Pitcairn's Island:

An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere ....
John Hawkesworth

London: Strahan and Cadell, 1773

      The account of the disovery and naming of Pitcairn's Island during the voyage of Captain Carteret, July 2, 1767.

A Narrative of the Mutiny, on Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; and the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, in the Ship's Boat, From Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, To Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies.
William Bligh

London: George Nicol, 1790

      The first published account of the mutiny on the Bounty written by ships commander.

A voyage to the South sea, undertaken by command of His Majesty, for the purpose of conveying the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies, in His Majesty's ship the Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh. Including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship, and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew, in the ship's boat, from Tofoa, one of the Friendly islands, to Timor, a Dutch settlement in the East Indies. The whole illustrated with charts, &c.
William Bligh.

London, Printed for G. Nicol, 1792.

      William Bligh's complete account of the voyage of the Bounty until the mutiny; his account of the mutiny; an account of the open-boat voyage from Tofoa to Timor and subsequent arrival in England.

A Voyage Round the World in His Majesty's Frigate Pandora Performed under the Direction of Captain Edwards in the Years 1790, 1791, and 1792.
George Hamilton

Berwick: W. Phorson, 1793

      Account of the voyage of H.M.S. Pandora which was sent to the South Seas to find and apprehend the mutineers of the Bounty and to bring them back to England.

"Authentic and Interesting Narrative of the Adventures of the Mutineers, who piratically seized his Majesty's Ship Bounty, under the Command of Captain Bligh, and were pursued by order of Government, by the Pandora Frigate, under the Command of Captain Edwards. Including a particular Detail of their singular Projects, and various Disagreements, Embarrassments, Escapes, Stratagems &c. in the Island of Otaheite."

      A less than factual account of the life of the Bounty mutineers on the island of Tahiti before they were apprehended by Captain Edwards of the Pandora.

"In Captain Folger's Log Book: : A Thrilling Bit of Pitcairn Island History Recorded There."

      Transcription from Captain Mayhew Folger's Topaz Logbook. Contemporary accounts in both England and the United States were from different sources.

A newspaper article transcribed from: The Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury (Stamford, England), Friday, May 19, 1809; pg. 2; Issue 4078. (British Library Newspapers, Part IV: 1732-1950.)

      The first account of the discovery of the mutineers' settlement on Pitcairn's Island taken from the journal of Captain Mayhew Folger, of the Boston ship Topaz by Lieutenant William Fitzmaurice, Valparaiso, Oct 10, 1808.

      This transcription was taken from the following newspaper article: "Mutiny of the Bounty", Independent American (Georgetown, District of Columbia), November 9, 1809, page [1]. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

      The "Extract of a letter from Buenos Ayres, to a merchant in Cork, dated June 19, 1809" was reproduced in many American newspapers in late 1809 and early 1810. For some reason the press in the United States did not pick up and reproduce the transcription of parts of Captain Folger's journal which were sent to the admiralty in London and reproduced widely in Britian as well as in Australia and India.

"Deaths"

      Captain Mayhew Folger, of the Topaz, who discovered the mutineers' colony on Pitcairn's Island in 1808, dies in Ohio.

""

Attributed to John Barrow.

      The first apparent acknowledgement by the Admiralty of the American discovery of the colony of descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty on Pitcairn's Island.

      The review was reprinted in: Select Reviews, and Spirit of the Foreign Magazines (Philadelphia), Vol. 4, (Sept. 1810), p.145-162.

Christina, the Maid of the South Seas: A Poem.
Mary Russell Mitford.

London: A. J. Valpy, 1811.

      An interesting application of imagination when the only thing known of the colony on Pitcairn's Island was what had been related about Folger's discovery in 1808.

      This transcription is taken from documents in Series 71.03 'Copy of a letter from Mr Folger, forwarded to Mr Croker by Rear Adml Rodham...' 1 March 1813. in the collection of the State Library, New South Wales.

