History of the Pitcairn Islands

The history of the Pitcairn Islands begins with the colonization of the islands by Polynesians in the 11th century. Polynesian people established a culture that flourished for four centuries and then vanished. They lived on Pitcairn and Henderson Islands, and on Mangareva Island 540 kilometres (340 mi) to the northwest, for about 400 years.

In 1790, nine of the British sailors from the Bounty led by Fletcher Christian, along with the 18 native Tahitian men and women settled on Pitcairn Island and set fire to the Bounty. Christian's group remained undiscovered on Pitcairn until 1808, by which time all but one of the mutineers and all of the male Tahitians were dead. The remaining women and children were led by John Adams.