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Coordinates: 37°6′54″S 12°17′6″W / 37.11500°S 12.28500°W / -37.11500; -12.28500
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{{about|the South Atlantic island group|the Portuguese explorer|Tristão da Cunha}}
{{Short description|South Atlantic island group}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Good article}}
{{short description|South Atlantic island group}}
{{About|the South Atlantic island group|the Portuguese explorer|Tristão da Cunha}}
{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2015}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox dependency
{{Infobox dependency
| name = Tristan da Cunha
| name = Tristan da Cunha
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| linking_name = Tristan da Cunha
| linking_name = Tristan da Cunha
| image_flag = Flag of Tristan da Cunha.svg
| image_flag = Flag of Tristan da Cunha.svg
| flag_size = 155px
| flag_size = 130px
| flag_link = Flag of Tristan da Cunha
| flag_link = Flag of Tristan da Cunha
| image_seal = Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha.svg
| image_seal = Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha.svg
| seal_size = 72px
| seal_size = 80px
| seal_type = Coat of arms
| seal_type = Coat of arms
| seal_link = Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha
| seal_link = Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha
| motto = "Our faith is our strength"
| motto = "Our faith is our strength"
| anthem = "[[God Save the Queen]]"<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:United States Navy Band - God Save the Queen.ogg]]</div>
| anthem = "[[God Save the King]]"<br /><div
style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:U.S. Navy Band - God Save the King.oga]]</div>
| song = "[[Cutty Wren|The Cutty Wren]]"
| song = "[[Cutty Wren|The Cutty Wren]]"
| song_type = Territorial song
| song_type = Territorial song
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|caption =
|caption =
|places =
|places =
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
|mark=Redpoint2.svg
|marksize=5
|lat_deg=7 |lat_min=56 |lat_dir=S |lon_deg=14 |lon_min=22 |lon_dir=W
}}
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
|mark= BSicon lHST.svg
|marksize=3
|lat_deg=7 |lat_min=56 |lat_dir=S |lon_deg=14 |lon_min=22 |lon_dir=W
}}
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
|mark=Redpoint2.svg
|marksize=5
|lat_deg=15 |lat_min=57 |lat_dir=S |lon_deg=005 |lon_min=43 |lon_dir=W
}}
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
|mark=BSicon lHST.svg
|marksize=3
|lat_deg=15 |lat_min=57 |lat_dir=S |lon_deg=005 |lon_min=43 |lon_dir=W
}}
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
{{Location map~ |South Atlantic
|mark=Redpoint2.svg
|mark=Redpoint2.svg
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| map_caption2 = Location of Tristan da Cunha archipelago (circled in red) in the southern [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| map_caption2 = Location of Tristan da Cunha archipelago (circled in red) in the southern [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| subdivision_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name = [[United Kingdom]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| established_title = First settlement
| established_title = First settlement
| established_date = 1810
| established_date = 1810
| established_title2 = Dependency of [[Cape Colony]]
| established_title2 = Dependency of [[Cape Colony]]
| established_date2 = 14 August 1816<ref name="Crawford1982">{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Allan|title=Tristan da Cunha and the Roaring Forties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fIuAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=13 August 2013|year=1982|publisher=Charles Skilton|page=20}}</ref>
| established_date2 = 14 August 1816<ref name="Crawford1982">{{cite book |last=Crawford |first=Allan |title=Tristan da Cunha and the Roaring Forties |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fIuAQAAIAAJ |access-date=13 August 2013 |year=1982 |publisher=Charles Skilton |page=20 |isbn=9780284985897}}</ref>
| established_title3 = Dependency of Saint Helena
| established_title3 = Dependency of Saint Helena
| established_date3 = 12 January 1938
| established_date3 = 12 January 1938
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| official_languages = [[English language|English]]
| official_languages = [[English language|English]]
| capital = [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]]
| capital = [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|37|4|S|12|19|W|type:city}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|37|4|3|S|12|18|40|W|type:city}}
| largest_settlement = capital
| largest_settlement = capital
| largest_settlement_type = largest settlement
| largest_settlement_type = largest settlement
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| government_type = [[Devolution|Devolved]] [[Local government|locally governing]] [[Dependent territory|dependency]] under a [[constitutional monarchy]]
| government_type = [[Devolution|Devolved]] [[Local government|locally governing]] [[Dependent territory|dependency]] under a [[constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Monarch]]
| leader_title1 = [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Monarch]]
| leader_name1 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| leader_name1 = [[Charles III]]
| leader_title2 = [[Governor of Saint Helena|Governor]]
| leader_title2 = [[Governor of Tristan da Cunha|Governor]]
| leader_name2 = Philip Rushbrook
| leader_name2 = [[Nigel Phillips]]
| leader_title3 = [[Administrator of Tristan da Cunha|Administrator]]
| leader_title3 = [[Administrator of Tristan da Cunha|Administrator]]
| leader_name3 = Philip Kendall<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2023-09-26-philipkendallasi.php |title=Philip Kendall sworn-in as Tristan Administrator |first=Richard |last=Grundy |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011014324/https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2023-09-26-philipkendallasi.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
| leader_name3 = Fiona Kilpatrick and Stephen Townsend (job share)
| leader_title4 = [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council|Chief Islander]]
| leader_title4 = [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council|Chief Islander]]
| leader_name4 = James Glass<ref>{{cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Chief Islander|url=http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php|publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association|accessdate=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000250/http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php|archive-date=6 September 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| leader_name4 = [[James Glass (Chief Islander)|James Glass]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Chief Islander |url=http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000250/http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |archive-date=6 September 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| legislature = [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council|Island Council]]
| legislature = [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council|Island Council]]
| national_representation = [[Government of the United Kingdom]]
| national_representation = [[Government of the United Kingdom]]
| national_representation_type1 = Minister
| national_representation_type1 = [[Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories|Minister]]
| national_representation1 = [[Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon|Tariq Ahmad]]
| national_representation1 = [[Stephen Doughty]]
| area_km2 = 207
| area_km2 = 207
| area_label2 = Main island
| area_label2 = Main island
| area_data2 = {{convert|98|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| area_data2 = {{cvt|98|km2|sqmi}}
| elevation_max_m = 2,062
| elevation_max_m = 2,062
| population_estimate = 246<ref name="tristandc.com">{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Family News |url=https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |accessdate=28 November 2019 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128111631/https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |archive-date=28 November 2019}}</ref>
| population_estimate = 238<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Population Update |first=Cynthia |last=Green |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=28 November 2019 |archive-date=28 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128111631/https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2019
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank =
| population_estimate_rank =
| population_census = 293<ref name="census2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Census-2016-summary-report.pdf |title=Census 2016 – summary report |publisher=St. Helena Government |page=9 |date=June 2016 |accessdate=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017192624/http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Census-2016-summary-report.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| population_census = 293<ref name="census2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Census-2016-summary-report.pdf |title=Census 2016 – summary report |publisher=St. Helena Government |page=9 |date=June 2016 |access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017192624/http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Census-2016-summary-report.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2016
| population_census_year = 2016
| population_density_km2 = 1.4
| population_density_km2 = 1.4
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| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy
| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy
| drives_on = left
| drives_on = left
| calling_code = {{hlist|[[Telephone numbers in Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha|+290]]|[[020|+44 20]]}}
| calling_code = +44 20 ''(assigned [[Telephone numbers in Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha|+290]])''
| postal_code_type = [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom#British Overseas Territories|UK postcode]]
| postal_code_type = [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom#British Overseas Territories|UK postcode]]
| postal_code = TDCU 1ZZ
| postal_code = TDCU 1ZZ
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| cctld = {{hlist|[[.sh]]|[[.uk]]}}
| cctld = {{hlist|[[.sh]]|[[.uk]]}}
}}
}}
'''Tristan da Cunha''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|t|r|ɪ|s|t|ən|_|d|ə|_|ˈ|k|uː|n|(|j|)|ə}}), colloquially '''Tristan''', is a remote group of [[volcano|volcanic]] [[island]]s in the south [[Atlantic Ocean]]. It is the [[Extreme points of Earth|most remote]] inhabited [[archipelago]] in the world, lying approximately {{convert|1511|mi|km}} off the coast of [[Cape Town, South Africa|Cape Town]] in [[South Africa]], {{convert|1343|mi|km}} from [[Saint Helena]] and {{convert|2166|mi|km}} off the coast of the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref name="howstuffworks.com">{{cite web |url=http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/most-remote-place1.htm |last=Winkler |first=Sarah |title=Where is the Most Remote Spot on Earth? Tristan da Cunha: The World's Most Remote Inhabited Island |website=[[How Stuff Works]] |access-date=28 December 2018 |df=dmy-all |date=2009-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |title=Tristan da Cunha: The World's Most Remote Island |first=Matt |last=Rosenberg |website=ThoughtCo.com |date=6 March 2017 |accessdate=28 December 2018 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
'''Tristan da Cunha''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|t|r|ɪ|s|t|ən|_|d|ə|_|ˈ|k|uː|n|(|j|)|ə}}), colloquially '''Tristan''', is a remote group of [[volcano|volcanic]] islands in the [[South Atlantic Ocean]]. It is the [[Extreme points of Earth|most remote]] inhabited [[archipelago]] in the world, lying approximately {{convert|1732|mi|km|order=flip}} from [[Cape Town, South Africa|Cape Town]] in [[South Africa]], {{convert|1514|mi|km|order=flip}} from [[Saint Helena]], {{convert|3949|km|mi|order=}} from [[Mar del Plata]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=tristan+da+cunha+to+mar+del+plata+distance |title=tristan da cunha to mar del plata distance - Google Search |website=www.google.com |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=26 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026130224/https://www.google.com/search?q=tristan+da+cunha+to+mar+del+plata+distance |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Argentina]], and {{convert|2487|mi|km|order=flip}} from the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref name="howstuffworks.com">{{cite web |url=http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/most-remote-place1.htm |last=Winkler |first=Sarah |title=Where is the Most Remote Spot on Earth? Tristan da Cunha: The World's Most Remote Inhabited Island |website=[[How Stuff Works]] |access-date=28 December 2018 |date=25 August 2009 |archive-date=27 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927152003/http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/most-remote-place1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |title=Tristan da Cunha: The World's Most Remote Island |first=Matt |last=Rosenberg |website=ThoughtCo.com |date=6 March 2017 |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524054103/https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |url-status=live }}</ref>


The territory consists of the inhabited island, Tristan da Cunha, which has a diameter of roughly {{convert|11|km}} and an area of {{convert|98|km2}}; the wildlife reserves of [[Gough Island]] and [[Inaccessible Island]]; and the smaller, uninhabited [[Nightingale Islands]]. {{As of|October 2018}}, the main island has 250&nbsp;permanent inhabitants, who all carry [[British Overseas Territories citizen]]ship.<ref name="tristandc.com"/> The other islands are uninhabited, except for the [[South Africans|South African]] personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.
The territory consists of the inhabited island Tristan da Cunha, which has a diameter of roughly {{convert|11|km}} and an area of {{convert|98|km2}}; the wildlife reserves of [[Gough Island]] and [[Inaccessible Island]]; and the smaller, uninhabited [[Nightingale Islands]]. {{As of|October 2018}}, the main island has 250&nbsp;permanent inhabitants, who all carry [[British Overseas Territories citizen]]ship.<ref name="tristandc.com">{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Family News |url=https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |access-date=28 November 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121070744/https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |archive-date=21 November 2021}}</ref> The other islands are uninhabited, except for the South African personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.


Tristan da Cunha is a [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]] with its own constitution.<ref name="Constitution">{{Cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |title=The St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 |year=2009 |website=The National Archives |accessdate=5 January 2019}}</ref> There is no [[airstrip]] on the main island; the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by boat, a six-day trip from [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/tristan-da-cunha-a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-ocean|title=Tristan da Cunha: a journey to the centre of the ocean|last=Corne|first=Lucy|website=Lonely Planet|language=en|access-date=2020-04-09}}</ref>
Tristan da Cunha is one of three constituent parts of the [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]] of [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]], with its own constitution.<ref name="Constitution">{{Cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |title=The St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 |year=2009 |website=The National Archives |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511202653/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |url-status=live }}</ref> There is no [[airstrip]] on the main island; the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by ship, a six-day trip from [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/tristan-da-cunha-a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-ocean |title=Tristan da Cunha: a journey to the centre of the ocean |last=Corne |first=Lucy |website=Lonely Planet |language=en |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=5 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605115824/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/tristan-da-cunha-a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-ocean |url-status=live }}</ref>


==History==
==History==
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===Discovery===
===Discovery===
[[File:Tristano da Acugna (Giovio Series) (cropped2).jpg|thumb|left|[[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] explorer and [[conquistador]] [[Tristão da Cunha]] is both the namesake of Tristan da Cunha and the first person to sight the island, in 1506.]]
[[File:Tristano da Acugna (Giovio Series) (cropped2).jpg|thumb|left|[[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] explorer and [[conquistador]] [[Tristão da Cunha]] is both the namesake of Tristan da Cunha and the first person to sight the island, in 1506.]]
The islands were first recorded as sighted in 1506 by [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Tristão da Cunha]], though rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, ''Ilha de Tristão da Cunha.'' It was later anglicised from its earliest mention on British [[Admiralty chart]]s to Tristan da Cunha Island. Some sources state that the Portuguese made the first landing in 1520, when the ''Lás Rafael'' captained by Ruy Vaz Pereira called at Tristan for water.<ref name="annals">{{cite book |url=http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |first1=Arnaldo |last1=Faustini |title=The Annals of Tristan da Cunha |date=2003-09-14 |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510041635/http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Carrol |translator1-first=Liz |translator1-last=Nysven |translator2-first=Larry |translator2-last=Conrad|page=9}}</ref>
The uninhabited islands were first recorded as sighted in 1506 by [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Tristão da Cunha]], though rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, {{lang|pt|Ilha de Tristão da Cunha}}. It was later anglicised from its earliest mention on British [[Admiralty chart]]s to Tristan da Cunha Island. Some sources state that the Portuguese made the first landing in 1520, when ''Lás Rafael'', captained by Ruy Vaz Pereira, called at Tristan for water.<ref name="annals">{{cite book |url=http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |first1=Arnaldo |last1=Faustini |title=The Annals of Tristan da Cunha |date= 2003 |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510041635/http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2015 |url-status=live |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Carrol |translator1-first=Liz |translator1-last=Nysven |translator2-first=Larry |translator2-last=Conrad |page=9}}</ref>


The first undisputed landing was made on 7&nbsp;February 1643 by the crew of the [[Dutch East India Company]] ship ''Heemstede,'' captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot. The Dutch stopped at the island four more times in the next 25&nbsp;years, and in 1656 created the first rough charts of the archipelago.<ref name=headland>{{cite book |last=Headland |first=J.K. |year=1989 |title=Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sg49AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA63 |accessdate=28 December 2018 |isbn=9780521309035}}</ref>
The first undisputed landing was made on 7&nbsp;February 1643 by the crew of the [[Dutch East India Company]] ship ''Heemstede,'' captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot. The Dutch stopped at the island four more times in the next 25{{nbsp}}years, and in 1656 created the first rough charts of the archipelago.<ref name=headland>{{cite book |last=Headland |first=J.K. |year=1989 |title=Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sg49AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA63 |access-date=28 December 2018 |isbn=9780521309035}}</ref>


The first full [[Geophysical survey|survey]] of the archipelago was made by crew of the French [[corvette]] ''Heure du Berger'' in 1767. The first scientific exploration was conducted by French naturalist [[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars]], who stayed on the island for three days in January 1793, during a French mercantile expedition from [[Brest, France]] to [[Mauritius]]. Thouars made botanical collections and reported traces of human habitation, including [[fireplaces]] and overgrown [[gardens]], probably left by Dutch explorers in the 17th&nbsp;century.<ref name=headland/>
The first full [[Geophysical survey|survey]] of the archipelago was made by the crew of the French [[corvette]] ''Heure du Berger'' in 1767. The first scientific exploration was conducted by French naturalist [[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars]], who stayed on the island for three days in January 1793, during a French mercantile expedition from [[Brest, France]], to [[Mauritius]]. Thouars made botanical collections and reported traces of human habitation, including [[fireplaces]] and overgrown [[gardens]], probably left by Dutch explorers in the 17th&nbsp;century.<ref name=headland/>


On his voyage out from Europe to East Africa and India in command of the [[Austrian East India Company|Imperial Asiatic Company of Trieste and Antwerp]] ship, ''Joseph et Therese'', [[William Bolts]] sighted Tristan da Cunha, put a landing party ashore on 2&nbsp;February 1777 and hoisted the Imperial flag, naming it and its neighboring islets the Isles de Brabant.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nicolaus |last=Fontana |title=Tagebuch der Reise des k.k. Schiffes Joseph und Theresia nach den neuen österreichischen Pflanzorten in Asia und Afrika |translator-first=Joseph |translator-last=Eyerel |place=Dessau und Leipzig |year=1782}}<br/>re-published as {{cite book |editor-first=G. |editor-last=Pilleri |title=Maria Teresa e le Indie orientali: La spedizione alle Isole Nicobare della nave Joseph und Theresia e il diario del chirurgo di bordo |place=Bern, CH |publisher=Verlag de hirnanatomischen Institutes |year=1982 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Guillaume |last=Bolts |title=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 |place=Liege |year=1785 |page=14}}<br/>cited in {{cite book |first=Ernest Jean |last=van Bruyssel |title=Histoire du commerce et de la marine en Belgique |place=Bruxelles |year=1865 |volume=3 |pages=295–299}}<br/>and cited in {{cite book |first=Jan |last=Brander |title=Tristan da Cunha, 1506-1902 |place=London, UK |publisher=Unwin |year=1940 |pages=49–50}}<br/>and cited in article {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Biographie nationale ... de Belgique |place=Bruxelles |year=1905 |title=Charles Proli}}</ref> In fact, no settlement or facilities were ever set up there by the company.
On his voyage out from Europe to East Africa and India in command of the [[Austrian East India Company|Imperial Asiatic Company of Trieste and Antwerp]] ship, ''Joseph and Theresa'', [[William Bolts]] sighted Tristan da Cunha, put a landing party ashore on 2&nbsp;February 1777 and hoisted the Imperial flag, naming it and its neighbouring islets the Brabant Islands.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nicolaus |last=Fontana |title=Tagebuch der Reise des k.k. Schiffes Joseph und Theresia nach den neuen österreichischen Pflanzorten in Asia und Afrika |translator-first=Joseph |translator-last=Eyerel |place=Dessau und Leipzig |year=1782}}<br/>re-published as {{cite book |editor-first=G. |editor-last=Pilleri |title=Maria Teresa e le Indie orientali: La spedizione alle Isole Nicobare della nave Joseph und Theresia e il diario del chirurgo di bordo |place=Bern, CH |publisher=Verlag de hirnanatomischen Institutes |year=1982 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Guillaume |last=Bolts |title=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 |place=Liege |year=1785 |page=14}}<br/>cited in {{cite book |first=Ernest Jean |last=van Bruyssel |title=Histoire du commerce et de la marine en Belgique |place=Bruxelles |year=1865 |volume=3 |pages=295–299}}<br/>and cited in {{cite book |first=Jan |last=Brander |title=Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1902 |place=London|publisher=Unwin |year=1940 |pages=49–50}}<br/>and cited in article {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Biographie nationale ... de Belgique |place=Bruxelles |year=1905 |title=Charles Proli}}</ref> However, no settlement or facilities were ever set up there by the company.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}


After the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War]] halted [[penal transportation]] to [[Thirteen Colonies]], British prisons started to [[Prison overcrowding|overcrowd]]. Since several stopgap measures proved themselves ineffective, the British Government announced in December&nbsp;1785 that it would proceed with the settlement of [[New South Wales]]. In September&nbsp;1786 [[Alexander Dalrymple]], presumably goaded by Bolts's actions, published a pamphlet<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Alexander Dalrymple |first=A. |last=Dalrymple |title=A Serious Admonition to the Publick on the Intended Thief Colony at Botany Bay |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-19515009/view?partId=nla.obj-19595227#page/n2/mode/1up |page=n&nbsp;2 |id=NLA part ID 19595227 |department=National Library of Australia |website=nla.gov.au |place=London |publisher=Sewell }}</ref> with an alternative proposal of his own for settlements on Tristan da Cunha, [[Île Saint-Paul|St.&nbsp;Paul]] and [[Île Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] islands in the Southern Ocean.
After the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War]] halted [[penal transportation]] to the [[Thirteen Colonies]], British prisons started to [[Prison overcrowding in the United Kingdom|overcrowd]]. As several stopgap measures proved to be ineffective, the British Government announced in December&nbsp;1785 that it would proceed with the settlement of [[New South Wales]]. In September&nbsp;1786 [[Alexander Dalrymple]], presumably goaded by Bolts's actions, published a pamphlet<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Alexander Dalrymple |first=A. |last=Dalrymple |title=A Serious Admonition to the Publick on the Intended Thief Colony at Botany Bay |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-19515009/view?partId=nla.obj-19595227#page/n2/mode/1up |page=2 |id=NLA part ID 19595227 |via=National Library of Australia |place=London |publisher=Sewell}}</ref> with an alternative proposal of his own for settlements on Tristan da Cunha, [[Île Saint-Paul|St.&nbsp;Paul]] and [[Île Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] islands in the Southern Ocean.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}


Captain [[John Blankett]], R.N., also suggested independently to his superiors in August&nbsp;1786 that convicts be used to establish a British settlement on Tristan.{{refn|{{cite letter |last=Blankett |first=John, Captain R.N. |author-link=John Blankett |recipient=Howe |subject=[settlement on Tristan da Cunha] |date=6 August 1786 |publisher=National Maritime Museum |place=Greenwich |id=HOW 3}}<br/> cited in Frost (1980)<ref name=Frost_1980/>{{rp|pages=119,216}} }} 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.{{refn|{{cite letter |last=Grenville |recipient=Admiralty Lords |subject=[general survey of the South Atlantic] |date=3 October 1789 |publisher=Public Record Office |id=ADM 1/4154: 43}}<br/>cited in Frost (1980)<ref name=Frost_1980>{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Frost |title=Convicts & Empire: A naval question, 1776–1811 |place=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1980}}</ref>{{rp|pages=148,220}} }} That did not happen, but an investigation of Tristan, Amsterdam and St. Paul was undertaken in December&nbsp;1792 and January&nbsp;1793 by [[George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney|George Macartney]], Britain's first ambassador to China. During his voyage to China, he established that none of the islands were suitable for settlement.<ref>{{cite book |first=Helen H. |last=Robbins |title=Our First Ambassador to China |place=London, UK |publisher=Murray |year=1908 |pages=197–210}}</ref>
Captain [[John Blankett]], [[Royal Navy|R.N.]], also suggested independently to his superiors in August&nbsp;1786 that convicts be used to establish a British settlement on Tristan.{{refn|{{cite letter |last=Blankett |first=John |author-link=John Blankett |recipient=Howe |subject=[settlement on Tristan da Cunha] |date=6 August 1786 |publisher=National Maritime Museum |place=Greenwich |id=HOW 3}}<br/> cited in Frost (1980)<ref name=Frost_1980/>{{rp|pages=119,216}} }} 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.{{refn|{{cite letter |last=Grenville |recipient=Admiralty Lords |subject=[general survey of the South Atlantic] |date=3 October 1789 |publisher=Public Record Office |id=ADM 1/4154: 43}}<br/>cited in Frost (1980)<ref name=Frost_1980>{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Frost |title=Convicts & Empire: A naval question, 1776–1811 |place=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1980}}</ref>{{rp|pages=148, 220}} }} That did not happen, but an investigation of Tristan, Amsterdam and St. Paul was undertaken in December&nbsp;1792 and January&nbsp;1793 by [[George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney|George Macartney]], Britain's first ambassador to China. During his voyage to China, he established that none of the islands were suitable for settlement.<ref>{{cite book |first=Helen H. |last=Robbins |title=Our First Ambassador to China |place=London |publisher=Murray |year=1908 |pages=197–210}}</ref>


===19th century===
===19th century===
The first permanent settler was [[Jonathan Lambert]] of [[Salem, Massachusetts]], United States, who moved to the island in December 1810 with two other men, and later a third.<ref name=mackay>{{cite book |last= Mackay |first= Margaret |year= 1963 |title= Angry Island: The Story of Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1963 |location= London |publisher= Arthur Barker |page= 30}}</ref> Lambert publicly declared the islands his property and named them the [[Islands of Refreshment]]. Three of the four men died in 1812; however, the survivor among the original three permanent settlers, [[Thomas Currie (settler)|Thomas Currie]] (or Tommaso Corri) remained as a farmer on the island.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tristan d'Acunha, etc.: Jonathan Lambert, late Sovereign thereof |magazine=Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine |volume=4 |issue=21 |date=Dec 1818 |pages=280–285 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tt_QAAAAMAAJ |via=Google Books}}</ref>
The first permanent settler was [[Jonathan Lambert (sailor)|Jonathan Lambert]] of [[Salem, Massachusetts]], United States, who moved to the island in December 1810 with two other men, to be joined later by a fourth.<ref name=mackay>{{cite book |last=Mackay |first=Margaret |year=1963 |title=Angry Island: The Story of Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1963 |location=London |publisher=Arthur Barker |page=30}}</ref> Lambert publicly declared the islands his property and named them the [[Islands of Refreshment]]. Three of the four men died in 1812 and [[Thomas Currie (settler)|Thomas Currie]] (Tommaso Corri, from [[Livorno]], [[Italy]]), one of the original three, remained as a farmer on the island.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tristan d'Acunha, etc.: Jonathan Lambert, late Sovereign thereof |magazine=Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine |volume=4 |issue=21 |date=Dec 1818 |pages=280–285 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tt_QAAAAMAAJ |via=Google Books}}</ref>