      The overall series name is: Series 71: Papers concerning the discovery of Pitcairn Island and the mutineers of HMS Bounty, 1808-1809, 1813-1815, [1845]

      Frame numbers used for the transcription:

• CY 3011 / 319
  
• CY 3011 / 320
  
• CY 3011 / 321

      Captain Mayhew Folger, discoverer of the the mutineers' colony on Pitcairn's Island, writes the Admiralty, in the midst of the War of 1812, noting his discovery and sending the Bounty's asimuth compass that had been given to my by Adam Smith (i.e. John Adams) in 1808.

"Wednesday's Post.", The Ipswich Journal (Ipswich, England), Saturday, May 13, 1815. British Library Newspapers, Part I: 1800-1900. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.

      Two British warships, H.M.S. Briton and H.M.S. Tagus, returning to Valparaiso from the campaign against Captain David Porter of the U.S. Frigate Essex in the Pacific, sight an island not on their charts which they assume is Pitcairn's Island. Initially unaware of Captain Mayhew Folger's prior discovery in 1808, they are surprised at finding an English-speaking colony in the South Seas.

      H.M.S. Cherub, arriving in England two months before the Briton, brought a report of the Pitcairn's discovery by Captain Sir Thomas Staines.

Merrimack Intelligencer (Haverhill,
Massachusetts), May 27, 1815, Page: [1]. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

      The first account of the 'discovery' of the mutineers' colonly on Pitcairn's Island by the Briton and Tagus to reach the United States was brief but it noted that earlier the Topaz of Boston, Captain Folger, had visited about 6 years earlier.

      This article was reproduced in a number of other American newspapers.

"From Late English Papers: Mutineers of the Bounty", Thomas's Massachusetts Spy, or Worcester Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts), May 22, 1816, page [4]. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

"The Descendants of the Bounty's Crew: As First Discovered by the Briton and Tagus Frigates. – From the Unpublished Mss. of the Late Capt. Pipon, R.N." The United service journal, 1834, Pt.1:pp.191-199.

      While Captain Pipon's journal entries covering the discovery of the mutineers' colony by two British men-of-war in 1814 was not published in full until 1834, parts of his account appeared in contemporary journal and newspaper accounts.

      John Barrow, the long-time Second Secretary to the Admiralty, brings the Mutiny on the Bounty / Pitcairn's Island story up to date by summarizing communications to the admiralty from Captain Mayhew Folger of the Topaz, Captain Thomas Staines of H.M.S. Briton and Captain Philip Pipon of H.M.S. Tagus.

"Mutineers of the Bounty", Naval Chronicle, Vol. 35, (Jan 1816), pp.17-25.

      Many newpapers and journals reproduced this article in 1816 and following years.

      This transcription has been made from the following:

"Discovery of an English Colony on Pitcairn's Island." in
      John Barrow and Maurice Griffith,
            Interesting narratives and discoveries: including The life of James Bruce, Esquire, Travels in South Africa, by J. Barrow, Esq., Discovery of an English colony on Pitcairn's Island in the South Sea ... Shrewsbury: C. Hulbert, 1817, pp.51-56.

      This account is digested from John Barrow's widely printed and circulated 1815 extract from his review of Captain David Porter's Journal of a Cruize ... The lists of mutineers apprehended in Tahiti, the letters of Captain Mayhew Folger of the Topaz, and Sir Thomas Staines of H.M.S. Briton which appeared in the original have been excluded here.

Amasa Delano.
      A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery, in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands.
Boston: Printed by E.G. House, for the Author., 1817.

      Transcribed here are chapters 5 and 6 of Delano's Narrative which deal with the history of the mutiny on the Bounty and the discovery of the Pitcairn's Island community by his friend Captain Mayhew Folger of the ship Topaz.

Shillibeer, John, 1786-1841.
      A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage, to Pitcairn's Island.
Taunton: Law and Whittaker, 1817.
iii, 179 pages.

      Despite the title of this book, only one chapter is devoted to the visit of the Briton and Tagus to Pitcairn's Island. Shillibeer himself did not go ashore at the island -- only the two captains landed.

      The source of the transcription is an article in the January 16, 1821 issue of the Salem Gazette, page 2.

