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TRISTAN DA CUNHA

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Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 296 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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TRISTAN DA CUNHA , the See also:general name for a See also:group of three small volcanic islands belonging to See also:Great See also:Britain, situated in the See also:South See also:Atlantic, the See also:summit of the largest being in 370 5' 50" S., 12° 16' 40" W. They are about 2000 M. W. of the Cape of See also:Good See also:Hope and about 4000 M. N.E. of Cape See also:Horn and See also:lie somewhat See also:north of a See also:line See also:drawn between the two capes. St See also:Helena lies about 1500 M. N.N.E. of the group. The islands rise from the submarine See also:elevation which runs down the centre of the Atlantic and on which are likewise situated See also:Ascension, St See also:Paul's Rocks and the See also:Azores; the See also:average See also:depth on this See also:ridge is from 1600 to 1700 fathoms, while depths of 3000 fathoms are found on each See also:side of it. The depth between the islands is in some places over See also:I000 fathoms. Tristan, the largest and northernmost See also:island, has an See also:area of 16 sq. m., is nearly circular in See also:form, about 7 M. in See also:diameter, and has a volcanic See also:cone (7640 ft.), usually capped with See also:snow, in the centre. Precipitous cliffs, moo to 2000 ft. in height, rise directly from the ocean on all sides, except on the north-See also:west, where there is an irregular See also:plain, too ft. above the See also:sea, and 22 M. in length and a m. in breadth. A stream crosses the See also:northern end of the See also:plateau, falling over the cliff edge in a See also:fine cascade. The See also:crater of the central cone contains a fresh-See also:water See also:lake about 15o yds. in diameter.

This and other crater lakes are said never to be frozen over. Inaccessible Island, the westernmost of the group, is about 20 M. from Tristan. It is See also:

quadrilateral in form, the sides being about 2 m. See also:long, and its area is about 4 sq. m. The highest point (1840 ft.) is on the west side; all See also:round there are perpendicular cliffs about moo ft. in height. At the See also:base of the cliffs in some places are narrow fringes of See also:beach a few feet above the sea-level. See also:Nightingale Island, the smallest and most See also:southern of the group, is to m. from Inaccessible Island. Its area is not more than r sq.m. Its coasts, unlike those of the other two islands, are surrounded by See also:low cliffs, from which there is a See also:gentle slope up to two peaks, the one IIoo ft., the other 96o ft. high. There are two small islets—Stoltenkoff (325 ft.) and See also:Middle (15o ft.)—and several rocks adjacent to the See also:coast. The rocks of Tristan da Cunha are felspathic See also:basalt, See also:dolerite, See also:augite-See also:andesite, sideromelane and palagonite; some specimens of the basalt have porphyritic augite.i The caves in Nightingale Island indicate that it has been elevated several feet. On almost On the occurrence in Tristan da Cunha of See also:rock of See also:continental type (See also:gneiss) see E. H.

L. See also:

Schwarz of the See also:Geological Survey, Cape See also:Colony, in the Transactions South See also:African Philosoph. See also:Soc,. No. 16 of 1905. all sides the islands are surrounded by a broad See also:belt of See also:kelp, the gigantic southern seaweed (Macrocystis pyrifera), through which a See also:boat may approach the rocky shores even in stormy See also:weather. There is no good anchorage in rough weather. The beaches and See also:lower lands are covered with a dense growth of tussock grass (Spartina arundinacea), 8 to to ft. in height. It shelters vast See also:numbers of penguins (Eudyptes chrysocoma), which there form their rookeries. There is one small See also:tree (Phylica nitida), which grows in detached patches on the lower grounds. Independently of introduced See also:plants, fifty-five See also:species have been collected in the group, twenty-nine being flowering plants and twenty-six ferns and lycopods. A See also:majority of the species are characteristic of the See also:present general See also:flora of the south temperate See also:zone rather than any particular See also:part of it: botanically the group is generally classed with the islands of the Southern Ocean.

A See also:

finch (Nesospiza acunhae), a See also:thrush (Nesocichla eremita), and a water-See also:hen (Gallinula nesiotis) are the only See also:land birds—the first two being See also:peculiar to the islands. In addition to the penguins numerous other sea birds See also:nest on the islands, as petrels, albatrosses, terns, skuas and prions. One or two land shells, a few See also:spiders, several See also:Coleoptera, a small lepidopter and a few other See also:insects are recorded, but no See also:Orthoptera or See also:Hymenoptera. There appear to have been no indigenous mammals or See also:reptiles. See also:Seals frequent Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands, and the See also:whale (Balaena australis) is found in the adjacent See also:waters. The prevailing winds are See also:westerly. See also:December to See also:March is the fine See also:season. The See also:climate is mild and on the whole healthy, the temperature averaging 68° Fahr. In summer, 55° in See also:winter—sometimes falling to40°. See also:Rain is frequent; See also:hail and snow fall occasionally on the lower grounds. The See also:sky is usually cloudy. The islands have a See also:cold and barren See also:appearance.

