Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is a group of remote volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km from South Africa and 3360 km from South America. It is a dependency of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, 2173 km to the north. The territory consists of the main island, Tristan da Cunha, as well as several uninhabited islands: Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands. Gough Island, situated 395 km south east of the main island, is also considered part of the territory. Tristan da Cunha is the most remote archipelago in the world.

The islands were first sighted in 1506 by a Portuguese sailor who named the main island after himself and later was anglicised to Tristan da Cunha Island. The first permanent settler was Jonathan Lambert, from Massachusetts, United States, who arrived at the islands in 1810. He declared the islands his property. His rule was short lived, as he died in a boating accident in 1812.

In 1816 the United Kingdom formally annexed the islands, ruling them from the Cape Colony in South Africa. This is reported to have primarily been a measure to ensure that the French would not be able to use the islands as a base for a rescue operation to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison on Saint Helena. The occupation also prevented the United States from using Tristan as a base, as they had during the War of 1812.

On 12 January 1938, the islands were declared a dependency of St Helena.