The Most Remote Inhabited Island In The World

Disconnected from the vast majority of humanity

(By Brian Gratwicke from DC, USA — Potato patches, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47700410)

In 1506, in the early years of the Golden Age of Sail, a Portuguese explorer by the name of Tristão da Cunha spotted an uninhabited cluster of islands deep within the South Atlantic. In true exploration fashion, Cunha named the primary island after himself. The island would go on to be called Tristan da Cunha. At the time, the island offered nothing to the Portuguese sailors. Over the next two centuries, various ships would make stops at the islands. Ships flying the flag of the Dutch East India Company and the French Tricolor would make passes around the island. However, no one made an official claim to the territory until 1785.

In 1785, the British decided to ship a load of prisoners to Tristan da Cunha. Since the Revolutionary War broke out in North America, the British did not have a place to ship their prisoners. Before the war, Britain used Georgia as its primary penal colony. Now, with prisons buckling under the weight of overcrowding, they needed a new outlet for their prison population. However, the islands were surveyed and deemed to be unsuitable for habitation. The prisoners were sent to Australia instead.

In 1810, a small group of men landed on the island with the intention of living there permanently. Most of the group died. But the islands were now firmly on Britain’s radar.

On 14 August 1816, the British Empire annexed Tristan da Cunha and put it under the purview of Cape Colony. Thus began Britain’s ownership of what would become the most remote inhabited island in the world.

Remoteness On Another Level

(Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0)

There are 250 permanent residents that reside on Tristan da Cunha, and all of them are citizens of the British Overseas Territories. These 250 citizens make up the most remote population in the world. Tristan da Cunha is 1,732 miles from Cape Town in South Africa, 1,514 miles from the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, 2,454 miles from Mar del Plata in Argentina, and 2,487 miles from the Falkland Islands.