Pitcairn Island, the Bounty Mutineers and Their Descendants: A History

by Kirk, Robert W.

• ISBN13: 9780786434718
• ISBN10: 0786434716
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-31
• Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc Pub

Summary

The infamous Bounty mutiny of 1790 culminated in nine mutineers taking up residence on the small Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific. Rivalry over Polynesian women soon led to homicidal strife and, by 1808, when American sealing vessel Topaz stopped at the island, John Adams was the only mutineer alive. He, however, headed what was soon discovered to be a utopianlike Christian society. Beginning with a background look at the circumstances surrounding the mutiny, this volume contains a detailed history of the Pitcairn islanders from the original settlement through the opening years of the 21st century. The island's isolation is contrasted with the international attention garnered from its captivating history, making the society a one-of-a-kind historical conundrum. Unlike previous volumes, this history takes a look at the Pitcairn Island of the 20th and 21st centuries, examining such subjects as the effect of the World War II and the 2004 sexual abuse trial and conviction of six Pitcairners. Helpful maps and photographs enhance the reader's experience.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vi
Foreword	p. 1
Introduction: The Island as Icon	p. 3
Pitcairn Discovered	p. 9
Bread That Grows on Trees!	p. 14
Destination Tahiti	p. 17
Captain Bligh v. Mr. Christian	p. 25
The Famous Captain Bligh	p. 31
With the Mutineers	p. 37
An Almost Perfect Hideaway	p. 46
Early Visitors: 1814-1825	p. 52
Captain Beechey Learns the Bloody Details	p. 61
Death of the Patriarch	p. 70
Fatal Tahitian Sojourn	p. 75
"The Mussolini of Pitcairn"	p. 82
A Busy Port of Call: 1839-1849	p. 91
Emergency Ward	p. 99
Before the Separation	p. 103
The Move to Norfolk Island	p. 111
Return to Pitcairn	p. 119
Shipwrecks and Hysteria	p. 126
Pitkern and Place Names	p. 133
Conversion, Constitution - and Murder	p. 137
Into a New Century: 1900-1928	p. 146
What Depression? The 1930s	p. 155
War and a Windfall: 1939-1959	p. 167
Population in Freefall: 1960-1979	p. 182
Dreams of Smiley's Millions ... And a Dream Realized	p. 199
Bicentennial Decade	p. 209
Island on Trial	p. 222
Chapter Notes	p. 233
Works Cited	p. 245
Index	p. 251
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