The territory consists of the inhabited island Tristan da Cunha, which has a diameter of roughly 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) and an area of 98 square kilometres (38 sq mi); the wildlife reserves ofGough Island andInaccessible Island; and the smaller, uninhabitedNightingale Islands. As of October 2018[update], the main island had 250 permanent inhabitants, who all carryBritish Overseas Territories citizenship.[7] The other islands are uninhabited, except for the South African personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.
As there is noairstrip on the island, the only way of travelling to or from Tristan is by ship. There are six-day journeys fromCape Town,South Africa, and some cruises offered departing fromUshuaia,Argentina.[8]
The islands were first recorded as sighted in 1506 byPortuguese explorerTristão da Cunha, though rough seas prevented a landing. He believed them to be uninhabited, and named the main island after himself,Ilha de Tristão da Cunha. It was later anglicised from its earliest mention on BritishAdmiralty charts to Tristan da Cunha Island. Some sources state that the Portuguese made the first landing in 1520, whenLás Rafael, captained by Ruy Vaz Pereira, called at Tristan for water.[9]
The first undisputed landing was made on 7 February 1643 by the crew of theDutch East India Company shipHeemstede, captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot. The Dutch stopped at the island four more times in the next 25years, and in 1656 created the first rough charts of the archipelago.[10]
The first fullsurvey of the archipelago was made by the crew of the FrenchcorvetteHeure du Berger in 1767. The first scientific exploration was conducted by French naturalistLouis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars, who stayed on the island for three days in January 1793, during a French mercantile expedition fromBrest, France, toMauritius. Thouars made botanical collections and reported traces of human habitation, includingfireplaces and overgrowngardens, probably left by Dutch explorers in the 17th century.[10]
On his voyage out from Europe to East Africa and India in command of theImperial Asiatic Company of Trieste and Antwerp ship,Joseph and Theresa,William Bolts sighted Tristan da Cunha, put a landing party ashore on 2 February 1777 and hoisted the Imperial flag, naming it and its neighbouring islets the Brabant Islands.[11][12] However, no settlement or facilities were ever set up there by the company.[citation needed]
After the outbreak of theAmerican Revolutionary War haltedpenal transportation to theThirteen Colonies, British prisons started to overcrowd. As several stopgap measures proved to be ineffective, the British Government announced in December 1785 that it would proceed with the settlement ofNew South Wales. In September 1786Alexander Dalrymple, presumably goaded by Bolts's actions, published a pamphlet[13] with an alternative proposal of his own for settlements on Tristan da Cunha,St. Paul andAmsterdam islands in the Southern Ocean.[citation needed]
CaptainJohn Blankett,R.N., also suggested independently to his superiors in August 1786 that convicts be used to establish a British settlement on Tristan.[15] In consequence, the Admiralty received orders from the government in October 1789 to examine the island as part of a general survey of the South Atlantic and the coasts of southern Africa.[16] That did not happen, but an investigation of Tristan, Amsterdam and St. Paul was undertaken in December 1792 and January 1793 byGeorge Macartney, Britain's first ambassador to China. During his voyage to China, he established that none of the islands were suitable for settlement.[17]
The first permanent settler wasJonathan Lambert ofSalem, Massachusetts, United States, who moved to the island in December 1810 with two other men, to be joined later by a fourth.[18] Lambert publicly declared the islands his property and named them theIslands of Refreshment. Three of the four men died in 1812 andThomas Currie (Tommaso Corri, fromLivorno,Italy), one of the original three, remained as a farmer on the island.[19]
On 14 August 1816, the United Kingdomannexed the islands by sending a garrison to secure possession, and making them a dependency of theCape Colony in South Africa. This was explained as a measure to prevent the islands' use as a base for any attempt to freeNapoleon Bonaparte from his prison onSaint Helena.[20] The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a base for navalcruisers, as it had during theWar of 1812.[18] The garrison left the islands in November 1817, although some members of the garrison, notablyWilliam Glass, stayed and formed the nucleus of a permanent population.[21]
Augustus Earle,(Self Portrait) Solitude, watching the horizon at sun set, in the hopes of seeing a vessel, Tristan de Acunha (i.e. da Cunha) in the South Atlantic, (1824): watercolour; 17.5 cm × 25.7 cm (6.9 in × 10.1 in).National Library of Australia
On the fifteenth of July, the snow-clad mountains of Tristan da Cunha appeared, lighted by a brilliant morning-sun, and towering to a height estimated at between nine and ten thousand feet."[20]
Edmund Roberts,Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat, 1837
The artistAugustus Earle spent eight months stranded there in 1824. He had been on the aging shipDuke of Gloucester, bound for Calcutta, which had anchored there for three days due to a storm. Earle and a crew member were left when theGloucester unexpectedly sailed. Earle tutored several children and painted until his supplies ran out. He was rescued in late November by the shipAdmiral Cockburn on its way to Hobart.
