Islands of Refreshment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1811–1816 | |||||||
 Flag | |||||||
 | |||||||
| Status | Unrecognised state | ||||||
| Capital | Reception | ||||||
| Official languages | English | ||||||
| Government | |||||||
• Leader | Jonathan Lambert | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Declared | February 4, 1811 | ||||||
• Death of Lambert | May 17, 1812 | ||||||
| August 14, 1816 | |||||||
| Area | |||||||
• Total | 207 km2 (80 sq mi) | ||||||
| Membership | 4 (1811) | ||||||
| Currency | Spanish dollar | ||||||
| |||||||
Islands of Refreshment was the name given to Tristan da Cunha by its self-proclaimed ruler, Jonathan Lambert, in 1811. [1]
In the early 19th century American whalers frequented the neighboring waters and, on December 27, 1810, the Boston ship Baltic put ashore an American named Jonathan Lambert "late of Salem, mariner and citizen thereof" along with one Thomas Currie or Tomasso Corri in his employ, and a third man named Williams. These three were the first permanent inhabitants of Tristan, and they were soon joined by a fourth, Andrew Millet.
Lambert declared himself sovereign and sole possessor of the island group "grounding my right and claim on the rational and sure ground of absolute occupancy". [2] He renamed the main island "Island of Refreshment", Inaccessible Island "Pintard Island" and Nightingale Island "Lovel Island". Five months after arriving, Lambert, Williams and Millet drowned while fishing on May 17, 1812. Currie was joined, however, by two other men, and the three busied themselves growing vegetables, wheat and oats, and breeding pigs. [3]
During the War of 1812, the islands were used as a base by American cruisers sent to prey on British merchant ships. This and other considerations urged by Lord Charles Henry Somerset, then-governor of Cape Colony in South Africa, led the British government to annex the islands as dependencies of the Cape Colony. The formal proclamation of annexation was made on August 14, 1816, partly as a measure to ensure the French could not use the islands as a base for a rescue operation to free the deposed Napoleon I of France from his prison on Saint Helena.
Saint Helena is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory.
This article deals with traffic in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, that is all forms of traffic in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Tristan da Cunha, 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 in Argentina, and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.
Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and has a history going back to the beginning of the 16th century. It was settled by men from military garrisons and ships, who married native women from Saint Helena and the Cape Colony. Its people are multi-racial, descended from European male founders and mixed-race and African women founders.
The flag of Saint Helena consists of a Blue Ensign defaced with the shield from the British overseas territory's coat of arms. Adopted in 1984 shortly after the island was granted a new coat of arms, it has been the flag since. Saint Helena's flag is similar to the flags of eight other British Overseas Territories, which are also Blue Ensigns with their respective coats of arms.
Inaccessible Island is a volcanic island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 31 km (19 mi) south-west of Tristan da Cunha. Its highest point, Swale's Fell, reaches 581 m (1,906 ft), and the island is 12.65 km2 (4.88 sq mi) in area. The volcano was last active approximately one million years ago and is now extinct.
Nightingale Island is an active volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) in area, part of the Tristan da Cunha group of islands. They are administered by the United Kingdom as part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is the only settlement on the island of Tristan da Cunha, a part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. Locally, it is referred to as The Settlement or The Village.
The capture of USS President was one of many naval actions fought at the end of the War of 1812. The frigate USS President tried to break out of New York Harbor but was intercepted by a British squadron of four warships and forced to surrender.
The capture of HMS Penguin was a single-ship action which took place on March 23, 1815 as part of the War of 1812. It occurred when United States Navy brig USS Hornet under the command of James Biddle encountered the British Royal Navy brig-sloop HMS Penguin off Tristan da Cunha, and was one of several naval engagements which occurred after the conflict ended due to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1815. The gunnery of Hornet proved to be far more effective than Penguin, despite the two vessels being virtually identical in strength.
The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the monarch in Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The current governor of Saint Helena has been Nigel Phillips since 13 August 2022.
The Nightingale Islands are a group of three islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the Tristan da Cunha territory. They consist of Nightingale Island, Middle Island and Stoltenhoff Island. The islands are administered by the United Kingdom as part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The Nightingale Islands are uninhabited.
The coat of arms of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, was authorised on 30 January 1984.
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 960 miles (1,540 km) from the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles (2,300 km) from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 800 miles (1,300 km) to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force, giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.
Bengal Merchant was a sailing ship built of teak in Bengal and launched there on 26 May 1812. Between 1812 and 1829, Bengal Merchant was in private trade as a licensed ship. She served the East India Company (EIC) in 1813 and from 1830 till 1834. She also twice transported convicts from Britain to Australia before she was hulked in 1856.
HMS Julia was a British Royal Navy 16-gun brig-sloop of the Seagull class launched in February 1806. After a fairly uneventful decade-long career she was wrecked at Tristan da Cunha in 1817 with heavy loss of life.
Blenden Hall was a full-rigged ship, launched in 1811 at Bursledon, Hampshire, England. A French frigate captured her in 1813, but then abandoned her. After her recovery she returned to trade. She was wrecked in 1821 on Inaccessible Island in a notable incident.
William Glass was a Scottish Corporal and settler. He established the settlement that would become Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the main settlement on Tristan da Cunha.
Jonathan Lambert was an American sailor. He was the first settler, and the self-proclaimed ruler of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
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