwahr war, musste Hill die Insel verlassen und wurde 1837 mit einem Schiff der Royal Navy nach Valparaíso abgeschoben.[26][27]

Aufgrund dieser Erfahrung und wegen vermehrter Übergriffe von auf der Insel gelandeten Walfängern strebten die Bewohner den Schutz der britischen Krone an. Mit Unterstützung des Kapitäns der britischen Sloop Fly, Russell Elliott, formulierten sie eine Verfassung für die Inselgemeinschaft, die am 30. November 1838 an Bord der Fly unterzeichnet wurde.[28] Mit dem British Settlements Act vom 16. September 1887 wurde Pitcairn dem Britischen Königreich auch de jure unterstellt.[29]

Emigration auf die Norfolkinsel[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

1856 hatte Pitcairn bereits 194 Einwohner, mit zunehmender Tendenz. Da man nach einigen Naturkatastrophen befürchten musste, die inzwischen beträchtlich angewachsene Inselgemeinde könne sich nicht mehr selbst ernähren, wurde die Insel 1856 erneut evakuiert. Dieses Mal wurden die Bewohner auf die 6000 Kilometer westlich gelegene, heute zu Australien gehörende Norfolkinsel gebracht.

Im Januar 1859 kehrten 16 Emigranten unter der Führung von Moses und Mayhew Young zurück, 1864 folgten vier weitere Familien. Die übrigen blieben auf der Insel Norfolk. Heute besteht ein Drittel der dortigen Bevölkerung aus deren Nachkommen.

Die sehr frommen Pitcairner hatten die Schriften, die ihnen von den Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten zugesandt worden waren, eifrig gelesen, zudem verbrachte 1886 der adventistische Missionar John I. Tay fünf Wochen auf der Insel. Daher war ein im Jahre 1890 ankommendes amerikanisches Missionsschiff sehr willkommen, und die wirtschaftliche Unterstützung, die mit der Missionierung einherging, gewiss nicht weniger. Sämtliche Einwohner ließen sich taufen, ihre Nachkommen sind heute noch Adventisten.

Zu Beginn des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts gab es dank der weltweiten Spenden der Adventisten auf der Insel bereits eine Zeitung, eine Schule und einen Kindergarten.

20. Jahrhundert[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Mit der Eröffnung des Panamakanals 1914 endete die Isolation, denn Pitcairn lag auf der Schiffsroute nach Neuseeland. Nahezu jede Woche besuchte ein Schiff die Insel. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg stationierte die britische Marine Funkbeobachter auf Pitcairn. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg ließen die Interessen Großbritanniens nach, sodass – in Ermangelung eines Hafens und eines Flugplatzes – erneut eine relative Isolierung einsetzte. Lange Zeit wurde Pitcairn durchschnittlich nur vier- bis sechsmal im Jahr von einem Containerschiff angelaufen, das die lebensnotwendigen Güter und Post überbrachte, seit 2009 besteht jedoch eine regelmäßige Schiffsverbindung von Neuseeland über Französisch-Polynesien nach Pitcairn. Gelegentlich kommt auch ein Kreuzfahrtschiff zu Besuch.

Einwohnerentwicklung[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Seit den 1980er-Jahren liegt die Zahl der Einwohner von Pitcairn bei 50 bis 60 Personen.[30] Aussagekräftigste Quellen zur besonderen Demographie der Insel sind die Censusdaten.[31]

- 1790: 27

- 1800: 34 ▲

- 1808: 36 ▲

- 1825: 66 ▲

- 1831: 65 ▼

- 1839: 106 ▲

- 1844: 119 ▲

- 1850: 106 ▼

- 1856: 194 ▲

- 1859: 16 ▼

- 1864: 43[32] ▲

- 1873: 70 ▲

- 1875: 85 ▲

- 1878: 90 ▲

- 1879: 90 ▬

- 1884: 105 ▲

- 1888: 112 ▲

- 1889: 127 ▲

- 1893: 136 ▲

- 1894: 130 ▼

- 1896: 132 ▲

- 1897: 142 ▲

- 1898: 142 ▬

- 1900: 136 ▼

- 1901: 126 ▼

- 1905: 169 ▲

- 1906: 104 ▼

- 1907: 160 ▲

- 1908: 150 ▼

- 1912: 148 ▼

- 1914: 165 ▲

- 1916: 163 ▼

- 1933: 190 ▲

- 1936: 200 ▲

- 1937: 233[33] ▲

- 1943: 163 ▼

- 1956: 161 ▼

- 1959: 143 ▼

- 1961: 126 ▼

- 1966: 96 ▼

- 1976: 74 ▼

- 1979: 61 ▼

- 1982: 55 ▼

- 1985: 58 ▲

- 1986: 68 ▲

- 1987: 59 ▼

- 1988: 55 ▼

- 1989: 55 ▬

- 1990: 59 ▲

- 1991: 66 ▲

- 1992: 54 ▼

- 1993: 57 ▲

- 1994: 54 ▼

- 1995: 55 ▲

- 1996: 43 ▼

- 1997: 40 ▼

- 1998: 66 ▲

- 1999: 46 ▼

- 2000: 51 ▲

- 2001: 44 ▼

- 2002: 48 ▲

- 2003: 59 ▲

- 2006: 65 ▲

- 2007: 64 ▼

- 2008: 66 ▲

- 2011: 67 ▲

- 2012: 48 ▼

- 2013: 49[34] ▲

- 2016: 54[35] ▲

- 2017: 49 ▼

- 2018: 50 ▲

- 2019: 50[36] ▬

Pitcairn heute[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Politik[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Flagge der Pitcairninseln

Die Pitcairninseln sind das letzte britische Überseegebiet im Südpazifik. Die Einwohner sind britische Staatsbürger (British Overseas Territories Act 2002). Obwohl das Vereinigte Königreich aus Kostengründen den Status gerne ändern würde, wehren sich die Bewohner seit Jahren erfolgreich dagegen, denn nur mit britischer Unterstützung ist ihr Verbleib auf der Insel gesichert. Die Funktion des Gouverneurs von Pitcairn wird seit 1970 vom britischen Hochkommissar in Neuseeland ausgeübt. Zuvor hatte diese Position der britische Hochkommissar für den Westpazifik inne (1898 bis 1952) sowie der Gouverneur von Fidschi (1953 bis 1970).[29]

Der Magistrat und ein Bürgermeister verwalten die Pitcairninseln intern. Von November bis Dezember 2004 verwaltete als Interimslösung erstmals eine Frau, Brenda Christian, die Insel. Ab 2013 war Shawn Christian gewählter Bürgermeister. Die Legislative wird vom Inselrat (Island Council) gebildet, der auch gleichzeitig judikative Befugnisse hat. Er besteht aus zehn Personen, vier davon werden direkt gewählt. Die Rolle eines Bindeglieds zwischen der Inselregierung und dem Gouverneur übernimmt das Pitcairn Islands Office mit Sitz in Auckland. Das PIO wird von einem vom Gouverneur ernannten Kommissar geleitet.[37]

Der 2018 in seiner zweiten Amtszeit regierende Bürgermeister ist der wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs von Minderjährigen verurteilte Shawn Christian, ein direkter Nachfahre von Fletcher Christian.

Wirtschaft[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Die Bewohner Pitcairns importieren ihre Lebensmittel sowie Dinge des täglichen Bedarfs größtenteils aus Neuseeland, und wenn es möglich ist, kaufen sie diese von den besuchenden Kreuzfahrtschiffen. Die meisten Lebensmittel werden von den Bewohnern in Kühltruhen und -schränken aufbewahrt, von denen jeder Haushalt je nach Anzahl der Personen eine große Anzahl an das Stromnetz angeschlossen hat. Diese oft alten, teilweise defekten Kühltruhen und -schränke stellen die größte Belastung für das lokale Stromnetz und das Einkommen der Familien dar. Die Ernährung ist sehr stark an die britische und nordamerikanische Küche angelehnt, d. h. frittiert, stark fett- und zuckerhaltig.