The islands were occupied by a garrison ofBritish Marines, and a civilian population gradually grew.Berwick stopped there on 25 March 1824 and reported that it had a population of twenty-two men and three women. The barqueSouth Australia stayed there on 18–20 February 1836 when a certain Glass was governor, as reported in a chapter on the island by W. H. Leigh.[22] Also in 1836, the schoonerEmily ran aground with the Dutch fisherman Pieter Groen fromKatwijk. He stayed, married there, changed his name to Peter Green and in 1865 became spokesman/governor of the community. In 1856, there were already 97 people living there.[citation needed]
Aparson arrived in February 1851, the Bishop of Cape Town visited in March 1856 and the island was included within the diocese of Cape Town.[23]: 63–50
Whalers set up bases on the islands for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However, the opening of theSuez Canal in 1869, together with the gradual transition from sailing ships to coal-fired steam ships, increased the isolation of the islands, which were no longer needed as a stopping port for lengthy sail voyages, or for shelter for journeys from Europe to East Asia.[18]
On 27 November 1885, the island suffered one of its worst tragedies after an ironbarque namedWest Riding approached the island, whilst en route toSydney, Australia, fromBristol.[28] Due to the loss of regular trading opportunities, almost all of the island's able-bodied men approached the ship in alifeboat attempting to trade with the passing vessel. The boat, recently donated by the British government, sailed despite rough waters and, although the lifeboat was spotted sailing alongside the ship for some time, it never returned. Various reports were given following the event, with rumours ranging from the men drowning,[29] to reports of them being taken to Australia and sold as slaves.[30] In total, 15 men were lost, leaving behind an island of widows. A plaque atSt. Mary's Church commemorates the lost men.[31]
After years of hardship since the 1880s and an especially difficult winter in 1906, the British government offered to evacuate the island in 1907. The Tristanians held a meeting and decided to refuse, despite the government's warning that it could not promise further help in the future.[9]
During theSecond World War, Tristan was commissioned by theRoyal Navy as the so-called "stone frigate"HMS Atlantic Isle and used as a secretsignals intelligence station, to monitorGermanU-boats (which were required to maintain radio contact) and shipping in the SouthAtlantic Ocean. The weather and radio stations led to extensive new infrastructure being built on the island, including a school, a hospital, and a cash-based general store.[43]
The first colonial official sent to rule the island wasSir Hugh Elliott in the rank of administrator (because the settlement was too small to merit a governor) 1950–1953.[citation needed] Development continued as the island's first canning factory expanded paid employment in 1949.[43]
On 2 January 1954, Tristan da Cunha was visited by the Dutch shipWillem Ruys, apassenger-cargo liner,[45] carrying science fiction writerRobert A. Heinlein, his wife Ginny and other passengers. TheRuys was travelling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Cape Town, South Africa. The visit is described in Heinlein's bookTramp Royale. The captain told Heinlein the island was the most isolated inhabited spot on Earth and ships rarely visited. Heinlein mailed a letter from there toL. Ron Hubbard, a friend who also liked to travel, "for the curiosity value of the postmark". Biographer William H. Patterson Jr. in his two volumeRobert A. Heinlein In Dialogue with his Century, wrote that lack of "cultural context" made it "nearly impossible to converse" with the islanders, "a stark contrast with the way they had managed to chat with strangers" while travelling in South America. Members of the crew bought penguins during their brief visit to the island.[citation needed]
On 10 October 1961, the eruption of aparasitic cone ofQueen Mary's Peak, very close to Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, forced evacuation of all 264 people.[46][47] The evacuees took to the water in open boats, taken by the local lobster-fishing boatsTristania andFrances Repetto to uninhabitedNightingale Island.[48]
The next day, they were picked up by the diverted Dutch passenger shipTjisadane that took them toCape Town.[48] The islanders later arrived in the U.K. aboard the linerM.V.Stirling Castle to a big press reception and, after a short period at Pendell Army Camp inMerstham,Surrey, were settled in an oldRoyal Air Force camp nearCalshot,Hampshire.[47][49]
The following year, aRoyal Society expedition reported that Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had survived. Most families returned in 1963.[50]
On 23 May 2001, the islands were hit by anextratropical cyclone that generated winds up to 190 kilometres per hour (120 mph). A number of structures were severely damaged, and numerous cattle were killed, prompting emergency aid provided by the British government.[54]In 2005, the islands were given a United Kingdompost code (TDCU 1ZZ), to make it easier for the residents to order goods online.[55]
On 13 February 2008, a fire destroyed the island's four power generators and fish canning factory, severely disrupting the economy. On 14 March 2008, new generators were installed and power restored, and a new factory opened in July 2009. While the replacement factory was built,M/VKelso came to the island as afactory ship.[56][57] The St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 reorganized Tristan da Cunha as a constituent of the new British Overseas Territory ofSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, giving Tristan and Ascension equal status with Saint Helena.[6]
On 16 March 2011, the freighterMS Oliva ran aground onNightingale Island, spilling tons of heavy fuel oil into the ocean. The resulting oil slick threatened the island's population ofrockhopper penguins.[58] Nightingale Island has no fresh water, so the penguins were transported to Tristan da Cunha for cleaning.[59]
On 13 November 2020 it was announced that the 687,247 square kilometres (265,348 sq mi) of the waters surrounding the islands will become aMarine Protection Zone. The move will make the zone the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet. The move follows 20 years of conservation work by theRSPB and the island government and five years of the UK government's Blue Belt programme support.[60][61]
A totalsolar eclipse will pass over the islandon 5 December 2048. The island is calculated to be on the centre line of the umbra's path for nearly three and a half minutes of totality.[62]
Edinburgh of The Seven Seas, the only settlement on the island. The parasitic cone from the 1961 eruption can be seen in the foreground, centre left.
