Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

Pitkern Ailen Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Overseas Territory of the ‌United Kingdom


Anthem Come ye Blessed God Save the Queen


Capital	Adamstown

Status	Overseas Territory
Mayor
- From 2010	Mike Warren

Legislature	Island Council

History
- October 10, 1970	Established

Area	47 km²

Population
- 2011	60
Density	1.2/km²

Currency	New Zealand dollar

Colony of Fiji
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The Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, located in Polynesia.

Background

Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British and settled in 1790 by the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today.^[1]

Economy

The inhabitants of this tiny isolated economy exist on fishing, subsistence farming, handicrafts, and postage stamps. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of postage stamps to collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships. In October 2004, more than one-quarter of Pitcairn's small labor force was arrested, putting the economy in a bind, since their services were required as lighter crew to load or unload passing ships.^[2]