      According to Topliff's introduction, the article is an expansion of his earlier article in the New-England Galaxy of January 12, 1821.

      Samuel Topliff's 1821 Salem Gazette article on the visit of the Sultan to Pitcairn's Island in October 1817.

This transcription is from:

"Account of the Mutineers of the Ship Bounty, and their Descendants at Pitcairn's Island", Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, July 17, 1819, p.3.

      Jenny (Teehuteatuaonoa) left Pitcairn's Island in 1817 on board the Sultan. Some months after her departure she once again returned to Tahiti. There, on several occasions, she told the story of the Bounty mutineers. Her account is one of the most complete eye-witness accounts of the early history of the Pitcairn's Island colony.

"Pitcairn's Island", The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies, Vol. X, No. 55 (July 1820), pp.36-40.

      Captain Henderson sent notes of his first visit to Pitcairn's Island to the Calcutta Journal. The article in the Asiatic Journal includes Henderson's remarks between a short history of the Pitcairn's Island community and Jenny's account of the island's history.

"Descendants of the Bounty's Crew, on Pitcairn's Island", The Calcutta Journal or Political, Commercial, and Literary Gazette. Vol. IV, No. 133 (July 13, 1819), cols. 161-162 to 167-168.

      This publication was soliciting money and materials for the residents of Pitcairn's Island. The bulk of the article describing the island and its history is reprinted from the Naval Chronicle, Vol. 35, January 1816, pp.17-25, which had the title "Mutineers of the Bounty".

      This transcription is from: "Extract from the Journal of Captain Henry King of the Elizabeth", The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, Vol. 3, no. 6 (Oct 1820), pp. 380-388.

      The first of two visits by the British whaleship Elizabeth to Pitcairn's Island. Henry King was the captain in March 1819; William Douglas was the captain on the second visit – probably in 1820. In June 1824 the Elizabeth was attacked by natives of the island Vavoo in the Friendly Islands where Captain Douglas died of wounds he received.

      Captain Thomas Raine of the English ship Surry remarked in his report on Pitcairn's Island that the Pitcairners "[I]n drinking healths they always added Capt King and Capt Douglas ...".

Missionary Register,
December 1820, p. 532.

"To the Editor of the European Magazine.",
The European Magazine, and London Review,
Vol. 77, February 1820, pp.158-159.

      This letter, written by John Adams on Pitcairn's Island, to his brother in London was probably carried initially by Captain Henderson in the Hercules who was en route to Calcutta.

"To the Editor of the European Magazine.",
The European Magazine, and London Review,
Vol. 76, September 1819, pp.210-211.

      This letter was probably carried to London by the English South Sea whaleship Elizabeth, Captain Henry King. The Elizabeth arrived at Deptford on July 13, 1819.

"Narrative of a Visit to Pitcairn's Island, in the Ship Surrey, in the year 1821. By Capt. Raine", The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review. No. 268, July 3, 1824. pp. 425-427.

"Narrative of a Visit to Pitcairn's Island in the year 1821", [Continued from p. 427], The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review. No. 270, July 17, 1824. pp. 460-462.

      The original source of the article reprinted in the Literary Chronicle of London was the following article:

Thomas Raine.
      "Captain Raine's Narrative of a Visit to Pitcairn's Island in the ship Surry, 1821." The Australian Magazine, or, Compendium of Religious, Literary and Miscellaneous intelligence, Vol. 1 (1821): pp. 80-84; 109-14.

      Earlier in April, the Surry rescued three crewmen of the Nantucket whaleship Essex (which had been sunk by a whale) who had been stranded there for three and a half months.

      Captain Raine had been contracted by Commodore Ridgely of the U.S. frigate Constellation, to pick up the three crew members of the Essex.

"Pitcairn's Island,"
The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle. Vol. 1 (Nov 1823) pp.478-479.

      The identity of this "professional gentlemen" is not known. There appears to be no record of a vessel visiting Pitcairn's Island in December 1822.