Die Arbeitsplätze in der örtlichen Verwaltung sind die Haupterwerbsquelle der Bevölkerung.[38] Eine andere gewinnträchtige Tätigkeit ist der Verkauf von geringwertigen handgefertigten Andenken, T-Shirts und ähnlichem an Kreuzfahrttouristen. Die Pitcairn Island Producers Cooperative (kurz: PipCo) vertreibt über ihren Onlineshop Produkte der Insel wie Honig, Propolistinktur, Seife, Schnitzereien sowie in Fernost hergestellte und auf Pitcairn bedruckte T-Shirts. Insbesondere das 1998 aufgelegte Programm zur Förderung der Imkerei[39] war erfolgreich; mit dem Verkauf von Honig werden jährlich Erlöse von etwa 200.000 NZ$ erwirtschaftet.[40]

Weitere Erwerbsmöglichkeiten bietet der Tourismus. Etwa zwölf Kreuzfahrtschiffe machen jährlich Halt bei Pitcairn, von denen rund die Hälfte ihren Passagieren einen Ausflug auf die Insel ermöglichen.[41] Umgekehrt gehen Inselbewohner an Bord der Kreuzfahrtschiffe, um dort ihre Waren zu verkaufen. Einige Pitcairner bieten Privatquartiere für Urlauber an. Die Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten im Tourismus sind wegen der Abgeschiedenheit der Insel, der langen und kostspieligen Anreise und der geringen Zahl von Attraktionen und Aktivitäten beschränkt.

Bis in die erste Hälfte der 1990er Jahre konnte Pitcairn seinen Finanzbedarf aus eigener Kraft decken. Mit dem Verkauf von Sammlerbriefmarken wurden hohe Gewinne erzielt; die damit erwirtschafteten Überschüsse flossen in den Pitcairn Island Investment Fund, dessen Erträge ausreichten, um die Kosten der Inselverwaltung zu finanzieren.[42] Ab 1993 schmälerten sinkende Zinsen sowie Kapitalentnahmen zur Deckung der Haushaltsdefizite diese Erträge, und 2004 musste der Fonds wegen Erschöpfung aufgelöst werden.[43] Ebenfalls stark rückläufig sind die Gewinne aus dem Briefmarkenverkauf, da schrumpfende Umsätze bei gestiegenen Kosten dessen Rentabilität mindern.[44] Da gleichzeitig die Kosten für öffentliche Dienstleistungen und Infrastruktur (insbesondere die Chartergebühren für die lebensnotwendige Schiffsverbindung) stark angestiegen sind, kann Pitcairn aktuell nur einen Bruchteil seines Haushalts selbst erwirtschaften und ist auf Budgethilfe vonseiten des Vereinigten Königreichs angewiesen. Die Erschließung neuer Einnahmequellen war bisher wenig erfolgreich; die Einnahmen aus den Landegebühren der Touristen, dem Münzhandel und der Vermarktung der Top-Level-Domain .pn decken nur einen geringen Teil des Defizits.[45] Die Steuereinnahmen sind minimal, da die Bürger Pitcairns weder Einkommensteuer noch Zollgebühren bezahlen. Im Haushaltsjahr 2015/16 standen selbsterwirtschafteten Einnahmen von rund 1,4 Mio. NZ$ (850.000 €) Subventionen von etwa 6,5 Mio. NZ$ (3,9 Mio. €) gegenüber.[46]

Infrastruktur[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Hauptplatz mit Kirche

Mangels ganzjährig fließender Gewässer hat Pitcairn keine zentrale Süßwasserversorgung. Vorräte sind in Zisternen gespeichert, die Häuser verfügen über Wassertanks. Eine Bohrung hat ein Süßwasservorkommen nachgewiesen, das sich allerdings als nicht sehr ergiebig erwies. Als großen Fortschritt empfanden die Einwohner die Installation von Toiletten mit Wasserspülung im Jahr 2003, insbesondere öffentliche für den Bedarf der gelegentlichen Kreuzfahrttouristen.

Die Stromversorgung erfolgt mit drei Dieselgeneratoren. Der Versuch, eine Windkraftanlage zu installieren, wurde 2013 aufgegeben, nachdem beträchtliche Kosten angefallen waren, ohne dass tatsächlich gebaut wurde.[47]

Die Häuser sind mit Inseltelefon im UKW-Netz verbunden. Die Installation einer internationalen Erdbebenwarte mit der Notwendigkeit ständiger Datenübertragung hatte zur Folge, dass auch weltweiter E-Mail- und Telefonverkehr über Inmarsat möglich ist. Die Funkstation der Insel betreibt amtlichen Funkverkehr, es gibt aber auch Amateurfunkverbindungen auf Kurzwelle mit Pitcairn.

Die einzige befestigte Straße der Insel ist seit 2005 der von der Landestelle den Hill of Difficulties nach Adamstown hinaufführende, betonierte Weg. Hauptverkehrsmittel sind Quads und Motordreiräder, die schon von den Kindern gefahren werden.

Bootslandestelle in der Bounty Bay

Pitcairn hat weder einen Hafen noch einen Flugplatz. Von Zeit zu Zeit wird über den Bau einer Flugpiste diskutiert, bislang jedoch ohne konkrete Umsetzung. Die gesamte Versorgung erfolgt mit Frachtschiffen, normalerweise Containerschiffen im Verkehr zwischen Neuseeland und dem Panamakanal. Seit 2009 werden Schiffe für regelmäßige Versorgungsfahrten von Neuseeland nach Pitcairn und für Fährverbindungen zwischen dem 500 Kilometer entfernten Mangareva (Gambierinseln), wo sich ein kleiner Regionalflugplatz befindet, und Pitcairn gechartert.[48] Aktuell wird diese Versorgung durch das Schiff Silver Supporter sichergestellt. Die Schiffe liegen jeweils auf Reede und die Güter werden in oft gefährlichen Manövern mit den beiden rund zwölf Meter langen Aluminium-Arbeitsbooten (Longboats) der Pitcairner überstellt. Mit Mitteln aus Großbritannien und der EU wurde 2005 im Rahmen der Verbesserung der Infrastruktur auch die Bootslandestelle (The Landing) in der Bounty Bay renoviert und ausgebaut. Zudem wurde 2017 der Ausweichanleger Tedside auf der westlichen Inselseite mit betoniertem Uferweg und neuem Zufahrtsweg in Betrieb genommen.[49][50][51]

Die Inselschule in einem 2006 neu errichteten Gebäude ist recht fortschrittlich mit Computer, Video- und DVD-Player ausgestattet. Die Lehrerin wird für ein Jahr verpflichtet und kommt meist aus Neuseeland. Kinder, die das zwölfte Lebensjahr vollendet haben, werden nach Neuseeland entsandt, um eine sekundäre Schulbildung abzuschließen. Anschließend können sie eine weiterführende Ausbildung absolvieren oder eine Universität besuchen.

Vor einigen Jahren wurde die Krankenstation modernisiert. In dem Mitte der 1990er Jahre neu errichteten Gebäude unterhalb des Dorfes sind ein Behandlungszimmer mit Röntgeneinrichtung, ein Zahnbehandlungsraum, ein Labor und Medikamentendepot sowie ein Krankenzimmer untergebracht. Die britische Verwaltung ist seit 2004 bemüht, ständig einen Allgemeinmediziner auf der Insel zu stationieren, was die Krankenversorgung deutlich verbessert hat. Meist sind es britische, neuseeländische oder australische Ärzte, die für ein bis zwei Jahre nach Pitcairn entsandt werden und dort vom Pitcairn Island Office angestellt werden. Einige Pitcairnerinnen haben sich als Krankenschwester ausbilden lassen. Ein besonderes gesundheitliches Problem auf der Insel ist die Häufigkeit von Diabetes mellitus. Die Ursache dafür ist vermutlich das Zusammenwirken von genetischer Veranlagung und Fettleibigkeit, bedingt durch eine ungesunde, fettreiche Ernährung und ausgeprägten Bewegungsmangel.

In einem kooperativ betriebenen Laden können die Inselbewohner Güter kaufen, die sie nicht selbst herstellen können. Allerdings ist das Angebot sehr beschränkt, insbesondere, wenn das Versorgungsschiff wegen ungünstiger Witterung nicht entladen werden konnte. Der Großteil der auf Pitcairn angebotenen Waren sind aus Neuseeland importierte Tiefkühlprodukte.