The See also:

tide rises and falls about 4 ft. See also:History.—The islands were discovered in 1506 by the Portuguese See also:admiral Tristan, or more correctly Tristdo da Cunha,' after whom they are named, during a voyage to See also:India. There-after the islands (which were uninhabited) were occasionally visited by outward See also:bound See also:ships to the Indies. Dutch vessels brought back reports on the islands in 1643, and in 1656 See also:Van Riebeek, the founder of Cape See also:Town, sent a See also:ship from Table See also:Bay to Tristan to see if it was suitable for a military station. but the See also:absence of a See also:harbour led to the project being abandoned. Later in the 17th See also:century ships were sent from St Helena by the See also:English See also:East India See also:Company to Tristan to See also:report on a proposed See also:settlement there, but that project also came to naught. A See also:British See also:naval officer who visited the group in 176o gave his name to Nightingale Island. See also:John See also:Patten, the See also:master of an English See also:merchant ship, and part of his See also:crew lived on Tristan from See also:August 1790 to See also:April 1791, during which See also:time they captured 5600 seals; but the first permanent inhabitant was one See also:Thomas See also:Currie, who landed on the island in 18io. At this time See also:American whalers frequented the neighbouring waters and, in the same See also:year, an American named See also:Lambert " See also:late of See also:Salem, mariner and See also:citizen thereof " and a See also:man named See also:Williams made Tristan their See also:home. Lambert declared himself See also:sovereign and See also:sole possessor of the group (which he renamed Islands of Refreshment) " grounding my right and claim on the rational and sure ground of See also:absolute occupancy." Lambert's See also:sovereignty was See also:short lived, as he and Williams were drowned while out fishing in May 1812. Currie was joined, however, by two other men and they busied themselves in growing vegetables, See also:wheat and oats, and in breeding pigs. See also:War having broken out in this year between the See also:United States and Great Britain the islands were largely used as a base by American cruisers sent to See also:prey on British merchant ships. This and other considerations urged by See also:Lord See also:Charles See also:Somerset, then See also:governor of Cape Colony, led the British See also:government to authorize the islands being taken See also:possession of as dependencies of the Cape.

The formal See also:

proclamation of See also:annexation was made on the 14th of August 1816. A small See also:garrison was maintained on Tristan until i Tristan da Cunha (fl. 1460-1540) was nominated first See also:viceroy of Portuguese India in 1504, but was unable to serve owing to temporary See also:blindness; in 1506 he was placed in command of a See also:fleet which operated on the east coast of See also:Africa and in the Indies, See also:Alphonso d'See also:Albuquerque (q.v.) having See also:charge of a See also:squadron under da Cunha. After discovering the islands which now See also:bear his name, da Cunha landed in See also:Madagascar, subsequently visiting See also:Mozambique, Brava (where he reduced the Arab See also:power) and See also:Sokotra, which he conquered. He also distinguished himself in the Indies in various actions. In '514 he was See also:ambassador to See also:Pope See also:Leo X. to pay See also:homage for the new conquests of See also:Portugal, and was, later on, made a member of the Portuguese privy See also:council.295 See also:November of the following year. At their own See also:request See also:William See also:Glass (d. 1853), a See also:corporal in the Royal See also:Artillery, with his wife and two See also:children and two masons were See also:left behind, and thus was begun the present settlement. From time to time additional settlers arrived or shipwrecked mariners decided to lemain; in 1827 five coloured See also:women from St Helena were induced to migrate to Tristan to become the wives of the five bachelors then on the island. Later coloured women from Cape Colony married residents in the island. Other settlers are of Dutch, See also:Italian and See also:Asiatic origin. Thus the inhabitants are of mixed See also:blood, but the British See also:strain greatly predominates.

Over the little community Glass (1817-1853) ruled in patriarchal See also:

fashion. Be-sides raising crops, the settlers possessed numbers of See also:cattle, See also:sheep and pigs, but their most lucrative occupation was See also:seal fishing. The island was still frequented by American whalers, and in 1856 out of a See also:total See also:population of about See also:loo twenty-five emigrated to the United States. The next year See also:forty-five of the inhabitants removed to Cape Colony; whither the younger or more restless members of the community have since gone—or else taken to a seafaring See also:life. The inhabitants had of See also:necessity made their settlement on the plain on the north-west of Tristan; here a number of substantial See also:stone cottages and a See also:church were built. It is named See also:Edinburgh in memory of a visit in 1867 by the See also:duke of Edinburgh. In See also:October 1873 the islands were carefully surveyed by the " Challenger," which removed to Cape Town two Germans, See also:brothers named Stoltenhoff, who had been living on Inaccessible Island since November 1871. This was the only See also:attempt at colonization made on any See also:save the See also:main island of the group. After the See also:death of Glass the See also:head of the community for some time was an old man-of-war's man named See also:Cotton, who had been for three years guard over See also:Napoleon at St Helena; Cotton was succeeded by See also:Peter William See also:Green, a native of See also:Amsterdam who settled in the island in 1836. During Green's " reign " the economic See also:condition of Tristan was considerably affected by the See also:desertion of the neighbouring seas by the whalers; this was largely due to the depredations of the Confederate cruisers " See also:Alabama " and " See also:Shenandoah " during the American See also:Civil War, many whaling boats being captured and burnt by them. As a result the number of ships calling at Tristan considerably diminished and See also:trade languished. In 188o the population appears to have attained its maximum—1o9.

