This is a (hopefully) miniseries of miniposts about ministates, in somewhat like a Wikipedia form.
Previous installments are here, here, here and here.
Name: Pitcairn Islands
Capital: Adamstown, 25°04′S 130°06′W
Official languages (de facto): English, Pitcairnese
Religion: Seventh-day Adventist
Demonym: Pitcairn Islander
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Mayor: Steve Christian (2004)
Population: 47 (2004)
Independence (from United Kingdom):
* Declared: 14 August 2004
* Withdrawn: 20 August 2004
Area: Total 47 km²
Currency: Pitcairn Islands dollar, New Zealan dollar
Time zone: UTC-8
Drives on the: left
Calling code: +64
ISO 3166 code: PN
Internet TLD: .pn
The Pitcairn Islands was a short lived unrecognized country, which declared unilateral independence from the United Kingdom on 14 August 2004 and withdrew the declaration a week later.
The Pitcairn Islands, officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the last British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. The four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island that measures about 3.6 kilometres from east to west,
is inhabited.
The islands are inhabited mostly by descendants of nine Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them, an event that has been retold in many books and films.
The Pitcairn Islands was a short lived unrecognized country, which declared unilateral independence from United Kingdom on 14 August 2004. The declaration was connected with the sexual assault trials to be held over several islanders, including the then mayor Steve Christian.
The details of the independence proclamation and subsequent withdrawal are somewhat sketchy, but a generally accepted version says that after a night-long drinking session, the Islands council (whose members were mostly implicated in the sexual scandal and were expected to face the trials) declared independence.
The declaration (a few short sentences) has been presented to the Administrator, who notified the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After a few days of "consultations" the council convened another session, where the
declaration has been declared "withdrawn".
Since the declaration has not been annulled but withdrawn, strictly speaking the Islands could have considered themselves an independent (albeit unrecognized) country. The short lived independence had no practical effect anyway and is just a footnote in the history of the Islands (and a source of much discussion of alternate history and micronations fans). Ironically, it probably worked against Christian's interests - there were some unsubstantiated rumours that his defence was focused on the fact that Pitcairn Islands have been never formally annexed by the UK, and the UK laws (especially those governing age of consent) were not in force on the Islands territory. By the declaration it has been acknowledged that the Pitcairn Islands did indeed consider themselves part of the British Empire. His actual defence claimed the sexual relations were all consensual and the low age was in line with Polynesian traditions. Christian was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
It is often reported that the only country that formally recognized Pitcairn Islands has been Argentina - this is however not true, Argentina only issued a press release denouncing "British imperialism" and asking the UK to "respect the right of the illegally occupied colonies to break away from the Empire", in particular with regard to the Islas Malvinas, and "expressed the support to the people fighting against colonial oppressors".
Had the independence gone through, the Pitcairn Islands would be the smallest independent genuine (as opposed to organizations that are - for various historical reasons - considered sovereign subjects under international law) nation by the number of inhabitants - only 47 at the time, and also the smallest parliamentary democracy in the world.
Previous installments are here, here, here and here.
Name: Pitcairn Islands
Capital: Adamstown, 25°04′S 130°06′W
Official languages (de facto): English, Pitcairnese
Religion: Seventh-day Adventist
Demonym: Pitcairn Islander
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Mayor: Steve Christian (2004)
Population: 47 (2004)
Independence (from United Kingdom):
* Declared: 14 August 2004
* Withdrawn: 20 August 2004
Area: Total 47 km²
Currency: Pitcairn Islands dollar, New Zealan dollar
Time zone: UTC-8
Drives on the: left
Calling code: +64
ISO 3166 code: PN
Internet TLD: .pn
The Pitcairn Islands was a short lived unrecognized country, which declared unilateral independence from the United Kingdom on 14 August 2004 and withdrew the declaration a week later.
The Pitcairn Islands, officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the last British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. The four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island that measures about 3.6 kilometres from east to west,
is inhabited.
The islands are inhabited mostly by descendants of nine Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them, an event that has been retold in many books and films.
The Pitcairn Islands was a short lived unrecognized country, which declared unilateral independence from United Kingdom on 14 August 2004. The declaration was connected with the sexual assault trials to be held over several islanders, including the then mayor Steve Christian.
The details of the independence proclamation and subsequent withdrawal are somewhat sketchy, but a generally accepted version says that after a night-long drinking session, the Islands council (whose members were mostly implicated in the sexual scandal and were expected to face the trials) declared independence.
The declaration (a few short sentences) has been presented to the Administrator, who notified the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After a few days of "consultations" the council convened another session, where the
declaration has been declared "withdrawn".
Since the declaration has not been annulled but withdrawn, strictly speaking the Islands could have considered themselves an independent (albeit unrecognized) country. The short lived independence had no practical effect anyway and is just a footnote in the history of the Islands (and a source of much discussion of alternate history and micronations fans). Ironically, it probably worked against Christian's interests - there were some unsubstantiated rumours that his defence was focused on the fact that Pitcairn Islands have been never formally annexed by the UK, and the UK laws (especially those governing age of consent) were not in force on the Islands territory. By the declaration it has been acknowledged that the Pitcairn Islands did indeed consider themselves part of the British Empire. His actual defence claimed the sexual relations were all consensual and the low age was in line with Polynesian traditions. Christian was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
It is often reported that the only country that formally recognized Pitcairn Islands has been Argentina - this is however not true, Argentina only issued a press release denouncing "British imperialism" and asking the UK to "respect the right of the illegally occupied colonies to break away from the Empire", in particular with regard to the Islas Malvinas, and "expressed the support to the people fighting against colonial oppressors".
Had the independence gone through, the Pitcairn Islands would be the smallest independent genuine (as opposed to organizations that are - for various historical reasons - considered sovereign subjects under international law) nation by the number of inhabitants - only 47 at the time, and also the smallest parliamentary democracy in the world.