Tourismus[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Bootshaus mit Langbooten

Adamstown von Christians Cave aus

Das abgelegene und nicht erschlossene Pitcairn ist nur schwierig zu erreichen. Die Versorgungsschiffe ab Neuseeland fahren unregelmäßig und nehmen Touristen nur in Ausnahmefällen mit. Kreuzfahrtschiffe suchen mehrmals im Jahr Pitcairn auf, sie liegen vor der Insel auf Reede, und die Pitcairner kommen, wenn das Wetter es erlaubt, mit ihren Booten an Bord, um Souvenirs zu verkaufen. Das Ausbooten von Passagieren ist wegen der starken Brandung oft zu gefährlich, sodass die meisten Kreuzfahrtpassagiere sich mit einer Umrundung der Insel begnügen müssen. Eine weitere Möglichkeit, die Insel zu erreichen, ist das Chartern einer Hochseeyacht in Tahiti oder auf den Marquesas.

Zum Betreten der Insel ist die Erlaubnis des Magistrates erforderlich, die für Kreuzfahrttouristen problemlos erteilt, Besuchern, die länger bleiben wollen, jedoch meist verweigert wird, nachdem man mit einigen Aussteigern in der Vergangenheit schlechte Erfahrungen gesammelt hat. In Adamstown gibt es ein Regierungs-Gästehaus, das offiziellen Besuchern vorbehalten ist; andere Gäste müssen privat unterkommen.

Hauptattraktion ist wohl die Insel selbst mit ihren Bewohnern und das Wissen, zu den wenigen Menschen zu gehören, die Pitcairn jemals betreten haben.

- 2005 wurde ein kleines Museum eingerichtet. Es zeigt fein gearbeitete Steinwerkzeuge aus der Zeit der polynesischen Besiedelung, einige Relikte der Bounty, persönliche Besitztümer der Meuterer, die Schiffsbibel der Bounty und eine Sammlung der begehrten Briefmarken.

- Oberhalb von Adamstown liegt in einem steilen Felsen Christians Cave, eine flache Höhle mit überwältigendem Blick über die Insel und das Meer. Hierhin soll sich Fletcher Christian zurückgezogen haben, um nach britischen Schiffen Ausschau zu halten.

Grab von John Adams

- Am nördlichen Dorfrand befindet sich der kleine Friedhof, romantisch verwittert und mit blühenden Schlingpflanzen überwuchert. Außerhalb des Friedhofes, im Westen des Dorfes, liegt das Grab von John Adams, der neben seinen Frauen bestattet ist. Es ist das einzige erhaltene Grab eines Meuterers der Bounty.

- Der Hauptplatz, ein befestigter Platz in der Dorfmitte, wird umrahmt von der Kirche, der Post, dem Gemeindehaus und dem Gemeindesaal. Vor dem Gemeindehaus sind ein Anker und einer der Vierpfünder der Bounty ausgestellt. Eine weitere Kanone der Bounty befindet sich vor dem Haus des Pitcairners Len Brown.

Letzten offiziellen Zahlen aus dem Jahr 2012 nach besuchten 870 Touristen die Insel.[52]

Der Vergewaltigungsprozess[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Nach Gerüchten über Vergewaltigung und sexuellen Missbrauch von Minderjährigen wurde 1999 eine britische Polizistin nach Pitcairn entsandt, um Ermittlungen einzuleiten. Nach Auftauchen konkreter Beschuldigungen wurden auch Sozialarbeiter eingeschaltet. Die Erhebungen führten zu Strafverfahren gegen sieben von damals zwölf auf der Insel lebenden erwachsenen Männern – darunter der zu dem Zeitpunkt amtierende Bürgermeister Steven Raymon (Steve) Christian. Angeklagt wurde in insgesamt 55 Fällen, die bis zu vierzig Jahre zurückreichten.

Die Angeklagten erstritten zunächst das Recht, das Verfahren auf der Insel abhalten zu lassen, statt in Neuseeland, wie 2002 vom britischen Parlament vorgeschlagen. Um Zeugen aus Norfolk und Neuseeland per Videoübertragung vernehmen zu können, wurde die bestehende Satelliten-Übertragungsanlage ausgebaut. Weitere Baumaßnahmen wurden unter anderem erforderlich, um die Verdopplung der Einwohnerzahl der Insel während der siebenwöchigen Verhandlungen zu bewältigen. Zuletzt wurden Richter, Gerichtsbeamte, Polizisten, Verteidiger und Staatsanwalt auf die Insel verschifft; auch sechs Journalisten reisten an. Die Kosten des Verfahrens wurden laut New Zealand Press Association am 3. November 2006 mit nahezu 17 Millionen Dollar beziffert.

Die Verhandlung begann am 30. September 2004. Die Verteidiger argumentierten, die Insel unterliege nicht unbedingt britischem Recht; sexuelle Kontakte mit Minderjährigen entsprächen einem seit mehr als 200 Jahren bestehenden Gewohnheitsrecht.

Am 24. Oktober 2004 sprach das Gericht die Angeklagten in 35 der 55 untersuchten Fälle schuldig. Zwei Angeklagte, die sich während der Verhandlung bei ihren Opfern entschuldigt hatten, wurden zu 300 bzw. 400 Sozialstunden verurteilt. Vier Angeklagte erhielten Haftstrafen in Höhe von drei bis sechs Jahren. Einzig der vormalige Richter und spätere Bürgermeister Jay Warren wurde von den Vorwürfen freigesprochen. Die Verteidiger legten Berufung ein, die ab dem 18. April 2005 am Supreme Court in Auckland, Neuseeland, verhandelt und am 2. März 2006 abgewiesen wurde. Zuletzt riefen die Verurteilten den britischen Kronrat Privy Council (London) an, der im Oktober 2006 die Anträge endgültig ablehnte. 2007 wurde für die Verurteilten auf Pitcairn ein Gefängnis errichtet, das von Wachpersonal aus Neuseeland betrieben wird.[53]

Nach dem Verfahren investierten Großbritannien und die Europäische Union in die Insel. Es wurden Telefon- und Internetverbindungen eingerichtet und die erste asphaltierte Straße gebaut. Des Weiteren befinden sich nun dauerhaft ein Polizeibeamter, ein Sozialarbeiter und ein Vertreter der britischen Regierung auf der Insel.[54] Der Besuch von Kindern auf der Insel wurde stark reglementiert. Touristen dürfen Kinder unter 16 Jahren nur nach vor Reiseantritt erfolgter Abstimmung mit der dortigen Verwaltung auf die Insel bringen. Die im Auftrag der britischen Regierung tätigen Beamten dürfen ihre Kinder für die Dauer ihrer Tätigkeit nicht auf die Insel mitnehmen.[55]

Sonstiges[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Bis vor wenigen Jahren steuerten die Pitcairner mit ihren beiden offenen Aluminiumbooten (Longboats) die 140 Kilometer entfernte, ansonsten unbewohnte Insel Oeno an, um dort einige Erholungstage mit Baden und Fischen zu verbringen, da es auf Pitcairn selbst keinen Sandstrand gibt. Für diesen Zweck wurden auf Oeno einige offene, palmblattgedeckte Hütten zum Kochen und Wohnen errichtet. Wegen mangelnder Wartung und Reparaturen ist der Zustand der Langboote für Hochseefahrten unzureichend. Der weitestgehende Verlust von seefahrerischen Kenntnissen und Fähigkeiten hat zur Folge, dass keine Fahrten außerhalb des Sichtbereiches der Insel mehr möglich sind.

In einer politischen Satire von Mark Twain, der 1879 veröffentlichten Kurzgeschichte The Great Revolution in Pitcairn (deutsch Ein Miniaturreich im Weltmeer), sagt sich die Inselbevölkerung von Großbritannien los und ruft einen zwielichtigen Amerikaner zum Kaiser aus.[56]

Sprache[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Pitkern respektive Pitcairn-Englisch ist das auf der Insel bis heute gesprochene Idiom.

Literatur[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

- Caroline Alexander: Die Bounty. Die wahre Geschichte der Meuterei auf der Bounty. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-8270-0163-3.

- Dea Birkett: Schlange im Paradies – meine Reise in die Südsee zu den Nachfahren der Meuterer auf der Bounty. Albrecht Knaus Verlag, München 1999, ISBN 3-8135-0123-X (beschreibt den Inselalltag aus der Sicht einer wenig beliebten Langzeitbesucherin).

- Jared Diamond: Kollaps – Warum Gesellschaften überleben oder untergehen. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-10-013904-6.

- Herbert Ford: Pitcairn Island as a port of call: a record, 1790–2010. 2. Auflage. McFarland & Company, Jefferson, N.C. 2012, ISBN 978-0-7864-6604-7 (englisch, eingeschränkte Vorschau in der Google-Buchsuche – der Autor ist Leiter des Pitcairn Islands Study Center, Pacific Union College).