Tristan da Cunha is thought to have been formed by a long-lived centre of upwelling mantle called theTristan hotspot. Tristan da Cunha is the main island of the Tristan da Cunhaarchipelago, which consists of the following islands:[citation needed]
Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands are 35 kilometres (22 mi)SW by W and SSW away from the main island, respectively, whereas Gough Island is 350 kilometres (217 mi) SSE.[65]
Tristan da Cunha on 6 February 2012, as seen from the International Space Station
The main island is generally mountainous. The only flat area is on the north-west coast, which is the location of the only settlement,Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, and the agricultural area ofPotato Patches. The highest point is the summit of a volcano calledQueen Mary's Peak at an elevation of 2,062 metres (6,765 ft), high enough to develop snow cover in winter. The other islands of the group are uninhabited, except for a weather station with a staff of six on Gough Island, which has been operated bySouth Africa since 1956 and has been at its present location at Transvaal Bay on the southeast coast since 1963.[66][67]
The archipelago has a Cfb, wetoceanic climate, under theKöppen system, with mild temperatures and very limited sunshine but consistent moderate-to-heavy rainfall due to the persistent westerly winds.[68] Under theTrewartha classification, Tristan da Cunha has ahumid subtropical climate due to the lack of cold weather. The number of rainy days is comparable to theAleutian Islands at a much higher latitude in the northern hemisphere, while sunshine hours are comparable toJuneau, Alaska, 20° farther from the equator. Frost is unknown below elevations of 500 metres (1,600 ft), and summer temperatures are similarly mild, never reaching 25 °C (77 °F).Sandy Point on the east coast is reputed to be the warmest and driest place on the island, being in the lee of theprevailing winds.[69]
Tristan, along with its neighbouring islands, lies about 400 km east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The volcanic activity is unrelated to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; rather, it is due to a hotspot.[73]The steep central cone (The Peak) predominantly is composed of pyroclastic deposits erupted from the central vent. The Base and Main Cliffs are composed mainly of thin basaltic lava flows, commonly separated by thin pyroclastic layers. There are over 30 cinder cones on the flanks of the main volcano, many of which have produced small lava flows. The October 1961 eruption was preceded by earthquake swarms and rock falls from the Main Cliffs, then lava was erupted on the plain immediately east of the settlement. The growing lava mound breached and lava flows were erupted toward the coast. As the eruption waned, an elongate lava dome grew and sealed the vent.
Inaccessible Island, 35 km southwest of Tristan, is the relic of an older volcanic cone. Most of the island is composed of basaltic lava flows, but the southwestern part of Inaccessible has numerous trachyte domes and flows.Nightingale Island, and nearby Middle and Stoltenhoff Islands, are 34 km south-southwest of Tristan. Nightingale mostly is composed of trachyte domes and flows, with some pyroclastic deposits. Middle Island is entirely composed of pyroclastic deposits (intruded by dykes), whereas Stoltenhoff Island is entirely composed of trachyte.
The island is located in theSouth Atlantic Anomaly, an area of the Earth with an abnormally weak magnetic field. On 14 November 2008 a geomagnetic observatory was inaugurated on the island as part of a joint venture between theDanish Meteorological Institute andDTU Space.[74]
The volcanic rocks range from ankaramitic basanite through tephrite to phonolite[77] and some have ultra-potassic compositions, which is unusual for rocks that erupted close to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. They exemplify the EM1 pole in compilations of isotopic compositions of mantle-derived rocks.[78] The unusual composition is explained by the presence of enriched material in the plume source, either recycled sediments or metasomatized lithosphere.[78] The origin of the islands is commonly attributed to partial melting in a mantle plume.[78] The islands are located at the western end of the Walvis Ridge, which links the islands to theEtendeka large igneous province. This association has been cited as an example of plume head and tail hypothesis,[79] but the geochemical characteristics of Tristan lavas differ from those of the Etendeka province, which suggests that the plume was heterogeneous.
Many of the flora and fauna of the archipelago have a broad circumpolar distribution in the South Atlantic andSouth Pacific Oceans. For example, the plant speciesNertera granadensis was first collected in Tristan da Cunha,[80] but has since been recorded as far away asNew Zealand.[81]
The islands of Tristan da Cunha have a high significance of globalbiodiversity: two of them, Gough and Inaccessible, form a UNESCO naturalWorld Heritage Site. This designation is largely due to the seabird population found there. The biodiversity of the island is vulnerable to introduction ofinvasive species. Due to Tristan da Cunha's isolated archipelago ecology, and increase of tourism with cruise ships and research vessels, invasive species are a particular concern for Tristan da Cunha.[82] The islands' vegetation and mammal species are not equipped to defend against or control introduced species, increasing island vulnerability, due to lack of defensive behavioural mechanisms and slow generational output rates. Efforts to decrease and eradicate invasive flora, fauna, and marine species have been undertaken, including a programme aimed at eradicating predatory invasive mice on Gough Island.[83] The following described invasive species have been known to have harmful effects on the islands' vegetation and native species.[citation needed]
Invasivehouse mice on these islands have adapted to be 50% larger than average house mice. They are thought to have been accidentally introduced by 19th-century seal hunters who would dock on the islands.[84] These mice have adapted by consuming sea bird eggs and chicks (as they nest on the ground). Gathering at night in groups of 9 or 10, the mice gather at the bird's nest to feast. With no natural predators, the invasive mice population is able to expand by producing new generations twice a year.[citation needed]
In order to prevent the growth of the invasive mice population and extinction of theAlbatross bird species, a 2019 Gough Island mouse eradication project was announced (Grundy, 2018). TheRSPB and Tristan da Cunha Government have partnered to spread cereal pellets withrodenticide bait across Gough Island, in hopes to eradicate the invasive mice population.[85] The goal of this operation is to restore Tristan da Cunha to its natural state, ensuring it will still be one of the world's most important seabird nesting sites.[85]
A combination of the list on Kew'sPlants of the World Online site with information from a paper by Wace and Holdgate[86] yields the following list (by no means exhaustive) of plant species recorded as native to Tristan da Cunha.
