Tristan da Cunha

 

(trĭs'tăn də kū'nə) , group of volcanic islands in the S Atlantic, about midway between S Africa and S America. The only habitable island of the group is Tristan da Cunha (1999 pop. 286), formed by a volcano rising to c.6,760 ft (2,060 m). The other islands are Gough, Nightingale, and Inaccessible, the last being the home of the flightless rail, an almost extinct bird. The first inhabitants came from St. Helena in the 19th cent. Fishing is the chief industry.

History

The island group was discovered by the Portuguese in 1506 and was visited by whalers, seal hunters, and explorers. In 1816 it was annexed by Great Britain, and in 1938 it became a dependency of the colony of St. Helena. An important meteorological and radio base was set up in 1942. The volcano, long dormant, erupted in 1961; the population was evacuated and transported to England. In 1962, however, the islanders decided to leave England and return to Tristan da Cunha, which they did the following year.

Bibliography

See A. Falk-Rønne, Back to Tristan (1967).

Tristan da Cunha
Flag Coat of arms
Motto Our faith is our strength
Anthem God Save the Queen
Capital (and largest city)		Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
Official languages		English
Government		Dependency of St. Helena
-	Administrator	David Morley
First inhabited		1815
Area
-	Total	km²   sq mi
Population
-	census	~269
-	Density	1.3/km²   /sq mi
Currency		Pound sterling (£) (GBP)
Time zone		GMT (UTC+0)
Internet TLD		.sh
Calling code		[[+290]]

Coordinates: 37°6.38′S, 12°17.14′W Tristan da Cunha (IPA: [ˈtrɪstən də ˈkuːnə]) is a group of remote islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km (1750 miles) from South Africa and 3360 km (2088 miles) from South America. It is a dependency of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, 2173 km (1350 miles) to the north. The territory consists of the main island, Tristan da Cunha (area: 98 km², 38 sq mi ), as well as several uninhabited islands: Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands. Gough Island, situated 395 km (245 mi) south east of the main island, is also part of the territory.

Tristan da Cunha is the most remote archipelago in the world.

History

Main article: History of Tristan da Cunha

The islands were first sighted in 1506 by a Portuguese sailor, Tristão da Cunha, although rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristão da Cunha, which was later anglicised to Tristan da Cunha Island. The first survey of the archipelago was made by the French frigate L'Heure du Berger in 1767. Soundings were taken and a rough survey of the coastline was made. The presence of water at the large waterfall of Big Watron and in a lake on the north coast were noted, and the results of the survey were published by a Royal Navy hydrographer in 1781. The first permanent settler was Jonathan Lambert, from Salem, Massachusetts, United States, who arrived at the islands in 1810. He declared the islands his property and named them the Islands of Refreshment. His rule was short lived, as he died in a boating accident in 1812.

In 1815 the United Kingdom formally annexed the islands, ruling them from the Cape Colony in South Africa. This is reported to have primarily been a measure to ensure that the French would not be able to use the islands as a base for a rescue operation to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison on Saint Helena. The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan as a base, as they had during the War of 1812. Attempts to colonise Inaccessible Island failed.

The islands were occupied by a British military garrison, and a civilian population was gradually built up. Whalers also set up on the islands as a base for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, together with the move from sailing ships to coal-fired steam ships, saw the increased isolation of the islands, as they were no longer needed as a stopping port for journeys from Europe to the Far East.

In 1867, The Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria visited the island. The main settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas was named in honour of his visit. A second Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, visited the islands in 1957 as part of a world tour onboard the royal yacht Britannia. Lewis Carroll's youngest brother, the Rev. Edwin H. Dodgson, served as an Anglican missionary and school teacher in Tristan da Cunha in the 1880s.

On 12 January 1938, by Letters Patent, the islands were declared a dependency of St Helena.

Tristan da Cunha

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Tristan da Cunha

Governor Michael Clancy Administrator of Tristan da Cunha David Morley Politics and Law Elections and parties

Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal

During World War II the islands were used as a Royal Navy station. Atlantic Isle was established to monitor German shipping movements in the South Atlantic Ocean. The first Administrator was appointed by the British Government during this time.

In 1961, a volcanic eruption forced the evacuation of the entire population to a former RAF station in Calshot near Southampton, England, living mainly in a road called Tristan Close. In 1962, a Royal Society expedition went to the island to assess the damage reporting that the settlement Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had only been marginally affected. Most families returned in 1963 led by Willie Repetto (head of the ten-strong island council) and Allan Crawford (the former island welfare officer).

In 2005 the island was given a UK post code (TDCU 1ZZ) to make it easier for the residents to order goods online.

Politics and law

Executive authority is vested in the Queen, who is represented in the territory by the Governor of Saint Helena. As the Governor resides permanently in Saint Helena, an Administrator is appointed to represent the Governor in the islands.

The Administrator acts as the local head of government, and takes advice from the Island Council, made up of eight elected and three appointed members.

Tristan da Cunha has its own legislation, but the law of Saint Helena applies to the extent that it is not inconsistent with local law, insofar as it is suitable for local circumstances and subject to such modifications as local circumstances make necessary.