- Henri Lavachery: Contribution à l’étude de l’archéologique de l’Île de Pitcairn. In: Bulletin de la Société royale belge d’anthropologie et de préhistoire. Band 51, 1936, ISSN 0304-1425 (französisch, Ergebnisbericht der französisch-belgischen archäologischen Expedition).

- David Marshall: Pitcairn. Was aus den Meuterern der „Bounty“ wurde. 2. Auflage. Saatkorn-Verlag, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-8150-0815-8.

- Robert Merle: Die Insel. 1. Auflage. Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-7466-1221-7 (die Geschichte nach der Meuterei als Roman; französische Ersterscheinung: 1962).

- Charles Bernard Nordhoff, James Norman Hall: Die Meuterei auf der Bounty – Band 2: Meer ohne Grenzen. Edition Maritim, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-89225-508-3 (die Geschichte Pitcairns als Roman).

- Christian Schüle: Die Parabel von Pitcairn. In: mare. Nr. 58. Mareverlag, Oktober 2006, S. 104 ff. (Textauszug online).

- Deborah Procter, Vincent Fleming (Hrsg.): Biodiversity: the UK Overseas Territories. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough 1999, ISBN 1-86107-502-2, 12: The Pitcairn Islands, S. 88–95 (englisch, online [PDF; 733 kB]).

- Reinhard Stegen: Meuterei auf der Bounty. Endstation Pitcairn. Dokumentarfilm. kv Video, Grünwald 1997.

Weblinks[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Commons: Pitcairn Island – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

Wikivoyage: Pitcairn – Reiseführer

Wikimedia-Atlas: Pitcairn – geographische und historische Karten

- The Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Online-Portal der Regierung der Pitcairninseln (englisch).

- Country profile: Pitcairn Islands (British Overseas Territory). In: Foreign & Commonwealth Office: Travel & living abroad. The National Archives (englisch, archiviert am 12. November 2009).

- Pitcairn Island. In: Pitcairn Islands Study Center. Pacific Union College (englisch).

- Karen Frankenstein, Ariane Huml: Pitcairn Island: Erben des Aufstands. In: FAZ.Net. 26. März 2012.

- Julian McDonnell: Take me to Pitcairn – Full Documentary. Filmbericht über eine Reise nach Pitcairn. Joolzy Productions, 2009 (englisch).

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Pitcairn Islands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Pitcairn" redirects here. For other uses, see Pitcairn (disambiguation).

Pitcairn Islands

Pitkern Ailen (Pitcairn-Norfolk)

British Overseas Territory

Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

Flag of Pitcairn Islands

Flag

Official seal of Pitcairn Islands

Coat of arms

Anthem: "God Save the King"

0:50

Local anthem: "Come Ye Blessed"

Map showing location of the Pitcairn Islands (circled at the lower-right and magnified in an inset)

Map showing location of the Pitcairn Islands (circled at the lower-right and magnified in an inset)

Sovereign state

United Kingdom

Settlement

15 January 1790

British colony

30 November 1838

Capital

and largest settlement

Adamstown

25°04′S 130°06′W

Official languages

- Pitkern

- English

Ethnic groups

Pitcairn Islanders

Demonym(s)

- Pitcairn Islanders

- Pitkern

- Pitcairnese

Government

Devolved locally governing dependency

• Head of State

Charles III

• Governor

Iona Thomas

• Administrator

Nicholas Kennedy

• Mayor

Charlene Warren-Peu

• Chief Justice

Charles Blackie

Legislature

Island Council

Area

• Total

47 km2 (18 sq mi) (not ranked)

• Water (%)

0

Highest elevation

330 m (1,080 ft)

Population

• 2021 estimate

47[1] (last)

• Density

1/km2 (2.6/sq mi) (not ranked)

GDP (nominal)

2005 estimate

• Total

NZ$217,000[2]

• Per capita

NZ$4,617.02

Currency

New Zealand dollar (NZ$)[a] (NZD)

Time zone

UTC-08:00

Date format

dd/mm/yyyy

Driving side

left

Calling code

+64

UK postcode

PCRN 1xx

ISO 3166 code

PN

Internet TLD

.pn

Website

https://www.government.pn/

^ The Pitcairn Islands dollar is also official legal tender, although it does not circulate as widely.

The Pitcairn Islands (/ˈpɪtkɛərn/;[3] Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands,[4][5][6][7] is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno—are scattered across several hundred miles of ocean and have a combined land area of about 18 square miles (47 km2). Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The islands nearest to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva (of French Polynesia) to the west and Easter Island to the east.

Pitcairn is the least populous national jurisdiction in the world.[8] The Pitcairn Islanders are a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine Bounty mutineers and a handful of Tahitian consorts – as is still apparent from the surnames of many of the islanders. The mutiny and its aftermath have been the subject of many books and films. As of January 2020, the territory had only 47 permanent inhabitants.[9]

Contents

- 1History

- 1.1Polynesian settlement and extinction

- 1.2European arrival

- 1.3European settlement

- 1.4British colony

- 1.5Sexual misconduct in modern times

- 1.5.1Sexual assault trials of 2004

- 2Geography

- 2.1Climate

- 2.2Flora

- 2.3Fauna

- 2.3.1Important bird areas

- 2.4Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve

- 2.5Pitcairn Islands Dark Sky Sanctuary

- 3Politics

- 4Military

- 5Mandatory work

- 6Economy

- 6.1Agriculture

- 6.2Minerals

- 6.3Honey production

- 6.4Cuisine

- 6.5Tourism

- 6.6Crafts and external sales

- 6.7Electricity

- 7Demographics

- 7.1Language

- 7.2Religion

- 7.3Education

- 7.4Historical population

- 7.5Potential extinction

- 8Culture

- 9Media and communications

- 10Transport

- 11Notable people

- 12Gallery

- 13See also

- 14References

- 15Further reading

- 15.1Mutiny on the Bounty

- 15.2After the Mutiny

- 15.3Fiction

- 15.4Other

- 16External links

- 16.1Government

- 16.2Travel

- 16.3Local news

- 16.4Study groups

History[edit]

Main article: History of the Pitcairn Islands

West side of the Pitcairn Islands

Pitcairn landing

Adamstown, the only settlement on the Islands

Polynesian settlement and extinction[edit]

The earliest known settlers of the Pitcairn Islands were Polynesians who appear to have lived on Pitcairn and Henderson, and on Mangareva Island 540 kilometres (340 mi) to the northwest, for several centuries from at least the 11th century.[10] They traded goods and formed social ties among the three islands despite the long canoe voyages between them, which helped the small populations on each island survive despite their limited resources. Eventually, important natural resources were exhausted, inter-island trade broke down and a period of civil war began on Mangareva, causing the small human populations on Henderson and Pitcairn to be cut off and eventually to become extinct.

Although archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th century,[10] the islands were uninhabited when they were rediscovered by Europeans.[11]

European arrival[edit]

Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós came upon Ducie and Henderson Islands while sailing for the Spanish Crown, arriving on 26 January 1606. He named them La Encarnación ("The Incarnation") and San Juan Bautista ("Saint John the Baptist"), respectively. However, some sources express doubt about exactly which of the islands were visited and named by Queirós, suggesting that La Encarnación may actually have been Henderson Island, and San Juan Bautista may have been Pitcairn Island.[12]

Pitcairn Island was sighted on 3 July 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow, commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. The island was named after midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island. Robert Pitcairn was a son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who later was killed at the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill in the American War of Independence.

Carteret, who sailed without the newly invented marine chronometer, charted the island at 25°02′S 133°21′W, and although the latitude was reasonably accurate, his recorded longitude was incorrect by about 3°, putting his coordinates 330 km (210 mi) to the west of the actual island. This made Pitcairn difficult to find, as highlighted by the failure of captain James Cook to locate the island in July 1773.[13][14]

European settlement[edit]

The mutineers turning Bligh and part of the officers and crew adrift from HMS Bounty on 29 April 1789

Further information: HMS Bounty and Mutiny on the Bounty

In 1790, nine of the mutineers from the Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them (six men, 11 women, and a baby girl), settled on Pitcairn Island and set fire to the Bounty. The inhabitants of the island were well aware of the Bounty's location, which is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay, but the wreckage gained significant attention in 1957 when documented by National Geographic explorer Luis Marden. Although the settlers survived by farming and fishing, the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among them. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most mutineers and Tahitian men. John Adams and Ned Young turned to the scriptures, using the ship's Bible as their guide for a new and peaceful society. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection.

