News of Topaz's discovery of the Bounty…
1814 CE
In 1814, two British warships, HMS Briton and HMS Tagus, chance upon Pitcairn.
Among those who greet them are Thursday October Christian and Edward Young's son, George—the respective captains, Sir Thomas Staines and Philip Pipon, report that Christian the son displayed "in his benevolent countenance, all the features of an honest English face".
On shore they find a population of forty-six mainly young islanders led by Adams, upon whom, it is clear to them, the islanders' welfare is wholly dependent.
After receiving Staines's report, the Admiralty will decide to take no action.
In the following years, many ships will call at Pitcairn Island and hear Adams's various stories of the foundation of the Pitcairn settlement.
Adams will die in 1829, honored as the founder and father of a community that will become celebrated over the next century as an exemplar of Victorian morality.
Over the years, many recovered Bounty artifacts will been sold by islanders as souvenirs; in 1999, the Pitcairn Project will be established by a consortium of Australian academic and historical bodies, to survey and document all the material remaining on-site, as part of a detailed study of the settlement's development.
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