"New Bedford Mercury"

      The U. S. frigate Constellallon reports on the Russell and the Apollo following their visit to Pitcairn's Island. This vessel also brought news of the Pitcairn's Island visit to the United States prior to Captain Frederick Arthur's return to New Bedford in the Russell on October 7, 1822.

"Pitcairn's Island."

      The widely published account of Captain Frederick Arthur on his visit to Pitcairn's Island in March 1822 in the ship Russell and accompanied by the ship Apollo.

"Late Omissions / Pitcairn's Island," The Columbian Star (Washington, D.C.,) March 22, 1823, p. 4.

      This is one of several newspaper articles about the visit of whaleship Russell, Captain Frederick Arthur, to Pitcairn's Island in March 1822.

"Pitcairn's Island",
The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle, Vol. 1 (March 1823), p.160.

      This short news note appeared in many newspapers in Britain and the United States.

"Pitcairn's Island",
Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland),
April 14, 1823.

      After Captain Henderson's first visit to Pitcairn's Island in 1819 a subscription was taken in Calcutta for the benefit of the island's residents. In 1822 the Hercules delivered the gifts while passing from Valparaiso to Calcutta.

      Notice of this visit does not appear in the shipping register which accompanies the Pitcairn Island Register.

The Island, or Christian and his Comrades.
Right Hon. Lord Byron.

London: Printed for John Hunt, 1823.

      The poet Byron's narrative poetic fantasy about Chritian and his compatriots after the Bounty mutiny.

      "Letter from Pitcairn's Island to the Rev. Hiram Bingham". The Missionary Herald, Vol. 22, No. 9 (September 1826), pp. 278.

      Once again John Adams appeals for a minister of the gospel to be sent to Pitcairn's Island.

"Inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island", Asiatic Journal, Vol. 20, No. 119 (November 1825), p. 518.

      A list of the inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island dated April 24, 1823. The individual who recorded this list and the vessel which took him to the island are not known.

Frederick W. Beechey
      Narrative of A Voyage To The Pacific And Beering's Strait, To Co-Operate With The Polar Expeditions: Performed In His Majesty's Ship Blossom, Under The Command Of Captain F. W. Beechey, R. N. In The Years 1825, 26, 27, 28.
London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. Vol. 1, pp. 59-137.

      Captain Beechey's account of his visit to Pitcairn's Island in H.M.S. Blossom was perhaps the most informative and detailed description and history recorded in the nineteenth century.

B. [William Cullen Bryant],
      A Song of Pitcairn's Island.",
Atheneum Magazine, Vol. 1, June 1820, pp.78-79.

      Bryant was an editor of the new publication The New York Review and Athenaeum Magazine when, in its inaugural issue, he first published the poem "A Song of Pitcairn's Island". The poem was very popular and appeared in numerous anthogies and magazines of the time.

"Pitcairn's Island", The Boston Recorder (Boston, Massachusetts), April 30, 1829, page 69.

      This newspaper article was coauthored by two missionaries returning to the United States from the Sandwich Islands. One of the missionaries, Dr. Abraham Blatchley, returned to the United States on the whaleship Connecticut, which stopped at Tahiti and Pitcairn's Island in early 1827. The article mentions Jane Quintals departure from Pitcairn's Island for Tahiti.

"Death of John Adams, &c.", The London Literary Gazette; and Journal of the Belles' Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., No. 713 (September 18, 1830), p.610.

      John Adams died March 5, 1829. News of his death reached England in a letter written to Captain Frederick Beechey.

Otto Von Kotzebue.
      A New Voyage Round the World in the Years 1823, 24, 25, and 26. By Otto Von Kotzebue, Post Captain in the Russian Imperial Navy. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830. pp.225-250.

      While Captain Kotzebue did not visit Pitcairn's Island in 1823-26,he did include a 25-page chapter on the island in the account of his voyage. In his retelling the stories of the mutiny on the Bounty and the history of the Pitcairn's Island community he seems to rely on Shillibeer's A Narrative of the Briton's Voyage, to Pitcairn's Island. Two other sources were consulted. The first was the captain of an American ship whom he met in Chile. The other was Jenny - the Tahitian woman who had left Pitcairn's Island in 1817 on the ship Sultan.