Ducie Island was rediscovered in 1791 by Royal Navy captain Edwards aboard HMS Pandora, while searching for the Bounty mutineers. He named it after Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, also a captain in the Royal Navy.

The Pitcairn islanders reported it was not until 27 December 1795 that the first ship since the Bounty was seen from the island, but it did not approach the land and they could not make out the nationality. A second ship appeared in 1801, but made no attempt to communicate with them. A third came sufficiently near to see their house, but did not try to send a boat on shore. Finally, the American sealing ship Topaz, under Mayhew Folger, became the first to visit the island, when the crew spent ten hours on Pitcairn in February 1808.[15] Whalers subsequently became regular visitors to the island. The last recorded whaler to visit was the James Arnold in 1888.[16]

View of Pitcairn's Island, South Seas, 1814, J. Shillibeer

A report of Folger's discovery was forwarded to the Admiralty, mentioning the mutineers and giving a more precise location of the island: 25°02′S 130°00′W.[17] However, this was not known to Sir Thomas Staines, who commanded a Royal Navy flotilla of two ships, HMS Briton and HMS Tagus, which found the island at 25°04′S 130°25′W (by meridian observation) on 17 September 1814. Staines sent a party ashore and wrote a detailed report for the Admiralty.[18][19][20][21] By that time, only one mutineer, John Adams, remained alive. He was granted amnesty for his part in the mutiny.[18]

Henderson Island was rediscovered on 17 January 1819 by British Captain James Henderson of the British East India Company ship Hercules.[22] Captain Henry King, sailing on Elizabeth, landed on 2 March to find the king's colours already flying. His crew scratched the name of their ship into a tree. Oeno Island was discovered on 26 January 1824 by American captain George Worth aboard the whaler Oeno.

In 1832, having tried and failed to petition the British government and the London Missionary Society, Joshua Hill, an American adventurer, arrived. He reported that by March 1833, he had founded a Temperance Society to combat drunkenness, a "Maundy Thursday Society", a monthly prayer meeting, a juvenile society, a Peace Society and a school.[23]

British colony[edit]

Main article: British Western Pacific Territories

Traditionally, Pitcairn Islanders consider that their islands "officially" became a British colony on 30 November 1838, at the same time becoming one of the first territories to extend voting rights to women. By the mid-1850s, the Pitcairn community was outgrowing the island; its leaders appealed to the British government for assistance, and were offered Norfolk Island. On 3 May 1856, the entire population of 193 people set sail for Norfolk on board the Morayshire, arriving on 8 June after a difficult five-week trip. However, just eighteen months later, seventeen of the Pitcairn Islanders returned to their home island, and another 27 followed five years later.[18]

HMS Thetis visited Pitcairn Island on 18 April 1881 and "found the people very happy and contented, and in perfect health". At that time the population was 96, an increase of six since the visit of Admiral de Horsey in September 1878. Stores had recently been delivered from friends in England, including two whale-boats and Portland cement, which was used to make the reservoir watertight. HMS Thetis gave the islanders 200 lb (91 kg) of biscuits, 100 lb (45 kg) of candles, and 100 lb of soap and clothing to the value of £31, donated by the ship's company. An American trading ship called Venus had recently bestowed a supply of cotton seed, to provide the islanders with a crop for future trade.[24]

Pitcairn islanders, 1916

In 1886, the Seventh-day Adventist layman John Tay visited Pitcairn and persuaded most of the islanders to accept his faith. He returned in 1890 on the missionary schooner Pitcairn with an ordained minister to perform baptisms. Since then, the majority of Pitcairn Islanders have been Adventists.[25]

The islands of Henderson, Oeno and Ducie were annexed by Britain in 1902: Henderson on 1 July, Oeno on 10 July, and Ducie on 19 December.[12] In 1938, the three islands, along with Pitcairn, were incorporated into a single administrative unit called the "Pitcairn Group of Islands". The population peaked at 233 in 1937.[26] It has since decreased owing to emigration, primarily to Australia and New Zealand.[27]

Sexual misconduct in modern times[edit]

Three cases of imprisonment for sex with underage girls were reported in the 1950s.[28]

In 1999 Gail Cox, a police officer from Kent, UK, served on a temporary assignment on Pitcairn, and began uncovering allegations of sexual abuse. When a 15-year-old girl decided to press rape charges in 1999, criminal proceedings (code-named "Operation Unique") were set in motion. The charges include 21 counts of rape, 41 of indecent assault, and two of gross indecency with a child under 14. Over the following two years, police officers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom interviewed every woman who had lived on Pitcairn in the past 20 years, as well as all of the accused men. The file was held by Pitcairn's first Public Prosecutor Simon Moore, an Auckland Crown Solicitor appointed to the position by the British government for the purposes of the investigation.[29]

Australian Seventh-day Adventist pastor Neville Tosen, who spent two years on Pitcairn around the turn of the millennium, said that on his arrival, he had been taken aback by the conduct of the children. But he had not immediately realised what was happening. "I noticed worrying signs such as inexplicable mood swings," he said. "It took me three months to realise they were being abused." Tosen tried to bring the matter before the Island Council (the legislative body which doubles as the island's court), but was rebuffed. One Councillor told him, "Look, the age of consent has always been twelve and it doesn't hurt them."[30]

A study of island records confirmed anecdotal evidence that most girls bore their first child between the ages of 12 and 15. "I think the girls were conditioned to accept that it was a man's world and once they turned 12, they were eligible," Tosen said. Mothers and grandmothers were resigned to the situation, telling him that their own childhood experience had been the same; they regarded it as just a part of life on Pitcairn. One grandmother wondered what all the fuss was about. Tosen was convinced, however, that the early sexual experience was very damaging to the girls. "They can't settle or form solid relationships. They did suffer, no doubt about it," he said emphatically.[30][31]

Sexual assault trials of 2004[edit]

Main article: Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004

In 2004, charges were laid against seven men living on Pitcairn and six living abroad. This accounted for nearly a third of the male population, and half of the island's adult males. After extensive trials, most of the men were convicted, some with multiple counts of sexual encounters with children.[32] On 25 October 2004, six men were convicted, including Steve Christian, the island's mayor at the time.[33][34][35] In 2004, the islanders had about 20 firearms among them, which they surrendered ahead of the sexual assault trials.[36] After the six men lost their final appeal, the British government set up a prison on the island at Bob's Valley.[37][38] The men began serving their sentences in late 2006. By 2010, all had served their sentences or been granted home detention status.[39]

In 2016, Mike Warren, Pitcairn mayor from 2008 to 2013, was convicted and sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for possession of child pornography.[40][41]

Geography[edit]

Main article: Geography of the Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands form the southeasternmost extension of the geological archipelago of the Tuamotus of French Polynesia, and consist of four islands: Pitcairn Island, Oeno Island (atoll with five islets, one of which is Sandy Island), Henderson Island and Ducie Island (atoll with four islets).

The Pitcairn Islands were formed by a centre of upwelling magma called the Pitcairn hotspot. Pitcairn Island is a volcanic remnant primarily formed of tuff, where the north side of the cone has been eroded.[10] Pitcairn is the only permanently inhabited island. Adamstown, the main settlement on the island, lies within the volcanic basin.[10] Pitcairn is accessible only by boat through Bounty Bay, due to the island's steep cliffs.[10] Henderson Island, covering about 86% of the territory's total land area and supporting a rich variety of animals in its nearly inaccessible interior, is also capable of supporting a small human population despite its scarce fresh water, but access is difficult, owing to its outer shores being steep limestone cliffs covered by sharp coral. In 1988, this island was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.[42] The other islands are at a distance of more than 100 km (62 mi) and are not habitable.

Pitcairn Island has no permanent water source; however, the island has three seasonal semi-permanent springs.[10]

Island or atoll

Type

Land area

(km2)

Total area

(km2)

Pop.

