Prof
10-02-2004, 06:21 AM
2004.10.02 12:18(gmt+2)
The month is April, the year 1790, and Fletcher Christian moves surreptitiously in the darkness to imbue his fellow conspirators with enthusiasm to hi-jack the good ship HMS Bounty. He had had enough of the, according to whom you believe, tyrannical Captain William Bligh, and the harsh conditions the men laboured under...
On the 28th of that fateful month, he leaded several men in a mutiny, which would put the conspirators not only in command of the ship, but unbeknowngst to them the final spasms of their deed will reverberate throughout the world via a court of law in the year 2004.
After procuring the Bounty, the conspirators set the "tyrannical" Captain Bligh and his men adrift in a boat and sailed for Tahiti. Here Fletcher had time to contemplate, and realised that sooner than later the Brits would come looking to exact justice, meaning death.
Accordingly, 8 of the mutineers, together with six Tahitian men and 12 Tahitian women soon set sail on the South Seas in search of a save refuge. On the 15th of January, 1790 they found such at the uninhabited island of Pitcairn, 2160 km southeast of Tahiti, and 14 885 km from london. Undiscovered they went about their business until 1808, as Pitcairn was indicated wrongly on the then charts.
Pitcairn island being the habitat of 47 souls, is only 5 square km in size, and virtually inaccessible, except by longboat. It is situated roughly halfway between New Zealand and Pananma, and is the only British possession in the Pacific.
For all practical purposes the inhabitants mostly ruled themselves ever since Duncan Fletcher and his men arrived all those years ago, but technically speaking the British laws of the day is equally applicable to Pitcairn.
Then it came about that someone complained to a British policewoman (stationed on the island) in 1999 that she was raped, one of the main defendants being Mayor Steve Christian. Half of the male population stands accused, with several of the women ( although they have quite possibly subjected themselves willingly to the same "offence."
supporting them.
The accused, and their supporters claim that due to its isolation consensual sex from age 12 and up was the accepted norm on Pitcairn, that although British rule is a fact, Pitcairn must be viewed as an exception due to its unique circumstances. The court case continues.
Personally I definitely do not condone the engagement of children in sexual activity, but one needs to be ever so careful that one does not cloud one's historical judgement with one's personal perceptions. The fact is that Pitcairn was quite unique as a "closed" community . It also is a fact that according to your and my values children were raped.
I beg all visitors to please not engage in a moral debate, for it is agreed by you and I that such is morally unacceptable, but to comment in a historical context.
The month is April, the year 1790, and Fletcher Christian moves surreptitiously in the darkness to imbue his fellow conspirators with enthusiasm to hi-jack the good ship HMS Bounty. He had had enough of the, according to whom you believe, tyrannical Captain William Bligh, and the harsh conditions the men laboured under...
On the 28th of that fateful month, he leaded several men in a mutiny, which would put the conspirators not only in command of the ship, but unbeknowngst to them the final spasms of their deed will reverberate throughout the world via a court of law in the year 2004.
After procuring the Bounty, the conspirators set the "tyrannical" Captain Bligh and his men adrift in a boat and sailed for Tahiti. Here Fletcher had time to contemplate, and realised that sooner than later the Brits would come looking to exact justice, meaning death.
Accordingly, 8 of the mutineers, together with six Tahitian men and 12 Tahitian women soon set sail on the South Seas in search of a save refuge. On the 15th of January, 1790 they found such at the uninhabited island of Pitcairn, 2160 km southeast of Tahiti, and 14 885 km from london. Undiscovered they went about their business until 1808, as Pitcairn was indicated wrongly on the then charts.
Pitcairn island being the habitat of 47 souls, is only 5 square km in size, and virtually inaccessible, except by longboat. It is situated roughly halfway between New Zealand and Pananma, and is the only British possession in the Pacific.
For all practical purposes the inhabitants mostly ruled themselves ever since Duncan Fletcher and his men arrived all those years ago, but technically speaking the British laws of the day is equally applicable to Pitcairn.
Then it came about that someone complained to a British policewoman (stationed on the island) in 1999 that she was raped, one of the main defendants being Mayor Steve Christian. Half of the male population stands accused, with several of the women ( although they have quite possibly subjected themselves willingly to the same "offence."
supporting them.
The accused, and their supporters claim that due to its isolation consensual sex from age 12 and up was the accepted norm on Pitcairn, that although British rule is a fact, Pitcairn must be viewed as an exception due to its unique circumstances. The court case continues.
Personally I definitely do not condone the engagement of children in sexual activity, but one needs to be ever so careful that one does not cloud one's historical judgement with one's personal perceptions. The fact is that Pitcairn was quite unique as a "closed" community . It also is a fact that according to your and my values children were raped.
I beg all visitors to please not engage in a moral debate, for it is agreed by you and I that such is morally unacceptable, but to comment in a historical context.