In 1885 a serious disaster befell the islanders, a lifeboat which went to take See also:

pro-visions to a ship in the offing was lost with all hands—fifteen men—and only four adult See also:males were left on the island. At the same time a See also:plague of rats—survivors of a shipwrecked See also:vessel—wrought much havoc among the crops. Plans were made for the total removal of the inhabitants to the Cape, but the majority preferred to remain. Stores and provisions were sent out to them by the British government. The ravages of the rats have rendered impossible the growing of wheat; the See also:wealth of the islanders now consists in their cattle, sheep, potatoes and See also:apple and See also:peach trees. The population in 1897 was only 64; in 19o1 it was 74, and in 1909, 95. They See also:manage their own affairs without any written See also:laws, the project once entertained of providing them with a formal constitution being deemed unnecessary. The inhabitants are described as moral, religious, hospitable to strangers, well mannered and industrious, healthy and long lived. They are without intoxicating liquors and are said to commit no crimes. They are daring sailors, and in small See also:canvas boats of their own See also:building voyage to Nightingale and Inaccessible islands. They knit garments from the See also:wool of their sheep; are good carpenters and make serviceable carts. From time to time ministers of the Church of See also:England have lived on the island and to their efforts is mainly due the See also:education of the children.

In 1906 the islanders passed through a See also:

period of See also:distress owing to great mortality among the cattle and the almost total failure of the See also:potato See also:crop. The majority again refused, however, to See also:desert the island, though offered allotments of land in Cape Colony. Similar proposals had been made and declined several times since the question was first mooted in 1886. In 1905 a See also:lease of Nightingale, Inaccessible and See also:Gough islands, for the purpose of working the See also:guano deposits, was granted by the British government. Gough Island.—Gough Island or Diego See also:Alvarez lies in the South Atlantic in 40° 20' S., 9° 44' W., and is 250 M. S.S.E. of Tristan da Cunha and some 1500 m. west by south of Cape Town. It is of volcanic origin, is rugged and mountainous, the highest See also:peak rising to 4380 ft. The island is about 8 m. long by 4 M. broad and has an area of 40 sq. m. Precipitous cliffs, from 200 to 1000 ft. high, characterize the coast. They are divided by picturesque valleys, which, in some instances, have been cut down to sea-level and afford landing-places. Streams fall over the cliffs into the sea in fine cascades. The island is visited by vast numbers of penguins and contains valuable guano deposits.

It is also the home of numerous seals. The rainfall is heavy and vegetation abundant. The island is believed to have been discovered by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Originally called Diego Alvarez, it derives its other name from a See also:

Captain Gough, the See also:commander of a British ship which visited it in 1731. It has been claimed as a British possession since the annexation of Tristan da Cunha. In 1904 Gough Island was visited by the See also:Antarctic exploring ship " See also:Scotia " of the See also:Bruce expedition, which discovered a See also:rich marine See also:fauna, two new buntings and three new species of plants. It has no permanent population. A comprehensive See also:account of Tristan da Cunha appeared in The Cape Times (See also:January–March 1906), in a See also:series of articles by W. See also:Hammond See also:Tooke, the See also:commissioner sent to the islands by the Cape government in 1904. See also Transactions of the Linnean Society for 1819 (contains a report of an ascent of the summit by Captain Dugald See also:Carmichael in 1817) ; A. See also:Earle, Narrative of a .. . See also:Residence in New See also:Zealand ... together with a See also:Journal of a Residence in Tristan d'Acunha (See also:London, 1832) ; Mrs K.

M. See also:

Barrow, Three Years in Tristan da Cunha (London, 1910) ; H. N. Moseley, Notes by a Naturalist on the " Challenger " (new ed., London, 1892) ; F. and G. Stoltenhoff, " Two Years on Inaccessible," in Cape Monthly Mag. (December 1873). Among papers See also:relating to Tristan da Cunha published by the British government, see especially reports issued in 1897, 1903, 1906—which gives a detailed account of the island and islanders—and 1907. For the See also:discovery of Tristan see The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque (See also:Hakluyt Society's Series, 1875, vol. 53). For Gough Island, see R. N. R.

See also:

Brown of the ` Scotia " expedition, " Diego Alvarez or Gough Island," in Scottish Geog. Mag. (August 1905); Brown and others, " The See also:Botany of Gough Island," in Journ. Linnean Soc. (Botany) (1905), and The Voyage of the " Scotia" ch. xii. (London, 1906). The Africa See also:Pilot, pt. ii. (5th ed., 1901), contains descriptions both of Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island.

End of Article: TRISTAN DA CUNHA

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