Tristan da Cunha acquired an estimated 137 non-native vascular plants that can be categorized into four species types; weeds (trees, shrubs, agricultural weeds), grassland species (grasses), garden escapes (vegetables), and other ruderal species.[88] Vascular plants were accidentally introduced in a variety of ways including: impurities in flower or vegetable seeds; seeds or plant fragments from other imported plants; and in soil, attached to containers, cars or people.[88] The majority of invasive weed species that have been introduced to the island are spread by seed and cover 50% of arable land in widely distributed patches.[88] These species include prickly sow-thistle (Sonchus asper), smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), smooth hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris), scrambling fumitory (Fumaria muralis), green field speedwell (Veronica agrestis), groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), and nutgrass (Cyperus esculentus).[88] Other invasive weed species that have a more localized distribution in plots include prickly sow-thistle (Sonchus asper), smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), smooth hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris), and groundsel (Senecio vulgaris).[88] Whether a species is distributed locally or widely depends on the seed's dispersal mechanisms; larger seeds that have not adapted to wind dispersal will be distributed locally, while smaller seeds that have adapted to wind dispersal will be widely distributed.[88]
The invasive plants have had several negative impacts on native island plant species, including the competitive exclusion of many such species.[88] The out-competition can and will alter the structure of plant communities and the quality of the islands' soil. Introduced vegetation has altered long-term carbon storage as well as the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere.[88] Native plants such asfern bushes,Phylica bushes, fern brakes, mires, and bogs, contain high organic content matter which functions as storage for carbon.[88] With the introduction of harmful species, the islands will see a decrease in carbon storage of both the soil and vegetation. With multiple changes occurring within the soil due to invasive plant species, thenutrient cycle is bound to be negatively influenced. Invasive plants are also affecting the human population of Tristan da Cunha by being disease carriers and becoming agricultural pests in gardens and pastures.[88]
The alien plants are able to survive and continue to grow and spread successfully on the islands because they have the ability to naturalize intemperate regions and have limited necessities needed to survive.[88] The islands' isolation increases archipelago ecology uniqueness, which increases susceptibility to foreign invaders.[82] A small human population with minimal development encourages flora and fauna development within a limited food web, which increases the invasive species' abilities for self-defense.[82]
Plants are being controlled by taking surveys of the invasive species, evaluating their impact on biodiversity, and evaluating the feasibility of their eradication.[84] It would be nearly impossible to try and eradicate all invasive plant species, so scientists are narrowing down to control particular species based on their impact and feasibility to eradicate. Mitigation plans that are taking place on Tristan are time-consuming and labour-intensive and will take several years using mechanical and chemical procedures.[82]
The endemicTristan thrush, also known as the "starchy", occurs on all of the northern islands and each has its own subspecies, with Tristan birds being slightly smaller and duller than those on Nightingale and Inaccessible. The endemicInaccessible Island rail, the smallest extant flightless bird in the world, is found only on Inaccessible Island. In 1956, eightGough moorhens were released atSandy Point on Tristan and have subsequently colonised the island.[92]
1954 Tristan da Cunha stamp depicting "elephant seal at Gough Island"Tristan da Cunha 1960 Marine Life stamps
The largest no take zone in the Atlantic, and at 687,247 square kilometres (265,348 sq mi), the fourth largest in the world, was designated on 13 November 2020. TheMarine Protected Area bans mining and fishing (except the locallobster fishery), with enforcement the responsibility of the UK government via satellite surveillance. According to theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the islands and surrounding ocean is one of the most pristine temperateecosystems on the planet.[93][94][95]
Various species ofwhales anddolphins can be seen around Tristan from time to time with increasing sighting rates, although recovery of baleen whales, especially thesouthern right whale, were severely hindered by illegal whaling by theSoviet Union in the aftermath of the 1960 volcanic eruption.[96] Thesubantarctic fur seal (Arctophoca tropicalis) can also be found in the Tristan archipelago, mostly on Gough Island.[97]
The biodiversity of marine life is limited given the islands' isolation, making identifying the impacts of invasion difficult. While much of the marine life is unknown, there has been an invasive species identified in the waters around the islands. This species is the South American silver porgy (Diplodus argenteus argenteus), which is thought to have sought refuge in the area due to the wreck of an oil platform off the coast of Tristan in 2006. The silver porgy is omnivorous, but is not linked to the consumption of the valued lobster populations that the islanders fish.[98] The silver porgy is however suspected to be consuming components of the islands' fragilekelp forest. The giant kelp forests ofMacrocystis pyrifera are extremely limited in biodiversity and have a simple, short-chain food web. While this species is considered non-native and invasive, removal efforts are currently not prioritized. Continued monitoring is suggested, and expedition research for all invasive marine species is ongoing.[98]
The island has a unique social and economic structure in which all resident families farm and all land is communally owned. Outsiders are prohibited from buying land or settling on Tristan. Besides subsistence agriculture, major industries are commercial fishing and government. Major export industries are theTristan rock lobster (Jasus) fishery, the sale of the island'spostage stamps and coins, and limited tourism.[99] Like mostBritish Overseas Territories, it was never a part of theEuropean Union, but was a member of the EU'sOverseas Countries and Territories Association.[100]
TheBank of Saint Helena was established on Saint Helena andAscension Island in 2004. This bank does not have a physical presence on Tristan da Cunha, but residents of Tristan are entitled to its services.[101] Although Tristan da Cunha is part of the same overseas territory as Saint Helena, it does not use the localSaint Helena pound;sterling is used directly instead.[102]