2020

Coordinates

Ducie Island

Atoll†

0.7

3.9

0

24°40′28″S 124°47′10″W

Henderson Island

Uplifted coral island

37.3

37.3

0

24°22′01″S 128°18′57″W

Oeno Island

Atoll†

0.65

16.65

0

23°55′40″S 130°44′30″W

Pitcairn Island

Volcanic island

4.6

4.6

50

25°04′00″S 130°06′00″W

Pitcairn Islands

(all islands)

–

43.25

62.45

50

23°55′40″ to 25°04′00″S,

124°47′10″ to 130°44′30″W

† Includes reef flat and lagoon of the atolls.

- View from the east side of Pitcairn Island

View from the east side of Pitcairn Island

- Satellite photo of Pitcairn Island

Satellite photo of Pitcairn Island

- Map of the Pitcairn Islands

Map of the Pitcairn Islands

- View of Bounty Bay

View of Bounty Bay

Climate[edit]

Geodesy operations on the Pitcairn Islands

Main article: Climate of the Pitcairn Islands

Pitcairn is located just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and experiences year-round warm weather, with wet summers and drier winters. The rainy season (summer) is from November to March, when temperatures average 25 to 35 °C (77 to 95 °F) and humidity can exceed 95%. Temperatures in the winter range from 17 to 25 °C (63 to 77 °F).[27]

showClimate data for Adamstown (Köppen Af)

Flora[edit]

About nine plant species are thought to occur only on Pitcairn. These include tapau, formerly an important timber resource, and the giant nehe fern. Some, such as red berry (Coprosma rapensis var. Benefica), are perilously close to extinction.[44] The plant species Glochidion pitcairnense is endemic to Pitcairn and Henderson Islands.[45] Pitcairn is part of the Tuamotu tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.[46]

Fauna[edit]

See also: List of birds of the Pitcairn Islands and List of mammals of Pitcairn

Between 1937 and 1951, Irving Johnson, skipper of the 29-metre (96 ft) brigantine Yankee Five, introduced five Galápagos giant tortoises to Pitcairn. Turpen, also known as Mr Turpen, or Mr. T, is the sole survivor. Turpen usually lives at Tedside by Western Harbour. A protection order makes it an offence should anyone kill, injure, capture, maim, or cause harm or distress to the tortoise.[47]

The birds of Pitcairn fall into several groups. These include seabirds, wading birds and a small number of resident land-bird species. Of 20 breeding species, Henderson Island has 16, including the unique flightless Henderson crake; Oeno hosts 12; Ducie 13 and Pitcairn six species. Birds breeding on Pitcairn include the fairy tern, common noddy and red-tailed tropicbird. The Pitcairn reed warbler, known by Pitcairners as a "sparrow", is endemic to Pitcairn Island; formerly common, it was added to the endangered species list in 2008.[48]

A small population of humpback whales (which has been poorly studied by scientists) migrate to the islands annually, to over-winter and breed.[49]

Important bird areas[edit]

The four islands in the Pitcairn group have been identified by BirdLife International as separate Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Pitcairn Island is recognised because it is the only nesting site of the Pitcairn reed warbler. Henderson Island is important for its endemic land-birds as well as its breeding seabirds. Oeno's ornithological significance derives principally from its Murphy's petrel colony. Ducie is important for its colonies of Murphy's, herald and Kermadec petrels, and Christmas shearwaters.[50]

Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve[edit]

In March 2015 the British government established one of the largest marine protected areas in the world around the Pitcairn Islands. The reserve covers the islands' entire exclusive economic zone—834,334 square kilometres (322,138 sq mi). The intention is to protect some of the world's most pristine ocean habitat from illegal fishing activities. A satellite "watchroom" dubbed Project Eyes on the Seas has been established by the Satellite Applications Catapult and the Pew Charitable Trusts at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Harwell, Oxfordshire to monitor vessel activity and to gather the information needed to prosecute unauthorised trawling.[51][52][53][54]

Pitcairn Islands Dark Sky Sanctuary[edit]

In March 2019 the International Dark-Sky Association approved the Pitcairn Islands as a Dark Sky Sanctuary. The sanctuary encompasses all 4 islands in the Pitcairn Islands Group for a total land area of 43.25 km2 (16¾ sq. mi.).[55]

Politics[edit]

Main article: Politics of the Pitcairn Islands

Charles III is the head of state of the Pitcairn Islands.

The Pitcairn Islands are a British overseas territory with a degree of local government. The King of the United Kingdom is represented by a Governor, who also holds office as British High Commissioner to New Zealand and is based in Wellington.[56]

The 2010 constitution gives authority for the islands to operate as a representative democracy, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for matters such as defence and foreign affairs. The Governor and the Island Council may enact laws for the "peace, order and good government" of Pitcairn. The Island Council customarily appoints a Mayor of Pitcairn as a day-to-day head of the local administration. There is a Commissioner, appointed by the Governor, who liaises between the Council and the Governor's office.

Since 2015, same-sex marriage has been legal on Pitcairn Island, although there are no people on the island known to be in such a relationship.[57]

The Pitcairn Islands have the smallest population of any democracy in the world.

The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.[58]

Military[edit]

The Pitcairn Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom; defence is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and His Majesty's Armed Forces.[27]

Mandatory work[edit]

Due to there being no income or sales tax, Pitcairn has established a system of civil conscription whereby all able-bodied people are required to perform, when called upon, jobs such as road maintenance and repairs to public buildings.[59]

Economy[edit]

A proportional representation of Pitcairn Islands exports, 2019

Agriculture[edit]

The fertile soil of the Pitcairn valleys, such as Isaac's Valley on the gentle slopes southeast of Adamstown, produces a wide variety of fruits, including bananas (Pitkern: plun), papaya (paw paws), pineapples, mangoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, passionfruit, breadfruit, coconuts, avocadoes, and citrus (including mandarin oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes). Vegetables include sweet potatoes (kumura), carrots, sweet corn, tomatoes, taro, yams, peas, and beans. Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) and sugarcane are grown and harvested to produce arrowroot flour and molasses, respectively. Pitcairn Island is remarkably productive and its benign climate supports a wide range of tropical and temperate crops.[60] All land allocation for any use including agriculture is under the discretion of the government. If the government deems agricultural production excessive then it may tax the land. If the agricultural land has been deemed not up to the standards of the government it may confiscate and transfer the land without compensation.[61]

Fish are plentiful in the seas around Pitcairn. Spiny lobster and a large variety of fish are caught for meals and for trading aboard passing ships. Almost every day someone will go fishing, whether it is from the rocks, from a longboat, or diving with a spear gun. There are numerous types of fish around the island. Fish such as nanwee, white fish, moi, and opapa are caught in shallow water, while snapper, big eye, and cod are caught in deep water, and yellow tail and wahoo are caught by trawling.

Minerals[edit]

Manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver and zinc have been discovered within the exclusive economic zone, which extends 370 km (230 mi) offshore and comprises 880,000 km2 (340,000 sq mi).[62]

Honey production[edit]

In 1998 the UK's overseas aid agency, the Department for International Development, funded an apiculture programme for Pitcairn which included training for Pitcairn's beekeepers and a detailed analysis of Pitcairn's bees and honey with particular regard to the presence or absence of disease. Pitcairn has one of the best examples of disease-free bee populations anywhere in the world and the honey produced was and remains exceptionally high in quality. Pitcairn bees are also a placid variety and, within a short time, beekeepers are able to work with them wearing minimal protection.[63] As a result, Pitcairn exports honey to New Zealand and to the United Kingdom. In London, Fortnum & Mason sells it and it is reportedly a favourite of King Charles and formerly Queen Elizabeth.[64] The Pitcairn Islanders, under the "Bounty Products" and "Delectable Bounty" brands, also export dried fruit including bananas, papayas, pineapples, and mangoes to New Zealand.[65] Honey production and all honey-related products are a protected monopoly.[66] All funds and management are under the supervision and discretion of the government.[67][68]

Cuisine[edit]

Cuisine is not very developed because of Pitcairn's tiny population. The most traditional meal is pota, mash from palm leaves and coconut.[69] Domestic tropical plants are abundantly used. These include basil, breadfruit, sugar cane, coconut, bananas and beans. Meat courses consist mainly of fish and beef. Given that most of the population's ancestry is from the UK, the cuisine is influenced by British cuisine; for example, the meat pie.[70]

The cuisine of Norfolk Island is very similar to that of the Pitcairn Islands, as Norfolk Islanders trace their origins to Pitcairn. The local cuisine is a blend of British cuisine and Tahitian cuisine.[71][72]

Recipes from Norfolk Island of Pitcairn origin include mudda (green banana dumplings) and kumara pilhi.[73][74] The island's cuisine also includes foods not found on Pitcairn, such as chopped salads and fruit pies.[75]

Tourism[edit]

Tourism plays a major role on Pitcairn. Tourism is the focus for building the economy. It focuses on small groups coming by charter vessel and staying at "home stays". About ten times a year, passengers from expedition-type cruise ships come ashore for a day, weather permitting.[76][77] As of 2019, the government has been operating the MV Silver Supporter as the island's only dedicated passenger/cargo vessel, providing adventure tourism holidays to Pitcairn every week. Tourists stay with local families and experience the island's culture while contributing to the local economy. Providing accommodation is a growing source of revenue, and some families have invested in private self-contained units adjacent to their homes for tourists to rent.

