People tend to live in groups. We move to cities for different reasons, among which work plays an important role. Initiatives are emerging to encourage the repopulation of rural areas, but these towns often have more inhabitants than the island of Tristan da Cunha. With only 200 inhabitants, it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

And also It is almost impossible for you to leave No matter how much peace attracts you at some point while on vacation, what we will tell you below will also conquer you.

My neighbors are astronauts and Napoleon

Tristan da Cunha, where Jesus lost his sandal. In the countryside. Which is the ass of the world, wow, that’s almost a scientific description because of where the island is located. 2,300 kilometers to Africa and 3,300 kilometers to South AmericaIt is in the south of the Atlantic and we can say that the closest human concentration is at the International Space Station, which is just over 400 kilometers from Earth.

You may wonder how we discovered this; although he absolutely denied it, our arrival on the island was indeed a coincidence. Tristan of Cunha, In fact, this is not an island, but a volcanic archipelago.However, its largest island is homonymous, as both share the name of their discoverer: Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha.

He was probably not looking for these remote islands, but Tristão first saw the archipelago at the beginning of the 16th century. He did not land because of the waves, but that did not prevent him from giving the archipelago his name. The Portuguese claim that the ship Lás Rafael came to the area in 1520 as a stopover in search of water, but the documented landing is from the Dutch East India Company’s Heemstede ship. They first arrived in 1643 and landed four more times in the following years. And this is documented because they made the first maps.

A century later, French explorers collected samples from the island and reported human remains that could be related to the Dutch discoveries, and in the following years attempts were made to colonize the archipelago, but the idea did not catch on: it was too remote, so much so that various British authorities abandoned the idea. Island could be a relief for overcrowded prisons But this too did not get beyond the project table.

There

In 1816 the situation changed. When Napoleon was imprisoned in Saint Helena (about 2,000 kilometers north of the islands), the United Kingdom at that time took them under its command and turned them into a Cape Colony in South Africa. This was done with a double intention: to prevent the possibility of Napoleon being rescued from there (remember that few people already knew about the islands) and to prevent the United States from using the island as a base for battle cruisers. By the way, the government that is located in Tristan today. Although it is quite independent, it is subordinate to Santa Elena.

World War II and locusts

After a year, that garrison began to leave the island, but there were those who remained. By 1824, Tristan da Cunha A population of 22 males and three females The island was in danger of becoming a transit port for whalers operating in the South Atlantic, but the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the switch from sailing to coal-powered ships meant that it was no longer necessary to travel so far for supplies.

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas

In any case the population continued to slowly prosper, but in 1885 ‘Tristan lifeboat disaster‘ The island’s greatest mystery and also its greatest tragedy. The West Riding ship, on the Bristol – Sydney route, decided to stop at Tristan to resupply. The ship could not reach port, but that did not stop almost all the men of working age (15) from approaching the great ship in a lifeboat to trade.

They had cattle and potatoes with which they hoped to make a deal to obtain flour and other foodstuffs, but they were never seen again. Herein lies the secret, for one of the islanders remarked that the boat was keeping close to the slowly receding ship and the boat containing 15 islanders with it.

The captain of the West Riding said he saw a sailing ship and tried to see what it was but it was lost in the distance and although they stayed in the area they couldn’t see anything so they left. However they think they saw men on the island and not only took them on board but sold them as slaves in Sydney.

In every way, There is a plaque in the Church of St Mary in Tristan Along with the names of the 15 people who left 13 widows on the island. Over the years, other scientists came to the island to document it, but we time-jumped to World War II. The island here has seen some development because it was used to track German submarines.

Developments on the island included the construction of a school, a store and a hospital, but perhaps the best for the community was the lobster business in the 1950s. The United Kingdom provided key administrative staff, radio operators, teachers and a doctor, as well as a priest. In 1949 the Tristan Development Corporation was formed and a profitable cannery was established, the main product being seafood.

More than my man

The seafood delight didn’t last long, however, as in the 1960s the volcano that created the archipelago erupted and because the residents were British citizens the government evicted them. They first went to Cape Town but were later taken to the UK and once the waters calmed and the volcanic activity subsided the islanders were given a unique opportunity: to stay in the UK or return home.

You might think the choice was obvious, as staying in the UK opened up an ocean of possibilities, but most Tristan da Cunha residents were clear: They wanted to go homeespecially to the city that has been called the Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. And that makes sense because while it was still a big family (in the most literal sense), the pace of life in the UK was crazy compared to that of the island, with innovations like the economic system and the way neighbours were treated differently.

In the late 80s, the island’s population peaked at almost 300 people, but the number has gradually decreased to 234 today. And it’s no exaggeration that they are a family. In fact, Five of the first ancestors had asthmaThis situation has a grim reflection in Tristán de Acuña’s population today, where 52% of its inhabitants also suffer from asthma. The average is 7%, making it the highest asthma rate in the world.

It is also a very peculiar community. There is no parliament or politicians, as the executive power belongs to the governor of Saint Helena. The inhabitants have a council that allows all citizens to participate in important decisions, but then they have to submit their requests to the governor of Santa Elena, and in the end, the one who has the upper hand is King Carlos III.

And one thing they are good at is… drinking. The average annual consumption of whisky in the UK is 1.25 litres per person. Hold on to your chair because An average of 50 litres of whisky are produced annually in Tristan da CunhaIn any other country with a different economy, this would be a real asset (as well as a punch to the liver), but the only bar in town would be happy.

As for the economy of the rest of the island, except in the years when the sea is booming, the truth is that they make their living by fishing (when the sea allows) and by growing potatoes (when the land is fertile). They depend on food that comes by boat, and when the food runs out, they have to survive. But don’t think that the whisky pays for itself, because the island’s inhabitants have developed a large stamp trade.

Yes, stamps and postcards. This allows you to generate income internationally and there are often new print runs commemorating any given thing or scene. In fact, one of the first things I find when looking for information is a large number of stamps. They also have an online store to help the community.

Anti-tourists

And knowing all this, you might think, “Hey, this island is great for me to disconnect.” And yes, it’s certainly a very peaceful place, but it has one huge problem: It’s a long drive to get there. There’s no airport, for the sake of convenience (also, the island is about 98 square kilometers, and cities like Mexico City or Madrid could fit on fifteen or seven islands like Tristan da Cunha, respectively).

The village. The bar is the smartest: in the whole center

The only way to get there is by boatbut the truth is that it seems to have been planned to make it almost impossible to get there. First, that boat can only carry 12 passengers at most, and priority is always given to doctors, ambassadors, residents and workers on the island. If there is space for tourists, you can get on board, but worse, that boat only goes 10 times a year, and you have to be very lucky to get to South Africa and get a seat for the tourists.

If you’re lucky, the journey to the island will take five days. Of course, another way to travel to the island is to get a job. And if you’re really, really interested in living in this remote place, there are job openings popping up online. They also warn that new offers aren’t very common, but hope is the last thing to lose.

Pictures | Mr. Peter Fitzgerald, Chris and Steve

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