The Pretender of Pitcairn Island: Joshua Hill - The Man Who Would Be King Among the Bounty Mutineers

Nantucket Whaling Museum, October 26, 2018
Author Tillman Nechtman presents this illustrated talk chronicling the mysterious period from 1832-1838 when Joshua W. Hill lived at and governed over Pitcairn Island - pretending the entire time that he had permission to do so from London’s colonial authorities. Pitcairn Island is, of course, best known as the refuge of the mutineers from the HMS Bounty. The history of the island has heretofore focused on its Bounty connections, but this story - rich in source material from American whalers - picks up this often overlooked moment in Pitcairnese history to explore the history of Pitcairn as part of a larger story - the history of British imperialism in the Pacific more broadly.
Tillman Nechtman is Professor of History and the Department Chair in History at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[@erikbender1]

Fascinating! Great addition to my knowledge of Pitcairn. So few people so much drama!

[@Rocketpalmgrenade]

With all the movies made about the Mutiny, I think a sequel could be made on a smaller scale about stories like this. Pitcairn Island has been a weird/fascinating place since Flecher Christian landed

[@Cinepobrefilmfestival]

thanks for this!

[@chrisblester37]

I'd like to know more about the peoples that first lived on pitcain island .if there were ever any skeletons of those people found or of people from that chain of islands .the people.e from Tahiti New every island in the pacific at that time .as captain Cook took a Tahiti man Tahari with him who filled in the islands on the map .so they new the islands were there .and a group of people living on islands don't just die out they may have got week and a group of people traveling killed them all out is more likely maybe a different race of people .people that have gone on other abandoned pacific islands say there were remains of two different types of people. And even up till the first ship to go to Tahiti says there were two different races there the ship was HMS Dolphin but when Cook turned up in Tahiti 2 years latter they said the old race of Blonde and Red haired people died out just after the Dolphin left .this points to them being less resistant to European diseases. These people have been disrespected and disregard by history. I'd like to know if they were the original Pitcain islanders or not

[@larryboyd7979]

Don't Go To Pitcairn! Marathon - Island of Tears REVISITED

[@nelsondasilvasilva6475]

Legal

[@toddwever4916]

Natural bridge is in Virginia, not West Virginia. Other than that very amazing story.

[@Rocketpalmgrenade]

There is also Natural Bridge in Kentucky. So there might be one in West Virginia as well 🤷‍♂️