Flag of the Pitcairn Islands, different colours have different meanings. The Union Jack and the blue ensign symbolises the British history and influence on the islands; with the coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands to the right. The anchor, which shows the relation of the islands to maritime explorations, and the Bible, which shows the Christian heritage of the Islanders, are from HMS Bounty, of which the shipwreck members are the ancestors of modern Pitcairn Islanders; the helmet and Pitcairn Island wheelbarrow are unique to the Islands; and the Indian tulip tree in the background symbolises Polynesian culture influence in the past.
HISTORY AND ETYMOLOGY
The Pitcairn Islands comprises of four islands. The name of Pitcairn Island comes from the crew member who first spotted the island - Midshipman Robert Pitcairn; Henderson Island comes from the captain of one of the ships who discovered it; Ducie Island was named in honour after 3rd Baron Ducie Francis Reynolds-Moreton by Edward Edwards, a sailor who discovered it while on a mission to arrest Bounty mutineers; Oeno Island was named after the whaler who found it, Oeno.
Settlement
Approximately 700 years ago, Polynesians first settled in Pitcairn Island and Henderson Island. A trading relationship between the two islands and Mangareva Island (now French Polynesia) was soon operated, in which the food and resources from the main Mangareva Island were transported to Pitcairn Island and Henderson Island in exchange for the top-quality volcanic rock and glass special to the islands. After several centuries, Mangareva Island slowly deforested, losing its resources. The Polynesians in the two islands were unable to sustain their lives without resources from Mangareva Island and therefore vanished, leaving the island uninhabited.
Polynesian rock carvings as seen from a stamp
Rediscovery by Bounty mutineers
In 1790, the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian crew members arrived on Pitcairn Island. Since they were under arrest by the previously mentioned Edward Edwards for the mutiny of the ship, they took all resources from the ship and burnt it on the island. Despite the successful survival on the island by agriculture and aquaculture, riots from the mutineers and Polynesians caused great trouble, reducing their population to half with only four men and ten women. The two last surviving Bounty mutineers, John Adams and Ned Young, assumed leadership over the island and assisted the population. Young died of asthma soon after.
Adams led the island to prosperity during his rule. He encountered the American ship Topaz soon with the crew of the latter being impressed by the improvements made by Adams on the population of the island. Topaz members promised that they would spread the great action of Adams to the rest of the world. Christianity played an important part in the education of the locals. In respect, he was known as "father" by all members of the society.
Burning of HMS Bounty
British colonisation
In 1814, the British finally found the whereabouts of John Adams - a previous mutineer of HMS Bounty. However, the British were impressed with the development Adams had given to Pitcairn Island and felt that arresting Adams would be inhumane. During the 1820s, three adventurers, Buffett, Evans and Nobbs, settled on the island. When Adams died in 1829, Nobbs was to succeed as the leader; a power struggle between Nobbs and another local emerged. A foreigner named Joshua Hill soon resolved this by sending Nobbs in exile naming himself as the leader - until he was driven out by the locals again. Nobbs returned to serve as the leader at last. Notably, he gave women rights to vote, becoming the second in the world to do so after Corsica.
By the time, the population was increasing greatly and Pitcairn Island alone could no longer accommodate such an amount of people. Queen Victoria offered Norfolk Island under their request and almost all emigrated to Norfolk Island. 44 people returned to Pitcairn Island after being unable to suit the environment. Emigration was soon banned for unknown reasons.
In 1887, the British formally annexed Pitcairn Island under the jurisdiction of Fiji.
George Hunn Nobbs as seen from stamps
Modern times
Since British jurisdiction and subsequent World Wars, the combat between European powers for Pacific control gradually fell, and the Pitcairn Islands had less contact with the foreign world. However, the route from New Zealand through the Panama Canal happens to exactly pass through this island as a straight line, and tourism boosted in the Pitcairn Islands. This lasted for a short time - and soon, many started to emigrate to New Zealand or Australia. Facing the population decline, the Pitcairn Islands are now continuing to promote emigration to the Pitcairn Islands.
Promotional banner
CURRENCY AND COINS
Starting from the British colonization, the Pitcairn Islands have followed the British and used the shilling and pound sterling as their currency. With the introduction of the New Zealand dollar, however, the Pitcairn Island switched to a new currency and the New Zealand dollar is now used for general circulation purposes.
Due to the lack of income, the Pitcairn Islands have created a new currency - the Pitcairn Islands dollar - that is specially minted for coin collectors. The Pitcairn Islands dollar is almost never seen in use for circulation as the main purpose of the coins is to raise funds for the government.
As the Pitcairn Islands retain itself as a member of the Commonwealth, obverses of coins issued by the Pitcairn Islands always bear the effigy of the reigning British Monarch, her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Pitcairn Islands - one dollar coin
Pitcairn Islands
