The Pitcairn Islands
https://www.humantruth.info/pitcairn_islands.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2025
| Pitcairn Islands |  |
|---|---|
| Status | Dependency (Overseas Territory) |
| Sovereignty | UK |
| Capital | Adamstown |
| Land Area | |
| Location | Australasia, Polynesia |
| Groupings | Small Islands |
| Population | |
| GNI | |
| ISO3166-1 Codes | PN, PCN, 6121 |
| Internet Domain | .pn2 |
| Currency | Dollar (NZD)3 |
| Telephone | +4 |
The Oeno Atoll and Ducie Atoll consist of land with little height that can only support temporary populations or occasional visitors. Henderson is marginally habitable, and Pitcairn has (sometimes) supported a population of more than 100.
Collectively, they were first settled around 800CE, with evidence of some stable trading between the islands by 1000CE, which continued until not long after 1450CE. Deforestation and soil erosion led to those early communities starving to death5, but the modern population has learned to live more sustainably.
1. Overview
“Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today.”
CIA's The World Factbook (2013)6
“What's rarely mentioned about Pitcairn Island, between the infamous Bounty story and the 2004 sexual assault trials gossip, is that it's a place of incredible natural beauty. As the smallest territory in the world and one of the most remote destinations on earth, Pitcairn Island feels both claustrophobic and wildly exhilarating. The island's 4.5 sq km surface is almost entirely sloped and has landscapes that vary from desolate rock cliffs to lush tropical hillsides.
Yet it's the 65 or so residents, descended from the Bounty mutineers, who make the place famous. If you can find a way to get here, spend time hiking and meeting the locals, you'll quickly understand why these Anglo-Polynesians are proud to call Pitcairn home and preserve their unique heritage.The archipelago also consists of two atolls plus Henderson Island - a raised coral island with a virtually untouched environment and endemic birdlife.”
As a territory of the UK, this territory does not have standard international statistics available for it in its own right.
2. Pitcairn Islands's Responsibility Towards The Environment
#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #energy #environmentalism #food #internationalism #meat #over-exploitation #sustainability #the_environment #veganism #vegetarianism
This rank is computed from 21 data sets. The Pitcairn Islands does better than average for its forested percent change 2000-20208.| Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Total8 | |
| 1 | Guernsey | 82.6% |
| 2 | Bahrain | 75.2% |
| 3 | Iceland | 64.7% |
| ... | ||
| 110= | Gibraltar | 0.0% |
| 110= | St Barthelemy | 0.0% |
| 110= | Dominica | 0.0% |
| 110= | Pitcairn Islands | 0.0% |
| 110= | Bermuda | 0.0% |
| 110= | Faroe Islands | 0.0% |
| 110= | Jordan | 0.0% |
| 110= | Andorra | 0.0% |
| Australasia Avg | 0.1% | |
| World Avg | -0.1% | |
| q=234. | ||
After Mangareva was settled in the 9th century, Pitcairn and Henderson were made habitable: each island required trade, in order to maintain their small populations. They traded in stone, seafoods including tools made from specific shells. Soil, trees, appropriate places to fish, stone - each island lacked some resources, and so, trade was essential to maintain each islands' communities. Working together, they solved their problems, and their population grew. But, they over-used their resources. Worse of all, too many trees were felled, which together with too much farming led to soil erosion and a loss of agricultural productivity and the ability to maintain boats or create tools. Without the boats required for trade, shortages caused civil war, leaving only military leaders able to keep control. The starving populations were in a dire situation and turned not just to cannibalism, but also to digging-up and eating previously buried corpses.5
When Europeans landed on Henderson in 1606CE, there was no-one left alive. And in 1790CE, they found Pitcairn to be in the same situation; the population had died off completely a long time ago. When Mangareva, which used to support these islands, was visited in 1797CE, it still had no boats capable of trade, only canoes suitable for light fishing.5
3. Religion and Beliefs
#belief #god #religion #religiosity #secularisation
The CIA World Factbook states simply: Seventh-Day Adventist 100%9.
Links:
- A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
- Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?
There isn't much information in the database for Pitcairn Islands, most likely because it is either a part of another country (i.e., a territory or possession) and therefore most international statistics are counted for the country as a whole, or, this is such an exotic place that little data exists about it.