On 14&nbsp;August 1816, the United Kingdom [[Annexation|annexed]] the islands, making them a dependency of the [[Cape Colony]] in South Africa. This was explained as a measure to prevent the islands' use as a base for any attempt to free [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] from his prison on [[Saint Helena]].<ref name=Roberts1/> The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a base for naval [[cruiser]]s, as it had during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name=mackay/> Possession was abandoned in November&nbsp;1817, although some members of the garrison, notably [[William Glass]], stayed and formed the nucleus of a permanent population.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Flower|first=Robin|date=May 1935|title=Tristan da Cunha Records|url=|journal=The British Museum Quarterly|volume=9 No 4|pages=121-123|via=}}</ref>
On 14&nbsp;August 1816, the United Kingdom [[Annexation|annexed]] the islands by sending a garrison to secure possession, and making them a dependency of the [[Cape Colony]] in South Africa. This was explained as a measure to prevent the islands' use as a base for any attempt to free [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] from his prison on [[Saint Helena]].<ref name=Roberts1/> The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a base for naval [[cruiser]]s, as it had during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name=mackay/> The garrison left the islands in November&nbsp;1817, although some members of the garrison, notably [[William Glass]], stayed and formed the nucleus of a permanent population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Flower |first=Robin |date=May 1935 |title=Tristan da Cunha Records |journal=[[British Museum Quarterly|The British Museum Quarterly]] |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=121–123 |doi=10.2307/4421742 |jstor=4421742}}</ref>


[[File:Augustus Earle, (Self Portrait) Solitude, Tristan da Cunha, 1824.jpg|thumb|right|250px|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; {{cvt|17.5|x|25.7|cm}}. [[National Library of Australia]] ]]
{{Quote box
{{Quote box
| quote = 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."<ref name=Roberts1>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Edmund |title=Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat |year=1837 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |page=33 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/33/ |access-date=11 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012040501/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/33/ |archive-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| quote = 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."<ref name=Roberts1>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Edmund |title=Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat |year=1837 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |page=33 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/33/ |access-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012040501/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/33/ |archive-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| source = [[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]], ''Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat'', 1837
| source = [[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]], ''Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat'', 1837
| align = left
| align = right
| width = 30%
| width = 20%
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The artist [[Augustus Earle]] spent eight months stranded there in 1824. He had been on the aging ship ''Duke of Gloucester'', bound for Calcutta, which had anchored there for three days due to a storm. Earle and a crew member were left when the ''Gloucester'' unexpectedly sailed. Earle tutored several children and painted until his supplies ran out. He was rescued in late November by the ship {{ship||Admiral Cockburn|1814 ship|2}} on its way to Hobart.
The islands were occupied by a garrison of [[Royal Marines|British Marines]], and a civilian population gradually grew. {{ship||Berwick|1795 ship|2}} stopped there on 25&nbsp;March 1824 and reported that it had a population of twenty-two men and three women. The barque ''South Australia'' stayed there on 18–20&nbsp;February 1836 when a certain Glass was Governor, as reported in a chapter on the island by W. H. Leigh.<ref>{{cite book |first=W. H., esq. |last=Leigh |title=Travels and Adventures in South Australia |place=London, UK |orig-year=1839 |edition=facsimile |publisher=The Currawong Press |year=1982}}</ref>


The islands were occupied by a garrison of [[Royal Marines|British Marines]], and a civilian population gradually grew. {{ship||Berwick|1795 ship|2}} stopped there on 25&nbsp;March 1824 and reported that it had a population of twenty-two men and three women. The barque ''South Australia'' stayed there on 18–20&nbsp;February 1836 when a certain Glass was governor, as reported in a chapter on the island by W. H. Leigh.<ref>{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=Leigh |title=Travels and Adventures in South Australia |place=London |orig-year=1839 |edition=facsimile |publisher=The Currawong Press |year=1982}}</ref> Also in 1836, the schooner ''Emily'' ran aground with the Dutch fisherman Pieter Groen from [[Katwijk]]. 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|date=October 2023}}
Whalers set up bases on the islands for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However, the opening of the [[Suez 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.<ref name=mackay/> A parson arrived in February 1851, the Bishop of Cape Town visited in March&nbsp;1856 and the island was included within the diocese of Cape Town.<ref>Jan Brander, ''Tristan da Cunha, 1506-1902,'' London, Unwin, 1940</ref>{{rp|63–50}}


A [[parson]] arrived in February 1851, the Bishop of Cape Town visited in March&nbsp;1856 and the island was included within the diocese of Cape Town.<ref>Jan Brander, ''Tristan da Cunha, 1506–1902,'' London, Unwin, 1940</ref>{{rp|63–50}}
In 1867, [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]] and second son of [[Queen Victoria]], visited the islands. The main settlement, [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]], was named in honour of his visit.{{efn|The visit took place during the Duke of Edinburgh's [[circumnavigation]] undertaken while commanding HMS ''Galatea''. Tristan da Cunha post office issued four stamps in 1967 to celebrate the centenary of this visit.<ref>{{cite book |author=Courtney, Nicholas |year=2004 |title=The Queen's Stamps |isbn=0-413-77228-4 |page=28}}</ref>}} On 15&nbsp;October 1873, the Royal Navy scientific survey vessel [[HMS Challenger (1858)|HMS ''Challenger'']] docked at Tristan to conduct geographic and zoological surveys on Tristan, [[Inaccessible Island]] and the [[Nightingale Islands]].<ref name=thomson>{{cite book |last= Thomson |first=C. Wyville |year= 1885 |title= Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873–76 |location=London, UK |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |pages=240–252 |url=https://archive.org/details/reportonscientif02grearich/page/240 |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> In his log, Captain [[George Nares]] recorded a total of fifteen families and eighty-six individuals living on the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foraminifera.eu/challenger135.php= |title=H.M.S. Challenger Station 135, Tristan da Cunha |accessdate=29 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810133104/http://www.foraminifera.eu/challenger135.php= }}</ref> Tristan became a dependency of the British Crown in October 1875.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14123532 |title=St. Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha profiles |date=2018-05-14 |access-date=2020-01-12 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 1867, [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]] and second son of [[Queen Victoria]], visited the islands. The only settlement, [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]], was named in honour of his visit.{{efn|The visit took place during the Duke of Edinburgh's [[circumnavigation]] undertaken while commanding HMS ''Galatea''. Tristan da Cunha post office issued four stamps in 1967 to celebrate the centenary of this visit.<ref>{{cite book |author=Courtney, Nicholas |year=2004 |title=The Queen's Stamps |isbn=0-413-77228-4 |page=28 |publisher=Methuen}}</ref>}} On 15&nbsp;October 1873, the Royal Navy scientific survey vessel [[HMS Challenger (1858)|HMS ''Challenger'']] docked at Tristan to conduct geographic and zoological surveys on Tristan, [[Inaccessible Island]] and the [[Nightingale Islands]].<ref name=thomson>{{cite book |last=Thomson |first=C. Wyville |year=1885 |title=Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873–76 |location=London |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |pages=240–252 |url=https://archive.org/details/reportonscientif02grearich/page/240 |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> In his log, Captain [[George Nares]] recorded a total of fifteen families and eighty-six individuals living on the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foraminifera.eu/challenger135.php |title=H.M.S. Challenger Station 135, Tristan da Cunha |access-date=29 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214141940/http://foraminifera.eu/challenger135.php}}</ref> Tristan became a dependency of the British Crown in October 1875.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14123532 |title=St. Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha profiles |date=14 May 2018 |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317092054/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14123532 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Whalers set up bases on the islands for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However, the opening of the [[Suez 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.<ref name=mackay/>

{{Main article|Tristan da Cunha lifeboat disaster}}
{{Quote box
| quote =
Victims of the 1885 Lifeboat disaster:
* Joe Beetham
* Thomas & Cornelius Cotton
* Thomas Glass
* John, William & Alfred Green
* Jacob, William & Jeremiah Green
* Albert, James & William Hagan
* Samuel & Thomas Swain
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On 27 November 1885, the island suffered one of its worst tragedies after an iron [[barque]] named ''West Riding'' approached the island, whilst en route to [[Sydney]], Australia, from [[Bristol]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |title=The Lifeboat Disaster |url=https://www.tristandc.com/po/stamps201512.php |url-status=dead |access-date=18 April 2021 |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |archive-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604195332/https://tristandc.com/po/stamps201512.php}}</ref> Due to the loss of regular trading opportunities, almost all of the island's able-bodied men approached the ship in a [[Lifeboat (rescue)|lifeboat]] 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,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=Tristan da Cunha Isolation & Hardship 1853–1942 |url=https://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |date=9 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227075753/https://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |archive-date=27 February 2021 |access-date=18 April 2021 |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association}}</ref> to reports of them being taken to Australia and sold as slaves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |title=The Lifeboat Disaster |url=https://www.tristandc.com/po/stamps201512.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124234904/http://www.tristandc.com/po/stamps201512.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 November 2015 |access-date=18 April 2021 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> In total, 15 men were lost, leaving behind an island of widows. A plaque at [[St. Mary's Church, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas|St. Mary's Church]] commemorates the lost men.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glass |first=Conrad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90yYAgAAQBAJ&q=tristan+st+marys+plaque+lifeboat&pg=PT143 |title=Rockhopper Copper |date=2014 |publisher=Polperro Heritage Press |isbn=978-0-9530012-3-1 |language=en}}</ref>


===20th century===
===20th century===
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 crown's warning that it could not promise further help in the future.<ref name="annals"/>{{page number|date=August 2020}} No ships called at the islands from 1909 until 1919, when [[HMS Yarmouth (1911)|HMS ''Yarmouth'']] finally stopped to inform the islanders of the outcome of [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Isolation & Hardship 1853–1942|url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php|publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association|accessdate=1 January 2019|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Shackleton–Rowett Expedition]] stopped in Tristan for five days in May&nbsp;1922, collecting geological and botanical samples before returning to [[Cape Town]].<ref name="annals"/>{{page number|date=August 2020}} Among the few ships that visited in the coming years were the [[RMS Asturias (1925)|RMS ''Asturias'']], a [[Royal Mail Steam Packet Company]] passenger liner, in 1927, and the ocean liners [[RMS Empress of France (1928)|RMS ''Empress of France'']] in 1928,<ref name="Stamps">{{cite web|url=http://www.tristandc.com/po/stamps201517.php|website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha Stamps|date=8 December 2015|access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> {{RMS|Duchess of Atholl}} in 1929,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-11-12-eBay-slides.php|website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha News: 1920s Lantern Slides of Tristan for Sale on eBay|last=Millington|first=Peter|access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> and [[RMS Empress of Australia (1919)|RMS ''Empress of Australia'']] in 1935.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shippingtandy.com/features/tristan-da-cunha/|website=Shipping Today & Yesterday Magazine|title=Tristan Da Cunha|last=Lawrence|first=Nigel|date=8 August 2017|access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kelleherauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=4010&chapter=84&page=1|website=Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions LLC|title=Sale 4010 - Web/Internet - Outgoing Ship Mail|access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> In 1936, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' of London reported the population of the island was 167&nbsp;people, with 185&nbsp;cattle and 42&nbsp;horses.<ref name=ken>{{cite book |last=Wollenberg |first=Ken |year=2000 |title=The Bottom of the Map |location=Bloomington, Indiana |publisher=Xlibris |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;XI: Tristan da Cunha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQOLAAAAQBAJ |access-date=28 December 2018|isbn=9781453565759 }}{{self-published source|date=December 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2018}}


====Hard winter of 1906====
From December&nbsp;1937 to March&nbsp;1938, a [[Norway|Norwegian]] party made [[Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan Da Cunha 1937-1938|a dedicated scientific expedition]] to Tristan da Cunha, and sociologist [[Peter A. Munch]] extensively documented island culture — he would later revisit the island in 1964–1965.<ref>{{cite web |title=Results of the Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan da Cunha, 1937–1938 |year=1945 |url=http://otago.ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/8301 |website=OUR Heritage |publisher=University of Otago |access-date=3 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929002730/http://otago.ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/8301 |archive-date=29 September 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The island was also visited in 1938 by [[W. Robert Foran]], reporting for the [[National Geographic Society]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/digital-nomad/2011/04/22/holy-grail/ |website=National Geographic |title=Holy Grail |last=Evans |first=Andrew |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> [[W. Robert Foran|Foran's]] account was published that same year.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Foran, W. Robert |author-link=W. Robert Foran |title=Tristan da Cunha, Isles of Contentment |magazine=National Geographic |date=November 1938 |pages=671–694}}</ref> On 12&nbsp;January 1938 by [[letters patent]], Britain declared the islands a dependency of [[Saint Helena]], creating the [[Crown colony|British Crown Colony]] of [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|Saint Helena and Dependencies]], which also included [[Ascension Island]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50716FC355B107A93C6AB1788D85F418385F9&scp=4&sq=R.M.S.%20and%20Canadian%20Pacific&st=cse |title=Royal Gifts Gladden 172 on Lonely Atlantic Island |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |place=New York, NY |at=second news section, p.&nbsp;N4 |date=24 March 1935 |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127204633/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50716FC355B107A93C6AB1788D85F418385F9&scp=4&sq=R.M.S.%20and%20Canadian%20Pacific&st=cse |archive-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
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.<ref name=annals |page=55/>

====Occasional pre-war visits====
No ships called at the islands from 1909 until 1919, when [[HMS Yarmouth (1911)|HMS ''Yarmouth'']] stopped to inform the islanders of the outcome of [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Isolation & Hardship 1853–1942 |website=Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |access-date=1 January 2019 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115092129/http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Shackleton–Rowett Expedition]] stopped in Tristan for five days in May&nbsp;1922, collecting geological and botanical samples before returning to [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |first1=Arnaldo |last1=Faustini |title=The Annals of Tristan da Cunha |date=14 September 2003 |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510041635/http://www.tristan.it/TRISTAN/tristanlibri/tristan_annals.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2015 |url-status=live |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Carrol |translator1-first=Liz |translator1-last=Nysven |translator2-first=Larry |translator2-last=Conrad |page=58}}</ref> Among the few ships that visited in the coming years were the [[RMS Asturias (1925)|RMS ''Asturias'']], a [[Royal Mail Steam Packet Company]] passenger liner, in 1927, and the [[CP_Ships|Canadian Pacific]] ocean liners [[RMS Empress of France (1928)|RMS ''Empress of France'']] in 1928,<ref name=Stamps>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Stamps |date=8 December 2015 |website=Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |url=http://www.tristandc.com/po/stamps201517.php |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201123718/https://tristandc.com/po/stamps201517.php |url-status=live }}</ref> {{RMS|Duchess of Atholl}} in 1929,<ref>{{cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |date=12 November 2018 |title=Tristan da Cunha News: 1920s Lantern Slides of Tristan for Sale on eBay |website=Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-11-12-eBay-slides.php |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227095052/https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-11-12-eBay-slides.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[RMS Empress of Australia (1919)|RMS ''Empress of Australia'']] in 1935.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lawrence |first=Nigel |date=8 August 2017 |title=Tristan da Cunha |magazine=Shipping Today & Yesterday Magazine |url=https://www.shippingtandy.com/features/tristan-da-cunha/ |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331232121/https://www.shippingtandy.com/features/tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Outgoing Ship Mail |id=Sale 4010 – Web / Internet |publisher=Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions LLC |url=http://www.kelleherauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=4010&chapter=84&page=1 |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=16 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116100452/http://www.kelleherauctions.com/php/chap_auc.php?site=1&lang=1&sale=4010&chapter=84&page=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1936, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' of London reported that the population of the island was 167&nbsp;people, with 185&nbsp;cattle and 42&nbsp;horses.<ref name=ken>{{cite book |last=Wollenberg |first=Ken |year=2000 |title=The Bottom of the Map |location=Bloomington, Indiana |publisher=Xlibris |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;XI: Tristan da Cunha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQOLAAAAQBAJ |access-date=28 December 2018 |isbn=9781453565759}}{{self-published source|date=December 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2018}}

From December&nbsp;1937 to March&nbsp;1938, a [[Norway|Norwegian]] party made [[Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan Da Cunha 1937-1938|a dedicated scientific expedition]] to Tristan da Cunha, and sociologist [[Peter A. Munch]] extensively documented island culture; he visited the island again in 1964–1965.<ref>{{cite web |title=Results of the Norwegian scientific expedition to Tristan da Cunha, 1937–1938 |year=1945 |url=http://otago.ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/8301 |website=Our Heritage |publisher=University of Otago |access-date=3 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929002730/http://otago.ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/8301 |archive-date=29 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The island was also visited in 1938 by [[W. Robert Foran]], reporting for the [[National Geographic Society]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Evans |first=Andrew |date=22 April 2011 |magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |title=Holy Grail |series=Travel |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/digital-nomad/2011/04/22/holy-grail/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116100352/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/digital-nomad/2011/04/22/holy-grail/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 January 2019 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> His account was published that same year.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Foran, W.R. |author-link=W. Robert Foran |date=November 1938 |title=Tristan da Cunha, isles of contentment |magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |pages=671–694}}</ref>

On 12&nbsp;January 1938 by [[letters patent]], Britain declared the islands a dependency of [[Saint Helena]], creating the [[Crown colony|British Crown Colony]] of [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|Saint Helena and Dependencies]], which also included [[Ascension Island]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal gifts gladden 172 on lonely Atlantic island |date=24 March 1935 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |place=New York |at=second news section, p.&nbsp;N4 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50716FC355B107A93C6AB1788D85F418385F9&scp=4&sq=R.M.S.%20and%20Canadian%20Pacific&st=cse |url-status=live |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127204633/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50716FC355B107A93C6AB1788D85F418385F9&scp=4&sq=R.M.S.%20and%20Canadian%20Pacific&st=cse |archive-date=27 January 2012}}</ref>


[[File:Gough and Inaccessible Islands-113067.jpg|thumb|[[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]] are a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].]]
[[File:Gough and Inaccessible Islands-113067.jpg|thumb|[[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]] are a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].]]


====World War II military development====
During the [[Second World War]], Tristan was commissioned by the [[Royal Navy]] as the [[stone frigate]] {{HMS|Atlantic Isle}} and used as a secret [[signals intelligence]] station to monitor [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] [[U-boat]]s (which were required to maintain radio contact) and shipping movements in the South [[Atlantic Ocean]]. This weather and radio station led to extensive new infrastructure being built on the island, including a school, a hospital, and a cash-based general store. The first colonial official sent to rule the island was [[Sir Hugh Elliott]] in the rank of Administrator (because the settlement was too small to merit a Governor) 1950-53. Development continued as the island's first canning factory expanded paid employment in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Joining the Modern World 1942–1961|website=Tristan da Cunha|url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1942-1961.php|access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Queen Elizabeth II|the Queen's]] [[Prince consort|consort]], visited the islands in 1957 as part of a world tour on board the royal yacht [[HMY Britannia|HMY ''Britannia'']].<ref>{{cite web |title=hrh the duke of edinburgh's antarctic tour. january 1957 |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205164053 |publisher=Imperial War Museum |accessdate=2 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702150756/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205164053 |archive-date=2 July 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
During the [[Second World War]], Tristan was commissioned by the [[Royal Navy]] as the so-called "[[stone frigate]]" {{HMS|Atlantic Isle}} and used as a secret [[signals intelligence]] station, to monitor [[Germany|German]] [[U-boat]]s (which were required to maintain radio contact) and shipping in the South [[Atlantic 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.<ref name=joining/>

The first colonial official sent to rule the island was [[Sir Hugh Elliott]] in the rank of administrator (because the settlement was too small to merit a governor) 1950–1953.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} Development continued as the island's first canning factory expanded paid employment in 1949.<ref name=joining>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha joining the modern world 1942–1961 |website=Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1942-1961.php |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115092758/http://www.tristandc.com/history1942-1961.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Rare post-war ship visits====
[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Elizabeth II|the Queen's]] [[Prince consort|consort]], visited the islands in 1957 as part of a world tour on board the royal yacht [[HMY Britannia|HMY ''Britannia'']].<ref>{{cite web |title=H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh's Antarctic tour. January&nbsp;1957 |publisher=Imperial War Museum |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205164053 |access-date=2 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702150756/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205164053 |archive-date=2 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 2 January 1954, Tristan da Cunha was visited by the Dutch ship ''[[MS Achille Lauro|Willem Ruys]]'', a [[passenger-cargo liner]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Single ship report |id=5302635 |website=Miramar Ship Index |publisher=R.B. Haworth |location=Wellington, NZ |url=https://www.miramarshipindex.nz/ship/5302635 |access-date=22 December 2020 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> carrying science fiction writer [[Robert A. Heinlein]], his wife Ginny and other passengers. The ''Ruys'' was travelling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Cape Town, South Africa. The visit is described in Heinlein's book ''[[Tramp 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 to [[L. Ron Hubbard]], a friend who also liked to travel, "for the curiosity value of the postmark". Biographer William H. Patterson, Jr. in his two volume ''Robert 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|date=October 2023}}

====1961 eruption of Queen Mary's Peak====
On 10 October 1961, the eruption of a [[parasitic cone]] of [[Queen Mary's Peak]], very close to Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, forced evacuation of all 264&nbsp;people.<ref>{{cite gvp |name=Tristan da Cunha |vn=386010 |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref><ref name=travel>{{cite web |title=A voyage to Tristan da Cunha |url=http://oxhc.co.uk/A-Voyage-to-Tristan.asp |access-date=29 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911070030/http://oxhc.co.uk/A-Voyage-to-Tristan.asp |archive-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> The evacuees took to the water in open boats, taken by the local lobster-fishing boats ''Tristania'' and ''Frances Repetto'' to uninhabited [[Nightingale Island]].<ref name=Life>{{cite magazine |last=Griggs |first=Lee |date=10 November 1961 |title=Violent end for a lonely island |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |volume=51 |issue=19 |pages=21–22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21 |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref>

The next day, they were picked up by the diverted Dutch passenger ship ''Tjisadane'' that took them to [[Cape Town]].<ref name=Life/> The islanders later arrived in the U.K. aboard the liner [[MV Stirling Castle|M.V. ''Stirling Castle'']] to a big press reception and, after a short period at Pendell Army Camp in [[Merstham]], [[Surrey]], were settled in an old [[Royal Air Force]] camp near [[Calshot]], [[Hampshire]].<ref name=travel/><ref name=BDP04111961>{{cite news |title=Refugees from Tristan |date=4 November 1961 |newspaper=[[Birmingham Daily Post]] |issue=32151 |page=26 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19611104/625/0026 |access-date=1 November 2020 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The following year, a [[Royal Society]] expedition reported that Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had survived. Most families returned in 1963.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gila |first=Oscar Alvarez |title=Refugees for the media, evacuees for the government: The 1961 Tristan da Cunha volcano eruption and its displaced inhabitants |magazine=Global Change and Resilience |place=Brno, Czech Republic |url=https://www.academia.edu/5748318}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


====Gough and Inaccessible Islands wildlife reserves====
On 2 January 1954, Tristan da Cunha was visited by the Dutch ship ''Ruys'', a [[passenger-cargo liner]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Single Ship Report for "5302635" |url=https://www.miramarshipindex.nz/ship/5302635 |website=Miramar Ship Index (subscription)|publisher=R B Haworth |access-date=22 December 2020 |location=Wellington, New Zealand}}</ref> carrying science fiction writer [[Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A Heinlein]], his wife Ginny and other passengers. The ''Ruys'' was travelling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Cape Town, South Africa. The visit is described in Heinlein's book "''[[Tramp Royale]]''". The captain told Heinlein the island was the most isolated inhabited spot on Earth and ships rarely visited. Heinlein mailed a letter there to [[L. Ron Hubbard]], a friend who also liked to travel, "for the curiosity value of the postmark." Biographer William H Patterson, Jr. in his two volume "''Robert 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.
[[File:Cleaning oil off penguins after the spillage from the MS Oliva, Tristan da Cunha (7413022602).jpg|thumb|Cleaning oil off penguins after the spillage from the MS ''Oliva'', Tristan da Cunha ]]


[[Gough Island]] was inscribed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1995 as Gough Island Wildlife Reserve.<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO Committee Decision |year=2004 |id=28COM 14B.17 |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/100 |access-date=12 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004930/https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/100 |archive-date=3 January 2019}}</ref> This was further extended in 2004 as [[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]], with its marine zone extended from 3 to 12&nbsp;nautical miles.
On 10 October 1961, the eruption of [[Queen Mary's Peak]] forced the evacuation of the entire population of 264 individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=386010 |website=Global Volcanism Program |title=Tristan da Cunha |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |accessdate=28 December 2018}}</ref><ref name=travel>{{cite web |url=http://oxhc.co.uk/A-Voyage-to-Tristan.asp |title=Travel Tristan da Cunha |access-date=29 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911070030/http://oxhc.co.uk/A-Voyage-to-Tristan.asp |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The evacuees took to the water in open boats and were taken by the local lobster-fishing boats ''Tristania'' and ''Frances Repetto'' to uninhabited [[Nightingale Island]].<ref name="Life">{{cite news |last1=Griggs |first1=Lee |title=Violent End for a Lonely Island |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21 |accessdate=31 October 2020 |work=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |issue=Vol.51, No.19 |date=10 November 1961 |pages=21–22}}</ref> The following day they were picked up by the diverted Dutch passenger ship ''Tjisadane'' that took them to [[Cape Town]].<ref name=Time/> The islanders later arrived in the UK aboard the liner [[MV Stirling Castle|''Stirling Castle'']] to a big press reception and, after a short period at Pendell Army Camp in [[Merstham]], [[Surrey]], were settled in an old [[Royal Air Force]] camp near [[Calshot]], [[Hampshire]].<ref name="travel"/><ref name="BDP04111961">{{cite news |title=Refugees from Tristan |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19611104/625/0026 |accessdate=1 November 2020 |work=Birmingham Daily Post |issue=32151 |publisher=British Newspaper Archive (subscription) |date=4 November 1961 |page=26}}</ref> The following year a [[Royal Society]] expedition reported that Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had survived the eruption. Most families returned in 1963.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gila |first=Oscar Alvarez |url=https://www.academia.edu/5748318 |title=Refugees for the media, evacuees for the government: The 1961 Tristan da Cunha volcano eruption and its displaced inhabitants |journal=Global Change and Resilience: From Impacts to Responses |place=Brno, Czech Republic}}</ref>


[[Gough Island]] was inscribed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1995, then named "Gough Island Wildlife Reserve".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/100 |title=UNESCO Committee Decision 28COM 14B.17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004930/https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/100 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |year=2004 |access-date=12 February 2014}}</ref> The site was extended in 2004 to include the neighbouring [[Inaccessible Island]] and renamed [[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]], with its marine zone extended from 3 to 12&nbsp;nautical miles. The Gough and Inaccessible Islands were declared as separate [[Ramsar site]]s — wetland sites designated to be of international importance — on 20 November 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gough Island |website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1868 |accessdate=25 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inaccessible Island |website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1869 |accessdate=25 April 2018}}</ref>
These islands have been [[Ramsar site]]s wetlands of international importance since 20&nbsp;November 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gough Island |website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1868 |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-date=30 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035352/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1868 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inaccessible Island |website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1869 |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407015327/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1869 |url-status=live }}</ref>