The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. Tristan da Cunha has noairstrip and is not generally accessible to air travel, though the wider territory is served bySaint Helena Airport[103][104] andRAF Ascension Island.[105] Fishing boats from South Africa provide transport service to the islands eight or nine times per year.[citation needed]
TheRMSSt Helena used to connect the main island to St Helena and South Africa once each year during its January voyage, but has done so only a few times in the last years – in 2006, in 2011,[106] and most recently in 2018.[107] In the same year the RMSSt Helena was withdrawn from service. Three ships, the MVLance, the MFVEdinburgh, and theSAAgulhas II, regularly service Tristan da Cunha from Cape Town, with typically fewer than a dozen visits a year.[108] Other vessels may occasionally visit the island.[109] The harbour atEdinburgh of the Seven Seas is called Calshot Harbour, named afterthe place in Hampshire, England, where the islanders temporarily stayed during the 1961–1963Queen Mary's Peak volcanic eruption.[110]
Unlike Saint Helena with its airport, hotels, and restaurants, due to its remoteness, Tristan da Cunha has a very small tourism industry. As the island can only be reached from Cape Town in rough seas on vessels with limited vacancies, a trip must be planned months in advance, and only after a visit request is approved by theIsland Council.[111]
Occasional boats or cruises may include a short visit to the island in their itinerary, but as there is no deep harbour, setting ashore is highly dependent on the maritime conditions. All visitors staying on Tristan must have a confirmed and fully paid return ticket, health insurance to include cover in case of medical evacuation to Cape Town, and sufficient funds to cover their entire stay. There are no hotels on the island. A visitor can rent a guest house (catered or self-catering) or stay in a private home on a full-board basis. There is a Tourism Post Office that sells souvenirs that might take months to arrive if ordered online.[112]
The Tristan Government, along with the Tristan Association, set up a public website by 2005. The website has many pages, which include an online shop, a list of recent news about and on the island, and a simple online tour.[113]
TheITU has assigned telephone country code+290 for Tristan da Cunha;[114] however, residents have access to theForeign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network, provided byGlobal Crossing.[115] This service uses aLondon 020 numbering range, meaning that numbers are accessed via theUK telephone numbering plan.[116] Satellite-delivered internet access arrived in Tristan da Cunha in 1998, but its high cost initially made it almost unaffordable for the local population, who primarily used it only to send e‑mail.[117] The connection was also extremely unreliable, connecting through a 64 kbit/s satellite phone connection provided byInmarsat.[citation needed] On 16 September 2024, satellite internet viaStarLink was made available on the island, offering much higher speeds than previously available.[118]
Since 2006, avery-small-aperture terminal has provided bandwidth for government purposes that is also made available via an internet café and (after office hours) via Wi-Fi to island homes.[119] As of 2016[update], there is not yet any mobile telephone coverage on the islands.[120]
The Government and Tristan da Cunha Association[121] jointly run the island official website[122] with all practical information, news, and facts about the island. While the site is updated from mainland UK,[123] due to slow internet, the photos taken and uploaded from Tristan da Cunha are all in low resolution, which allows online navigation in the territory with acceptable speed.[citation needed]
There are no political parties or trade unions on Tristan. Executive authority is vested in the King, who is represented in the territory by thegovernor of Tristan da Cunha. Prior to 2009, Tristan da Cunha was a dependency of Saint Helena, and therefore directly represented by thegovernor of Saint Helena. TheSt Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 madeSaint Helena,Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha equal constituent parts of the territory with their own governments, and established the position of Governor of Tristan da Cunha.[127] Per Section 208 of the Constitution Order, the person appointed asGovernor of Saint Helena isex officio Governor of Tristan da Cunha. However, as Tristan da Cunha is 1,350 miles (2,170 km) away fromSaint Helena, an Administrator of Tristan da Cunha is appointed to act as the governor's representative on the island.
This arrangement predates the current constitutional structure, and the first administrator was appointed in the 1940s. Previously, the administrator also acted as the localmagistrate, but the appointment is to be transferred to a non-member of the executive or legislative branches of government. The administrator is a career civil servant in the Foreign Office, selected by London, who acts as the local head of government and takes advice from theTristan da Cunha Island Council. Since 1998, each administrator has usually served a three-year term (which begins in September, upon arrival of the supply ship from Cape Town). Fiona Kilpatrick and Stephen Townsend were exceptions to this rule, having taken up their job-share office in January 2020.[128]
The Administrator and Island Council work from the Government Building, which is the only two-story building on the island. The building is sometimes referred to as "Whitehall" or the "H'admin Building" and contains the Administrator's Office, Treasury Department, Administration Offices, and the Council Chamber where Island Council meetings are held. Policing is undertaken by one full-time police inspector and threespecial constables. Tristan da Cunha has some legislation of its own, but the law of Saint Helena applies generally 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.[129]
The Island Council is made up of eight elected and three appointed members, who serve a three-year term beginning in February or March. A separate but simultaneous vote is held to select the Chief Islander, who is the community's political leader. Ian Lavarello was elected to the position in March, 2025.[130]
Tristan da Cunha recorded a population of 243 in the June 2021 census.[139] The only settlement isEdinburgh of the Seven Seas (known locally as "The Settlement"). The current residents are thought to have descended from fifteen outside ancestors, eight male and seven female, who arrived on the island at various dates between 1816 and 1908. The men were European, and the women were mixed race. Now all of the population has mixed ancestry. In addition, a male contributor of eastern European / Russian descent arrived in the early 1900s.[140] In 1963, when families returned after the evacuation due to the 1961 volcanic eruption, the 200 settlers included four Tristan da Cunha women who brought with them new English husbands.[141]
Housing in Tristan da CunhaPotato patchesGuest houses provide accommodation for visitors, as there are no hotels on the island.