Entry requirements for short stays, up to 14 days, which do not require a visa, and for longer stays, that do require prior clearance, are explained in official documents.[78][79] All persons under 16 years of age require prior clearance before landing, irrespective of the length of stay.[80]

Crafts and external sales[edit]

See also: Postage stamps and postal history of the Pitcairn Islands

Stamp of the Pitcairn Islands

The government holds a monopoly over "any article of whatsoever nature made, manufactured, prepared for sale or produced by any of the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island".[67] The flow of funds from these revenue sources are from customer to the government to the Pitcairners.[68] The Pitcairners are involved in creating crafts and curios (made out of wood from Henderson). Typical woodcarvings include sharks, fish, whales, dolphins, turtles, vases, birds, walking sticks, book boxes, and models of the Bounty. Miro (Thespesia populnea), a dark and durable wood, is preferred for carving. Islanders also produce tapa cloth and painted Hattie leaves.[81]

The major sources of revenue have been the sale of coins and postage stamps to collectors, .pn domain names, and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships, most of which are on the United Kingdom to New Zealand route via the Panama Canal.[82] The Pitcairn Islands issued their first stamp in 1940. These became very popular with stamp collectors, and their sale became the dominant source of revenue for the community. Profits went into a general fund which enabled the island to be mostly self-sufficient. This fund was used to meet the regular needs of the community, and pay wages. Funds in excess of regular expenses were used to build a school and hire a teacher from New Zealand, the first professional teacher hired on the island. The fund was also used to subsidise imports and travel to New Zealand. At later points, the sale of coins and .pn domain names also contributed to the fund. Towards the end of the 20th century, as writing letters became less common and stamp collecting became less popular, revenue for the fund declined.[83] In 2004 the island went bankrupt, with the British government subsequently providing 90% of its annual budget.[84]

Electricity[edit]

Diesel generators provide the island with electricity from 7 am to 10 pm. A wind power plant was planned to be installed to help reduce the high cost of power generation associated with the import of diesel, but was cancelled in 2013 after a project overrun of three years and a cost of £250,000.[85]

The only qualified high-voltage electrician on Pitcairn, who manages the electricity grid, reached the age of 67 in 2020.[86]

Demographics[edit]

Main article: Pitcairn Islanders

The islands have suffered a substantial population decline since 1940, and the viability of the island's community is in doubt (see § Potential extinction, below). The government has tried to attract migrants. However, these initiatives have not been effective.[87]

Only two children were born on Pitcairn in the 21 years prior to 2012.[88] In 2005, Shirley and Simon Young became the first married outsider couple in history to obtain citizenship on Pitcairn.[89]

Language[edit]

Most resident Pitcairn Islanders are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and Tahitians (or other Polynesians). Pitkern is a creole language derived from 18th-century English, with elements of the Tahitian language.[27][42] It is spoken as a first language by the population and is taught alongside English at the island's only school. It is closely related to the creole language Norfuk, spoken on Norfolk Island, because Norfolk was repopulated in the mid-19th century by Pitcairners.

Religion[edit]

The only church building on the island is Seventh-day Adventist.[27] The Seventh-day Adventist Church is not a state religion, as no laws concerning its establishment were passed by the local government. A successful Seventh-day Adventist mission in the 1890s was important in shaping Pitcairn society. In recent years, the church population has declined, and as of 2000, eight of the then forty islanders attended services regularly,[90] but most attend church on special occasions. From Friday at sunset until Saturday at sunset, Pitcairners observe a day of rest in observance of the Sabbath, or as a mark of respect for observant Adventists.

Adamstown

Church of Adamstown

The church was built in 1954 and is run by the Church board and resident pastor, who usually serves a two-year term. The Sabbath School meets at 10 am on Saturday mornings, and is followed by Divine Service an hour later. On Tuesday evenings, there is another service in the form of a prayer meeting.

Education[edit]

Education is free and compulsory between the ages of five and fifteen.[91] Children up to the age of 12 are taught at Pulau School, while children of 13 and over attend secondary school in New Zealand, or are educated via correspondence school.[92]

The island's children have produced a book in Pitkern and English called Mi Bas Side orn Pitcairn or My Favourite Place on Pitcairn.

The school on Pitcairn, Pulau School, provides pre-school and primary education based on the New Zealand syllabus. The teacher is appointed by the governor from suitable qualified applicants who are registered in New Zealand as teachers. The government officially took responsibility for education in 1958; the Seventh-day Adventist Church had done so from the 1890s until 1958. There were ten students in 1999; enrollment was previously 20 in the early 1950s, 28 in 1959, and 36 in 1962. The Pulau School has a residence for teachers built in 2004; there was a previous such facility built in 1950.[91]

Historical population[edit]

Pitcairn's population has significantly decreased since its peak of over 200 in the 1930s, to less than fifty permanent residents today (2021).[93][94]

Year

Population

Year

Population

Year

Population

Year

Population

Year

Population

Year

Population

1790

27

1880

112

1970

96

1992

54

2002

48

2012

48

1800

34

1890

136

1975

74

1993

57

2003

59

2013

56

1810

50

1900

136

1980

61

1994

54

2004

65

2014

56

1820

66

1910

140

1985

58

1995

55

2005

63

2015

50

1830

70

1920

163

1986

68

1996

43

2006

65

2016

49

1840

119

1930

190

1987

59

1997

40

2007

64

2017

50

1850

146

1936

250

1988

55

1998

66

2008

66

2018

50

1856

[i]0

1940

163

1989

55

1999

46

2009

67

2019

50

1859

[ii]16

1950

161

1990

59

2000

51

2010

64

2020

50

1870

70

1960

126

1991

66

2001

44

2011

67

2021

[iii]47

1. ^ Migration to Norfolk Island in 1856 left Pitcairn uninhabited

2. ^ First group returns from Norfolk Island

3. ^ Latest population figure[1]

Potential extinction[edit]

As of April 2021, the total resident population of the Pitcairn Islands was 47.[1] It is rare for all the residents to be on-island at the same time; it is common for several residents to be off-island for varying lengths of time visiting family, for medical reasons, or to attend international conferences. A diaspora survey projected that by 2045, if nothing were done, only three people of working age would be left on the island, with the rest being very old. In addition, the survey revealed that residents who had left the island over the past decades showed little interest in coming back. Of the hundreds of emigrants contacted, only 33 were willing to participate in the survey and just three expressed a desire to return.[citation needed]

As of 2014, the labour force consisted of 31 able-bodied persons: 17 males and 14 females between 18 and 64 years of age. Of the 31, just seven are younger than 40, but 18 are over the age of 50.[86] Most of the men undertake the more strenuous physical tasks on the island such as crewing the longboats, cargo handling, and the operation and maintenance of physical assets. Longboat crew retirement age is 58. There were then 12 men aged between 18 and 58 residing on Pitcairn. Each longboat requires a minimum crew of three; of the four longboat coxswains, two were in their late 50s.[86]

The Pitcairn government's attempts to attract migrants have been unsuccessful. Since 2013, some 700 make inquiries each year, but so far, not a single formal settlement application has been received.[86][87] The migrants are prohibited from taking local jobs or claiming benefits for a certain length of time, even those with children.[95] The migrants are expected to have at least NZ$30,000 per person in savings and are expected to build their own house at average cost of NZ$140,000.[96][97] It is also possible to bring off-island builders at an additional cost of between NZ$23,000 and NZ$28,000.[97] The average annual cost of living on the island is NZ$9,464.[96] There is, however, no assurance of the migrant's right to remain on Pitcairn; after their first two years, the council must review and reapprove the migrant's status.[98] The migrants are also required to take part in the unpaid public work to keep the island in order such as maintaining the island's numerous roads and paths, building roads, navigating the island longboats, and cleaning public toilets.[99] There are also restrictions on bringing children under the age of 16 to the island.[100][101]

Freight from Tauranga to Pitcairn on the MV Claymore II (Pitcairn Island's dedicated passenger and cargo ship chartered by the Pitcairn government) is charged at NZ$350/m3 for Pitcairners and NZ$1,000/m3 for all other freight.[102] Additionally, Pitcairners are charged NZ$3,000 for a one-way trip; others are charged NZ$5,000.[86]

In 2014, the government's Pitcairn Islands Economic Report stated that "[no one] will migrate to Pitcairn Islands for economic reasons as there are limited government jobs, a lack of private sector employment, as well as considerable competition for the tourism dollar". The Pitcairners take turns to accommodate those few tourists who occasionally visit the island.[86]

As the island remains a British Overseas Territory, the British government will at some stage be required to make a decision about the island's future.[103][104]

Culture[edit]

The once-strict moral codes, which prohibited dancing, public displays of affection, smoking, and consumption of alcohol, have been relaxed. Islanders and visitors no longer require a six-month licence to purchase, import, and consume alcohol.[105] There is now one licensed café and bar on the island, and the government store sells alcohol and cigarettes.