===21st century===
===21st century===
[[File:Tristan da Cunha, British overseas territory-20March2012.jpg|thumb|Tristan da Cunha in 2012]]
[[File:Tristan da Cunha, British overseas territory-20March2012.jpg|thumb|Tristan da Cunha in 2012]]
On 23&nbsp;May 2001, the islands were hit by an [[extratropical cyclone]] that generated winds up to {{convert|120|mph|kph|order=flip}}. A number of structures were severely damaged, and numerous cattle were killed, prompting emergency aid provided by the British government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1311749/120-mph-storm-devastates-Tristan-da-Cunha.html |location=London, UK |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Sandra |last=Barwick |title=120 mph storm devastates Tristan da Cunha |date=7 June 2001 |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522131515/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1311749/120-mph-storm-devastates-Tristan-da-Cunha.html |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2005, the islands were given a United Kingdom [[post code]] (TDCU 1ZZ), to make it easier for the residents to order goods online.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-08-07|title=First postcode for remote UK isle|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4129636.stm|access-date=2020-06-11}}</ref>


On 23&nbsp;May 2001, the islands were hit by an [[extratropical cyclone]] that generated winds up to {{convert|120|mph|kph|order=flip}}. A number of structures were severely damaged, and numerous cattle were killed, prompting emergency aid provided by the British government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1311749/120-mph-storm-devastates-Tristan-da-Cunha.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Sandra |last=Barwick |title=120 mph storm devastates Tristan da Cunha |date=7 June 2001 |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522131515/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1311749/120-mph-storm-devastates-Tristan-da-Cunha.html |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On 13&nbsp;February 2008, a fire destroyed the island's four power generators and fish canning factory, severely disrupting the economy. On 14&nbsp;March 2008, new generators were installed and power restored, and a new factory opened in July&nbsp;2009. While the replacement factory was built, [[MY Titanic|M/V ''Kelso'']] came to the island as a [[factory ship]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Factory Fire on 13&nbsp;February 2008 |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsfactoryfire.php |accessdate=5 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Building a 21st&nbsp;century Tristan fishing factory |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsfishfactorybuilding.php |accessdate=5 January 2019}}</ref> The St.&nbsp;Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 reorganized Tristan da Cunha as a constituent of the new British Overseas Territory of [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]], giving Tristan and Ascension equal status with Saint Helena.<ref name="Constitution"/>
In 2005, the islands were given a United Kingdom [[post code]] (TDCU 1ZZ), to make it easier for the residents to order goods online.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 August 2005 |title=First postcode for remote UK isle |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4129636.stm |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611064747/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4129636.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>


On 16&nbsp;March 2011, the freighter {{Ship|MS|Oliva|}} ran aground on [[Nightingale Island]], spilling tons of heavy fuel oil into the ocean. The resulting oil slick threatened the island's population of rockhopper penguins.<ref>{{cite web |title=MS Oliva runs aground on Nightingale Island |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsmsoliva.php |accessdate=23 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525021810/http://www.tristandc.com/newsmsoliva.php |archive-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Nightingale Island has no fresh water, so the penguins were transported to Tristan da Cunha for cleaning.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9438000/9438609.stm |work=BBC News |title=Oil-soaked rockhopper penguins in rehabilitation |access-date=28 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903053051/http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9438000/9438609.stm |archive-date=3 September 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
On 13&nbsp;February 2008, a fire destroyed the island's four power generators and fish canning factory, severely disrupting the economy. On 14&nbsp;March 2008, new generators were installed and power restored, and a new factory opened in July&nbsp;2009. While the replacement factory was built, [[MY Titanic|M/V ''Kelso'']] came to the island as a [[factory ship]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Factory Fire on 13&nbsp;February 2008 |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsfactoryfire.php |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308101526/https://www.tristandc.com/newsfactoryfire.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Building a 21st&nbsp;century Tristan fishing factory |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsfishfactorybuilding.php |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818012229/https://www.tristandc.com/newsfishfactorybuilding.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The St.&nbsp;Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 reorganized Tristan da Cunha as a constituent of the new British Overseas Territory of [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]], giving Tristan and Ascension equal status with Saint Helena.<ref name="Constitution"/>


On 16&nbsp;March 2011, the freighter {{Ship|MS|Oliva|}} ran aground on [[Nightingale Island]], spilling tons of heavy fuel oil into the ocean. The resulting oil slick threatened the island's population of [[rockhopper penguin]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=MS Oliva runs aground on Nightingale Island |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsmsoliva.php |access-date=23 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525021810/http://www.tristandc.com/newsmsoliva.php |archive-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nightingale Island has no fresh water, so the penguins were transported to Tristan da Cunha for cleaning.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9438000/9438609.stm |work=BBC News |title=Oil-soaked rockhopper penguins in rehabilitation |access-date=28 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903053051/http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9438000/9438609.stm |archive-date=3 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
A total [[solar eclipse]] will pass over the island [[Solar eclipse of December 5, 2048|on 5&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20481205 |title=Total Solar Eclipse of 2048 December 05 |publisher=Eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov |accessdate=11 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111022252/http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20481205 |archive-date=11 January 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>


On 13 November 2020 it was announced that the {{convert|687247|km2|sqmi}} of the waters surrounding the islands will become a [[Marine protected area|Marine 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 the [[RSPB]] and the island government and five years of the UK government's Blue Belt programme support.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Richard |last1=Grundy |access-date=13 November 2020 |title=Tristan's Marine Protection Zone Announced |url=https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2020-11-12-mpzgov13nov2020.php |website=www.tristandc.com |archive-date=13 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113043130/https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2020-11-12-mpzgov13nov2020.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |access-date=13 November 2020 |title=UK Overseas Territory becomes one of the world's biggest sanctuaries for wildlife |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/tristan-da-cunha-mpa/ |website=The RSPB |archive-date=13 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113075133/https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/tristan-da-cunha-mpa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 13 November 2020 it was announced that the {{convert|687247|km2|sqmi}} of the waters surrounding the islands will become a [[Marine protected area|Marine 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 the [[RSPB]] and the island government and five years of the UK government's Blue Belt program support.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Richard|last1=Grundy|accessdate=2020-11-13|title=Tristan's Marine Protection Zone Announced|url=https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2020-11-12-mpzgov13nov2020.php|website=www.tristandc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-11-13|title=UK Overseas Territory becomes one of the world's biggest sanctuaries for wildlife|url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/tristan-da-cunha-mpa/|website=The RSPB}}</ref>
A total [[solar eclipse]] will pass over the island [[Solar eclipse of December 5, 2048|on 5&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20481205 |title=Total Solar Eclipse of 2048 December 05 |publisher=Eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov |access-date=11 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111022252/http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20481205 |archive-date=11 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Settlement on Tristan (7089086383).jpg|thumb|725x725px|[[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas|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.]]
{{clear}}


==Geography==
==Geography==
Line 219: Line 251:
[[File:Gough island top view.png|thumb|[[Gough Island]], Tristan da Cunha]]
[[File:Gough island top view.png|thumb|[[Gough Island]], Tristan da Cunha]]


Tristan da Cunha is thought to have been formed by a long-lived centre of upwelling mantle called the [[Tristan hotspot]]. Tristan da Cunha is the main island of the Tristan da Cunha [[archipelago]], which consists of the following islands:
Tristan da Cunha is thought to have been formed by a long-lived centre of upwelling mantle called the [[Tristan hotspot]]. Tristan da Cunha is the main island of the Tristan da Cunha [[archipelago]], which consists of the following islands:{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}


* Tristan da Cunha, the main and largest island, area: {{convert|98|km2|sqmi|1}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571|website=ThoughtCo|title=Tristan da Cunha|last=Rosenberg|first=Mark|date=6 March 2017|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref> ({{coord|37|6|44|S|12|16|56|W|type:isle|name=Tristan da Cunha}})
* Tristan da Cunha, the main and largest island, area: {{convert|98|km2|sqmi|1}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |website=ThoughtCo |title=Tristan da Cunha |last=Rosenberg |first=Mark |date=6 March 2017 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524054103/https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |url-status=live }}</ref> ({{coord|37|6|54|S|12|17|6|W|type:isle|name=Tristan da Cunha}})
* [[Inaccessible Island]], area: {{convert|14|km2|sqmi|1}}
* [[Inaccessible Island]], area: {{cvt|14|km2|sqmi|1}}
* [[Nightingale Islands]], area: {{convert|3.4|km2|sqmi|1}}
* [[Nightingale Islands]], area: {{cvt|3.4|km2|sqmi|1}}
** [[Nightingale Island]], area: {{convert|3.2|km2|sqmi|1}}
** [[Nightingale Island]], area: {{cvt|3.2|km2|sqmi|1}}
** [[Middle Island, Tristan da Cunha|Middle Island]], area: {{convert|0.1|km2|acre|0}}
** [[Middle Island, Tristan da Cunha|Middle Island]], area: {{cvt|0.1|km2|acre|0}}
** [[Stoltenhoff Island]], area: {{convert|0.1|km2|acre|0}}
** [[Stoltenhoff Island]], area: {{cvt|0.1|km2|acre|0}}
* [[Gough Island]] (''Diego Alvarez''), area: {{convert|91|km2|sqmi|0}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_gough/sanap_gough.html |title= Gough Island |publisher= South African National Antarctic Programme |access-date= 25 October 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081230015511/http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_gough/sanap_gough.html |archive-date= 30 December 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
* [[Gough Island]] (''Diego Alvarez''), area: {{cvt|91|km2|sqmi|0}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_gough/sanap_gough.html |title=Gough Island |publisher=South African National Antarctic Programme |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230015511/http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_gough/sanap_gough.html |archive-date=30 December 2008 }}</ref>


Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands are {{convert|35|km|mi|0}} [[boxing the compass|SW by W and SSW]] away from the main island, respectively, whereas Gough Island is {{convert|350|km|mi|0}} SSE.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Outer Islands|url=https://www.tristandc.com/mapgroup.php|access-date=2020-09-03|website=www.tristandc.com}}</ref>
Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands are {{convert|35|km|mi|0}} [[boxing the compass|SW by W and SSW]] away from the main island, respectively, whereas Gough Island is {{convert|350|km|mi|0}} SSE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Outer Islands |url=https://www.tristandc.com/mapgroup.php |access-date=3 September 2020 |website=www.tristandc.com |archive-date=1 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901222639/https://www.tristandc.com/mapgroup.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Tristanfromspace.jpg|thumb|Tristan da Cunha on 6 February 2013, 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]]. The highest point is the summit of a volcano called [[Queen Mary's Peak]] at an elevation of {{convert|2062|m|ft|0}}, 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 by [[South Africa]] since 1956 and has been at its present location at Transvaal Bay on the southeast coast since 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tristandc.com/gough.php|website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha Gough Island|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dxnews.com/zd9a_gough/|website=DX News|title=ZD9A Gough Island|date=23 June 2016|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>


[[File:Tristanfromspace.jpg|thumb|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 of [[Potato Patches]]. The highest point is the summit of a volcano called [[Queen Mary's Peak]] at an elevation of {{convert|2062|m|ft|0}}, 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 by [[South Africa]] since 1956 and has been at its present location at Transvaal Bay on the southeast coast since 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/gough.php |website=Tristan da Cunha |title=Tristan da Cunha Gough Island |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803135555/https://www.tristandc.com/gough.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dxnews.com/zd9a_gough/ |website=DX News |title=ZD9A Gough Island |date=23 June 2016 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514091825/https://dxnews.com/zd9a_gough/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:View on Tristan da Cunha.jpg|thumb|center|1000x1000px|View of Tristan da Cunha]]
===Climate===
===Climate===
The archipelago has a Cfb, wet [[oceanic climate]], under the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen system]], with mild temperatures and very limited sunshine but consistent moderate-to-heavy rainfall due to the persistent westerly winds.<ref>Kottek, M., J. Grieser, C. Beck, B. Rudolf, and F. Rubel, 2006: World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorol. Z., 15, 259-263. DOI: 10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130. http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf</ref> Under the [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha classification]], Tristan da Cunha has a [[humid subtropical climate]] due to the lack of cold weather. The number of rainy days is comparable to the [[Aleutian Islands]] at a much higher latitude in the northern hemisphere, while sunshine hours are comparable to [[Juneau, Alaska]], 20° farther from the equator. Frost is unknown below elevations of {{convert|500|m|ft|-2}}, and summer temperatures are similarly mild, never reaching {{convert|25|C|F|0}}. [[Sandy Point, Tristan da Cunha|Sandy Point]] on the east coast is reputed to be the warmest and driest place on the island, being in the lee of the [[prevailing wind]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tristandc.com/sandypoint.php|website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha Sandy Point|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
The archipelago has a Cfb, wet [[oceanic climate]], under the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen system]], with mild temperatures and very limited sunshine but consistent moderate-to-heavy rainfall due to the persistent westerly winds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kottek |first1=M. |first2=J. |last2=Grieser |first3=C. |last3=Beck |first4=B. |last4=Rudolf |first5=F. |last5=Rubel |date=2006 |title=World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated |journal=Meteorologische Zeitschrift |volume=15 |number=3 |pages=259–263 |doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130 |bibcode=2006MetZe..15..259K |url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf |access-date=18 May 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601115854/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Under the [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha classification]], Tristan da Cunha has a [[humid subtropical climate]] due to the lack of cold weather. The number of rainy days is comparable to the [[Aleutian Islands]] at a much higher latitude in the northern hemisphere, while sunshine hours are comparable to [[Juneau, Alaska]], 20° farther from the equator. Frost is unknown below elevations of {{convert|500|m|ft|-2}}, and summer temperatures are similarly mild, never reaching {{convert|25|C|F|0}}. [[Sandy Point, Tristan da Cunha|Sandy Point]] on the east coast is reputed to be the warmest and driest place on the island, being in the lee of the [[prevailing wind]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/sandypoint.php |website=Tristan da Cunha |title=Tristan da Cunha Sandy Point |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102181952/https://www.tristandc.com/sandypoint.php |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Weather box
| location = Tristan da Cunha

| Apr rain days = 20
{{Weather box
| May humidity = 78
|location = Tristan da Cunha
| Apr humidity = 78
|metric first = yes
| Mar humidity = 75
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 23.7
| Feb humidity = 77
|Feb record high C = 24.4
| Jan humidity = 79
|Mar record high C = 24.4
| Dec rain days = 19
|Apr record high C = 22.4
| Nov rain days = 18
|May record high C = 20.3
| Oct rain days = 22
|Jun record high C = 18.7
| Sep rain days = 24
|Jul record high C = 17.8
| Aug rain days = 26
|Aug record high C = 17.3
| Jul rain days = 25
|Sep record high C = 17.1
| Jun rain days = 23
|Oct record high C = 18.4
| May rain days = 23
|Nov record high C = 20.4
| Mar rain days = 17
|Dec record high C = 21.8
| Jul humidity = 79
|year record high C = 24.4
| Feb rain days = 17
|Jan high C = 20.4
| Jan rain days = 18
|Feb high C = 21.2
| rain colour = green
|Mar high C = 20.5
| Dec rain mm = 127
|Apr high C = 18.9
| Nov rain mm = 128
|May high C = 16.9
| Oct rain mm = 151
|Jun high C = 15.3
| Sep rain mm = 169
|Jul high C = 14.4
| Aug rain mm = 175
|Aug high C = 14.2
| Jul rain mm = 160
|Sep high C = 14.3
| Jun rain mm = 160
|Oct high C = 15.4
| May rain mm = 155
|Nov high C = 17.0
| Apr rain mm = 129
|Dec high C = 18.9
| Mar rain mm = 121
|year high C = 17.3
| Feb rain mm = 113
|Jan mean C = 17.9
| Jan rain mm = 93
|Feb mean C = 18.8
| Jun humidity = 79
|Mar mean C = 17.9
| Aug humidity = 79
|Apr mean C = 15.4
| Dec record low C = 9.7
|May mean C = 14.6
| Jan percentsun = 31
| source 2 = Climate and Temperature<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climatetemp.info/tristan-da-cunha/ |title=Tristan Da Cunha Climate Guide to the Average Weather & Temperatures with Graphs Elucidating Sunshine and Rainfall Data & Information about Wind Speeds & Humidity |date=March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117211803/http://www.climatetemp.info/tristan-da-cunha/ |archive-date=17 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/wildclimate.php |title=Tristan da Cunha's Climate |access-date=7 January 2018 |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207093000/https://www.tristandc.com/wildclimate.php/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|Jun mean C = 13.1
| source 1 = Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalbioclimatics.org/station/so-trist.htm |title=South Africa: Tristan Da Cunha |date=March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426191925/http://www.globalbioclimatics.org/station/so-trist.htm |archive-date=26 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|Jul mean C = 12.2
|Aug mean C = 11.9
| Dec percentsun = 29
|Sep mean C = 12.0
| Nov percentsun = 32
|Oct mean C = 13.0
| Oct percentsun = 33
|Nov mean C = 14.6
| Sep percentsun = 33
|Dec mean C = 16.5
| Aug percentsun = 32
|year mean C = 14.8
| Jul percentsun = 34
|Jan low C = 15.4
| Jun percentsun = 34
|Feb low C = 16.2
| May percentsun = 35
|Mar low C = 15.3
| Apr percentsun = 38
|Apr low C = 11.9
| Mar percentsun = 38
|May low C = 12.3
| Feb percentsun = 35
|Jun low C = 10.9
| Dec sun = 130.2
|Jul low C = 10.0
| Sep humidity = 78
|Aug low C = 9.6
| Nov sun = 138.0
|Sep low C = 9.7
| Oct sun = 133.3
|Oct low C = 10.6
| Sep sun = 120.0
|Nov low C = 12.2
| Aug sun = 105.4
|Dec low C = 14.1
| Jul sun = 105.4
|year low C = 12.4
| Jun sun = 99.0
|Jan record low C = 10.9
| May sun = 108.5
|Feb record low C = 11.8
| Apr sun = 129.0
|Mar record low C = 10.3
| Mar sun = 145.7
|Apr record low C = 9.5
| Feb sun = 144.0
|May record low C = 7.4
| Jan sun = 139.5
|Jun record low C = 6.3
| Dec humidity = 80
|Jul record low C = 4.8
| Nov humidity = 79
|Aug record low C = 4.6
| Oct humidity = 79
|Sep record low C = 5.1
| year record low C = 4.6
|Oct record low C = 6.4
| Nov record low C = 8.3
|Nov record low C = 8.3
| metric first = yes
|Dec record low C = 9.7
| Feb high C = 21.2
|year record low C = 4.6
| Feb mean C = 18.8
|Jan rain mm = 93
| Jan mean C = 17.9
|Feb rain mm = 113
| year high C = 17.3
|Mar rain mm = 121
| Dec high C = 18.9
|Apr rain mm = 129
| Nov high C = 17.0
|May rain mm = 155
| Oct high C = 15.4
|Jun rain mm = 160
| Sep high C = 14.3
|Jul rain mm = 160
| Aug high C = 14.2
|Aug rain mm = 175
| Jul high C = 14.4
|Sep rain mm = 169
| Jun high C = 15.3
|Oct rain mm = 151
| May high C = 16.9
|Nov rain mm = 128
| Apr high C = 18.9
|Dec rain mm = 127
| Mar high C = 20.5
|Jan rain days = 18
| Jan high C = 20.4
|Feb rain days = 17
| Apr mean C = 15.4
| year record high C = 24.4
|Mar rain days = 17
| Dec record high C = 21.8
|Apr rain days = 20
| Nov record high C = 20.4
|May rain days = 23
| Oct record high C = 18.4
|Jun rain days = 23
| Sep record high C = 17.1
|Jul rain days = 25
|Aug rain days = 26
| Aug record high C = 17.3
| Jul record high C = 17.8
|Sep rain days = 24
| Jun record high C = 18.7
|Oct rain days = 22
| May record high C = 20.3
|Nov rain days = 18
| Apr record high C = 22.4
|Dec rain days = 19
| Mar record high C = 24.4
|Jan humidity = 79
|Feb humidity = 77
| Feb record high C = 24.4
| Jan record high C = 23.7
|Mar humidity = 75
|Apr humidity = 78
| single line = yes
|May humidity = 78
| Mar mean C = 17.9
|Jun humidity = 79
| May mean C = 14.6
| Oct record low C = 6.4
|Jul humidity = 79
|Aug humidity = 79
| Sep low C = 9.7
|Sep humidity = 78
| Sep record low C = 5.1
| Aug record low C = 4.6
|Oct humidity = 79
| Jul record low C = 4.8
|Nov humidity = 79
| Jun record low C = 6.3
|Dec humidity = 80
|Jan sun = 139.5
| May record low C = 7.4
|Feb sun = 144.0
| Apr record low C = 9.5
|Mar sun = 145.7
| Mar record low C = 10.3
|Apr sun = 129.0
| Feb record low C = 11.8
|May sun = 108.5
| Jan record low C = 10.9
|Jun sun = 99.0
| year low C = 12.4
|Jul sun = 105.4
| Dec low C = 14.1
|Aug sun = 105.4
| Nov low C = 12.2
|Sep sun = 120.0
| Oct low C = 10.6
|Oct sun = 133.3
| Aug low C = 9.6
|Nov sun = 138.0
| Jun mean C = 13.1
|Dec sun = 130.2
| Jul low C = 10.0
| Jun low C = 10.9
|Jan percentsun= 31
| May low C = 12.3
|Feb percentsun= 35
| Apr low C = 11.9
|Mar percentsun= 38
| Mar low C = 15.3
|Apr percentsun= 38
| Feb low C = 16.2
|May percentsun= 35
| Jan low C = 15.4
|Jun percentsun= 34
| year mean C = 14.8
|Jul percentsun= 34
| Dec mean C = 16.5
|Aug percentsun= 32
| Nov mean C = 14.6
|Sep percentsun= 33
|Oct percentsun= 33
| Oct mean C = 13.0
| Sep mean C = 12.0
|Nov percentsun= 32
| Aug mean C = 11.9
|Dec percentsun= 29
| Jul mean C = 12.2
|source 1 = Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalbioclimatics.org/station/so-trist.htm|title=South Africa: Tristan Da Cunha|date=March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426191925/http://www.globalbioclimatics.org/station/so-trist.htm|archive-date=26 April 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| date = August 2010
|source 2 = Climate and Temperature<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.climatetemp.info/tristan-da-cunha/ |title=Tristan Da Cunha Climate Guide to the Average Weather & Temperatures with Graphs Elucidating Sunshine and Rainfall Data & Information about Wind Speeds & Humidity |date=March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117211803/http://www.climatetemp.info/tristan-da-cunha/ |archive-date=17 November 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.tristandc.com/wildclimate.php | title=Tristan da Cunha's Climate}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}
}}

==Geology==
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/tdc-geol.htm |title=Tristan da Cunha |website=mcee.ou.edu |access-date=25 November 2023 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007012603/http://mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/tdc-geol.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
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.

===Volcanoes===
Tristan da Cunha has two volcanoes: [[Queen Mary's Peak]] on the main island and [[Edinburgh Peak]] on Gough Island. Queen Mary's Peak ({{coord|37|6|42|S|12|17|19|W|type:mountain|name=Queen Mary's Peak}}) has a height of {{cvt|2062|m}} and remains active, with its last eruption reported to have occurred in 1961. Edinburgh Peak ({{coord|40|18|33|S|9|56|48|W|type:mountain|name=Edinburgh Peak}}) has a height of {{cvt|902|m}} and is classified as extinct.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska Volcano Observatory - Volcanoes of the world: an illustrated catalog of Holocene volcanoes and their eruptions |url=https://avo.alaska.edu/downloads/reference.php?citid=3261 |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=avo.alaska.edu |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215185632/https://avo.alaska.edu/downloads/reference.php?citid=3261 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Volcanism Program {{!}} Database Search |url=https://volcano.si.edu/search_volcano.cfm |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=volcano.si.edu |archive-date=23 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223003046/https://volcano.si.edu/search_volcano.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geochemistry and tectonic significance==
The volcanic rocks range from ankaramitic basanite through tephrite to phonolite<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Le Roex |first1=A.P. |last2=Cliff |first2=R.A. |last3=Adair |first3=B.J.I. |year=1990 |title=Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic: geochemistry and petrogenesis of a basanite-phonolite lava series |journal=Journal of Petrology |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=779–812 |doi=10.1093/petrology/31.4.779 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/31.4.779}}</ref> 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.<ref name=sag>{{cite journal |last1=Gibson |first1=S.A. |last2=Thompson |first2=R.N. |last3=Day |first3=S.E. |year=2005 |title=Melt-generation processes associated with the Tristan mantle plume: Constraints on the origin of EM-1 |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=237 |issue=3–4 |pages=744–767 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.015 |bibcode=2005E&PSL.237..744G |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.015}}</ref> The unusual composition is explained by the presence of enriched material in the plume source, either recycled sediments or metasomatized lithosphere.<ref name=sag/> The origin of the islands is commonly attributed to partial melting in a mantle plume.<ref name=sag/> The islands are located at the western end of the Walvis Ridge, which links the islands to the Etendeka large igneous province. This association has been cited as an example of plume head and tail hypothesis,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=M.A. |last2=Duncan |first2=R.A. |last3=Courtillot |first3=V.E. |year=1989 |title=Flood Basalts and Hot-Spot Tracks: Plume Heads and Tails |journal=Science |volume=246 |issue=4926 |pages=103–107 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.015 |pmid=17837768 |bibcode=2005E&PSL.237..744G |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.015}}</ref> but the geochemical characteristics of Tristan lavas differ from those of the Etendeka province, which suggests that the plume was heterogeneous.