The female descendants have been traced by genetic study to five female founders, believed to be mixed-race (African, Asian, and European descent) and from Saint Helena. The historical data recounted that there were two pairs of sisters, but themtDNA evidence showed only one pair of sisters.[142]
The early male founders originated fromScotland,England, theNetherlands, theUnited States, andItaly, who belonged to threeY-haplogroups:I (M170),R-SRY10831.2, andR (M207) (xSRY10831.2).[143] The male founders shared seven surnames: Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Repetto, Rogers, and Swain.[7][b] The surnames Collins, Squibb, and Patterson were brought to the island by Tristanian women, returning with their English husbands from the evacuation of the early 1960s.[144] The surnames Collins and Squibb continue to be used on the island. In addition, a newhaplotype was found that is associated with men from Eastern Europe and Russia. It entered the population in the early 1900s, at a time when the island was visited by Russian sailing ships. There is "evidence for the contribution of a hidden ancestor who left his genes, but not his name, on the island."[143] Another four instances of non-paternity were found among male descendants, but researchers believed their fathers were probably among the early island population.[143]
St Joseph's Catholic churchSt Joseph's Catholic Church
There are eighty families on the island.[145] Like many remote island communities, Tristan da Cunha has a shrinking, ageing population.[146] In the past, Tristan da Cunha mothers had to travel toCape Town to give birth, but since the opening of theCamogli Healthcare Centre in 2017 have been able to give birth on the island.[147]
Tristan da Cunha English, also locally called Tristanian, is spoken on the isolated island in the South Atlantic. It is the smallest and most isolated native-speaker community of English. It is a form ofSouth Atlantic English, and shares similarities with Saint Helenian English. Tristanian has several notable unique phonetic and phonological characteristics, such as the following.
The vowel in words like "face" is non-diphthongized, pronounced as [fe:s].
Stops, such as the medial consonants in "button", "bottle", and "people", are glottalized.
Extensive insertion of the sound [h] occurs in words like "happle" and "hafter", merging the pronunciation of "island" with "highland".
Devoicing of the medial -z- and -zh- sounds is common, resulting in pronunciations like "sea[s]on" and "televi[sh]ion" with [s] and [sh] respectively.
Tristan da Cunha English is non-rhotic, with linking and intrusive [r] sounds.
Tristan da Cunha English shares non-standard grammatical features with other English varieties in the Falkland Islands and St. Helena. Among its features:
Plural marking after numbers is absent, as seen in constructions like "five pound".
Distinct second person plural pronouns are used, such as "y'all" and "you's".
Verbal inflectional morphology is simplified, as in "She sing real good" and "They never eat much them days."
The pronoun "them" is used to mark definite noun phrases, as seen in sentences like "They never eat much them days."
Expressiveness drives peculiarities in Tristan da Cunha English, including double comparatives (e.g., "I like that more better") and double negation (e.g., "nobody never come out or nothing").
In questions, inversion is not used, as in constructions like "Where they is?"
Children leave school at age 16, and although they can takeGCSEs, few do.[148][149] The school on the island isSt. Mary's School, which serves children from ages 4 to 16. The Naval Station had established a school building duringWorld War II. The current facility opened in 1975 and has five classrooms, a kitchen, a stage, a computer room, and a craft and science room.[150] Tristan students doing post-16 education receive assistance from the Tristan da Cunha Association Education Trust Fund and typically do so in theUnited Kingdom andSouth Africa.[151]
The Tristan Song Project was a collaboration between St. Mary's School and amateur composers in Britain, led by music teacher Tony Triggs. It began in 2010 and involved St. Mary's pupils writing poems and Triggs providing musical settings by himself and his pupils.[152] Adesktop publication entitledRockhopper Penguins and Other Songs (2010) embraced most of the songs completed that year and funded a consignment of guitars to the school.[153] In February 2013, the Tristan Post Office issued a set of four Song Project stamps featuring island musical instruments and lyrics from Song Project songs about Tristan's volcano and wildlife. In 2014, the project broadened its scope and continues as the International Song Project.[154][155]
Healthcare is funded by the government, undertaken at most times by one resident doctor. Surgery or facilities for complex childbirth are therefore limited, and emergencies can necessitate communicating with passing fishing vessels so the injured person can be ferried toCape Town.[158]
As of late 2007,IBM and Beacon Equity Partners, co-operating with Medweb, theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the island's government on "Project Tristan", had supplied the island's doctor with access to long distancetele-medical help, making it possible to sendEKG andX-ray pictures to doctors in other countries for instant consultation.[159]
The Camogli Healthcare Centre, usually referred to asthe hospital, was built and equipped in 2016–2017 to the latest UK National Health Service (NHS) standards and was officially opened on 7 June 2017.[160] It is located in the southwestern corner of the settlement below the previous hospital (built in 1971), which is now used by the veterinarians, and for general storage. The new hospital was funded by the UK Department for International Development with the intention that the improved facilities would allow more procedures to be performed locally by visiting specialists, and therefore reduce the need for expensive referrals to Cape Town.[161]
There are normally two expatriate doctors on the island, who provide 24-hour cover. There are also normally two expatriate and four local nurses, as well as two dental technicians, a hospital manager, and ancillary staff. The medical staff deal with day-to-day medical matters, handle emergency cases, and undertake minor surgery. More complex and serious cases are transported to Cape Town for treatment, as were all expectant mothers for their deliveries until the Camogli Healthcare Centre was completed in 2017 and new medical facilities enabled local mothers to give birth on the island.[162] As of 2022, five babies had been born in the island's Camogli Healthcare Centre.[163][164][165]