Fishing and swimming are two popular recreational activities. A birthday celebration or the arrival of a ship or yacht will involve the entire Pitcairn community in a public dinner in the Square, Adamstown. Tables are covered in a variety of foods, including fish, meat, chicken, pilhi, baked rice, boiled plun (banana), breadfruit, vegetable dishes, an assortment of pies, bread, breadsticks, an array of desserts, pineapple, and watermelon.

Paid employees maintain the island's numerous roads and paths. As of 2011, the island had a labour force of over 35 men and women.[27]

Bounty Day is an annual public holiday celebrated on Pitcairn on 23 January[106] to commemorate the day in 1790 when the mutineers arrived on the island in HMS Bounty.

Media and communications[edit]

Post

The UK Postcode for directing mail to Pitcairn Island is PCRN 1ZZ.[107]

Newspapers

The Pitcairn Miscellany is a monthly newspaper available in print and online editions.[108] Dem Tull was an online monthly newsletter published between 2007 and 2016.[109]

Telecommunications

Further information: Telephone numbers in the Pitcairn Islands

Pitcairn uses New Zealand's international calling code, +64. It is still on the manual telephone system.

Radio

There is no broadcast station. Marine band walkie-talkie radios are used to maintain contact among people in different areas of the island. Foreign stations can be picked up on shortwave radio.

Amateur radio

Callsign website QRZ.COM lists six amateur radio operators on the island, using the ITU prefix (assigned through the UK) of VP6, two of whom have a second VR6 callsign. However, two of these 6 are listed by QRZ.COM as deceased, while others are no longer active. Pitcairn Island has one callsign allocated to its Club Station, VP6PAC.

QRZ.COM lists 29 VP6 callsigns being allocated in total, 20 of them to off-islanders. Of these, five were allocated to temporary residents and ten to individuals visiting. The rest were assigned to the DX-peditions to Pitcairn, one of which took place in 2012.[110] In 2008, a major DX-pedition visited Ducie Island.[111] In 2018, another major DX-pedition visited Ducie Island.[112]

Television

Pitcairn can receive a number of television channels but only has capacity to broadcast two channels to houses at any one time. The channels are currently switched on a regular basis.[113]

Internet

There is one government-sponsored satellite Internet connection, with networking provided to the inhabitants of the island. Pitcairn's country code top-level domain is .pn. Residents pay NZ$50 (about £26) for 25 GB of data per month.[114] In 2012, a single 1 Mbit/s link installed provided the islanders with an Internet connection, the 1 Mbit/s was shared across all families on the island. By December 2017, the British Government implemented a 4G LTE mobile network in Adamstown with shared speeds of 5 Mbit/s across all islanders.[115]

Transport[edit]

All settlers of the Pitcairn Islands arrived by boat or ship. Pitcairn Island does not have an airport, airstrip or seaport; the islanders rely on longboats to ferry people and goods between visiting ships and shore through Bounty Bay.[76] Access to the rest of the shoreline is restricted by jagged rocks. The island has one shallow harbour with a launch ramp accessible only by small longboats.[116] In 2014, a medical emergency requiring transport to a hospital in Papeete involved a 335 nautical mile (540 km) trip in an open boat to the island of Mangareva, then an air ambulance flight 975 nautical miles (1570 km) to Papeete. It was organized by medical authorities in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and French authorities in Mangareva and Papeete. The British High Commissioner to New Zealand said "It can be a hazardous sea voyage from Pitcairn to Mangareva. This is especially so for open long boats. However, I'm pleased to say that all went well and both boats arrived safely in Mangareva mid-morning today, New Zealand time."[117]

A dedicated passenger and cargo supply ship chartered by the Pitcairn Island government, the MV Claymore II, was until 2018 the principal transport from Mangareva in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. The supply ship was replaced in 2019 by MV Silver Supporter.

Totegegie Airport in Mangareva can be reached by air from the French Polynesian capital Papeete.[118]

There is one 6.4-kilometre (4 mi) paved road leading up from Bounty Bay through Adamstown.

The main modes of transport on Pitcairn Islands are by four-wheel drive quad bikes and on foot.[76] Much of the road and track network and some of the footpaths of Pitcairn Island are viewable on Google's Street View.[119][120]

Notable people[edit]

- Ned Young (b  1762, d 1800 on Pitcairn), mutineer from the famous HMS Bounty incident, and co-founder of the mutineers' Pitcairn Island settlement.

- Teraura (b  1775, d 1850 on Pitcairn), Tahitian noblewoman and tapa weaver, 'partner' of Ned Young, Matthew Quintal and Thursday October Christian I.

- William McCoy (b  1763, d 1798 on Pitcairn), a Scottish sailor and a mutineer on board HMS Bounty.

- Fletcher Christian (b 1764, d 1793 on Pitcairn), Master's mate on board HMS Bounty, died here at age 28.[121]

- Matthew Quintal (b 1766, d 1799 on Pitcairn), a Cornish able seaman and mutineer aboard HMS Bounty

- John Adams (b 1767, d 1829 on Pitcairn), the last survivor of the HMS Bounty mutineers who settled on Pitcairn Island in January 1790, the year after the mutiny

- Thursday October Christian I (1790–1831), the first son of Fletcher Christian

- George Adams (1804–1873), served as Chief Magistrate on Pitcairn in 1848

- Thursday October Christian II (1820–1911), a Pitcairn Islands political leader. Grandson of Fletcher Christian and son of Thursday October Christian I

- Simon Young (1823–1893), served as Magistrate of the Pitcairn Islands in 1849

- Moses Young (1829–1909), served as magistrate of Pitcairn Island four times, between 1865 and 1881

- James Russell McCoy (1845–1924), served as Magistrate of Pitcairn Island 7 times, between 1870 and 1904

- Benjamin Stanley Young (1851–1934), served as Magistrate of the Pitcairn Islands twice, from 1884 to 1885, and in 1892

- Rosalind Amelia Young (1853–1924), a historian from Pitcairn Islands

- William Alfred Young (1863–1911), served as President of the Council, and Magistrate of Pitcairn Island three times, between 1897 and 1908

- Matthew Edmond McCoy (1868–1929), served as Magistrate of Pitcairn Island in 1909

- Gerard Bromley Robert Christian (1870–1919), served as Magistrate of Pitcairn Island from 1910 to 1919

- Edgar Allen Christian (1879–1960), a politician from Pitcairn and Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island on several occasions between 1923 and 1939

- Charles Richard Parkin Christian (1883–1971), a long-serving politician from Pitcairn and Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island for eleven years at various times between 1920 and 1957

- Frederick Martin Christian (1883–1971), a politician from Pitcairn and Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island on three occasions between 1921 and 1943

- John Lorenzo Christian (1895–1984), twice served as Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island: 1952–54 and 1961–66

- Ivan Christian (1919–1991), a politician from Pitcairn and Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island from 1976 to 1984

- Tom Christian (1935–2013), radio operator

- Brenda Christian (born 1953), a political figure from the Pitcairn Islands and served the territory as its first female Mayor from 8 November to 15 December 2004

- Jay Warren (born 1956), a political figure who served as the 3rd Mayor of Pitcairn Islands

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