==Flora and fauna==
==Flora and fauna==
[[File:Gough and Inaccessible Islands-113061.jpg|thumb|[[Subantarctic fur seal]]s at [[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]]]]
[[File:LM Aubert Du Petit-Thouars 1758-1831.jpg|thumb|French nobleman and eminent botanist [[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars]], commemorated in the nomenclature of a variety of plants (e.g. ''[[Carex thouarsii]]'') native to Tristan da Cunha.]]
{{see also|Wildlife of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
{{see also|Wildlife of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
[[File:Gough and Inaccessible Islands-113061.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Subantarctic fur seal]]s at [[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]]]]
Many of the flora and fauna of the archipelago have a broad circumpolar distribution in the South Atlantic and [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific Ocean]]<nowiki/>s. For example, the plant species ''[[Nertera depressa]]'' was first collected in Tristan da Cunha,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brown, R. N. Rudmose |year= 1905 |title=The Botany of Gough Island |journal= The Journal of the Linnean Society of London |volume= 37 |issue=259 |pages=238–250, page 242 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1905.TB00834.x|url= https://zenodo.org/record/1447502 }}</ref> but has since been recorded as far away as [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite web|first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |year=2009 |url=http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |title=Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor |publisher=Globaltwitcher.com |editor-first=N. |editor-last=Stromberg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |archive-date=13 February 2012 }}</ref>
[[File:LM Aubert Du Petit-Thouars 1758-1831.jpg|thumb|upright|French nobleman and botanist [[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars]], commemorated in the nomenclature of a variety of plants (e.g. ''[[Carex thouarsii]]'') native to Tristan da Cunha]]
Many of the flora and fauna of the archipelago have a broad circumpolar distribution in the South Atlantic and [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific Oceans]]. For example, the plant species ''[[Nertera granadensis]]'' was first collected in Tristan da Cunha,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brown, R. N. Rudmose |year=1905 |title=The Botany of Gough Island |journal=The Journal of the Linnean Society of London |volume=37 |issue=259 |pages=238–250, page 242 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1905.TB00834.x |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1447502 |access-date=26 August 2020 |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222021041/https://zenodo.org/record/1447502 |url-status=live }}</ref> but has since been recorded as far away as [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite web |first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |year=2009 |url=http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |title=Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor |publisher=Globaltwitcher.com |editor-first=N. |editor-last=Stromberg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |archive-date=13 February 2012}}</ref>


=== Invasive species ===
=== Invasive species ===
The islands of Tristan da Cunha has a high significance of global [[biodiversity]] as the island is considered a natural [[World Heritage Site]].&nbsp;This designation is largely due to the seabird population found on the archipelago. The biodiversity of the island is on the decline because of the introduction of [[Invasive species|invasive species.]] Due to Tristan da Cunha's isolated archipelago ecology, and increase of tourism with cruise ships and research vessels, more invasive species are expected to be introduced to Tristan da Cunha.<ref name=Reddy2017>{{cite web |type=report |title=On a remote archipelago, rich biodiversity faces threats |last=Reddy |first=Simon |date=2017-03-22 |publisher=Pew Memorial Trusts |website=PewTrusts.org |url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/03/22/on-a-remote-archipelago-rich-biodiversity-faces-threats |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20180627014222/http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/03/22/on-a-remote-archipelago-rich-biodiversity-faces-threats |archive-date=27 June 2018 |df=dmy-all |access-date=1 April 2020 }}</ref> The islands' vegetation and mammal species are not equipped to defend against or control introduced species, increasing island vulnerability, due to lack of defensive behavioral mechanisms and slow generational output rates. Efforts to decrease and eradicate invasive flora, fauna, and marine species are in the works and have yet to show any successful outcomes. The following described invasive species have been known to have harmful effects on the islands' vegetation and native species.
The islands of Tristan da Cunha have a high significance of global [[biodiversity]]: two of them, Gough and Inaccessible, form a UNESCO natural [[World Heritage Site]].&nbsp;This designation is largely due to the seabird population found there. The biodiversity of the island is vulnerable to introduction of [[invasive 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.<ref name=Reddy2017>{{cite web |type=report |title=On a remote archipelago, rich biodiversity faces threats |last=Reddy |first=Simon |date=22 March 2017 |publisher=Pew Memorial Trusts |website=PewTrusts.org |url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/03/22/on-a-remote-archipelago-rich-biodiversity-faces-threats |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406130810/http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/03/22/on-a-remote-archipelago-rich-biodiversity-faces-threats |archive-date=6 April 2023 |access-date=1 August 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/gough-island-restoration-programme/ |title=Gough Island Restoration Programme Conservation Project |website=The RSPB |access-date=20 August 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820193316/https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/gough-island-restoration-programme/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The following described invasive species have been known to have harmful effects on the islands' vegetation and native species.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Invasive [[house 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.<ref name=Law2018>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/ambitious-new-plan-remove-mega-mice-set-save-millions-seabirds |title=Ambitious plan to remove "mega-mice" to save millions of seabirds |last=Law |first=Jessica |date=22 October 2018 |magazine=Bird Life |access-date=19 February 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217134310/https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/ambitious-new-plan-remove-mega-mice-set-save-millions-seabirds |url-status=live }}</ref> 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|date=October 2023}}

In order to prevent the growth of the invasive mice population and extinction of the [[Albatross]] bird species, a 2019 Gough Island mouse eradication project was announced (Grundy, 2018). The [[RSPB]] and Tristan da Cunha Government have partnered to spread cereal pellets with [[rodenticide]] bait across Gough Island, in hopes to eradicate the invasive mice population.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-05-16-gough2019plan.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Wildlife News |last=Grundy |date=15 May 2018 |website=Tristandc.com |access-date=19 February 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217134433/https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-05-16-gough2019plan.php |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":3" />


===Flora===
===Flora===


====Native plants ====
====Native plants ====
[[File:Phylica arborea.JPG|thumb|upright|right|''[[Phylica arborea]]'', the only tree species native (though not [[Endemism|endemic]]) to Tristan da Cunha.]]
[[File:Phylica arborea.JPG|thumb|upright|right|''[[Phylica arborea]]'', the only tree species native (though not [[Endemism|endemic]]) to Tristan da Cunha]]
[[File:Fernbush plant communities dominated by the endemic tree-fern Blechnum palmiforme.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A stand of Tristan’s endemic [[tree fern]]: ''[[Blechnum palmiforme]]'', the ''fernbush''.]]
[[File:Fernbush plant communities dominated by the endemic tree-fern Blechnum palmiforme.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A stand of Tristan's endemic [[tree fern]], ''[[Lomariocycas palmiformis]]'', the fernbush]]
[[File:Curtis's botanical magazine (Plate 3735) (9126480547).jpg|thumb|upright|right|''Sophora macnabiana'' ([[Fabaceae]]): coloured plate depicting the shrub in flower from [[Curtis's Botanical Magazine]].]]
[[File:Curtis's botanical magazine (Plate 3735) (9126480547).jpg|thumb|upright|right|''Sophora macnabiana'' ([[Fabaceae]]): coloured plate depicting the shrub in flower from [[Curtis's Botanical Magazine]]]]
[[File:Pelargonium cucullatum 03.jpg|thumb|upright|right|''[[Pelargonium cucullatum]]'' an attractive species native to both Tristan da Cunha and [[South Africa]].]]
[[File:Pelargonium cucullatum 03.jpg|thumb|upright|right|''[[Pelargonium cucullatum]]'', a species native to both Tristan da Cunha and [[South Africa]]]]
A combination of the list on Kew's ''[[Plants of the World Online]]'' site with information from a paper by Wace and Holdgate<ref>The Vegetation of Tristan Da Cunha,N. M. Wace and M. W. Holdgate, ''Journal of Ecology'' Vol. 46, No. 3 (Nov., 1958), pp. 593-620</ref> yields the following list (by no means exhaustive) of plant species recorded as native to Tristan da Cunha.
A combination of the list on Kew's ''[[Plants of the World Online]]'' site with information from a paper by Wace and Holdgate<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Vegetation of Tristan Da Cunha |first1=N. M. |last1=Wace |first2=M. W. |last2=Holdgate |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=46 |number=3 |date=November 1958 |pages=593–620 |doi=10.2307/2257541 |jstor=2257541 |bibcode=1958JEcol..46..593W}}</ref> yields the following list (by no means exhaustive) of plant species recorded as native to Tristan da Cunha.



[[Eudicots]]
; [[Eudicots]] :
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* ''[[Apium australe]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Apiaceae]])
* ''[[Atriplex plebeja|Atriplex plebeia]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Amaranthaceae]])
* ''[[Atriplex plebeja|Atriplex plebeia]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Amaranthaceae]])
* ''[[Dysphania tomentosa]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[Mosyakin]] & [[Clemants]]</small> ([[Amaranthaceae]])
* ''[[Callitriche christensenii]]'' <small>[[Christoph.]]</small> ([[Plantaginaceae]])
* ''[[Apium australe]]'' <small>[[Thouars]]</small> ([[Apiaceae]])
* ''[[Hydrocotyle capitata]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Araliaceae]])
* ''[[Chevreulia sarmentosa]]'' <small>([[Pers.]]) [[S.F.Blake]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Chevreulia sarmentosa]]'' <small>([[Pers.]]) [[S.F.Blake]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Cotula goughensis]]'' <small>[[Rud.]] Brown</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Cotula goughensis]]'' <small>[[Rud.]] Brown</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Cotula moseleyi]]'' <small>[[Hemsl.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Cotula moseleyi]]'' <small>[[Hemsl.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Dysphania tomentosa]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[Mosyakin]] & [[Clemants]]</small> ([[Amaranthaceae]])
* ''[[Empetrum rubrum]]'' <small>[[Martin Vahl|Vahl]] ex [[Willd.]]</small> ([[Ericaceae]])
* ''[[Gamochaeta thouarsii]]'' <small>([[Spreng.]]) [[Anderb.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Gamochaeta thouarsii]]'' <small>([[Spreng.]]) [[Anderb.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Gnaphalium thouarsii]]'' <small>[[Spreng.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Gnaphalium thouarsii]]'' <small>[[Spreng.]]</small> ([[Asteraceae]])
* ''[[Empetrum rubrum]]'' <small>[[Martin Vahl|Vahl]] ex [[Willd.]]</small> ([[Ericaceae]])
* ''[[Hydrocotyle capitata]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Araliaceae]])
* ''[[Sophora macnabiana]]'' <small>([[Robert Graham (botanist)|Graham]]) [[Skottsb.]]</small> ([[Fabaceae]])
* ''[[Nertera granadensis]]'' <small>[[George Claridge Druce|Druce]]</small> ([[Rubiaceae]])
* ''[[Pelargonium cucullatum]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[L'Hér.]]</small> ([[Geraniaceae]])
* ''[[Pelargonium cucullatum]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[L'Hér.]]</small> ([[Geraniaceae]])
* ''[[Pelargonium grossularioides]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[L'Hér.]]</small> ([[Geraniaceae]])
* ''[[Pelargonium grossularioides]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[L'Hér.]]</small> ([[Geraniaceae]])
* ''[[Callitriche christensenii]]'' <small>[[Christoph.]]</small> ([[Plantaginaceae]])
* ''[[Rumex frutescens]]'' <small>[[Thouars]]</small> ([[Polygonaceae]])
* ''[[Phylica arborea]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Rhamnaceae]])
* ''[[Phylica arborea]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Rhamnaceae]])
* ''[[Nertera granadensis]]'' <small>[[George Claridge Druce|Druce]]</small> ([[Rubiaceae]])
* ''[[Rumex frutescens]]'' <small>[[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]</small> ([[Polygonaceae]])
* ''[[Sophora macnabiana]]'' <small>([[Robert Graham (botanist)|Graham]]) [[Skottsb.]]</small> ([[Fabaceae]])
}}



[[Commelinids]]
; [[Commelinids]] :
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* ''[[Agrostis carmichaelii]]'' <small>[[Schult.]] & [[Schult.f.]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis carmichaelii]]'' <small>[[Schult.]] & [[Schult.f.]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis crinum-ursi]]'' <small>[[Carl Christian Mez|Mez]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis crinum-ursi]]'' <small>[[Carl Christian Mez|Mez]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis media]]'' <small>Carmich.</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis media]]'' <small>Carmich.</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis trachychlaena]]'' <small>[[C.E. Hubbard]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Agrostis trachychlaena]]'' <small>[[C.E. Hubbard]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Deschampsia wacei]]'' <small>[[C.E.Hubb.]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Sporobolus mobberleyanus]]'' <small>[[P.M.Peterson]] & Saarela</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Rostkovia tristanensis]]'' <small>[[Christoph.]]</small> ([[Juncaceae]])
* ''[[Carex insularis]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Carex insularis]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Carex thouarsii]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Carex thouarsii]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Deschampsia wacei]]'' <small>[[C.E.Hubb.]]</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis bicolor]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis bicolor]]'' <small>[[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis moseleyana]]'' <small>([[Boeckeler]]) [[Muasya]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis moseleyana]]'' <small>([[Boeckeler]]) [[Muasya]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis prolifera]]'' <small>([[Rottb.]]) [[R.Br.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis prolifera]]'' <small>([[Rottb.]]) [[R.Br.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis sulcata]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Isolepis sulcata]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[Carmich.]]</small> ([[Cyperaceae]])
* ''[[Sporobolus mobberleyanus]]'' <small>[[P.M.Peterson]] & Saarela</small> ([[Poaceae]])
* ''[[Rostkovia tristanensis]]'' <small>[[Christoph.]]</small> ([[Juncaceae]])
}}



; [[Fern]]s, [[moss]]es and [[clubmoss]]es :
Ferns, Mosses and Clubmosses
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* ''[[Asplenium aequibasis]]'' <small>([[C.Chr.]]) [[J.P.Roux]]</small> ([[Aspleniaceae]])
* ''[[Asplenium aequibasis]]'' <small>([[Carl Christensen (botanist)|C.Chr.]]) [[J.P.Roux]]</small> ([[Aspleniaceae]])
* ''[[Asplenium alvarezense]]'' <small>[[Rudm.]] Brown</small> ([[Aspleniaceae]])
* ''[[Asplenium alvarezense]]'' <small>[[Rudm.]] Brown</small> ([[Aspleniaceae]])
* ''[[Athyrium medium]]'' <small>([[Carmich.]]) [[T.Moore]]</small> ([[Athyriaceae]])
* ''[[Athyrium medium]]'' <small>([[Carmich.]]) [[T.Moore]]</small> ([[Athyriaceae]])
* ''[[Austroblechnum penna-marina]]'' <small>([[Poir.]]) Gasper & V.A.O.Dittrich</small> ([[Blechnaceae]])
* ''[[Austroblechnum penna-marina]]'' <small>([[Poir.]]) Gasper & V.A.O.Dittrich</small> ([[Blechnaceae]])
* ''[[Blechnum palmiforme]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[C.Chr.]]</small> ([[Blechnaceae]])
* ''[[Elaphoglossum laurifolium]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[T.Moore]]</small> ([[Dryopteridaceae]])
* ''[[Elaphoglossum laurifolium]]'' <small>([[Thouars]]) [[T.Moore]]</small> ([[Dryopteridaceae]])
* ''[[Lomariocycas palmiformis]]'' <small>([[Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars|Thouars]]) [[Carl Christensen (botanist)|C.Chr.]]</small> ([[Blechnaceae]])
* ''[[Rumohra adiantiformis]]'' <small>([[G.Forst.]]) [[Ren-Chang Ching|Ching]]</small> ([[Dryopteridaceae]])
* ''[[Polyphlebium angustatum]]'' <small>([[Carmich.]]) [[Ebihara & Dubuisson]]</small> ([[Hymenophyllaceae]])
* ''[[Notogrammitis billardierei]]'' <small>([[Willdenow]]) Parris</small> ([[Polypodiaceae]])
* ''[[Lycopodium diaphanum]]'' <small>([[P.Beauv.]]) [[Sw.]]</small> ([[Lycopodiaceae]])
* ''[[Lycopodium diaphanum]]'' <small>([[P.Beauv.]]) [[Sw.]]</small> ([[Lycopodiaceae]])
* ''[[Notogrammitis billardierei]]'' <small>([[Willdenow]]) Parris</small> ([[Polypodiaceae]])
* ''[[Racomitrium lanuginosum]]'' <small>([[Hedw.]]) [[Brid.]]</small> ([[Grimmiaceae]])<ref>http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/?q=location%3ATristan+da+Cunha Retrieved at 14.12 on Tuesday 9/6/20</ref>
* ''[[Polyphlebium angustatum]]'' <small>([[Carmich.]]) [[Ebihara & Dubuisson]]</small> ([[Hymenophyllaceae]])
* ''[[Racomitrium lanuginosum]]'' <small>([[Hedw.]]) [[Brid.]]</small> ([[Grimmiaceae]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=location%253ATristan+da+Cunha |title=Location:Tristan da Cunha |website=Royal Botanical Gardens Kew |access-date=23 July 2021 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809054042/https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=location%253ATristan+da+Cunha |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Rumohra adiantiformis]]'' <small>([[G.Forst.]]) [[Ren-Chang Ching|Ching]]</small> ([[Dryopteridaceae]])
}}


====Introduced plants====
====Introduced plants====
[[File:Sonchus asper MichaD.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Sonchus asper]]'' a common introduced weed on Tristan.]]
[[File:Sonchus asper MichaD.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Sonchus asper]]'', an introduced weed common on Tristan]]
[[File:Fumaria muralis 07.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Fumaria muralis]]''.]]
[[File:Fumaria muralis 07.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Fumaria muralis]]'']]
[[File:Veronica agrestis eF.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Veronica agrestis]]''.]]
[[File:Veronica agrestis eF.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Veronica agrestis]]'']]
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.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://brahmsonline.kew.org/Content/Projects/tristan/Resources/Tristan_Alien_Plant_Report_Part1.pdf |title=Alien plants and their impact on Tristan da Cunha |last=Gremmen |first=Niek |date=2009 |website=Brahms Online}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> The majority of invasive weed species that has been introduced to the island are spread by seed and cover 50% of arable land in widely distributed patches.<ref name=":0" /> 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]]'').<ref name=":0" /> 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]]'').<ref name=":0"/> 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 have adapted to wind dispersal will be widely distributed.<ref name=":0"/>
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.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://brahmsonline.kew.org/Content/Projects/tristan/Resources/Tristan_Alien_Plant_Report_Part1.pdf |title=Alien plants and their impact on Tristan da Cunha |last=Gremmen |first=Niek |date=2009 |website=Brahms Online |access-date=17 February 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217134259/http://brahmsonline.kew.org/Content/Projects/tristan/Resources/Tristan_Alien_Plant_Report_Part1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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]]'').<ref name=":0" /> 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]]'').<ref name=":0"/> 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.<ref name=":0"/>


The invasive plants have had several negative impacts on native island plant species, including the competitive exclusion of many such species.<ref name=":0"/> The out-competition will and can 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 CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere.<ref name=":0"/> Native plants such as [[Blechnum palmiforme|fern bushes]], ''[[Phylica arborea|Phylica]]'' bushes, fern brakes, mires, and bogs, contain high organic content matter which functions as storage for carbon.<ref name=":0"/> 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, the [[nutrient 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.<ref name=":0"/>
The invasive plants have had several negative impacts on native island plant species, including the competitive exclusion of many such species.<ref name=":0"/> 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 CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere.<ref name=":0"/> Native plants such as [[Blechnum palmiforme|fern bushes]], ''[[Phylica arborea|Phylica]]'' bushes, fern brakes, mires, and bogs, contain high organic content matter which functions as storage for carbon.<ref name=":0"/> 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, the [[nutrient 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.<ref name=":0"/>


The alien plants are able to survive and continue to grow and spread successfully on the islands because they have the ability to naturalize in [[temperate regions]] and have limited necessities needed to survive.<ref name=":0"/> The islands' isolation increases archipelago ecology uniqueness which increases susceptibility for foreign invaders.<ref name=Reddy2017/> 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.<ref name=Reddy2017/>
The alien plants are able to survive and continue to grow and spread successfully on the islands because they have the ability to naturalize in [[temperate regions]] and have limited necessities needed to survive.<ref name=":0"/> The islands' isolation increases archipelago ecology uniqueness, which increases susceptibility to foreign invaders.<ref name=Reddy2017/> 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.<ref name=Reddy2017/>


Plants are being controlled by taking surveys of the invasive species, evaluating their impact on biodiversity, and evaluating the feasibility of their eradication.<ref name=Law2018/> 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 labor-intensive that will take several years using mechanical and chemical procedures.<ref name=Reddy2017/>
Plants are being controlled by taking surveys of the invasive species, evaluating their impact on biodiversity, and evaluating the feasibility of their eradication.<ref name=Law2018/> 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 labor-intensive that will take several years using mechanical and chemical procedures.<ref name=Reddy2017/>


===Fauna===
===Fauna===


====Land====
====Land====
[[File:Nesocichla eremita Smit.jpg|thumb|right|''Nesocichla eremita'', the [[Tristan thrush]].]]
[[File:Nesocichla eremita Smit.jpg|thumb|right| [[Tristan thrush]] ''Turdus eremita'' (formerly ''Nesocichla eremita'')]]


Tristan is primarily known for its wildlife. The island has been identified as an [[Important Bird Area]] by [[BirdLife International]] because there are 13 known species of breeding seabirds on the island and two species of resident land birds. The seabirds include [[northern rockhopper penguin]]s, [[Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross]]es, [[sooty albatross]]es, [[Atlantic petrel]]s, [[great-winged petrel]]s, [[soft-plumaged petrel]]s, [[broad-billed prion]]s, [[grey petrel]]s, [[great shearwater]]s, [[sooty shearwater]]s, [[Tristan skua]]s, [[Antarctic tern]]s and [[Brown noddy|brown noddies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tristan-island-iba-st-helena-(to-uk) |series=Important Bird Areas factsheet |title=Tristan Island |access-date=28 December 2018 |website=Important Bird Areas |publisher=BirdLife International |year=2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Tristan and Gough Islands are the only known breeding sites in the world for the [[Atlantic petrel]]. Inaccessible Island is also the only known breeding ground of the [[spectacled petrel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=30027&m=0 |title=Spectacled Petrel |series=BirdLife Species Factsheet |accessdate=5 January 2019 |author=BirdLife International |work=Data Zone}}</ref> The [[Tristan albatross]] is known to breed only on Gough and Inaccessible Islands: all nest on Gough, except for one or two pairs which nest on Inaccessible Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tristan-albatross-diomedea-dabbenena/text |website=BirdLife Data Zone |title=Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
Tristan is primarily known for its wildlife. The island has been identified as an [[Important Bird Area]] by [[BirdLife International]] because there are 13 known species of breeding seabirds on the island and two species of resident land birds. The seabirds include [[northern rockhopper penguin]]s, [[Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross]]es, [[sooty albatross]]es, [[Atlantic petrel]]s, [[great-winged petrel]]s, [[soft-plumaged petrel]]s, [[broad-billed prion]]s, [[grey petrel]]s, [[great shearwater]]s, [[sooty shearwater]]s, [[Tristan skua]]s, [[Antarctic tern]]s and [[Brown noddy|brown noddies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tristan-island-iba-st-helena-(to-uk) |series=Important Bird Areas factsheet |title=Tristan Island |access-date=28 December 2018 |website=Important Bird Areas |publisher=BirdLife International |year=2012 |archive-date=29 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031952/http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tristan-island-iba-st-helena-(to-uk) |url-status=live }}</ref> Tristan and Gough Islands are the only known breeding sites in the world for the [[Atlantic petrel]]. Inaccessible Island is also the only known breeding ground of the [[spectacled petrel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=30027&m=0 |title=Spectacled Petrel |series=BirdLife Species Factsheet |access-date=5 January 2019 |author=BirdLife International |work=Data Zone |archive-date=2 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102203511/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=30027&m=0 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Tristan albatross]] is known to breed only on Gough and Inaccessible Islands: all nest on Gough, except for one or two pairs which nest on Inaccessible Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tristan-albatross-diomedea-dabbenena/text |website=BirdLife Data Zone |title=Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105201209/http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tristan-albatross-diomedea-dabbenena/text |url-status=live }}</ref>


The endemic [[Tristan 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 endemic [[Inaccessible Island rail]], the smallest extant flightless bird in the world, is found only on Inaccessible Island. In 1956, eight [[Gough moorhen]]s were released at [[Sandy Point, Tristan da Cunha|Sandy Point]] on Tristan, and have subsequently colonised the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beautyofbirds.com/goughmoorhens.html|website=Beauty of Birds|title=Gough Moorhens|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref> No birds of prey breed on Tristan da Cunha, but the [[Amur falcon]] occasionally passes through the area on its migrations, thus putting it on the island's bird list.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
The endemic [[Tristan 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 endemic [[Inaccessible Island rail]], the smallest extant flightless bird in the world, is found only on Inaccessible Island. In 1956, eight [[Gough moorhen]]s were released at [[Sandy Point, Tristan da Cunha|Sandy Point]] on Tristan and have subsequently colonised the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.beautyofbirds.com/goughmoorhens.html |website=Beauty of Birds |title=Gough Moorhens |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010259/https://www.beautyofbirds.com/goughmoorhens.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

A non-native species of [[house mouse|house mice]] that have evolved to be 50% larger than average house mice have adapted to Tristan da Cunha. They are thought to have been accidentally introduced by 19th&nbsp;century seal hunters who would dock on the islands.<ref name=Law2018>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/ambitious-new-plan-remove-mega-mice-set-save-millions-seabirds |title=Ambitious plan to remove "mega-mice" to save millions of seabirds |last=Law |first=Jessica |date=October 22, 2018 |df=dmy-all |magazine=Bird Life}}</ref> These mice have adapted by consuming sea bird eggs and chicks (as they nest on the ground), killing an estimated 2&nbsp;million chicks annually pushing the species{{which|date=July 2020}} to extinction. 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. With no natural predators and a high generational output rate, there is no way to control the growth of the invasive mice population. The native bird species have slower generational output and exposure to the islands.<ref name=Law2018/>