There are instances of health problems attributed toendogamy, includingglaucoma. In addition, there is a very high (42%) incidence ofasthma among the population, and research by Noe Zamel of theUniversity of Toronto has led to discoveries about the genetic nature of the disease.[166] Three of the original settlers of the island had asthma.[167]
Tristan residents Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello were recorded in 1962 whilst evacuated inCalshot,Hampshire, byMaud Karpeles andPeter Kennedy singing traditional songs and discussing the culture of the island, mainly music and dance; the full recording (split between seven tapes and also including other Tristan residents) can be heard on theBritish Library Sound Archive website.[168][169][170][171][172][173][174] On these tapes, Mary Swain sings traditionalEnglish folk songs learnt from her mother, including seventeenth-centuryChild Ballads such as "Barbara Allen"[175] and "The Golden Vanity".[176] She also describes how dance was an important element of life on Tristan; well-known dances such asstep dances,waltzes,polkas,mazurkas andschottisches were common, as well as many unique traditional dances such as "The Donkey Dance", "The Pillow Dance", "The Chair Dance" and something called "Tabby Oaker's Big Toe" which involved displaying one's feet.[168] It seems that the music and dance of Tristan was ultimately derived from English traditions, but various peculiarities had developed.[citation needed]
(BFBS TV) provides six TV channels:BBC One,BBC Two,ITV,Channel 4,Sky News andBFBS Extra, relayed to islanders via local transmitters.Longboats in front of the administrator's residenceThe supermarket provides the islands with all necessary goods.
Local television began in 1984 using taped programming on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.[178] Live television did not arrive on the island until 2001, with the introduction of theBritish Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS TV), which now provides six channels:BBC One,BBC Two,ITV,Channel 4,Sky News andBFBS Extra, relayed to islanders via local transmitters. Recently the service was upgraded to digital, most TV screens are modern and DTV, while some older analogue CRT equipment is still in use with digital boxes connected, and there is at least one TV set per house. BFBS Radio 2 is the locally available radio station.[179]
TheTristan Times was an online newspaper for the island published from 2003 to 2019.[180] The island government also posts news announcements on its website, which is maintained by the UK-based Tristan da Cunha Association.[181]
The island holds an annual break from government and factory work, which begins before Christmas and lasts for three weeks. The beginning of the holiday, called Break-Up Day, is usually marked with parties and celebrations.[182] The islanders would traditionally have parties onBoxing Day, but not onChristmas Day.[174]
Traditionally, on"Old Year's Day/Night" (meaning "New Year's Eve"), the islanders would conceal their identities with masks orblackface and the men would wear women's clothing; everyone would celebrate anonymously moving between households, singing songs, dancing, shouting, playing instruments and firing guns. At the stroke of midnight, a bell would announce the new year. On New Year's Day, the islanders would play cricket and football, and once again party later in the day.[169][174] The disguises sometimes recall EnglishBorder Morris dancers.
It has been reported that football was introduced to the locals in the 1920s by Rev. Henry Rogers, and it remains the island's favourite sport.[183] Rose, Henry's wife, wrote about informal kick-abouts continuing for years, and these fast became a part of Tristanian culture.[184] The islanders would split themselves into two teams and play friendly matches, especially on dates of special occasions, such as weddings, christenings etc.[citation needed]
In 1940 Tristan da Cunha's footballers played their first "international" game against the crew of a Norwegian ship. No record remains of the score. In the ensuing years, the game flourished, with the islanders playing matches against crews from vessels of various nationalities, including ships from the Royal Navy.[citation needed]
With live transmissions of televised football, the sport regained its former popularity.[185] Tristan da Cunha FC was formed in 2002.[186] A local fishing company bought them a kit (white shirts and blue shorts). They had a very basic pitch on American Field, named in recognition of the American forces stationed there duringWorld War II.[187] However, opponents were in short supply. It was a case of waiting for visiting opponents, and sometimes years might go by without any opportunities to play foreign opposition.[188] Their first match was against a South African fishing vessel and they[who?] lost 10–6. The remoteness of Tristan da Cunha makes it virtually impossible for the team to travel abroad to play against foreign opposition. In recent times, the club's numbers have dropped to a level where only 5-a-side matches are being played.[185]
Conrad Jack GlassMBE (born 1961) is a Tristanian police officer and a former Chief Islander.[191] He is the first islander to have written a book about it,Rockhopper Copper (2005).[192]
^The visit took place during the Duke of Edinburgh'scircumnavigation undertaken while commanding HMSGalatea. Tristan da Cunha post office issued four stamps in 1967 to celebrate the centenary of this visit.[24]
^The seven surnames are thought to have been immigrants who were Scottish (Rogers), Dutch (Glass), English (Green, Swain), Irish (Hagan), Italian (Lavarello, Repetto) (both probably Ligurian).
^abFaustini, Arnaldo (2003). Carrol, Paul (ed.).The Annals of Tristan da Cunha(PDF). Translated by Nysven, Liz; Conrad, Larry. p. 9.Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved28 December 2018.
^Fontana, Nicolaus (1782).Tagebuch der Reise des k.k. Schiffes Joseph und Theresia nach den neuen österreichischen Pflanzorten in Asia und Afrika. Translated by Eyerel, Joseph. Dessau und Leipzig. re-published asPilleri, G., ed. (1982).Maria Teresa e le Indie orientali: La spedizione alle Isole Nicobare della nave Joseph und Theresia e il diario del chirurgo di bordo. Bern, CH: Verlag de hirnanatomischen Institutes. p. 9.
