The Pitcairn Islands are the world’s least populated territory, covering 2 square miles and inhabited by around 50 people. The islands were first settled by Polynesians and later rediscovered by the British, who colonized them after the mutiny on the HMS Bounty. The population has fluctuated, and in 2004 a massive rape trial revealed a history of sexual assault on young girls. The islands are inaccessible, with no airport and irregular boat access.
The Pitcairn Islands are a small territory in the South Pacific. They cover 2 square miles (5 square km) and have a population of around 50, making them the least populated territory in the world. The Pitcairn Islands are located at the southeast tip of Polynesia. The territory consists of four distinct islands, but only Pitcairn is inhabited. The other three islands are widely scattered from Pitcairn itself, and although the largest island in the chain, Henderson Island, has the potential for habitation, l ‘inaccessibility has hitherto made it undesirable.
Pitcairn Island and Henderson Island were both first settled centuries ago by Polynesians who left behind some archaeological evidence of their presence. By the 15th century, however, these original inhabitants had either died out or moved to other islands, and the Pitcairn Islands were empty.
Two of the islands were discovered by the Portuguese in the early 17th century and finally rediscovered by the British in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In the late 18th century, Pitcairn Island itself was discovered by the British and named after a teenage crew member who was the first to spot the island.
In the late 18th century the British vessel HMAV Bounty landed on Pitcairn Island. Joining the crew were a number of Tahitian women whom the crew members had lured or kidnapped from Tahiti and taken as wives and concubines. The crew members, who had previously mutinied against their captain, set fire to their ship and colonized the island. The mutineers suffered much internal strife and many were killed in the first few years of settlement, but the population eventually survived.
The island was visited in the early 19th century and amnesty was granted to members of the mutiny. Only a few decades later the Pitcairn Islands were absorbed into the British Empire as a colony and the population began to grow steadily. In the mid-19th century the population grew too large for the island to support, and the British government gave Norfolk Island to the islanders, causing a mass exodus. Over the next few years, however, a number of the original inhabitants returned, establishing a stable population base.
The population has fluctuated from a high of just over 200 to a low of under 50, and currently hovers around 50. In 2004, the island was rocked by a massive rape trial, during which it emerged that a large number of Pitcairn Islands men had been systematically engaged in sexual assaults on girls as young as 7 for much of the island’s history. The aftermath of the process removed many of the island’s able-bodied men from the workforce and raised some questions about the future of the microstate.
The Pitcairn Islands are one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. There is no airport of any kind and boats only moor irregularly offshore. The best way to get there is to try and find a passenger boat from Auckland in New Zealand, or take a yacht tour from Mangareva in French Polynesia. Once there, getting off is a waiting game, and visitors should be prepared for a long wait if the circumstances aren’t in their favor.
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