Mitigation plans in order to eradicate or decrease the invasive rodent population on the islands was seriously discussed in March&nbsp;2008 taking into consideration the islands' community. Discussion of aerial bait drop on Tristan brought up concerns of health and safety of the children, livestock and the security of the water supply.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Varnham |first=Karen |date=2011 |title=Involving the community in rodent eradication on Tristan da Cunha |collaboration=The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds |url=http://www.issg.org/pdf/publications/Island_Invasives/pdfHQprint/4Varnham.pdf |journal=Island Invasives |pages=504–507}}</ref> Because the proposed plans for mitigation were not fully agreed upon by the Tristan community, eradication methods were shelved until 2019.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In order to prevent the growth of the invasive mice population and extinction of the Albatross bird species, a 2019 Gough Island mouse eradication project was announced (Grundy, 2018). The RSPB and Tristan da Cunha Government have partnered to spread cereal pellets with [[rodenticide]] bait across the Gough Island's, in hopes to eradicate the invasive mice population.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-05-16-gough2019plan.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Wildlife News|last=Grundy|date=May 15, 2018 |website=Tristandc.com}}</ref> This solution plan may seem simple but can become complex when discussing dispersal methods, which is predicted to be by helicopter, because of the island's remote location and harsh weather conditions.<ref name=":3" /> In areas that are hard to reach by helicopter, pellets will be scattered by hand.<ref name=":3" /> The goal of this operation is to restore Tristan da Cunha back to its natural state, ensuring it will still be one of the world's most important seabird nesting sites.<ref name=":3" /> Other methods that may be more simple, such as introducing cats, would pose a greater threat to the fragile bird populations as they would likely to prey on the birds as well and cats have already been eradicated from the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/wildCBDApril2014.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Wildlife News 2015 |last=Grundy |first=Richard |year=2015 |website=Tristandc.com}}</ref>


====Marine====
====Marine====
[[File:1954stampGoughTristan.jpg|thumb|1954 Tristan da Cunha stamp depicting "elephant seal at Gough Island"]]
The biodiversity of marine life is limited given the islands' isolation, making identifying the impacts of invasion difficult.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/pristine-seas/expeditions/tristan-da-cunha/ |title=Tristan da Cunha |date=February 2017 |website=National Geographic}}</ref> While much of the marine life is unknown there has been an invasive species identified in the waters around the islands. This species includes 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.<ref name=":4"/> The silver porgy is omnivorous but is not linked to the consumption of the valued lobster populations that the islanders fish.<ref name=":4"/> The silver porgy is however suspected to be consuming components of the islands’ fragile kelp forest.<ref name=":4" /> The giant kelp forests of [[Macrocystis pyrifera]] were extremely limited in biodiversity and has a simple, short-chain food web.<ref name=":4"/>&nbsp; While this species is considered non-native and invasive, removal efforts are currently not prioritized.<ref name=":4"/> Continued monitoring is suggested and expedition research for all invasive marine species are ongoing.<ref name=":4"/>
[[File:Tristan da Cunha 1960 Marine Life stamps.jpg|thumb|Tristan da Cunha 1960 Marine Life stamps]]
The largest no take zone in the Atlantic, and at {{convert|687247|km2|sqmi}}, the fourth largest in the world, was designated on 13&nbsp;November 2020. The [[Marine Protected Area]] bans mining and fishing (except the local [[lobster]] fishery), with enforcement the responsibility of the UK government via satellite surveillance. According to the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] (RSPB), the islands and surrounding ocean is one of the most pristine temperate [[ecosystem]]s on the planet.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Blackman |first1=Stuart |title=Hugh marine sanctuary created in South Atlantic |magazine=BBC Wildlife |date=February 2021 |pages=22–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UK Overseas Territory becomes one of the world's biggest sanctuaries for wildlife |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/tristan-da-cunha-mpa/ |website=RSPB |access-date=18 February 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306185541/https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/tristan-da-cunha-mpa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


Various species of [[whale]]s and [[dolphin]]s can be seen around Tristan from time to time with increasing sighting rates, although recovery of baleen whales, especially the [[southern right whale]], were severely hindered by illegal whaling by the [[Soviet Union]] in the aftermath of the 1960 volcanic eruption.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |title=Cetacea: Whales and Dolphins around the Tristan da Cunha Islands |work=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/wildwhales.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404225905/http://www.tristandc.com/wildwhales.php |archive-date=4 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[subantarctic fur seal]] ''Arctocephalus tropicalis'' can also be found in the Tristan archipelago, mostly on Gough Island.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Tyler, P. and A. Rothwell|title=The Natural History of Tristan da Cunha|url=http://www.ukotcf.org/pdf/TristanFactsheets.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527013721/http://www.ukotcf.org/pdf/TristanFactsheets.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 May 2015|website=UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum|publisher=UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum|accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>
Various species of [[whale]]s and [[dolphin]]s can be seen around Tristan from time to time with increasing sighting rates, although recovery of baleen whales, especially the [[southern right whale]], were severely hindered by illegal whaling by the [[Soviet Union]] in the aftermath of the 1960 volcanic eruption.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |title=Cetacea: Whales and Dolphins around the Tristan da Cunha Islands |work=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/wildwhales.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404225905/http://www.tristandc.com/wildwhales.php |archive-date=4 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[subantarctic fur seal]] ''(Arctophoca tropicalis)'' can also be found in the Tristan archipelago, mostly on Gough Island.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Tyler, P. and A. Rothwell |title=The Natural History of Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.ukotcf.org/pdf/TristanFactsheets.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527013721/http://www.ukotcf.org/pdf/TristanFactsheets.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 May 2015 |website=UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum |access-date=30 June 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":4"/> The silver porgy is however suspected to be consuming components of the islands' fragile [[kelp forest]]. The giant kelp forests of ''[[Macrocystis 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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/our-programs/pristine-seas/tristan-da-cunha/ |title=Tristan da Cunha |date=February 2017 |website=National Geographic |access-date=20 November 2023 |archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207194634/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/our-programs/pristine-seas/tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Economy==
==Economy==
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 the [[Tristan rock lobster]] (''[[Jasus]]'') fishery, the sale of the island's [[postage stamp]]s and coins, and limited tourism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Economy of Tristan da Cunha |collaboration=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |date=June 2005 |url=http://www.tristandc.com/economy.php |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=12 March 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526063333/http://www.tristandc.com/economy.php |archive-date=26 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Like most [[British Overseas Territories]], it was never a part of the [[European Union]], but was a member of the EU's [[Overseas Countries and Territories Association]].<ref>{{cite web |title=OCTA Presentation |website=octassociation.org |url=http://www.octassociation.org/octa-presentation |url-status=dead |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027003853/http://www.octassociation.org/octa-presentation |archive-date=27 October 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Edinburgh-Tristan.jpg|thumb|[[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]], Tristan da Cunha]]
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 the [[Tristan rock lobster]] (''[[Jasus]]'') fishery, the sale of the island's [[postage stamp]]s and coins, and limited tourism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Economy of Tristan da Cunha |collaboration=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |date=June 2005 |url=http://www.tristandc.com/economy.php |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=12 March 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526063333/http://www.tristandc.com/economy.php |archive-date=26 May 2012 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Like most [[British Overseas Territories]], it was never a part of the [[European Union]], but was a member of the EU's [[Overseas Countries and Territories Association]].<ref>{{cite web |title=OCTA Presentation |website=octassociation.org |url=http://www.octassociation.org/octa-presentation |url-status=dead |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027003853/http://www.octassociation.org/octa-presentation |archive-date=27 October 2017}}</ref>


The [[Bank of Saint Helena]] was established on Saint Helena and [[Ascension Island]] in 2004. This bank does not have a physical presence on Tristan da Cunha, but residents of Tristan are entitled to its services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sainthelenabank.com/tristan.htm |title=The Bank of Saint Helena |publisher=Sainthelenabank.com |accessdate=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715225453/http://www.sainthelenabank.com/tristan.htm |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> Although Tristan da Cunha is part of the same overseas territory as Saint Helena, it does not use the local [[Saint Helena pound]], instead using the [[United Kingdom]] issue of the [[pound sterling]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Coins |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/coins.php |accessdate=5 January 2019}}</ref>
The [[Bank of Saint Helena]] was established on Saint Helena and [[Ascension Island]] in 2004. This bank does not have a physical presence on Tristan da Cunha, but residents of Tristan are entitled to its services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sainthelenabank.com/tristan.htm |title=The Bank of Saint Helena |publisher=Sainthelenabank.com |access-date=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715225453/http://www.sainthelenabank.com/tristan.htm |archive-date=15 July 2011}}</ref> Although Tristan da Cunha is part of the same overseas territory as Saint Helena, it does not use the local [[Saint Helena pound]]; [[Pound sterling|sterling]] is used directly instead.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Coins |publisher=The Tristan da Cunha Website |url=http://www.tristandc.com/coins.php |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=8 December 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208235056/http://www.tristandc.com/coins.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


The island is located in the [[South Atlantic Anomaly]], an area of the Earth with an abnormally weak magnetic field. On 14&nbsp;November 2008 a geomagnetic observatory was inaugurated on the island as part of a joint venture between the [[Danish Meteorological Institute]] and [[DTU Space]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Matzka, Jürgen |date=20 November 2008 |title=Danish researchers build magnetic observatory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean |publisher=Technical University of Denmark |url=http://www.space.dtu.dk/english/News/2008/11/Tristan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508025652/http://www.space.dtu.dk/english/News/2008/11/Tristan |archive-date=8 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The island is located in the [[South Atlantic Anomaly]], an area of the Earth with an abnormally weak magnetic field. On 14&nbsp;November 2008 a geomagnetic observatory was inaugurated on the island as part of a joint venture between the [[Danish Meteorological Institute]] and [[DTU Space]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Matzka, Jürgen |date=20 November 2008 |title=Danish researchers build magnetic observatory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean |publisher=Technical University of Denmark |url=http://www.space.dtu.dk/english/News/2008/11/Tristan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508025652/http://www.space.dtu.dk/english/News/2008/11/Tristan |archive-date=8 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
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===Transport===
===Transport===
[[File:Edinburgh of the Seven Seas map.svg|thumb|200px|Map of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]]
[[File:Edinburgh of the Seven Seas map.svg|thumb|200px|Map of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]]
The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. Tristan da Cunha has no [[airstrip]] and is not generally accessible to air travel, though the wider territory is served by [[Saint Helena Airport]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/buildingsthelenaairport.htm |title=Building St.&nbsp;Helena Airport |accessdate=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183517/http://sainthelenaisland.info/buildingsthelenaairport.htm |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=St.&nbsp;Helena: Flights to remote Atlantic island begin at last |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41620003 |accessdate=14 October 2017 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014074202/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41620003 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[RAF Ascension Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ascension-flights.com/ascension-flights-schedule.htm |title=Ascension Island Travel Company |accessdate=26 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126010227/http://www.ascension-flights.com/ascension-flights-schedule.htm |archive-date=26 November 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Fishing boats from South Africa service the islands eight or nine times per year.
The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. Tristan da Cunha has no [[airstrip]] and is not generally accessible to air travel, though the wider territory is served by [[Saint Helena Airport]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/buildingsthelenaairport.htm |title=Building St.&nbsp;Helena Airport |access-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183517/http://sainthelenaisland.info/buildingsthelenaairport.htm |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=St.&nbsp;Helena: Flights to remote Atlantic island begin at last |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41620003 |access-date=14 October 2017 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014074202/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41620003 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[RAF Ascension Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ascension-flights.com/ascension-flights-schedule.htm |title=Ascension Island Travel Company |access-date=26 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126010227/http://www.ascension-flights.com/ascension-flights-schedule.htm |archive-date=26 November 2015}}</ref> Fishing boats from South Africa provide transport service to the islands eight or nine times per year.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}


The [[RMS St Helena (1989)|RMS ''Saint Helena'']] used to connect the main island to St&nbsp;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,<ref name="howstuffworks.com" /> and most recently in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-01-06-RMS-St-Helena.php |title=Last Voyage to Tristan by the RMS ''St.&nbsp;Helena''}}</ref> In the same year the RMS St.&nbsp;Helena was withdrawn from service. Three ships regularly service Tristan da Cunha, with typically fewer than a dozen visits a year. Other vessels may occasionally visit the island. The harbour at Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is called Calshot Harbour, named after [[Calshot|the place in Hampshire]], England where the islanders temporarily stayed during the volcanic eruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/harbour.php |title=Tristan da Cunha's Calshot Harbour |accessdate=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512013938/http://www.tristandc.com/harbour.php |archive-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
The [[RMS St Helena (1989)|RMS ''St Helena'']] used to connect the main island to St&nbsp;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,<ref name="howstuffworks.com"/> and most recently in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-01-06-RMS-St-Helena.php |title=Last Voyage to Tristan by the RMS St Helena |first1=Dawn |last1=Repetto |first2=Sean |last2=Burns |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522031540/https://www.tristandc.com/news-2018-01-06-RMS-St-Helena.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year the RMS ''St Helena'' was withdrawn from service. Three ships, the MV ''Lance'', the MFV ''Edinburgh'', and the [[S. A. Agulhas II|SA ''Agulhas II'']], regularly service Tristan da Cunha from Cape Town, with typically fewer than a dozen visits a year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/ships.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Regular Ships |first=Richard |last=Grundy |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305213914/https://www.tristandc.com/ships.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Other vessels may occasionally visit the island.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/cruises.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Cruise Ships |first=Richard |last=Grundy |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131041632/https://www.tristandc.com/cruises.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The harbour at [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]] is called Calshot Harbour, named after [[Calshot|the place in Hampshire]], England, where the islanders temporarily stayed during the 1961–1963 [[Queen Mary's Peak]] volcanic eruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/harbour.php |title=Tristan da Cunha's Calshot Harbour |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512013938/http://www.tristandc.com/harbour.php |archive-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
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 the [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council|Island Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/visitsorganise.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Organising a Visit |first=Richard |last=Grundy |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131040605/https://www.tristandc.com/visitsorganise.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/po/order-payment.php |title=Order and Payment Details for Tristan da Cunha Stamps |first=Peter |last=Millington |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131040849/https://www.tristandc.com/po/order-payment.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Tristan Government, along with the Tristan Association, set up a public website in 2017. 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |title=Tristan da Cunha Website |url=https://www.tristandc.com/index.php |access-date=30 April 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208140121/https://www.tristandc.com/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Communications{{anchor|Telecommunication}}===
===Communications{{anchor|Telecommunication}}===
;Telecommunication
==== Telecommunication ====
Although Tristan da Cunha shares the +290&nbsp;code with St.&nbsp;Helena, residents have access to the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] Telecommunications Network, provided by [[Global Crossing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/global-crossing-extends-fco-network-to-tristan-da-cunha--518367 |title=Global Crossing extends FCO network to Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Telecom Paper |date=22 May 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728182558/https://www.telecompaper.com/news/global-crossing-extends-fco-network-to-tristan-da-cunha--518367 |archive-date=28 July 2013}}</ref> This uses a [[London]] 020&nbsp;numbering range, meaning that numbers are accessed via the [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|UK telephone numbering plan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukota.org/tristan_da_cunha.asp?id=6&portal=OT |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616102746/http://www.ukota.org/tristan_da_cunha.asp?id=6&portal=OT |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-06-16 |df=dmy-all |title=Tristan Da Cunha Contact Information}}</ref> Internet access was available in Tristan da Cunha from 1998 to 2006, but its high cost made it almost unaffordable for the local population, who primarily used it only to send email.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1822_56_3.html |title=Telecommunications expert sets the record straight: Internet access is too expensive for Tristan da Cunha |work=Tristan da Cunha News |date=11 August 2005 |access-date=28 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204172203/http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1822_56_3.html |archive-date=4 December 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The connection was also extremely unreliable, connecting through a 64&nbsp;kbit/s satellite phone connection provided by [[Inmarsat]].


The [[ITU]] has assigned telephone country code [[Telephone numbers in Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha|+290]] for Tristan da Cunha;<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Recommendation ITU-T E.164 Assigned Country Codes |url=https://www.itu.int/pub/T-SP-E.164D-2016 |publisher=International Telecommunication Union |access-date=27 March 2021 |date=15 December 2016 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816222943/https://www.itu.int/pub/T-SP-E.164D-2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> however, residents have access to the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] Telecommunications Network, provided by [[Global Crossing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/global-crossing-extends-fco-network-to-tristan-da-cunha--518367 |title=Global Crossing extends FCO network to Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Telecom Paper |date=22 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728182558/https://www.telecompaper.com/news/global-crossing-extends-fco-network-to-tristan-da-cunha--518367 |archive-date=28 July 2013}}</ref> This service uses a [[London]] 020 numbering range, meaning that numbers are accessed via the [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|UK telephone numbering plan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukota.org/tristan_da_cunha.asp?id=6&portal=OT |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616102746/http://www.ukota.org/tristan_da_cunha.asp?id=6&portal=OT |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 June 2013 |title=Tristan Da Cunha Contact Information}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1822_56_3.html |title=Telecommunications expert sets the record straight: Internet access is too expensive for Tristan da Cunha |work=Tristan da Cunha News |date=11 August 2005 |access-date=28 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204172203/http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1822_56_3.html |archive-date=4 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The connection was also extremely unreliable, connecting through a 64&nbsp;kbit/s satellite phone connection provided by [[Inmarsat]].{{cn|date=April 2022}} On 16 September, 2024, satellite internet via [[Starlink|StarLink]] was made available on the island, offering much higher speeds than previously available.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=Tristan web-access Starlink update |url=https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2024-09-22-starlink.php |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Since 2006, a [[very-small-aperture terminal]] has provided 3072&nbsp;kbit/s of publicly accessible bandwidth via an internet cafe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunications.php |title=Tristan da Cunha communications news |accessdate=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720232810/http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunications.php |archive-date=20 July 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> As of 2016, there is not yet any mobile telephone coverage on the islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/infrastructure.php |title=Tristan da Cunha's Development and Public Works |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |date=6 October 2016 |accessdate=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430170413/http://www.tristandc.com/infrastructure.php |archive-date=30 April 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>


Since 2006, a [[very-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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunications.php |title=Tristan da Cunha communications news |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720232810/http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunications.php |archive-date=20 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2016}}, there is not yet any mobile telephone coverage on the islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/infrastructure.php |title=Tristan da Cunha's Development and Public Works |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |date=6 October 2016 |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430170413/http://www.tristandc.com/infrastructure.php |archive-date=30 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
;Amateur radio

[[Amateur radio]] operator groups sometimes conduct [[DX-pedition]]s on the island. One group operated as station ZD9ZS in September–October&nbsp;2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dxnews.com/zd9zs_tristan-da-cunha/ |website=DX News |title=ZD9ZS Tristan da Cunha Island |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dx-world.net/zd9zs-tristan-da-cunha/ |website=DX-World |title=ZD9ZS – Tristan da Cunha |date=22 August 2014|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/ZD9XF/ZD9.html |website=G3TXF |title=ZD9XF-ZD9ZS Sep 2014: Tristan da Cunha |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
The Government and Tristan da Cunha Association<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/association.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Association |first=Richard |last=Grundy |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=28 April 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602225643/https://www.tristandc.com/association.php |url-status=live }}</ref> jointly run the island official website<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/index.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Website |first=Peter |last=Millington |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=28 April 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509112232/https://tristandc.com/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> with all practical information, news, and facts about the island. While the site is updated from mainland UK,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=About tristandc.com |url=https://www.tristandc.com/about.php |access-date=25 April 2022 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515015528/https://www.tristandc.com/about.php |url-status=live }}</ref> 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|date=April 2022}}

====Amateur radio====
[[Amateur radio]] operator groups sometimes conduct [[DX-pedition]]s on the island. One group operated as station ZD9ZS in September–October&nbsp;2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dxnews.com/zd9zs_tristan-da-cunha/ |website=DX News |title=ZD9ZS Tristan da Cunha Island |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105201053/https://dxnews.com/zd9zs_tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dx-world.net/zd9zs-tristan-da-cunha/ |website=DX-World |title=ZD9ZS – Tristan da Cunha |date=22 August 2014 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105201145/https://dx-world.net/zd9zs-tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/ZD9XF/ZD9.html |website=G3TXF |title=ZD9XF-ZD9ZS Sep 2014: Tristan da Cunha |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016032130/http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/ZD9XF/ZD9.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Government==
==Government==
{{Politics of Tristan da Cunha}}
{{Politics of Tristan da Cunha}}
There are no political parties or trade unions on Tristan. Executive authority is vested in the Queen, who is represented in the territory by the [[Governor of Saint Helena]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statoids.com/ush.html |title=Saint Helena Dependencies |publisher=Statoids.com |accessdate=18 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011190123/http://statoids.com/ush.html |archive-date=11 October 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> As the Governor resides permanently in [[Saint Helena]], an Administrator is appointed to represent the Governor in the islands. 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 the [[Tristan da Cunha Island Council]]. Since 1998, each Administrator has served a three-year term (which begins in September, upon arrival of the supply ship from Cape Town). Sean Burns began a second term as Administrator in November 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Administrator|website=Tristan da Cunha|url=http://www.tristandc.com/administrator.php|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
There are no political parties or trade unions on Tristan. Executive authority is vested in the King, who is represented in the territory by the [[governor of Tristan da Cunha]]. Prior to 2009, Tristan da Cunha was a dependency of Saint Helena, and therefore directly represented by the [[governor of Saint Helena]]. The ''St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009'' made [[Saint 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitution of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Order 2009 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk |archive-date=8 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108230453/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |url-status=live }}</ref> Per Section 208 of the Constitution Order, the person appointed as [[Governor of Saint Helena]] is ''ex officio'' Governor of Tristan da Cunha. However, as Tristan da Cunha is {{convert|1350|mi|km|-1}} away from [[Saint 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 local [[magistrate]], 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 the [[Tristan 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Administrator |website=Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristandc.com/administrator.php |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803135533/https://www.tristandc.com/administrator.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


The Administrator and Island Council work from the Government Building, which is the only two-storey 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 three [[special constable]]s. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Government |website=Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristandc.com/government.php |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
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 three [[special constable]]s. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Government |website=Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristandc.com/government.php |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115073918/http://www.tristandc.com/government.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Chief Islander===
===Chief Islander===
The Island Council is made up of eight elected and three appointed members, who serve a three-year term which begins in February or March. A separate but simultaneous vote is held to select the Chief Islander, who is the community's political leader. James Glass was elected to the position in March&nbsp;2019, returning after sixteen years to commence a record-breaking fourth term in the role.<ref name="Official site">{{Cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Chief Islander |url=https://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |access-date=2020-06-10 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
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. James Glass was re-elected to the position in March&nbsp;2022 to a record-breaking fifth term in the role.<ref name="Official site">{{Cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Chief Islander |url=https://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |access-date=10 June 2020 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000250/http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Demographics==
==Demographics==
Line 504: Line 570:
| title= Historical population
| title= Historical population
| percentages = pagr
| percentages = pagr
| 1856 |71<ref name="ThoughtCo">{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |website=ThoughtCo.com |title=Tristan da Cunha |last=Rosenberg |first=Matt| date=6 March 2018 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>
| 1856 |71<ref name="ThoughtCo">{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571|website=ThoughtCo.com |title=Tristan da Cunha |last=Rosenberg |first=Matt |date=6 March 2018 |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524054103/https://www.thoughtco.com/tristan-da-cunha-1435571 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1880 |109<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica |year=1911 |volume=27 |pages=295 |place=Chicago, IL}}</ref>
| 1880 |109<ref name="Britannica">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Tristan da Cunha |volume=27 |pages=294&ndash;296; see page 295 |quote=The population in 1897 was only 64; in 1901 it was 74, and in 1909, 95}}</ref>
| 1892 |50<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha Isolation & Hardship 1853-1942 |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>
| 1892 |50<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php|website=Tristan da Cunha|title=Tristan da Cunha Isolation & Hardship 1853-1942|publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115092129/http://www.tristandc.com/history1853-1942.php |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1897 |64<ref name="Britannica"/>
| 1897 |64<ref name="Britannica"/>
| 1901 |74<ref name="Britannica"/>
| 1901 |74<ref name="Britannica"/>
Line 513: Line 579:
| 1961 |268<ref name="ThoughtCo"/>
| 1961 |268<ref name="ThoughtCo"/>
| 1969 |271<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia |edition=3rd |year=1970–1979}}</ref>
| 1969 |271<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia |edition=3rd |year=1970–1979}}</ref>
| 1987 |296<ref name="ThoughtCo"/><ref name="City">{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/StHelena.html |website=City Population |title=St.&nbsp;Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha |date=6 March 2018 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>
| 1987 |296<ref name="ThoughtCo"/><ref name="City">{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/StHelena.html|website=City Population|title=St.&nbsp;Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|date=6 March 2018 |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=20 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120120154/http://www.citypopulation.de/StHelena.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1999 |286<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/britain-ireland-france-and-low-countries/british-and-irish-political-geography/tristan-da-cunha |via=Encyclopedia.com |title=Tristan Da Cunha |encyclopedia=The Columbia Encyclopedia |edition=6th |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press}}</ref>
| 1999 |286<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/britain-ireland-france-and-low-countries/british-and-irish-political-geography/tristan-da-cunha |via=Encyclopedia.com |title=Tristan Da Cunha |encyclopedia=The Columbia Encyclopedia |edition=6th |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=4 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104021428/https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/britain-ireland-france-and-low-countries/british-and-irish-political-geography/tristan-da-cunha |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press}}</ref>
| 2000 |280<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>
| 2000 |280<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>
| 2008 |269<ref name="City"/>
| 2008 |269<ref name="City"/>
| 2016 |293<ref name="City"/><ref name="census2016"/>
| 2016 |293<ref name="City"/><ref name="census2016"/>
| 2018 |250<ref name="tristandc.com"/>
| 2018 |250<ref name="tristandc.com"/>
| 2021 |243<ref name="tristandc.com"/>
}}
}}