^Bolts, Guillaume (1785).Précis de l'Origine, de la Marche et de la Chûte de la Compagnie d'Asie et d'Afrique dans les Ports du Littoral Autrichien. Liege. p. 14. cited invan Bruyssel, Ernest Jean (1865).Histoire du commerce et de la marine en Belgique. Vol. 3. Bruxelles. pp. 295–299.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) and cited inBrander, Jan (1940).Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1902. London: Unwin. pp. 49–50. and cited in article"Charles Proli".Biographie nationale ... de Belgique. Bruxelles. 1905.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abFrost, Alan (1980).Convicts & Empire: A naval question, 1776–1811. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
^Blankett, John (6 August 1786). "[settlement on Tristan da Cunha]". Letter to Howe. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum. HOW 3. cited in Frost (1980)[14]: 119, 216
^Grenville (3 October 1789). "[general survey of the South Atlantic]". Letter to Admiralty Lords. Public Record Office. ADM 1/4154: 43. cited in Frost (1980)[14]: 148, 220
^Robbins, Helen H. (1908).Our First Ambassador to China. London: Murray. pp. 197–210.
^abcMackay, Margaret (1963).Angry Island: The Story of Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1963. London: Arthur Barker. p. 30.
^Millington, Peter."The Lifeboat Disaster". Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association. Archived fromthe original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved18 April 2021.
^Faustini, Arnaldo (14 September 2003). Carrol, Paul (ed.).The Annals of Tristan da Cunha(PDF). Translated by Nysven, Liz; Conrad, Larry. p. 58.Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved18 February 2023.
^"Tristan da Cunha Stamps".Tristan da Cunha. Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association. 8 December 2015.Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved2 January 2019.
^Lawrence, Nigel (8 August 2017)."Tristan da Cunha".Shipping Today & Yesterday Magazine.Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved2 January 2019.
^"Outgoing Ship Mail". Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions LLC. Sale 4010 – Web / Internet. Archived fromthe original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved2 January 2019.
^"Tristan Island".Important Bird Areas. Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2012.Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved28 December 2018.
^BirdLife International."Spectacled Petrel".Data Zone. BirdLife Species Factsheet. Archived fromthe original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved5 January 2019.
^ab"Tristan da Cunha".National Geographic. February 2017.Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved20 November 2023.
^"Economy of Tristan da Cunha". Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association. June 2005.Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved12 March 2008.
^"Answers to Yesterday's Questions". Can You Tell —.Dundee Evening Telegraph. 24 May 1934. p. 7. Retrieved3 January 2019.When the French training cruiser,Jeanne d'Arc, recently called at Tristan da Cunha, there were 167 inhabitants living in 40 low-built thatched cottages.
^The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). 1970–1979.
^ab"Tristan Da Cunha".The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.).Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved2 January 2019 – via Encyclopedia.com.
^The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2013.
^"Population Update". Tristan da Cunha Families.Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved20 July 2021.
^Munch, Peter (1970).Crisis in Utopia. New York: Longmans. p. 55.ISBN978-0582105119.
^Weaver, Barry (2003)."Tristan da Cunha". College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences. University of Oklahoma. Archived fromthe original on 10 June 2007.
^Millington, Peter (8 July 2021)."Birth of Jake Peter Swain".Tristan da Cunha Website.Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved27 August 2023.
^Crossan, Rob (11 November 2002). "Return to the Last Outpost".Telegraph Magazine.
^"Tristan School". Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association. Archived fromthe original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved21 June 2009.
^"Education in Tristan da Cunha". Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association.Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved6 January 2020. — see cited material in the right hand panel
^Triggs, Tony (writing as "Aquila") (July–August 2012), "The Rockhopper songbook",Aquila, pp. 4–5
^Glass, Conrad J. (2005).Rockhopper Copper: The life and times of the people of the most remote inhabited island on Earth. Leominster: Orphans Press.ISBN9781903360101.
A Short Guide to Tristan da Cunha by James Glass and Anne Green, Tristan Chief Islanders (2005, Whitby Press, 12 pages).
Field Guides to the Animals and Plants of Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island Edited by Peter Ryan (2007, RSPB Publication, 168 pages).
Gough Island: A Natural History by Christine Hanel, Steven Chown and Kevin Gaston (2005, Sun Press, 169 pages).
Crawford, Allan (1982).Tristan Da Cunha and the Roaring Forties. Anchor Press.ISBN978-0-2849-8589-7.
Culture
Isolation and Language Change: Contemporary and Sociohistorical Evidence from Tristan da Cunha English by Daniel Schreier (2003, Palgrave Macmillan, 237 pages).
Tristan da Cunha: History, People, Language by Daniel Schreier and Karen Lavarello-Schreier (2003, Battlebridge, 88 pages).
Rockhopper Copper: The life and times of the people of the most remote inhabited island on Earth byConrad Glass MBE, Tristan Police Officer (2005, Polperro Heritage Press, 176 pages).
Recipes from Tristan da Cunha by Dawn Repetto, Tristan Tourism Co-ordinator (2010, Tristan Books, 32 pages).
Corporal Glass's Island: The Story of Tristan da Cunha by Nancy Hosegood (1966, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 192 pages, with several pages of photographs).
Three Years in Tristan da Cunha by Katherine Mary Barrow (1910, Skeffington & Son, 200 pages, with 37 photographs).
24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
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