Tristan DaCunha

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International Harbors

Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, consisting of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough.

The group of islands was uninhabited when first "discovered" and named by the Portuguese in 1503.

Nightingale Island

Los Angeles Herald, May 24, 1884, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Most Desolate Part of the Ocean.

The schooner Charles E. Moody, Captain Cates, arrived at Almond street wharf, rccenty, from the Islands of d'Acunha, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, in the most desolate spot in the world. She stoipped at Martinique to get a cargo of guano. The Moody was chartered hy New York parties to go to these islands to secure a cargo of guano. The vessel was compelled to abandon the enterprise, owing to her inability to make a landing, there being no harbors on the coast. Captain Gates, on January 12th, visited in a small boat both Tristan d'Acunha and Nightingale Island. Nightingale is uninhabited.

The other island has ninety seven inhabitants, descendants of shipwrecked sailors. All were enjoying good health, and the majority of the population were women, who are described as being very tall and handsome. They seemed sharp at trading, but were without education and very indolent and lazy. The captain also describes a lake, of fresh water which was situated on the top of a mountain 8,000 feet above the surface of the sea, and in which the tide ebbed and flowed. No merchant vessel has ever been known to visit the Islands, and there are not probably ten men in this country who have ever been there. After securing laborers an attempt was made to explore Nightingale Island, which was found rich with guano, covered with eggs and thronged with penguins. Efforts to obtain a dead and alive cargo were futile, owing to the impossibility of finding a safe anchorage. The governor or head man of Tristan d'Acuna said that a valuable dog had escaped from H. B. M. surveying ship Challenger eleven years ago. It was a searched for, found and taken on board the Moody, but died on the passage to Martinique. The islands visited are situated in lat. 37 6, long 12 02, are claimed by the English, and a british garrison was at one time maintained there. United States vessels never visited the locality.

~ Philadelphia Record

A Pair of the Endemic Tristan Buntings, Nesospiza Acunhae, Nightingale Island Kent Kobersteen

Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is named after a Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Gough and Incessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases a site for a metrological station on Gough Island.

Free-Masons' Magazine, April 1, 1794, London, United Kingdom

From The Freemasons' Magazine or, General and Complete Library for April 1794. Printed (reprinted) in London for the Proprietor and Sold by Scatcherd and Whitaker, Ave-Maria-Lane; and may be had of all the booksellers and Newscarriers in Town and Country. Entered at Stationers-Hall. (81 pages)

Anno 1506. James Fernandez Pereyra, commander of one of the ships left to cruise upon the mouth of the Red Sea, returned to Lisbon with the news of his having discovered the island Zocotora, not far distant from the said mouth, and famous for producing the best aloes, from it called Succotrina. In March this year sailed from Lisbon Alfonzo de Albuquerque, and Tristan da Cunha, with 13 ships, and 1300 men, the former to command the trading ships, the latter to cruise on the coast of Arabia: in their passage they had a sight of Cape St. Augustin, in Brazil; and, standing over from thence for the Cape of Good Hope, Tristan da Cunha ran far away to the south, and discovered the islands which still retain his name. Sailing hence, some discovery was made upon the island of Madagascar, that of Zocotora subdued, and the fleet sailed, part for the coast of Arabia and part for India. In the former Albuquerque took and plundered the town of Calayate, the same he did to Mascate, Soar submitted, and Orfuzam they found abandoned by the inhabitants. This done, Albuquerque sailed away to Ormuz, then first seen by Europeans. This city is seated in an island, at the mouth of the Persian gulph, so barren that it produces nothing but salt and sulphur, but it is one of the greatest marts in those countries.

Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island.

June 1, 1897, Los Angeles Herald, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Lonely Spot in the Atlantic
Tristan da Cunha Might Almost Be Classed as Out of the World

Anybody who feels an inclination to lead a really quiet life should emigrate to Tristan da Cunha, an lsland, or, to be quite accurate, three islands close together, in the south Atlantic, so far away from anywhere that really they are quite out of the world. The group was discovered and named by the Portuguese at the time when Portugal was something more than a name on the map, but now, of course, it belongs to England, having been appropriated by her in 1816 one day when she didn't happen to be busy grabbing stray bits of land more valuable than this one.

For awhile some soldiers were kept there, because of a vague suspicion that Tristan da Cunha might be made the base of operations In the interest of St. Helena's terrible guest. After Napoleon's death the whole garrison departed, except a corporal and two companions, who had a taste for solitude and asked to be left behind. Slowly the population grew, at first from wrecks and afterward In the ordinary way, and now there are ninety-four people on the Island, divided Into sixteen families.

According to a recently published blue book the colony is an abode of complete peace and moderate happiness. The people have no money and no private property. There are no doctors, lawyers or clergymen on the Island, and yet health, safety and piety prevail, and such few needs as the soil does not supply are met by trafficking with an occasional whaler.

