History of the Pitcairn Islands History of the Pitcairn Islands The history of the Pitcairn Islands begins with the colonization of the islands by Polynesians in the 11th century. The Polynesians established a culture that flourished for four centuries and then vanished. Pitcairn was settled again in 1790 by a group of British mutineers on HMS "Bounty" and Tahitians. When the "Bounty" mutineers arrived on Pitcairn, it was uninhabited. However, they found the remains of an earlier Polynesian culture that had since vanished. Archaeologists believe that Polynesians lived on the island from the 11th to the 15th century. These first Pitcairners seem to have operated
Tubuai part of Cook's group, translated). The next Europeans to arrive were the mutineers of the HMS "Bounty" in 1789. Mutineer Fletcher Christian, in looking for an island on which to permanently hide, had "scoured" Bligh's maps and nautical charts and decided on Tubuai. Upon arrival at Tubuai, a conflict arose while the mutineers were still on their ship and several islanders were killed in their canoes. The site of this event in the lagoon on the north side of the island is called "Baie Sanglant" (Bloody Bay). Mutineer James Morrison wrote: "The Island is full of Inhabitants for its size