Tristan da Cunha recorded a population of 251 in the September&nbsp;2018 census.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/population.php |series=Tristan da Cunha Families |title=Population Update |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822054126/http://tristandc.com/population.php |archive-date=22 August 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The only settlement is [[Edinburgh 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 and African. Now all of the population has mixed ancestry. In addition, a male contributor of eastern European / Russian descent arrived in the early 1900s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Crisis in Utopia |last=Munch |first=Peter |publisher=Longmans |year=1970 |isbn=978-0582105119 |location=New York |pages=55}}</ref> In 1963, when families returned after the evacuation due to the 1961 volcanic eruption, the 200&nbsp;settlers included four Tristan da Cunha women who brought with them new English husbands.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/evacuation-tristan-da-cunha |first=Richard |last=Cavendish |title=The evacuation of Tristan da Cunha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607225235/http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/evacuation-tristan-da-cunha |archive-date=7 June 2016 |magazine=History Today |volume=61 |issue=10 |date=October 2011 |access-date=25 May 2016}}</ref>
Tristan da Cunha recorded a population of 243 in the June 2021 census.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/population.php |series=Tristan da Cunha Families |title=Population Update |access-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822054126/http://tristandc.com/population.php |archive-date=22 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The only settlement is [[Edinburgh 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Crisis in Utopia |last=Munch |first=Peter |publisher=Longmans |year=1970 |isbn=978-0582105119 |location=New York |pages=55}}</ref> In 1963, when families returned after the evacuation due to the 1961 volcanic eruption, the 200&nbsp;settlers included four Tristan da Cunha women who brought with them new English husbands.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/evacuation-tristan-da-cunha |first=Richard |last=Cavendish |title=The evacuation of Tristan da Cunha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607225235/http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/evacuation-tristan-da-cunha |archive-date=7 June 2016 |magazine=History Today |volume=61 |issue=10 |date=October 2011 |access-date=25 May 2016}}</ref>


[[File:Tristan da Cunha4.jpg|thumb|Housing in Tristan da Cunha]]
[[File:Tristan da Cunha4.jpg|thumb|Housing in Tristan da Cunha]]
[[File:Potato patches - Tristan da Cunha.jpg|thumb|Potato patches ]] [[File:Tristan da Cunha - Mabel Clark Guest house.jpg|thumb|187x187px|Guest 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 the [[mtDNA]] evidence showed only one pair of sisters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soodyall |first1=H. |last2=Jenkins |first2=T. |last3=Mukherjee |first3=A. |last4=du Toit |first4=E. |last5=Roberts |first5=D.F. |last6=Stoneking |first6=M. |year=1997 |title=The founding mitochondrial DNA lineages of Tristan da Cunha Islanders |journal=Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=157–166 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199710)104:2<157::AID-AJPA2>3.0.CO;2-W |pmid=9386823 }}</ref>


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 the [[mtDNA]] evidence showed only one pair of sisters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soodyall |first1=H. |last2=Jenkins |first2=T. |last3=Mukherjee |first3=A. |last4=du Toit |first4=E. |last5=Roberts |first5=D.F. |last6=Stoneking |first6=M. |year=1997 |title=The founding mitochondrial DNA lineages of Tristan da Cunha Islanders |journal=Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=157–166 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199710)104:2<157::AID-AJPA2>3.0.CO;2-W |pmid=9386823}}</ref>
The early male founders originated from [[Scotland]], [[England]], the [[Netherlands]], the [[United States]], and [[Italy]], who belonged to three [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y-haplogroups]]: [[I-M170|I&nbsp;(M170)]], [[Haplogroup R-M420|R-SRY10831.2]], and [[Haplogroup R-M207|R&nbsp;(M207) (xSRY10831.2)]].<ref name=Y_DNA/> The male founders shared nine surnames: Collins, Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Repetto, Rogers, Squibb, and Swain.<ref name="tristandc.com"/>{{efn|The nine surnames are thought to have been immigrants who were Scottish (Collins, Rogers), Dutch (Glass), English (Green, Squibb, Swain), Irish (Hagan), Italian (Lavarello, Repetto) (both probably Ligurian). A resident surnamed Patterson was briefly on the island.<ref>{{cite web |author=Weaver, Barry |year=2003 |url=http://ags.ou.edu/%7Ebweaver/Ascension/tdc.htm |title=Tristan da Cunha |department=College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences |publisher=University of Oklahoma |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610114441/http://ags.ou.edu/~bweaver/Ascension/tdc.htm |archive-date=10 June 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} In addition, a new [[haplotype]] was found that is associated with men of 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."<ref name=Y_DNA>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v11/n9/full/5201022a.html |author1=Soodyall, Himla |author2=Nebel, Almut |author3=Morar, Bharti |author4=Jenkins, Trefor |title=Genealogy and genes: Tracing the founding fathers of Tristan da Cunha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215172211/http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v11/n9/full/5201022a.html |archive-date=15 December 2008 |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |year=2003 |volume=11 |issue=9 |pages=705–709 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201022 |pmid=12939658 |access-date=25 May 2016 |via=nature.com|doi-access=free }}</ref> Another four instances of non-paternity were found among male descendants, but researchers believed their fathers were probably among the early island population.<ref name=Y_DNA/>


The early male founders originated from [[Scotland]], [[England]], the [[Netherlands]], the [[United States]], and [[Italy]], who belonged to three [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y-haplogroups]]: [[I-M170 |I&nbsp;(M170)]], [[Haplogroup R-M420|R-SRY10831.2]], and [[Haplogroup R-M207|R&nbsp;(M207) (xSRY10831.2)]].<ref name=Y_DNA/> The male founders shared seven surnames: Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Repetto, Rogers, and Swain.<ref name="tristandc.com"/>{{efn|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).}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |author=Weaver, Barry |year=2003 |url=http://ags.ou.edu/%7Ebweaver/Ascension/tdc.htm |title=Tristan da Cunha |department=College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences |publisher=University of Oklahoma |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610114441/http://ags.ou.edu/~bweaver/Ascension/tdc.htm |archive-date=10 June 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The surnames Collins and Squibb continue to be used on the island. In addition, a new [[haplotype]] 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."<ref name=Y_DNA>{{cite journal |author1=Soodyall, Himla |author2=Nebel, Almut |author3=Morar, Bharti |author4=Jenkins, Trefor |title=Genealogy and genes: Tracing the founding fathers of Tristan da Cunha |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |year=2003 |volume=11 |issue=9 |pages=705–709 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201022 |pmid=12939658 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Another four instances of non-paternity were found among male descendants, but researchers believed their fathers were probably among the early island population.<ref name=Y_DNA/>
There are eighty families on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sometimes-interesting.com/2012/03/14/ultimate-remote-location-tristan-da-cunha/|title=Ultimate Remote Tourist Destination: Tristan da Cunha|date=14 March 2012|website=Sometimes Interesting|access-date=5 January 2019}} <!--See http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/tristan_da_cunha/tristan_history_2.html--> <!--http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/tristan_da_cunha.htm--></ref>


[[File:St Joseph's Catholic church.jpg|thumb|St Joseph's Catholic church]]
===Language===
[[File:St Joseph's Catholic Church Tristan da Cunha.jpg|thumb|St Joseph's Catholic Church]]
Tristan da Cunha's isolation has led to development of its own dialect of English. In popular writing, it has been described by the writer [[Simon Winchester]] as "a sonorous amalgam of [[English in southern England#South East England and the Home Counties|Home Counties lockjaw]] and [[List of English-language idioms of the 19th century|19th century idiom]], [[List of South African slang words#List of Afrikanerisms|Afrikaans slang]] and [[Italian language|Italian]]."<ref>{{cite book |first=Simon |last=Winchester |title=Outposts: Journeys to the surviving relics of the British Empire |orig-year=1985 |year=2003 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqnnsKKlgTQC&q=Outposts%3A%20Journeys%20to%20the%20Surviving%20Relics%20of%20the%20British%20Empire&pg=PT143 |via=Google Books |access-date=25 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225145947/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WqnnsKKlgTQC&lpg=PA1&dq=Outposts%3A%20Journeys%20to%20the%20Surviving%20Relics%20of%20the%20British%20Empire&pg=PT143#v=onepage&q=lockjaw&f=true |archive-date=25 December 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all |isbn=9780141011899}}</ref>{{refn|[[Bill Bryson]] documents some examples of the island's dialect in his book, ''[[The Mother Tongue (book)|The Mother Tongue]].''}}{{efn|Variationist sociolinguistic research involving the language and dialect contact that gave rise to the variety can be found in research by Schrier (2003).<ref>{{cite book |author=Schrier, Daniel |year=2003 |chapter=Tristan da Cunha |pages=41–72 |title=Isolation and Language Change |series=Palgrave Studies in Language Variation |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |doi=10.1057/9780230505261_3 |place=London, UK |isbn=978-1-349-50924-9 |edition=print}} {{cite book |title=e-Book / online |isbn=978-0-230-50526-1|last1=Schreier|first1=D.|date=2 May 2003}}</ref>}}


There are eighty families on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sometimes-interesting.com/2012/03/14/ultimate-remote-location-tristan-da-cunha/|title=Ultimate Remote Tourist Destination: Tristan da Cunha |date=14 March 2012 |website=Sometimes Interesting |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105200941/https://sometimes-interesting.com/2012/03/14/ultimate-remote-location-tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=live}}<!--See http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/tristan_da_cunha/tristan_history_2.html--> <!--http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/tristan_da_cunha.htm--></ref> Like many remote island communities, Tristan da Cunha has a shrinking, ageing population.<ref name="Green 2016 c867">{{cite web|last=Green|first=Cynthia |title=Tristan da Cunha Population Update |website=Tristan da Cunha Website |date=24 May 2016 |url=https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-date=28 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128111631/https://www.tristandc.com/population.php |url-status=live}}</ref> In the past, Tristan da Cunha mothers had to travel to [[Cape Town]] to give birth, but since the opening of the [[Camogli Healthcare Centre]] in 2017 have been able to give birth on the island.<ref name="Millington 2021 i832">{{cite web|last=Millington|first=Peter|title=Birth of Jake Peter Swain |website=Tristan da Cunha Website |date=8 July 2021 |url=https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2021-07-16-jake-swain.php |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827130508/https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2021-07-16-jake-swain.php |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Education===

==Language==
{{cleanup-section|reason=text expanded from original few sentences needs tidying, formatting, citations, etc|date=June 2023}}
===Phonetics and phonology===
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 of [[South 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.

=== Grammar ===
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?"

== Education ==
{{see also|Education in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
{{see also|Education in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
Education is fairly rudimentary; children leave school at age&nbsp;16, and although they can take [[GCSE]]s a year later, few do.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Crossan |first=Rob |title=Return to the Last Outpost |magazine=Telegraph Magazine |date=11 November 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cnntraveller.com/2007/01/01/world-report-2/ |title=CNN Traveler: A long way from anywhere |publisher=Cnntraveller.com |date=1 January 2007 |accessdate=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529000840/http://cnntraveller.com/2007/01/01/world-report-2/ |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> The school on the island is St.&nbsp;Mary's School, which serves children from ages&nbsp;4 to 16. The Naval Station had established a school building during [[World 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/school.php |title=Tristan School |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=21 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325072658/http://www.tristandc.com/school.php |archive-date=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Tristan students doing post-16 education receive assistance from the Tristan da Cunha Association Education Trust Fund and typically do so in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/education.php |title=Education in Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |accessdate=2020-01-06 |df=dmy-all}} — see cited material in the right hand panel</ref>
Children leave school at age 16, and although they can take [[GCSE]]s, few do.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Crossan |first=Rob |title=Return to the Last Outpost |magazine=Telegraph Magazine |date=11 November 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cnntraveller.com/2007/01/01/world-report-2/ |title=CNN Traveler: A long way from anywhere |publisher=Cnntraveller.com |date=1 January 2007 |access-date=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529000840/http://cnntraveller.com/2007/01/01/world-report-2/ |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> The school on the island is [[St. Mary's School, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas|St. Mary's School]], which serves children from ages 4 to 16. The Naval Station had established a school building during [[World 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/school.php |title=Tristan School |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government and the Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=21 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325072658/http://www.tristandc.com/school.php |archive-date=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Tristan students doing post-16 education receive assistance from the Tristan da Cunha Association Education Trust Fund and typically do so in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/education.php |title=Education in Tristan da Cunha |publisher=Tristan da Cunha Government & Tristan da Cunha Association |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221135729/https://www.tristandc.com/education.php |url-status=live }} — see cited material in the right hand panel</ref>


The Tristan Song Project was a collaboration between St.&nbsp;Mary's School and amateur composers in Britain, led by music teacher Tony Triggs. It began in 2010 and involved St.&nbsp;Mary's pupils writing poems and Tony Triggs providing musical settings by himself and his pupils.<ref>{{citation |last=Triggs |first=Tony (writing as "Aquila") |date=July–August 2012 |title=The Rockhopper songbook |work=Aquila |pages=4–5}}</ref> A [[Desktop publishing|desktop publication]] entitled ''Rockhopper Penguins and Other Songs'' (2010) embraced most of the songs completed that year and funded a consignment of guitars to the school.<ref>SARTMA 19&nbsp;June 2011{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> In February&nbsp;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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Education News: Tristan Song Project|url=https://www.tristandc.com/newsschoolsongproject.php|access-date=2020-09-03|website=www.tristandc.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Copyright Norfolk Home Learning - INTERNATIONAL SONG PROJECT|url=http://norfolkhomelearning.com/international_song_project|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030050203/http://norfolkhomelearning.com/international_song_project|archive-date=2016-10-30}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{citation |last=Triggs |first=Tony (writing as "Aquila") |date=July–August 2012 |title=The Rockhopper songbook |work=Aquila |pages=4–5}}</ref> A [[Desktop publishing|desktop publication]] entitled ''Rockhopper Penguins and Other Songs'' (2010) embraced most of the songs completed that year and funded a consignment of guitars to the school.<ref>SARTMA 19 June 2011{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Education News: Tristan Song Project |url=https://www.tristandc.com/newsschoolsongproject.php |access-date=3 September 2020 |website=www.tristandc.com |archive-date=2 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902132857/https://www.tristandc.com/newsschoolsongproject.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Copyright Norfolk Home Learning - INTERNATIONAL SONG PROJECT |url=http://norfolkhomelearning.com/international_song_project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030050203/http://norfolkhomelearning.com/international_song_project |archive-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>


In August 2015, 11-year-old Nathan Swain won the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition. At the time of the competition, Nathan was going to school at the St Mary school on Tristan. In Nathan's essay, he highlighted how he hoped to help with the problems on Tristan using the carpentry skills he learned in school. Along with Nathan, two other St Mary school pupils got recognition for their excellent essay. Randall Repetto acquired a gold medal in the junior category, and Jade Repetto got a bronze medal in the senior category. Nathan's essay still remains hanging on the St Mary school wall along with being available on the RCS website.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition |url=https://www.tristandc.com/CommonwealthEssayCompetition2015.php |access-date=30 April 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
===Religion===
The only religion is [[Christianity]], with the only denominations being [[Anglican]] and [[Roman Catholic]]. The Roman Catholic population is served by the Mission Sui Iuris of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, which is administratively a part of the [[Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands]].


===Health===
== Religion ==
{{Unreferenced section |date=July 2024}}
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 to [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bulger |first1=Gerald |title=The most isolated UK GP in the world |url=http://www.gponline.com/isolated-uk-gp-world/article/1111662 |accessdate=23 December 2016 |publisher=GP Online |date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224095948/http://www.gponline.com/isolated-uk-gp-world/article/1111662 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> As of late 2007, [[IBM]] and Beacon Equity Partners, co-operating with Medweb, the [[University of Pittsburgh Medical Center]] and the island's government on "Project Tristan", has supplied the island's doctor with access to long distance [[telemedicine|tele-medical]] help, making it possible to send [[EKG]] and [[X-ray]] pictures to doctors in other countries for instant consultation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dicardiology.com/content/ibm-connects-world’s-most-remote-island-healthcare |website=Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology |title=IBM connects world's most remote island to health-care |date=14 November 2007 |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
Approximately 80% of the population is [[Anglican]], and 20% is [[Roman Catholic]]. The Roman Catholic population is served by the [[Mission sui iuris of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|Mission ''sui iuris'' of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]], which is administratively a part of the [[Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=hhttps://www.tristandc.com/churches.php |title=Tristan da Cunha Churches |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=19 December 2024 }}</ref> [[Edwin Dodgson]], youngest brother of [[Lewis Carroll]], spent several years as a missionary on the island in the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tristandc.com/church-history.php |title=Religious History of Tristan da Cunha |website=www.tristandc.com |access-date=19 December 2024 }}</ref>


== Health ==
There are instances of health problems attributed to [[endogamy]], including [[glaucoma]]. In addition, there is a very high (42%) incidence of [[asthma]] among the population and research by Noe Zamel of the [[University of Toronto]] has led to discoveries about the genetic nature of the disease.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7766656.stm |work=BBC News |title=Worldwide search for asthma clue |date=9 December 2008 |accessdate=15 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123092415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7766656.stm |archive-date=23 November 2011 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Three of the original settlers of the island were asthma sufferers.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119667698/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 |title=Asthma amongst Tristan da Cunha islanders |accessdate=14 August 2015 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2222.1974.tb01373.x |pmid=4842938 |volume=4 |issue=2 |journal=Clinical & Experimental Allergy |pages=161–170 |year=1974 |last1=Mantle|first1=John |last2=Pepys |first2=J.|s2cid=37210057 }}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
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 to [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bulger |first1=Gerald |title=The most isolated UK GP in the world |url=http://www.gponline.com/isolated-uk-gp-world/article/1111662 |access-date=23 December 2016 |publisher=GP Online |date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224095948/http://www.gponline.com/isolated-uk-gp-world/article/1111662 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As of late 2007, [[IBM]] and Beacon Equity Partners, co-operating with Medweb, the [[University of Pittsburgh Medical Center]], and the island's government on "Project Tristan", had supplied the island's doctor with access to long distance [[telemedicine|tele-medical]] help, making it possible to send [[EKG]] and [[X-ray]] pictures to doctors in other countries for instant consultation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dicardiology.com/content/ibm-connects-world’s-most-remote-island-healthcare |website=Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology |title=IBM connects world's most remote island to health-care |date=14 November 2007 |access-date=5 January 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809160916/https://www.dicardiology.com/content/ibm-connects-world%E2%80%99s-most-remote-island-healthcare |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Camogli Healthcare Centre, usually referred to as ''the 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |title=Tristan da Cunha Camogli Healthcare Centre |url=https://www.tristandc.com/hospital.php |access-date=3 May 2021 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506230417/https://tristandc.com/hospital.php |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=Tristan da Cunha Healthcare History |url=https://www.tristandc.com/healthcarehistory.php |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203213428/https://tristandc.com/healthcarehistory.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundy |first=Richard |title=Tristan da Cunha Births and Christenings |url=https://www.tristandc.com/births/index.php |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208140643/https://www.tristandc.com/births/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2022, five babies had been born in the island's Camogli Healthcare Centre.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millington |first=Peter |title=Birth of Jake Peter Swain |url=https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2021-07-16-jake-swain.php |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208140805/https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2021-07-16-jake-swain.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Hazel |title=Birth of Riley Glass |url=https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2022-01-11-birth-RileyGlass.php |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208140805/https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2022-01-11-birth-RileyGlass.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Hazel |title=Birth of Liam Herbert Glass |url=https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2022-06-19-Liam-Glass.php |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208140804/https://www.tristandc.com/births/news-2022-06-19-Liam-Glass.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are instances of health problems attributed to [[endogamy]], including [[glaucoma]]. In addition, there is a very high (42%) incidence of [[asthma]] among the population, and research by Noe Zamel of the [[University of Toronto]] has led to discoveries about the genetic nature of the disease.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7766656.stm |work=BBC News |title=Worldwide search for asthma clue |date=9 December 2008 |access-date=15 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123092415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7766656.stm |archive-date=23 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Three of the original settlers of the island had asthma.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119667698/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 |title=Asthma amongst Tristan da Cunha islanders |access-date=14 August 2015 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2222.1974.tb01373.x |pmid=4842938 |volume=4 |issue=2 |journal=Clinical & Experimental Allergy |pages=161–170 |year=1974 |last1=Mantle |first1=John |last2=Pepys |first2=J. |s2cid=37210057}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>


==Culture==
==Culture==


=== Music and traditional dance ===
=== Music and traditional dance ===
Tristan residents Mary Swain and Percy Laverallo were recorded in 1962 whilst evacuated in [[Calshot]], [[Hampshire]] by [[Maud Karpeles]] and [[Peter Kennedy (folklorist)|Peter 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 the [[British Library Sound Archive]] website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 1 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0924XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 2 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0925XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 3 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0926XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 4 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0927XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain, Percy Lavarello and Basil Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 5 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0928XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 6 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0929XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 7 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0930XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref> On these tapes, Mary Swain sings traditional [[English folk music|English folk songs]] learnt from her mother, including seventeenth century [[Child Ballads]] such as "[[Barbara Allen (song)|Barbara Allen]]"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Barbara Allen (Roud Folksong Index S228343)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S228343|access-date=2020-11-11|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> and "[[The Sweet Trinity|The Golden Vanity]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Golden Vanitie (Roud Folksong Index S236397)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S236397|access-date=2020-11-11|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> She also describes how dance was an important element of life on Tristan; well-known dances such as [[Step dance|step dances]], [[Waltz|waltzes]], [[Polka|polkas]], [[Mazurka|mazurkas]] and [[Schottische|schottisches]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mary Swain, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 1 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds|url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0924XX-0001V0|access-date=2020-11-11|website=sounds.bl.uk}}</ref> It seems that the music and dance of Tristan was ultimately derived from English traditions, but various peculiarities had developed.
Tristan residents Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello were recorded in 1962 whilst evacuated in [[Calshot]], [[Hampshire]], by [[Maud Karpeles]] and [[Peter Kennedy (folklorist)|Peter 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 the [[British Library Sound Archive]] website.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 1 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0924XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=22 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022182902/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0924XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 2 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0925XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816142157/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0925XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 3 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0926XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812100229/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0926XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 4 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0927XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812102238/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0927XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain, Percy Lavarello and Basil Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 5 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0928XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920041806/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0928XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 6 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0929XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812101418/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0929XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Percy Lavarello, Calshot, Hampshire 1962 (Tristan de Cunha islanders). Tape 7 - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music {{!}} British Library - Sounds |url=https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0930XX-0001V0 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=sounds.bl.uk |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812101329/https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Peter-Kennedy-Collection/025M-C0604X0930XX-0001V0 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On these tapes, Mary Swain sings traditional [[English folk music|English folk songs]] learnt from her mother, including seventeenth-century [[Child Ballads]] such as "[[Barbara Allen (song)|Barbara Allen]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barbara Allen (Roud Folksong Index S228343) |url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S228343 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library |language=en-gb |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515015528/https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S228343 |url-status=live }}</ref> and "[[The Sweet Trinity|The Golden Vanity]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Golden Vanitie (Roud Folksong Index S236397) |url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S236397 |access-date=11 November 2020 |website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library |language=en-gb |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816181421/https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S236397 |url-status=live }}</ref> She also describes how dance was an important element of life on Tristan; well-known dances such as [[step dance]]s, [[waltz]]es, [[polka]]s, [[mazurka]]s and [[schottische]]s 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.<ref name="auto"/> It seems that the music and dance of Tristan was ultimately derived from English traditions, but various peculiarities had developed.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
[[File:BFBS TV Logo Stacked RGB.jpg|thumb| [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|(BFBS TV)]] provides six TV channels: [[BBC One]], [[BBC Two]], [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]], [[Channel 4]], [[Sky News]] and [[BFBS|BFBS Extra]], relayed to islanders via local transmitters.]]
[[File:Tristan da Cunha - Longboats in front of the administrator's residence.jpg|thumb|Longboats in front of the administrator's residence]]
[[File:Supermarket, Tristan da Cunha.jpg|thumb|186x186px|The supermarket provides the islands with all necessary goods. ]]

===Crime===
Between 1988 and 2010, no one was arrested for crime by the single policeman on the island.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/13/worlds-loneliest-police-beat The world's loneliest police beat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205011540/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/13/worlds-loneliest-police-beat |date=5 December 2014 }}, 13 January 2010 (The Guardian)</ref>

===Radio and television===
===Radio and television===
Local television began in 1984 using taped programming on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.<ref>{{cite book|last=Winchester|first=Simon|title=Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire|year=2003|page=85|orig-year=originally published 1985}}</ref> Live television did not arrive on the island until 2001, with the introduction of the [[British Forces Broadcasting Service]], which now provides [[BBC One]], [[BBC Two]], [[Channel 4]], [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] and [[BFBS|BFBS Extra]], relayed to islanders via local transmitters. Recently the service was upgraded to digital, most TV screens are modern while some older CRT equipments still are in use and there is at least one TV set per house. BFBS Radio&nbsp;2 is the locally available radio station.
Local television began in 1984 using taped programming on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Winchester |first=Simon |title=Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire |year=2003 |page=85 |orig-year=originally published 1985}}</ref> Live television did not arrive on the island until 2001, with the introduction of the [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS TV)]], which now provides six channels: [[BBC One]], [[BBC Two]], [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]], [[Channel 4]], [[Sky News]] and [[British Forces Broadcasting Service#Content_and_channels|BFBS 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 equipments still are in use with digital boxes connected and there is at least one TV set per house. BFBS Radio&nbsp;2 is the locally available radio station.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14123534 |title=St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha profiles - media |date=4 October 2022 |website=BBC |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-date=22 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222222053/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/6748187.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== Newspapers ===
=== Newspapers ===
The [[Tristan Times]] was an online newspaper for the island published from 2003 to 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Tristan Times Newspaper - News from Tristan da Cunha|url=http://www.tristantimes.com/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328160712/http://www.tristantimes.com/index.html|archive-date=2019-03-28|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Tristan Times}}</ref> The island government also posts news announcements on its website, which is maintained by the UK-based Tristan da Cunha Association.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Community News 2005-2011|url=http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunity05-11.php|access-date=6 January 2019|website=Tristan da Cunha}}</ref>
The ''[[Tristan Times]]'' was an online newspaper for the island published from 2003 to 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tristan Times Newspaper - News from Tristan da Cunha |url=http://www.tristantimes.com/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328160712/http://www.tristantimes.com/index.html |archive-date=28 March 2019 |access-date=16 September 2020 |website=Tristan Times}}</ref> The island government also posts news announcements on its website, which is maintained by the UK-based Tristan da Cunha Association.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tristan da Cunha Community News 2005-2011 |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunity05-11.php |access-date=6 January 2019 |website=Tristan da Cunha |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123071641/http://www.tristandc.com/newscommunity05-11.php |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Holidays and holiday traditions===
===Holidays and holiday traditions===
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.<ref>{{cite web|title=2013–2014 Tristan da Cunha Summer Holiday Christmas and New Years News|url=http://www.tristandc.com/newschristmasnewyear2013-14.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229062517/http://www.tristandc.com/newschristmasnewyear2013-14.php|archive-date=29 December 2013|access-date=29 January 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The islanders would traditionally have parties on [[Boxing Day]] but not on [[Christmas|Christmas Day]].<ref name=":2" />
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=2013–2014 Tristan da Cunha Summer Holiday Christmas and New Years News |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newschristmasnewyear2013-14.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229062517/http://www.tristandc.com/newschristmasnewyear2013-14.php |archive-date=29 December 2013 |access-date=29 January 2014}}</ref> The islanders would traditionally have parties on [[Boxing Day]], but not on [[Christmas|Christmas Day]].<ref name=":2" />


Traditionally, on [[New Year's Eve|"Old Year's Day/Night" (meaning "New Year's Eve")]], the islanders would conceal their identities with masks or [[blackface]] 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. <ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> These ritualistic disguises (including blacking faces) seem to derive from English [[Border Morris]] dancing traditions.
Traditionally, on [[New Year's Eve|"Old Year's Day/Night" (meaning "New Year's Eve")]], the islanders would conceal their identities with masks or [[blackface]] 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.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The disguises sometimes recall English [[Border Morris]] dancers.