Once a year an English warship visits the island, distributing a few newspapers and letters, and goes away again. The only serious calamity that ever overtook the islanders was when, during our civil war, the Shenandoah landed forty federal prisoners there and left them to be fed or starved, as the Inhabitants saw fit. This sudden demand on their resources came near destroying both hosts and guests, but they managed to struggle through the difficulty. The islanders are good to shipwrecked mariners and the only charge brought against them is that they sell extremely tough poultry to captains calling there for fresh provisions, and try to get as much cloth for old geese as for young ones. Peter Green, aged 88, governs the island, his claim to authority apparently being based on the fact that nobody is 89. His only duty is to look wise, and he performs it conscientiously and well.

Buffalo Courier

February 6, 1899, Los Angeles Herald

HARD WORK AT THE PUMPS

Thrilling Adventures of the Three Waifs at Sea

Three waifs from the sea, who have spent five months on the island of Tristan de Cunha, arrived in London on Saturday, and were seen at the Shipwrecked Mariners' society's home in Dock street by a Daily Mail representative last night. The three men are the steward, Max Smith, and two sailors, Lazarine Nazar and Albert Socolos of the Glenhuntley, a bark bound from New York to Freemantle. They sailed on March 26, abandoning their vessel, which had sprung a leak, on June 4, when within a few miles of Tristan da Cunha.

The steward, a German, told the story of their adventure to a Daily Mail representative, while the two sailors listened attentively. "We had very heavy weather," he said, "and almost from the first we had to work the pumps. The last five days we spent on the Glenhuntley all hands worked al the pumps day and night. The captain was at the wheel all the time, and we had hardly strength to try to launch the boats. The sea was running so high that it was only I with the greatest difficulty we succeeded in launching the lifeboat and the dinghy, but Captain Shaw, John Allen and John Cleary, the first and second mates, myself and the eight men who comprised the crew succeeded in getting alloat and made for the island, which was only six miles distant.

"It was almost as difficult to land as it was to get into the boats. The lifeboat was dashed against the rocks and stove in, but those in the second boat managed to land without accident, and helped the others ashore. We landed on the east side of the island, which is uninhabited, the settlement being on the north side, and as soon as we tried to get our provisions and other tilings ashore it began to pour with rain. We could find no cave, but managed to start a lire in a sheltered nook, and it was a funny sight to see us trying to dry ourselves one side at a time before it. We were soaked through and had had no sleep for five days.

"We tried! to reach the settlement overland, but had to give it up; the paths were too bad at that season. After many attempts we decided to row around to the inhabited part, as we were getting short, of provisions. We could not launch our boat for a long time, andl when we did the big waves took us out to sea unexpectedly and, although there were six of us in it, there were only two oars. Lazarine Xazar put a rope around his waist and volunteered to swim ashore and fetch two more pairs of oars. This he did successfully, although there were sharks about.

"It was a long, hard row to reach the settlement, and we only got near it just before sunset by which time the men were all played out rowing. The people of the island noticed us and sent their boats out to help us. They took us off, took us up to the settlement, gave us dry clothing, a warm place in which to rest, and, what was even more important, something to eat. As soon as ever we could we helped ourselves. We went hunting and got wild birds and eggs. On one occasion one of our party was lost two days on the mountains while hunting.

"Our principal occupation, however, was trying to signal a passing vessel so as to get taken off. We knew that a British man-of-war would come sooner or later, but we did all we could to get off sooner. Several passing boats were signaled and two or three gave us provisions or clothing, and on one of them the American ship Charlton, bound for Hongkong the second mate was taken. But most of them were either bound for places to which we did not wish to go or they, said they could not take us. We finally got to Cape Town on the British gunboat Thrush. There six of our party remained, but we three decided to come on here, as we were offered a passage on the R. M. S. Avondale Castle."

~ London Mail.

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1899. World's Fleet. Boston Daily Globe

Lloyds Register of Shipping gives the entire fleet of the world as 28,180 steamers and sailing vessels, with a total tonnage of 27,673,628, of which 39 perent are British.

Great Britain	10,990 vessels, total tonnage of 10,792,714
United States	3,010 vessels, total tonnage of 2,405,887
Norway	2,528 vessels, tonnage of 1,604,230
Germany	1,676 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,453,334, in which are included her particularly large ships.
Sweden	1,408 vessels with a tonnage of 643, 527
Italy	1,150 vessels
France	1,182 vessels

For Historical Comparison
Top 10 Maritime Nations Ranked by Value (2017)

	Country	# of Vessels	Gross Tonnage (m)	Total Value (USDbn)
1	Greece	4,453	206.47	$88.0
2	Japan	4,317	150.26	$79.8
3	China	4,938	159.71	$71.7
4	USA	2,399	55.92	$46.5
5	Singapore	2,662	64.03	$41.7
6	Norway	1,668	39.68	$41.1
7	Germany	2,923	81.17	$30.3
8	UK	883	28.78	$24.3
9	Denmark	1,040	36.17	$23.4
10	South Korea	1,484	49.88	$20.1
Total		26,767	87.21	$466.9