      The master of the American ship Eagle was apparently Captain William Morrill. This vessel was from Georgetown, D.C., and carried stores for the American navy squadron on the Pacific coast of South America. The Eagle sailed November 28, 1824 for Valparaiso and Lima and returned to Baltimare on November 4, 1825.

The eventful history of the mutiny and piratical seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: its cause and consequences. Illustrated by six etchings from original drawings. by lieut.Colonel Batty.
John Barrow.

London: John Murray, Albemarle-street. 1831.

      The first book-length history of both the Mutiny and the colony on Pitcairn's Island.

Bennett, Frederick Debell
      Narrative of a whaling voyage round the globe, from the year 1833 to 1836. Comprising sketches of Polynesia, California, the Indian Archipelago, etc. with an account of southern whales, the sperm whale fishery, and the natural history of the climates visited.
London, Richard Bentley, 1840. Vol. 1, pp. 25-58.

      Frederick D. Bennett's book was one of several used by Herman Melville as basic sources for Moby Dick. Bennett, a surgeon, wrote of the island's history, ethnography, and natural environment. Pitcairn's Island was in turmoil when Bennett's ship, the Tuscan of London (Captain T.R. Stavers) arrived in March 1834 owing to the recent establishment of Joshua Hill on the island. When the Tuscan sailed, it carried the three Englishmen who had lived for some years on Pitcairn's and were married to Pitcairn women.

Walter Brodie.
      Pitcairn's Island and the islanders, in 1850 ... Together with extracts from his private journal, and a few hints upon California; also the reports of all the Commanders of H.M. ships that have touched at the above island since 1800,
London: Whittaker & Company, 1851, 260 p.

      After becoming stranded on Pitcairn's Island en route from New Zealand to California Brodie collected documents and accounts of the history of the island. The book contains his transcription of the Pitcairn Island Register and the list of shipping for vessels touching at the island.

Thomas Boyles Murray
      Pitcairn: the Island, the People, and the Pastor: with a Short Account of the Mutiny of the Bounty.>
London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1853.

      The first of more than twelve editions of a history of Pitcairn's Island written from a decidely evangelical Chriatian point of view.

Alexander George Findlay,
      A Directory for the Navigation of the South Pacific Ocean with Descriptions of its Coasts, Islands, etc., From the Strait of Magalhaens to Panama, and those of New Zealand, Australia, etc. Its Winds, Currents, and Passages. Fourth Edition. London: Richard Holmes Laurie, 1877.

      Descriptiion of Pitcairn's Island and its neighboring islands from one of the standard 19th century reference sources for information about the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

"Pitcairn Island."

Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey.

      Largely a transcription of part of Admiral de Horsey's report to the Admiralty in 1878.

"The Pitcairn Islanders."

      Admiral De Horsey visited Pitcairn Island on September 8, 1878. The article in this newspaper is based on his report to the Admiralty.

"The Great Revolution In Pitcairn."

Mark Twain.

Pacific Islands, Vol. III: Sailing Directions for Tubuai, Cook, and Society Islands; Tuamotu or Low Archipelago; Marquesas; Line Islands or Scattered Islands Near the Equator; Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands, &c. Third Edition. London: Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, 1900. pp.106-110.

F. M. Bladen.
    "Settlement of the Pitcairn Islanders on Norfolk Island",
The Australian Historical Society: Journal and Proceedings. Vol. II, Part 1 (1906), pp. 1-12.

Allen, Percy S.       Stewart's Hand Book of the Pacific Islands: A Reliable Guide to all the Inhabited Islands of the Pacific Ocean . . . . for Traders, Tourists and Settlers. With a Bibliography of Island Works. By. Percy S. Allen. Sydney: McCarron, Steward & Co. Ltd., 1919. pp. 284-286.

Lucas, Charles, Sir (ed.)
      The Pitcairn Island register book.
London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1929,
181 p., [3] leaves of plates (1 folded): facsims., map.