=== Sport ===
=== Sport ===
[[Association football|Football]], [[cricket]] and [[baseball]] were all historically played on the island.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
[[Association football|Football]], [[cricket]] and [[baseball]] were all historically played on the island.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://terracemagazine.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/tristan-da-cunha-fc-the-club-without-an-opposition/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221227093612/https://terracemagazine.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/tristan-da-cunha-fc-the-club-without-an-opposition/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 December 2022 |title=TRISTAN DA CUNHA FC: THE CLUB WITHOUT AN OPPOSITION}}</ref> Rose, Henry's wife, wrote about informal kick-abouts continuing for years, and these fast became a part of Tristanian culture.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/tristan-da-cunha-il-calcio-ai-confini-del-mondo/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221227093152/https://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/tristan-da-cunha-il-calcio-ai-confini-del-mondo/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 December 2022 |title=Tristan da Cunha, il calcio ai confini del mondo}}</ref> 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|date=October 2023}}

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|date=October 2023}}

With live transmissions of televised football, the sport regained its former popularity.<ref name="football">{{cite web |url=https://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/exclusive-interview-to-leon-glass-the-most-remote-football-manager-of-the-world/ |title=EXCLUSIVE – Interview to Leon Glass, the remotest football manager of the world |last=Rizzitelli |first=Christian |date=22 September 2022 |website=WordPress |access-date=18 February 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405091644/https://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/exclusive-interview-to-leon-glass-the-most-remote-football-manager-of-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Tristan da Cunha FC was formed in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/11/15/far-away-football-south-atlantic-islands/ |title=Far away football: the South Atlantic islands |date=15 November 2014 |publisher=thesefootballtimes.co |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227094952/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/11/15/far-away-football-south-atlantic-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://patmcguinness.blogspot.de/2010/11/tristan-da-cunha-fc-out-on-their-own.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130625221955/http://patmcguinness.blogspot.de/2010/11/tristan-da-cunha-fc-out-on-their-own.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 June 2013 |title=TRISTAN DA CUNHA FC - OUT ON THEIR OWN}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/the-remotest-national-football-team-of-the-world-tristan-da-cunha/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140701184658/http://asianoceanianfootball.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/the-remotest-national-football-team-of-the-world-tristan-da-cunha/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 July 2014 |title=The remotest national football team of the world: Tristan da Cunha}}</ref> Their first match was against a South African fishing vessel and they 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.<ref name="football"/>


== Notable people ==
== Notable people ==
* [[Edwin Heron Dodgson]] (1846–1918), a clergyman in the [[Church of England]], was the youngest brother of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson ([[Lewis Carroll]]), author of ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''. He is primarily remembered for his work as a missionary in the island of Tristan da Cunha from 1880 to 1884.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/the-dodgson-family/ |title=The Dodgson Family |website=The Lewis Carroll Society |date=11 June 2020 |access-date=18 February 2023 |quote= |archive-date=26 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126014551/https://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/the-dodgson-family/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gisburn.org.uk/images/downloads/Descendants_of_Robert_Dodgson_.pdf |title=Descendants of Robert Dodgson |website=Gisburn Village |access-date=18 February 2023 |quote= |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218152025/http://www.gisburn.org.uk/images/downloads/Descendants_of_Robert_Dodgson_.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[William Glass]] (1786-1853), Scottish Corporal and founder of the islands settlement.
* [[Conrad Jack Glass]] {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (born 1961) is a Tristanian police officer and a former Chief Islander.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000250/http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |title=Profile of Conrad Glass Chief Islander 2007–2010 |access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> He is the first islander to have written a book about it, ''Rockhopper Copper'' (2005).<ref name=Glass2005>{{cite book |last=Glass |first=Conrad J. |year=2005 |title=Rockhopper Copper: The life and times of the people of the most remote inhabited island on Earth |place=Leominster |publisher=Orphans Press |isbn=9781903360101}}</ref>
* [[Edwin Heron Dodgson]] (1846–1918), a clergyman in the [[Church of England]], was the youngest brother of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson ([[Lewis Carroll]]), author of ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''. He is primarily remembered for his work as a missionary in the island of Tristan da Cunha from 1880–1884.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[William Glass]] (1786–1853), Scottish Corporal and founder of the island's settlement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-10 |title=From Tristan da Cunha to New London: Family traces whaling history |url=https://www.theday.com/article/20170610/NWS01/170619902 |access-date=2020-05-03 |website=The Day |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Conrad Jack Glass]] {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (born 1961) is a Tristanian police officer and a former Chief Islander.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-09-06 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000250/http://www.tristandc.com/chiefislander.php |title=Profile of Conrad Glass Chief Islander 2007–2010 |access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> He is the first islander to have written a book about it, ''Rockhopper Copper'' (2005).<ref name=Glass2005>{{cite book |last=Glass |first=Conrad J. |year=2005 |title=Rockhopper Copper: The life and times of the people of the most remote inhabited island on Earth |place=Leominster |publisher=Orphans Press |isbn=9781903360101}}</ref>
*[[Anne Green (Chief Islander)|Anne Green]] (born 1952), first female Chief Islander and teacher.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Glass |first1=James |last2=Kilpatrick |first2=Fiona |title=Anne Green receives her MBE Honour |url=https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2021-09-14-anne-green-mbe.php |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=www.tristandc.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125160406/https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2021-09-14-anne-green-mbe.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[James Glass (Chief Islander)|James Glass]] (born 1961), multiple time Chief Islander.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democracy during a pandemic in one of the world's remotest islands |url=https://issuu.com/theparliamentarian/docs/parl2021iss1finalsingle/s/11837585 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Issuu |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Lewis Glass]] (1948–2019), former Chief Islander<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hince |first=Bernadette |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Antarctic_Dictionary/upcoFJXWT38C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22lewis+glass%22+tristan+da+cunha&pg=PA311&printsec=frontcover |title=The Antarctic Dictionary: A Complete Guide to Antarctic English |date=2000-11-10 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-10232-3 |language=en}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
[[File:Inaccessible Island Rail (Atlantisia rogersi).jpg|thumb|upright|250px|The [[Inaccessible Island rail]] (''Atlantisia rogersi'') (1927), the world's smallest flightless bird, which is found only on Inaccessible Island]]
[[File:Inaccessible Island Rail (Atlantisia rogersi).jpg|thumb|The [[Inaccessible Island rail]] (''Atlantisia rogersi'') (1927), the world's smallest flightless bird, which is found only on Inaccessible Island]]


===Film===
===Film===
<!-- chronologically -->
<!-- chronologically -->
* In [[Wim Wenders]]'s ''[[Wings of Desire]]'', a dying man recollecting the things that have apparently meant most to him mentions "Tristan da Cunha".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/quotes |title=Wings of Desire (1987) |work=IMDb |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328203614/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/quotes |archive-date=28 March 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* In [[Wim Wenders]]'s ''[[Wings of Desire]]'', a dying man recollecting the things that have apparently meant most to him mentions "Tristan da Cunha".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/quotes |title=Wings of Desire (1987) |work=IMDb |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328203614/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/quotes |archive-date=28 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''37°4 S'' is a short film about two teenagers who live on the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2894654/ |title=37°4 S (2013) |work=IMDb |access-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212120644/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2894654/ |archive-date=12 February 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* ''37°4 S'' is a short film about two teenagers who live on the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2894654/ |title=37°4 S (2013) |work=IMDb |date=May 2015 |access-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212120644/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2894654/ |archive-date=12 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Tristan da Cunha forms a key plot strand in the 1971 TV movie ''Vanished!'', starring [[Richard Widmark]] and [[Robert Hooks]]. The island hosts a conference of the world's leading nuclear scientists; its remoteness allows the meeting to take place in secrecy.


===Literature===
===Literature===
<!-- chronologically -->
<!-- chronologically -->
* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s ''[[The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket]]'' (1838), Chapter 15, has a detailed history and description of the island.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym/Chapter 15 |last=Poe |first=Edgar Allan |year=1838}}</ref>
* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s ''[[The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket]]'' (1838), Chapter 15, has a detailed history and description of the island.<ref>{{cite wikisource |wslink=The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym/Chapter 15 |last=Poe |first=Edgar Allan |year=1838}}</ref>
* In [[Jules Verne]]'s novel ''In Search of the Castaways'', one of the chapters is set on Tristan da Cunha, and a brief history of the island is mentioned.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=In Search of the Castaways; or Captain Grant's Children / Chapter XXVIII |last=Verne |first=Jules |year=1867–68}}</ref> The island is also referred to in Verne's novel ''The Sphinx of the Ice Fields'' (1897), which he wrote as an unauthorised sequel to Poe's ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.'' The 1899 English translation by [[Frances Cashel Hoey|Mrs. Cashel Hoey]] of ''Ice Fields'' was published under the title ''An Antarctic Mystery''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* In [[Jules Verne]]'s novel ''In Search of the Castaways'', one of the chapters is set on Tristan da Cunha, and a brief history of the island is mentioned.<ref>{{cite wikisource |wslink=In Search of the Castaways; or Captain Grant's Children/Chapter XXVIII |last=Verne |first=Jules |year=1867–1868}}</ref>
* [[Zinnie Harris]]'s play, ''[[Further than the Furthest Thing|Further Than the Furthest Thing]]'' (2000), is inspired by events on the island, notably the 1961 volcanic eruption and evacuation of the islanders.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Zinnie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45280870 |title=Further than the furthest thing |date=2000 |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=0-571-20544-5 |location=London |pages=v |oclc=45280870}}</ref>
* South African poet [[Roy Campbell (poet)|Roy Campbell]] wrote "Tristan de Cunha" (1927), an elegiac poem about the island.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Alice Munro]]'s short story [[Deep-Holes]] in her 2009 short story collection ''[[Too Much Happiness]]''. The female protagonist, a mother, confides to her young son about her fascination with remote islands like Tristan da Cunha and the [[Faroe Islands]]. Later, when her son goes missing, she fantasises that he has found his way to one of these islands and is living there.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything is funny: A review of Alice Munro's ''Too Much Happiness'' |url=https://bcbooklook.com/2012/09/16/literary-criticism-everything-is-funny-a-review-of-alice-munro-s-too-much-happiness/ |website=BC BookLook |date=16 September 2012 |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809123358/https://bcbooklook.com/2012/09/16/literary-criticism-everything-is-funny-a-review-of-alice-munro-s-too-much-happiness/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Tristan da Cunha is the site of a top-secret nuclear disarmament conference in [[Fletcher Knebel]]'s 1968 political thriller ''[[Vanished (novel)|Vanished]].'' The book was adapted as a 1971 two-part [[NBC]] made-for-TV movie starring [[Richard Widmark]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Hervé Bazin]]'s novel ''Les Bienheureux de la Désolation'' (1970) describes the 1961 forced exile of the population to England after the volcano erupted, and their subsequent return.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* In [[Primo Levi]]'s memoir ''[[The Periodic Table (short story collection)|The Periodic Table]]'' (1975), one of the fictional short stories, "Mercurio", is set on Tristan da Cunha, named "Desolation Island".{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* In [[Patrick O'Brian|Patrick O'Brian's]] novel ''[[The Mauritius Command]]'' (1977), Tristan da Cunha is mentioned by a man fond of birds, Captain Fortescue of the schooner ''Wasp'', who spent an extended period on the island studying the [[albatross]] whilst cast ashore. Also in O'Brian's ''[[The Thirteen-Gun Salute]]'' (1991), the ship ''Dianne'' is nearly wrecked on [[Inaccessible Island]], with the cover of the book depicting the scene.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Zinnie Harris]]'s play, ''Further Than the Furthest Thing'' (2000), is inspired by events on the island, notably the 1961 volcanic eruption and evacuation of the islanders.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Raoul Schrott]]'s novel, ''Tristan da Cunha oder die Hälfte der Erde'' (2003), is almost entirely set on Tristan da Cunha and Gough islands, and chronicles the history of the archipelago.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Alice Munro]]'s short story [[Deep-Holes]] in her 2009 short story collection ''[[Too Much Happiness]]''. The female protagonist, a mother, confides to her young son about her fascination with remote islands like Tristan da Cunha and the [[Faroe Islands]]. Later, when her son goes missing, she fantasises that he has found his way to one of these islands and is living there.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything is funny: A review of Alice Munro's ''Too Much Happiness'' |url=https://bcbooklook.com/2012/09/16/literary-criticism-everything-is-funny-a-review-of-alice-munro-s-too-much-happiness/ |website=BC BookLook |date=16 September 2012}}</ref>
* In the book ''Pulse'' by [[Jeremy Robinson]], Tristan de Cunha is the top secret headquarters of "Beta Incorporated", a shell company of the antagonistic "Manifold Genetics", which is later destroyed by artificially causing an eruption to self-destruct said base, killing most of the [[Edinburgh of the Seven Seas]] population.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* ''Alf Tupper'' is a British [[comic strip]]. It stars a working class, "hard as nails" runner, Tupper learned that he was born on Tristan da Cunha. Tupper's adventures appeared in ''The Rover'' from 1949 and then ''The Victor'', British boys' comics from D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The strip was created by Bill Blaine (probably a pseudonym for William Blaine, head of D.C. Thomson comics), written by Gilbert Lawford Dalton.


===Non-fiction===
===Non-fiction===
* [[Frank Thomas Bullen|Frank T. Bullen]] provides details of visiting the island in the 1870s in his book ''[[The Cruise of the Cachalot]],'' first published in 1898.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Frank Thomas Bullen|Frank T. Bullen]] provides details of visiting the island in the 1870s in his book ''[[The Cruise of the Cachalot]],'' first published in 1898.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gray |first=Stephan |date=2013 |title=A Small Colony of Persons: Tristan English and the Outside World |url=http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/Files/docs/20.3/06%20Gra.pdf |journal=Alternation |edition=Special Edition 6 |pages=130–143 |issn=1023-1757 |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207185034/http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/Files/docs/20.3/06%20Gra.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Katherine Mary Barrow's book Three Years in Tristan da Cunha, published in London by Skeffington & Son in 1910, records daily life during the author's sojourn on the island, which she and her husband served as Anglican missionaries.
* [[Raymond Rallier du Baty]] describes the people and the island {{circa}}&nbsp;1908 in his book ''15,000&nbsp;Miles in a Ketch'' (1915).{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* Francis Pease's book To the Ends of the Earth (Hurst and Blackett Ltd., 1935) describes the RRS Discovery's trip to Antarctica in 1925, which stopped at Tristan da Cunha. Chapter 2 is titled Folk of Tristan.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
* In ''Shackleton's Last Voyage'' by Captain [[Frank Wild]] (1923), several chapters (with photographs) recount events on the island during the [[Shackleton–Rowett Expedition]] in May&nbsp;1922.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Simon Winchester]]'s book ''[[Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire]]'' (1985, reprinted in 2003), devotes a chapter to the island, which he visited in the mid-1980s. In the foreword to the reprint, the author states that he was banned from Tristan da Cunha because of his writing about the war-time romance of a local woman. He published a longer account of his banishment in ''[[Lapham's Quarterly]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/travel/take-nothing-leave-nothing |title=Take Nothing, Leave Nothing: How I came to be banned from the world's most remote island, Tristan da Cunha. |issue=3 |journal=Lapham's Quarterly |date=16 August 2023 |volume=2 |last1=Winchester |first1=Simon |access-date=21 June 2020 |archive-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622013419/https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/travel/take-nothing-leave-nothing |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Rose Annie Rogers, part of an American missionary couple, wrote a memoir of her time on Tristan da Cunha, called ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071220/http://www.bweaver.nom.sh/rogers/intro.htm The Lonely Island]'' (1927).{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* In 2005, ''[[Rockhopper Copper]]'', the first book about the island written by an Islander, was published. It was written by [[Conrad Glass]], Tristan da Cunha's longtime policeman and conservation officer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tristan Times |title=Tristan: ''Rockhopper Copper'' set to Hit Bookshelves |url=http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1481_32_18.html |access-date=5 April 2014 |newspaper=Tristan Times |date=14 March 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071705/http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1481_32_18.html |archive-date=7 April 2014}}</ref>
* Katherine Mary Barrow's book ''Three Years in Tristan Da Cunha'' (1910) is a "simple and true description of daily life among a very small community cut off from the rest of the world" based on entries to her diaries and letters written during the period to her sister.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Martin Holdgate]] describes a visit to the island by a scientific expedition heading for Gough Island in 1955 in ''Mountains in the Sea.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}''
* [[Simon Winchester]]'s book ''[[Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire]]'' (1985, reprinted in 2003), devotes a chapter to the island, which he visited in the mid-1980s. In the foreword to the reprint, the author states that he was banned from Tristan da Cunha because of his writing about the war-time romance of a local woman. He published a longer account of his banishment in ''[[Lapham's Quarterly]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/travel/take-nothing-leave-nothing|title=Take Nothing, Leave Nothing: How I came to be banned from the world's most remote island, Tristan da Cunha.|publisher=Lapham's Quarterly}}</ref>
* In 2005, ''[[Rockhopper Copper]]'', the first book about the island written by an Islander, was published. It was written by [[Conrad Glass]], Tristan da Cunha's longtime Police and Conservation officer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tristan Times |title=Tristan: ''Rockhopper Copper'' set to Hit Bookshelves |url=http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1481_32_18.html |access-date=5 April 2014 |newspaper=Tristan Times |date=14 March 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071705/http://www.tristantimes.com/art_1481_32_18.html |archive-date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>
* [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s book ''[[Tramp Royale]]'' (1992), about a world trip in 1953–1954, devoted a chapter to his near visit to Tristan da Cunha. He talked to islanders but could not go ashore owing to the weather.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
* [[Arne Falk-Rønne]], a Danish travel writer, recorded his impressions of the islands in ''[[Back to Tristan]]'' (UK: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1967), an English translation of Falk-Rønne's original volume in Danish, ''[[Tilbage til Tristan]]'' (1963).{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}


==See also==
==See also==
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{{portal bar|Islands|Africa|United Kingdom|British Empire}}
{{portal bar|Islands|Africa|United Kingdom|British Empire}}


== Explanatory notes ==
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
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* ''Field Guides to the Animals and Plants of Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island'' Edited by Peter Ryan (2007, RSPB Publication, 168 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).
* ''Gough Island: A Natural History'' by Christine Hanel, Steven Chown and Kevin Gaston (2005, Sun Press, 169 pages).
* {{cite book |last= Crawford, Allan|title= Tristan Da Cunha and the Roaring Forties|year= 1982|publisher= Anchor Press|isbn= 978-0-2849-8589-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Crawford, Allan |title=Tristan Da Cunha and the Roaring Forties |year=1982 |publisher=Anchor Press |isbn=978-0-2849-8589-7}}
; Culture
; 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).
* ''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'' by [[Conrad Glass]] MBE, Tristan Police Officer (2005, Polperro Heritage Press, 176 pages).
* ''Rockhopper Copper: The life and times of the people of the most remote inhabited island on Earth'' by [[Conrad Glass]] MBE, Tristan Police Officer (2005, Polperro Heritage Press, 176 pages).
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{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Tristan da Cunha}}
{{Wikivoyage|Tristan da Cunha}}
{{wikisource}}
* [https://archive.today/20220218031807/https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/tristan-da-cunha-english.html Forum about the island's spoken English]


===News and government===
===News and government===
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===History of the island===
===History of the island===
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Tristan da Cunha |volume=27 |short=x}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Tristan da Cunha |volume=27 |pages = 294&ndash;296 }}
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Tristan_da_Cunha/home.html History of Tristan da Cunha] (2 books, and other material)
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Tristan_da_Cunha/home.html History of Tristan da Cunha] (2 books, and other material)
* [http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/tristan-da-cunha/ TRISTAN DA CUNHA] (Spanish)
* [http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/tristan-da-cunha/ TRISTAN DA CUNHA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206102456/http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/tristan-da-cunha/ |date=6 December 2018 }} (Spanish)
* [https://books.google.ca/books?id=4VMEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q&f=true LIFE Magazine article about 1961 evacuation.]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=4VMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21 LIFE Magazine article about 1961 evacuation.]


===Videos of the island===
===Videos of the island===
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{coord|37|15|S|12|25|W|region:SH-TA_type:isle|display=title}}
{{coord|37|6|54|S|12|17|6|W|region:SH-TA_type:isle|display=title}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tristan Da Cunha}}
[[Category:Tristan da Cunha| ]]
[[Category:Tristan da Cunha| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Tristan da Cunha| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Tristan da Cunha| ]]

Latest revision as of 22:34, 19 December 2024

Tristan da Cunha
Motto
"Our faith is our strength"
Anthem: "God Save the King"
Territorial song: "The Cutty Wren"
Map of Tristan da Cunha
Map of Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is located in South Atlantic
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Location of Tristan da Cunha archipelago (circled in red) in the southern Atlantic Ocean
Sovereign state United Kingdom
First settlement1810
Dependency of Cape Colony14 August 1816[1]
Dependency of Saint Helena12 January 1938
Current constitution1 September 2009
Capital
and largest settlement
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
37°4′3″S 12°18′40″W / 37.06750°S 12.31111°W / -37.06750; -12.31111
Official languagesEnglish
Demonym(s)Tristanian
GovernmentDevolved locally governing dependency under a constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Charles III
• Governor
Nigel Phillips
Philip Kendall[2]
James Glass[3]
LegislatureIsland Council
Government of the United Kingdom
Stephen Doughty
Area
• Total
207 km2 (80 sq mi)
• Main island
98 km2 (38 sq mi)
Highest elevation
2,062 m (6,765 ft)
Population
• 2023 estimate
238[4]
• 2016 census
293[5]
• Density
1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
CurrencyPound sterling (£) (GBP)
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (GMT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideLeft
Calling code+44 20 (assigned +290)
UK postcode
TDCU 1ZZ
ISO 3166 codeSH-TA
Internet TLD

Tristan da Cunha (/ˌtrɪstən də ˈkn(j)ə/), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometres (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometres (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena, 3,949 kilometres (2,454 mi) from Mar del Plata[6] in Argentina, and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.[7][8]

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 of Gough Island and Inaccessible Island; and the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Islands. As of October 2018, the main island has 250 permanent inhabitants, who all carry British Overseas Territories citizenship.[9] The other islands are uninhabited, except for the South African personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.

Tristan da Cunha is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, with its own constitution.[10] There is no airstrip on the main island; the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by ship, a six-day trip from South Africa.[11]

History

[edit]

Discovery

[edit]
Portuguese explorer and conquistador Tristão da Cunha is both the namesake of Tristan da Cunha and the first person to sight the island, in 1506.

The uninhabited islands were first recorded as sighted in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha, though rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristão da Cunha. It was later anglicised from its earliest mention on British Admiralty charts to Tristan da Cunha Island. Some sources state that the Portuguese made the first landing in 1520, when Lás Rafael, captained by Ruy Vaz Pereira, called at Tristan for water.[12]

The first undisputed landing was made on 7 February 1643 by the crew of the Dutch East India Company ship Heemstede, captained by Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot. The Dutch stopped at the island four more times in the next 25 years, and in 1656 created the first rough charts of the archipelago.[13]

The first full survey of the archipelago was made by the crew of the French corvette Heure du Berger in 1767. The first scientific exploration was conducted by French naturalist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars, who stayed on the island for three days in January 1793, during a French mercantile expedition from Brest, France, to Mauritius. Thouars made botanical collections and reported traces of human habitation, including fireplaces and overgrown gardens, probably left by Dutch explorers in the 17th century.[13]

On his voyage out from Europe to East Africa and India in command of the Imperial 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.[14][15] However, no settlement or facilities were ever set up there by the company.[citation needed]

After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War halted penal transportation to the Thirteen 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 of New South Wales. In September 1786 Alexander Dalrymple, presumably goaded by Bolts's actions, published a pamphlet[16] with an alternative proposal of his own for settlements on Tristan da Cunha, St. Paul and Amsterdam islands in the Southern Ocean.[citation needed]

Captain John Blankett, R.N., also suggested independently to his superiors in August 1786 that convicts be used to establish a British settlement on Tristan.[18] 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.[19] That did not happen, but an investigation of Tristan, Amsterdam and St. Paul was undertaken in December 1792 and January 1793 by George Macartney, Britain's first ambassador to China. During his voyage to China, he established that none of the islands were suitable for settlement.[20]

19th century

[edit]

The first permanent settler was Jonathan Lambert of Salem, Massachusetts, United States, who moved to the island in December 1810 with two other men, to be joined later by a fourth.[21] Lambert publicly declared the islands his property and named them the Islands of Refreshment. Three of the four men died in 1812 and Thomas Currie (Tommaso Corri, from Livorno, Italy), one of the original three, remained as a farmer on the island.[22]

On 14 August 1816, the United Kingdom annexed the islands by sending a garrison to secure possession, and making them a dependency of the Cape Colony in South Africa. This was explained as a measure to prevent the islands' use as a base for any attempt to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison on Saint Helena.[23] The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan da Cunha as a base for naval cruisers, as it had during the War of 1812.[21] The garrison left the islands in November 1817, although some members of the garrison, notably William Glass, stayed and formed the nucleus of a permanent population.[24]

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."[23]

Edmund Roberts, Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat, 1837

The artist Augustus Earle spent eight months stranded there in 1824. He had been on the aging ship Duke of Gloucester, bound for Calcutta, which had anchored there for three days due to a storm. Earle and a crew member were left when the Gloucester unexpectedly sailed. Earle tutored several children and painted until his supplies ran out. He was rescued in late November by the ship Admiral Cockburn on its way to Hobart.