Geography

The name "Tristan da Cunha" is also used for the archipelago, which consists of the following islands (areas given in km²):

• the main island Tristan da Cunha and its surrounding islands
  • Tristan da Cunha, the relatively large main island ( 37°6′44″S, 12°16′56″W) (area: 98 km², 38 sq mi)
  • Inaccessible Island ( 37°19′00″S, 012°44′00″W) (area: 10 km², 4 sq mi)
  • Nightingale Islands (area: 2 km², 500 acres)
    • Nightingale Island ( 37°25′58″S, 12°28′31″W) (area: 1.8 km², 440 acres)
    • Middle Island (area: 0.1 km², 25 acres)
    • Stoltenhoff Island (area: 0.1 km², 25 acres)
• Gough Island (40°20′S, 10°0′W) (Diego Alvarez) (area: 91 km², 35 sq mi)

Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands are located 35 km (22 mi) southwest of the main island, while Gough Island is located 395 km (245 mi) SSE.

The main island is quite mountainous; the only flat area is the location of the capital, Edinburgh on the Northwestern coast (sometimes known as "Edinburgh of the Seven Seas"). The highest point is a volcano called Queen Mary's Peak (2,062 m, 6,765 ft); it is covered by snow in winter. The climate is marine subtropical with small temperature differences between summer and winter and between day and night.

The other islands of the group are uninhabited, except for Gough Island Weather Station on the namesake island, which has been operated by South Africa since 1956 (since 1963 at its present location at Transvaal Bay on the Southeast coast), with a staff of six.

Tristan da Cunha is the nesting place of Tristan Albatrosses.

Economy

The islands' main source of foreign income is the lobster factory and the sale of stamps and coins to overseas collectors.

Most people have dual occupations, often working for the local government. Many inhabitants have plots of land (at the patches) on which they grow potatoes.

The 1961 volcanic eruption destroyed the Tristan da Cunha canned crayfish factory, which was rebuilt a short time later. The crayfish farmers work for the South African company Ovenstone which has an exclusive contract to sell crayfish to the United States and Japan. Even though Tristan da Cunha is a UK overseas territory, it is not permitted direct access to EU markets. Recently the decline in interest in Tristan crayfish in the United States has meant that the islanders have had to borrow from their reserves. The islands' financial problems may cause delays in updating communication equipment and improving education on the island.

Demographics

The islands have a population of 272 people.

The main settlement is Edinburgh of the Seven Seas (known locally as "The Settlement"). The main religion is Christianity, with denominations of Anglican and Roman Catholic. There are instances of health problems because of endogamy, including asthma and glaucoma, largely due to the inevitable marriages among distantly related couples, for example marriages between second degree cousins, that comes with having such a small gene pool.

The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. There is no airport, and the islands can only be reached by boat. Fishing boats from South Africa regularly service the islands. The RMS Saint Helena formerly connected the islands to South Africa, and the United Kingdom via Saint Helena and Ascension Island, but she no longer calls at Tristan da Cunha.

Society

Young people generally would like to stay on the island^{[citation needed]} but they are often concerned about finding a spouse. Some move abroad, marry and hope to return.

On Tristan da Cunha the population of 272 people share just eight surnames: Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello (a typical Ligurian surname), Repetto (another typical Ligurian surname), Rogers, Swain, and Patterson the last added in 1986. There are 80 families on the island.

Health care is free but with just one resident doctor from South Africa and five nurses, the delivery and surgery are limited and serious injury can mean sending signals to passing fishing vessels so that the person can be transferred to Cape Town. Television did not arrive on the island until 2001, and the sole channel available is the British Forces Broadcasting Service from the Falkland Islands.

Education is rudimentary; children leave school at fifteen and although it is possible to take GCSEs a year later, results are poor.^[1]

Tristan da Cunha's isolation has led to an unusual, patois-like dialect of English. Bill Bryson documents some examples of the island's dialect in his book, The Mother Tongue.

See also

• Wildlife of St Helena
• Tramp Royale, by Robert A. Heinlein

References

External links

• Wikimedia Atlas of Tristan da Cunha, holding maps related to Tristan da Cunha.
• Tristan da Cunha Official Website
• Tristan Times
• History
• Visiting information –DEAD LINK- Put together by the former British administrator
• The Longboats of Tristan
• Photos
• Tristan da Cunha image gallery
• Contains bibliography
• First postcode for remote UK isle – BBC News
• The Utmost Parts of the Earth, by William F. Taylor – Account of the island from 1856
• Marooned on Tristan
• Information site on Tristan Da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha | Inaccessible Island | Nightingale Islands (Nightingale Island | Middle Island | Stoltenhoff Island) | Gough Island

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Outlying territories of European countries
Territories under European sovereignty but closer to or on continents other than Europe (see inclusion criteria for further information)
Denmark	Greenland
France	Clipperton Island · French Guiana · French Polynesia · French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Amsterdam • Saint-Paul • Crozet • Kerguelen • Adélie Land1 • Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean: Bassas da India • Europa Island • Glorioso Islands • Juan de Nova Island • Tromelin Island) · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Mayotte · New Caledonia · Réunion · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Wallis and Futuna
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Norway	Bouvet Island · Peter I Island1 · Queen Maud Land1
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Spain	Canary Islands · Ceuta · Isla de Alborán  · Isla Perejil  · Islas Chafarinas  · Melilla  · Peñón de Alhucemas  · Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
United Kingdom	Anguilla · Ascension Island · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Falkland Islands · Montserrat · Saint Helena · Tristan da Cunha · Turks and Caicos Islands · British Antarctic Territory1 · British Indian Ocean Territory · Pitcairn Islands · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
1 Claims to sovereignty over territories in Antarctica are currently suspended under the Antarctic Treaty System.

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