The islands were occupied by a garrison of British 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 barque South 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.[25] Also in 1836, the schooner Emily ran aground with the Dutch fisherman Pieter Groen from Katwijk. 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]

A parson arrived in February 1851, the Bishop of Cape Town visited in March 1856 and the island was included within the diocese of Cape Town.[26]: 63–50 

In 1867, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, visited the islands. The only settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, was named in honour of his visit.[a] On 15 October 1873, the Royal Navy scientific survey vessel HMS Challenger docked at Tristan to conduct geographic and zoological surveys on Tristan, Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands.[28] In his log, Captain George Nares recorded a total of fifteen families and eighty-six individuals living on the island.[29] Tristan became a dependency of the British Crown in October 1875.[30]

Whalers set up bases on the islands for operations in the Southern Atlantic. However, the opening of the Suez 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.[21]

Victims of the 1885 Lifeboat disaster:

  • Joe Beetham
  • Thomas & Cornelius Cotton
  • Thomas Glass
  • John, William & Alfred Green
  • Jacob, William & Jeremiah Green
  • Albert, James & William Hagan
  • Samuel & Thomas Swain

On 27 November 1885, the island suffered one of its worst tragedies after an iron barque named West Riding approached the island, whilst en route to Sydney, Australia, from Bristol.[31] Due to the loss of regular trading opportunities, almost all of the island's able-bodied men approached the ship in a lifeboat 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,[32] to reports of them being taken to Australia and sold as slaves.[33] In total, 15 men were lost, leaving behind an island of widows. A plaque at St. Mary's Church commemorates the lost men.[34]

20th century

[edit]

Hard winter of 1906

[edit]

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.[12]

Occasional pre-war visits

[edit]

No ships called at the islands from 1909 until 1919, when HMS Yarmouth stopped to inform the islanders of the outcome of World War I.[35]

The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition stopped in Tristan for five days in May 1922, collecting geological and botanical samples before returning to Cape Town.[36] Among the few ships that visited in the coming years were the RMS Asturias, a Royal Mail Steam Packet Company passenger liner, in 1927, and the Canadian Pacific ocean liners RMS Empress of France in 1928,[37] RMS Duchess of Atholl in 1929,[38] and RMS Empress of Australia in 1935.[39][40]

In 1936, The Daily Telegraph of London reported that the population of the island was 167 people, with 185 cattle and 42 horses.[41][self-published source]

From December 1937 to March 1938, a Norwegian party made a dedicated scientific expedition to Tristan da Cunha, and sociologist Peter A. Munch extensively documented island culture; he visited the island again in 1964–1965.[42] The island was also visited in 1938 by W. Robert Foran, reporting for the National Geographic Society.[43] His account was published that same year.[44]

On 12 January 1938 by letters patent, Britain declared the islands a dependency of Saint Helena, creating the British Crown Colony of Saint Helena and Dependencies, which also included Ascension Island.[45]

Gough and Inaccessible Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

World War II military development

[edit]

During the Second World War, Tristan was commissioned by the Royal Navy as the so-called "stone frigate" HMS Atlantic Isle and used as a secret signals intelligence station, to monitor German U-boats (which were required to maintain radio contact) and shipping in the South Atlantic 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.[46]

The first colonial official sent to rule the island was Sir 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.[46]

Rare post-war ship visits

[edit]

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen's consort, visited the islands in 1957 as part of a world tour on board the royal yacht HMY Britannia.[47]

On 2 January 1954, Tristan da Cunha was visited by the Dutch ship Willem Ruys, a passenger-cargo liner,[48] carrying science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, his wife Ginny and other passengers. The Ruys was travelling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Cape Town, South Africa. The visit is described in Heinlein's book Tramp 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 to L. Ron Hubbard, a friend who also liked to travel, "for the curiosity value of the postmark". Biographer William H. Patterson, Jr. in his two volume Robert 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]

1961 eruption of Queen Mary's Peak

[edit]

On 10 October 1961, the eruption of a parasitic cone of Queen Mary's Peak, very close to Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, forced evacuation of all 264 people.[49][50] The evacuees took to the water in open boats, taken by the local lobster-fishing boats Tristania and Frances Repetto to uninhabited Nightingale Island.[51]

The next day, they were picked up by the diverted Dutch passenger ship Tjisadane that took them to Cape Town.[51] The islanders later arrived in the U.K. aboard the liner M.V. Stirling Castle to a big press reception and, after a short period at Pendell Army Camp in Merstham, Surrey, were settled in an old Royal Air Force camp near Calshot, Hampshire.[50][52]

The following year, a Royal Society expedition reported that Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had survived. Most families returned in 1963.[53]

Gough and Inaccessible Islands wildlife reserves

[edit]
Cleaning oil off penguins after the spillage from the MS Oliva, Tristan da Cunha

Gough Island was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 as Gough Island Wildlife Reserve.[54] This was further extended in 2004 as Gough and Inaccessible Islands, with its marine zone extended from 3 to 12 nautical miles.

These islands have been Ramsar sites – wetlands of international importance – since 20 November 2008.[55][56]

21st century

[edit]
Tristan da Cunha in 2012

On 23 May 2001, the islands were hit by an extratropical 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.[57] In 2005, the islands were given a United Kingdom post code (TDCU 1ZZ), to make it easier for the residents to order goods online.[58]

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/V Kelso came to the island as a factory ship.[59][60] The St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 reorganized Tristan da Cunha as a constituent of the new British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, giving Tristan and Ascension equal status with Saint Helena.[10]

On 16 March 2011, the freighter MS Oliva ran aground on Nightingale Island, spilling tons of heavy fuel oil into the ocean. The resulting oil slick threatened the island's population of rockhopper penguins.[61] Nightingale Island has no fresh water, so the penguins were transported to Tristan da Cunha for cleaning.[62]

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 a Marine 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 the RSPB and the island government and five years of the UK government's Blue Belt programme support.[63][64]

A total solar eclipse will pass over the island on 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.[65]

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.

Geography

[edit]
Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is thought to have been formed by a long-lived centre of upwelling mantle called the Tristan hotspot. Tristan da Cunha is the main island of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, 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.[68]

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 of Potato Patches. The highest point is the summit of a volcano called Queen 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 by South Africa since 1956 and has been at its present location at Transvaal Bay on the southeast coast since 1963.[69][70]

View of Tristan da Cunha

Climate

[edit]

The archipelago has a Cfb, wet oceanic climate, under the Köppen system, with mild temperatures and very limited sunshine but consistent moderate-to-heavy rainfall due to the persistent westerly winds.[71] Under the Trewartha classification, Tristan da Cunha has a humid subtropical climate due to the lack of cold weather. The number of rainy days is comparable to the Aleutian Islands at a much higher latitude in the northern hemisphere, while sunshine hours are comparable to Juneau, 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 the prevailing winds.[72]

Climate data for Tristan da Cunha
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.7
(74.7)
24.4
(75.9)
24.4
(75.9)
22.4
(72.3)
20.3
(68.5)
18.7
(65.7)
17.8
(64.0)
17.3
(63.1)
17.1
(62.8)
18.4
(65.1)
20.4
(68.7)
21.8
(71.2)
24.4
(75.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 20.4
(68.7)
21.2
(70.2)
20.5
(68.9)
18.9
(66.0)
16.9
(62.4)
15.3
(59.5)
14.4
(57.9)
14.2
(57.6)
14.3
(57.7)
15.4
(59.7)
17.0
(62.6)
18.9
(66.0)
17.3
(63.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.9
(64.2)
18.8
(65.8)
17.9
(64.2)
15.4
(59.7)
14.6
(58.3)
13.1
(55.6)
12.2
(54.0)
11.9
(53.4)
12.0
(53.6)
13.0
(55.4)
14.6
(58.3)
16.5
(61.7)
14.8
(58.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 15.4
(59.7)
16.2
(61.2)
15.3
(59.5)
11.9
(53.4)
12.3
(54.1)
10.9
(51.6)
10.0
(50.0)
9.6
(49.3)
9.7
(49.5)
10.6
(51.1)
12.2
(54.0)
14.1
(57.4)
12.4
(54.3)
Record low °C (°F) 10.9
(51.6)
11.8
(53.2)
10.3
(50.5)
9.5
(49.1)
7.4
(45.3)
6.3
(43.3)
4.8
(40.6)
4.6
(40.3)
5.1
(41.2)
6.4
(43.5)
8.3
(46.9)
9.7
(49.5)
4.6
(40.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 93
(3.7)
113
(4.4)
121
(4.8)
129
(5.1)
155
(6.1)
160
(6.3)
160
(6.3)
175
(6.9)
169
(6.7)
151
(5.9)
128
(5.0)
127
(5.0)
1,681
(66.2)
Average rainy days 18 17 17 20 23 23 25 26 24 22 18 19 252
Average relative humidity (%) 79 77 75 78 78 79 79 79 78 79 79 80 78
Mean monthly sunshine hours 139.5 144.0 145.7 129.0 108.5 99.0 105.4 105.4 120.0 133.3 138.0 130.2 1,498
Percent possible sunshine 31 35 38 38 35 34 34 32 33 33 32 29 34
Source 1: Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System[73]
Source 2: Climate and Temperature[74][75]

Geology

[edit]

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.[76] 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.

Volcanoes

[edit]

Tristan da Cunha has two volcanoes: Queen Mary's Peak on the main island and Edinburgh Peak on Gough Island. Queen Mary's Peak (37°6′42″S 12°17′19″W / 37.11167°S 12.28861°W / -37.11167; -12.28861 (Queen Mary's Peak)) has a height of 2,062 m (6,765 ft) and remains active, with its last eruption reported to have occurred in 1961. Edinburgh Peak (40°18′33″S 9°56′48″W / 40.30917°S 9.94667°W / -40.30917; -9.94667 (Edinburgh Peak)) has a height of 902 m (2,959 ft) and is classified as extinct.[77][78]

Geochemistry and tectonic significance

[edit]

The volcanic rocks range from ankaramitic basanite through tephrite to phonolite[79] 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.[80] The unusual composition is explained by the presence of enriched material in the plume source, either recycled sediments or metasomatized lithosphere.[80] The origin of the islands is commonly attributed to partial melting in a mantle plume.[80] The islands are located at the western end of the Walvis Ridge, which links the islands to the Etendeka large igneous province. This association has been cited as an example of plume head and tail hypothesis,[81] but the geochemical characteristics of Tristan lavas differ from those of the Etendeka province, which suggests that the plume was heterogeneous.

Flora and fauna

[edit]
Subantarctic fur seals at Gough and Inaccessible Islands
French nobleman and botanist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars, commemorated in the nomenclature of a variety of plants (e.g. Carex thouarsii) native to Tristan da Cunha

Many of the flora and fauna of the archipelago have a broad circumpolar distribution in the South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans. For example, the plant species Nertera granadensis was first collected in Tristan da Cunha,[82] but has since been recorded as far away as New Zealand.[83]

Invasive species

[edit]

The islands of Tristan da Cunha have a high significance of global biodiversity: two of them, Gough and Inaccessible, form a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site. This designation is largely due to the seabird population found there. The biodiversity of the island is vulnerable to introduction of invasive 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.[84] 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.[85] The following described invasive species have been known to have harmful effects on the islands' vegetation and native species.[citation needed]

Invasive house 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.[86] 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 the Albatross bird species, a 2019 Gough Island mouse eradication project was announced (Grundy, 2018). The RSPB and Tristan da Cunha Government have partnered to spread cereal pellets with rodenticide bait across Gough Island, in hopes to eradicate the invasive mice population.[87] 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.[87]

Flora

[edit]

Native plants

[edit]
Phylica arborea, the only tree species native (though not endemic) to Tristan da Cunha
A stand of Tristan's endemic tree fern, Lomariocycas palmiformis, the fernbush
Sophora macnabiana (Fabaceae): coloured plate depicting the shrub in flower from Curtis's Botanical Magazine
Pelargonium cucullatum, a species native to both Tristan da Cunha and South Africa

A combination of the list on Kew's Plants of the World Online site with information from a paper by Wace and Holdgate[88] yields the following list (by no means exhaustive) of plant species recorded as native to Tristan da Cunha.


Eudicots


Commelinids


Ferns, mosses and clubmosses

Introduced plants

[edit]
Sonchus asper, an introduced weed common on Tristan
Fumaria muralis
Veronica agrestis

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.[90] 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.[90] 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.[90] 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).[90] 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).[90] 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.[90]

The invasive plants have had several negative impacts on native island plant species, including the competitive exclusion of many such species.[90] 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.[90] Native plants such as fern bushes, Phylica bushes, fern brakes, mires, and bogs, contain high organic content matter which functions as storage for carbon.[90] 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, the nutrient 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.[90]

The alien plants are able to survive and continue to grow and spread successfully on the islands because they have the ability to naturalize in temperate regions and have limited necessities needed to survive.[90] The islands' isolation increases archipelago ecology uniqueness, which increases susceptibility to foreign invaders.[84] 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.[84]

Plants are being controlled by taking surveys of the invasive species, evaluating their impact on biodiversity, and evaluating the feasibility of their eradication.[86] 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 labor-intensive that will take several years using mechanical and chemical procedures.[84]

Fauna

[edit]

Land

[edit]
Tristan thrush Turdus eremita (formerly Nesocichla eremita)

Tristan is primarily known for its wildlife. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because there are 13 known species of breeding seabirds on the island and two species of resident land birds. The seabirds include northern rockhopper penguins, Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses, sooty albatrosses, Atlantic petrels, great-winged petrels, soft-plumaged petrels, broad-billed prions, grey petrels, great shearwaters, sooty shearwaters, Tristan skuas, Antarctic terns and brown noddies.[91] Tristan and Gough Islands are the only known breeding sites in the world for the Atlantic petrel. Inaccessible Island is also the only known breeding ground of the spectacled petrel.[92] The Tristan albatross is known to breed only on Gough and Inaccessible Islands: all nest on Gough, except for one or two pairs which nest on Inaccessible Island.[93]

The endemic Tristan 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 endemic Inaccessible Island rail, the smallest extant flightless bird in the world, is found only on Inaccessible Island. In 1956, eight Gough moorhens were released at Sandy Point on Tristan and have subsequently colonised the island.[94]

Marine

[edit]
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. The Marine Protected Area bans mining and fishing (except the local lobster fishery), with enforcement the responsibility of the UK government via satellite surveillance. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the islands and surrounding ocean is one of the most pristine temperate ecosystems on the planet.[95][96]

Various species of whales and dolphins can be seen around Tristan from time to time with increasing sighting rates, although recovery of baleen whales, especially the southern right whale, were severely hindered by illegal whaling by the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the 1960 volcanic eruption.[97] The subantarctic fur seal (Arctophoca tropicalis) can also be found in the Tristan archipelago, mostly on Gough Island.[98]

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.[99] The silver porgy is however suspected to be consuming components of the islands' fragile kelp forest. The giant kelp forests of Macrocystis 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.[99]

Economy

[edit]

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 the Tristan rock lobster (Jasus) fishery, the sale of the island's postage stamps and coins, and limited tourism.[100] Like most British Overseas Territories, it was never a part of the European Union, but was a member of the EU's Overseas Countries and Territories Association.[101]

The Bank of Saint Helena was established on Saint Helena and Ascension Island in 2004. This bank does not have a physical presence on Tristan da Cunha, but residents of Tristan are entitled to its services.[102] Although Tristan da Cunha is part of the same overseas territory as Saint Helena, it does not use the local Saint Helena pound; sterling is used directly instead.[103]

The island is located in the South 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 the Danish Meteorological Institute and DTU Space.[104]

Transport

[edit]
Map of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas

The remote location of the islands makes transport to the outside world difficult. Tristan da Cunha has no airstrip and is not generally accessible to air travel, though the wider territory is served by Saint Helena Airport[105][106] and RAF Ascension Island.[107] Fishing boats from South Africa provide transport service to the islands eight or nine times per year.[citation needed]

The RMS St 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,[7] and most recently in 2018.[108] In the same year the RMS St Helena was withdrawn from service. Three ships, the MV Lance, the MFV Edinburgh, and the SA Agulhas II, regularly service Tristan da Cunha from Cape Town, with typically fewer than a dozen visits a year.[109] Other vessels may occasionally visit the island.[110] The harbour at Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is called Calshot Harbour, named after the place in Hampshire, England, where the islanders temporarily stayed during the 1961–1963 Queen Mary's Peak volcanic eruption.[111]

Tourism

[edit]

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 the Island Council.[112]

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.[113]

The Tristan Government, along with the Tristan Association, set up a public website in 2017. 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.[114]

Communications

[edit]

Telecommunication

[edit]

The ITU has assigned telephone country code +290 for Tristan da Cunha;[115] however, residents have access to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network, provided by Global Crossing.[116] This service uses a London 020 numbering range, meaning that numbers are accessed via the UK telephone numbering plan.[117] 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.[118] The connection was also extremely unreliable, connecting through a 64 kbit/s satellite phone connection provided by Inmarsat.[citation needed] On 16 September, 2024, satellite internet via StarLink was made available on the island, offering much higher speeds than previously available.[119]

Since 2006, a very-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.[120] As of 2016, there is not yet any mobile telephone coverage on the islands.[121]

The Government and Tristan da Cunha Association[122] jointly run the island official website[123] with all practical information, news, and facts about the island. While the site is updated from mainland UK,[124] 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]

Amateur radio

[edit]

Amateur radio operator groups sometimes conduct DX-peditions on the island. One group operated as station ZD9ZS in September–October 2014.[125][126][127]

Government

[edit]

There are no political parties or trade unions on Tristan. Executive authority is vested in the King, who is represented in the territory by the governor of Tristan da Cunha. Prior to 2009, Tristan da Cunha was a dependency of Saint Helena, and therefore directly represented by the governor of Saint Helena. The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 made Saint 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.[128] Per Section 208 of the Constitution Order, the person appointed as Governor of Saint Helena is ex officio Governor of Tristan da Cunha. However, as Tristan da Cunha is 1,350 miles (2,170 km) away from Saint 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 local magistrate, 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 the Tristan 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.[129]

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 three special 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.[130]

Chief Islander

[edit]

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. James Glass was re-elected to the position in March 2022 to a record-breaking fifth term in the role.[131]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1856 71[132]—    
1880 109[133]+1.80%
1892 50[134]−6.29%
1897 64[133]+5.06%
1901 74[133]+3.70%
1909 95[133]+3.17%
1934 167[135]+2.28%
1961 268[132]+1.77%
1969 271[136]+0.14%
1987 296[132][137]+0.49%
1999 286[138][139]−0.29%
2000 280[138]−2.10%
2008 269[137]−0.50%
2016 293[137][5]+1.07%
2018 250[9]−7.63%
2021 243[9]−0.94%

Tristan da Cunha recorded a population of 243 in the June 2021 census.[140] The only settlement is Edinburgh 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.[141] 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.[142]

Housing in Tristan da Cunha
Potato patches
Guest 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 the mtDNA evidence showed only one pair of sisters.[143]

The early male founders originated from Scotland, England, the Netherlands, the United States, and Italy, who belonged to three Y-haplogroups: I (M170), R-SRY10831.2, and R (M207) (xSRY10831.2).[144] The male founders shared seven surnames: Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Repetto, Rogers, and Swain.[9][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.[145] The surnames Collins and Squibb continue to be used on the island. In addition, a new haplotype 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."[144] Another four instances of non-paternity were found among male descendants, but researchers believed their fathers were probably among the early island population.[144]

St Joseph's Catholic church
St Joseph's Catholic Church

There are eighty families on the island.[146] Like many remote island communities, Tristan da Cunha has a shrinking, ageing population.[147] In the past, Tristan da Cunha mothers had to travel to Cape Town to give birth, but since the opening of the Camogli Healthcare Centre in 2017 have been able to give birth on the island.[148]

Language

[edit]

Phonetics and phonology

[edit]

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 of South 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.

Grammar

[edit]

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?"

Education

[edit]

Children leave school at age 16, and although they can take GCSEs, few do.[149][150] The school on the island is St. Mary's School, which serves children from ages 4 to 16. The Naval Station had established a school building during World 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.[151] Tristan students doing post-16 education receive assistance from the Tristan da Cunha Association Education Trust Fund and typically do so in the United Kingdom and South Africa.[152]

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.[153] A desktop publication entitled Rockhopper Penguins and Other Songs (2010) embraced most of the songs completed that year and funded a consignment of guitars to the school.[154] 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.[155][156]

In August 2015, 11-year-old Nathan Swain won the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition. At the time of the competition, Nathan was going to school at the St Mary school on Tristan. In Nathan's essay, he highlighted how he hoped to help with the problems on Tristan using the carpentry skills he learned in school. Along with Nathan, two other St Mary school pupils got recognition for their excellent essay. Randall Repetto acquired a gold medal in the junior category, and Jade Repetto got a bronze medal in the senior category. Nathan's essay still remains hanging on the St Mary school wall along with being available on the RCS website.[157]

Religion

[edit]

Approximately 80% of the population is Anglican, and 20% is Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic population is served by the Mission sui iuris of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, which is administratively a part of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands.[158] Edwin Dodgson, youngest brother of Lewis Carroll, spent several years as a missionary on the island in the nineteenth century.[159]

Health

[edit]

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 to Cape Town.[160]

As of late 2007, IBM and Beacon Equity Partners, co-operating with Medweb, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the island's government on "Project Tristan", had supplied the island's doctor with access to long distance tele-medical help, making it possible to send EKG and X-ray pictures to doctors in other countries for instant consultation.[161]

The Camogli Healthcare Centre, usually referred to as the 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.[162] 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.[163]

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.[164] As of 2022, five babies had been born in the island's Camogli Healthcare Centre.[165][166][167]

There are instances of health problems attributed to endogamy, including glaucoma. In addition, there is a very high (42%) incidence of asthma among the population, and research by Noe Zamel of the University of Toronto has led to discoveries about the genetic nature of the disease.[168] Three of the original settlers of the island had asthma.[169]

Culture

[edit]

Music and traditional dance

[edit]

Tristan residents Mary Swain and Percy Lavarello were recorded in 1962 whilst evacuated in Calshot, Hampshire, by Maud Karpeles and Peter 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 the British Library Sound Archive website.[170][171][172][173][174][175][176] On these tapes, Mary Swain sings traditional English folk songs learnt from her mother, including seventeenth-century Child Ballads such as "Barbara Allen"[177] and "The Golden Vanity".[178] She also describes how dance was an important element of life on Tristan; well-known dances such as step dances, waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and schottisches 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.[170] 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 and BFBS Extra, relayed to islanders via local transmitters.
Longboats in front of the administrator's residence
The supermarket provides the islands with all necessary goods.

Crime

[edit]

Between 1988 and 2010, no one was arrested for crime by the single policeman on the island.[179]

Radio and television

[edit]

Local television began in 1984 using taped programming on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.[180] Live television did not arrive on the island until 2001, with the introduction of the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS TV), which now provides six channels: BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News and BFBS 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 equipments still are 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.[181]

Newspapers

[edit]

The Tristan Times was an online newspaper for the island published from 2003 to 2019.[182] The island government also posts news announcements on its website, which is maintained by the UK-based Tristan da Cunha Association.[183]

Holidays and holiday traditions

[edit]

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.[184] The islanders would traditionally have parties on Boxing Day, but not on Christmas Day.[176]

Traditionally, on "Old Year's Day/Night" (meaning "New Year's Eve"), the islanders would conceal their identities with masks or blackface 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.[171][176] The disguises sometimes recall English Border Morris dancers.

Sport

[edit]

Football, cricket and baseball were all historically played on the island.[171][176]

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.[185] Rose, Henry's wife, wrote about informal kick-abouts continuing for years, and these fast became a part of Tristanian culture.[186] 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.[187] Tristan da Cunha FC was formed in 2002.[188] 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 during World War II.[189] 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.[190] Their first match was against a South African fishing vessel and they 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.[187]

Notable people

[edit]
[edit]
The Inaccessible Island rail (Atlantisia rogersi) (1927), the world's smallest flightless bird, which is found only on Inaccessible Island

Film

[edit]
  • In Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire, a dying man recollecting the things that have apparently meant most to him mentions "Tristan da Cunha".[199]
  • 37°4 S is a short film about two teenagers who live on the island.[200]
  • Tristan da Cunha forms a key plot strand in the 1971 TV movie Vanished!, starring Richard Widmark and Robert Hooks. The island hosts a conference of the world's leading nuclear scientists; its remoteness allows the meeting to take place in secrecy.

Literature

[edit]

Non-fiction

[edit]
  • Frank T. Bullen provides details of visiting the island in the 1870s in his book The Cruise of the Cachalot, first published in 1898.[205]
  • Katherine Mary Barrow's book Three Years in Tristan da Cunha, published in London by Skeffington & Son in 1910, records daily life during the author's sojourn on the island, which she and her husband served as Anglican missionaries.
  • Francis Pease's book To the Ends of the Earth (Hurst and Blackett Ltd., 1935) describes the RRS Discovery's trip to Antarctica in 1925, which stopped at Tristan da Cunha. Chapter 2 is titled Folk of Tristan.[citation needed]
  • Simon Winchester's book Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire (1985, reprinted in 2003), devotes a chapter to the island, which he visited in the mid-1980s. In the foreword to the reprint, the author states that he was banned from Tristan da Cunha because of his writing about the war-time romance of a local woman. He published a longer account of his banishment in Lapham's Quarterly.[206]
  • In 2005, Rockhopper Copper, the first book about the island written by an Islander, was published. It was written by Conrad Glass, Tristan da Cunha's longtime policeman and conservation officer.[207]

See also

[edit]

Explanatory notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The visit took place during the Duke of Edinburgh's circumnavigation undertaken while commanding HMS Galatea. Tristan da Cunha post office issued four stamps in 1967 to celebrate the centenary of this visit.[27]
  2. ^ 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).

References

[edit]
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Further reading

[edit]
Guides
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-2849-8589-7.
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 by Conrad 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).
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News and government

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History of the island

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Videos of the island

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37°6′54″S 12°17′6″W / 37.11500°S 12.28500°W / -37.11500; -12.28500