Located in the south Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,000km from nearest inhabited land, Saint Helena, and 2,400km from the nearest continental land, South Africa. The territory consists of the main island, with the same name, which has a north-south length of 11.27km, along with the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Islands and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible and Gough Islands. Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and has a permanent population of 266 inhabitants (all of them descendants of 15 ancestors, 8 males and 7 females, who arrived on the island at various times between 1816 and 1908).
This volcanic islands were sighted in 1506 by the Portuguese Tristão da Cunha, but their first survey was made by a French frigate only in 1767. The first permanent settler was the american Jonathan Lambert, who arrived at the islands in 1810 with two other men, and declared them his property. Nevertheless, in 1816, the United Kingdom annexed the archipelago, which was occupied by a garrison of Marines and a civilian population was gradually built up. In 1867, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, visited the islands. The main settlement, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas (which now houses almost the entire population), was named in honour of his visit. The second Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, visited the islands in 1957 as part of a world tour. The 1961 eruption of Queen Mary's Peak (2,062m) forced the evacuation of the entire population, but most families returned in 1963.
The main island is quite mountainous; the only flat area is the location of the only village, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. It has a wet oceanic climate with pleasant temperatures but consistent moderate to heavy rainfall and very limited sunshine. Many of the flora and fauna have a broad circumpolar distribution in the South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans. Thus many of the species that occur in Tristan da Cunha appear as far away as New Zealand. All Tristan families are farmers, owning their own stock and/or fishing. All land is communally owned. Livestock numbers are strictly controlled to conserve pasture and to prevent better-off families from accumulating wealth. Lacking an airport, the islands can be reached only by sea. Fishing boats from South Africa service the islands eight or nine times a year, and the RMS Saint Helena used to connect the main island to St Helena and South Africa once each year.
The flag of Tristan da Cunha, adopted in 2002, is a blue ensign design, defaced with the coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha - a Tristan longboat above a Naval Crown, with a central shield decorated with four yellow-nosed albatrosses and flanked by two Tristan rock lobsters. Below this is a scroll with the territory's motto: "Our faith is our strength". The designer is the vexillologist Graham Bartram.
About the stamps
The first stamp is part of the series Tristan Albatross, issued on January 28, 2013, and produced in association with the World Wild Life Fund For Nature (WWF). They depicts, of course, the Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena), endemic to the Tristan da Cunha Group, which was recognised as a full species in 1998. The four stamps are:
• 0.35 GBP - it's on the postcard
• 0.45 GBP
• 0.70 GBP
• 1,10 GBP
The second stamp is part of the series 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, issued on April 15, 2013. The five stamps depict commemorative items and packaging from the Robert Opie Collection, released during the reigns of:
• Victoria (0.35 GBP) - it's on the postcard
• Edward VII (0.45 GBP)
• George V (0.70 GBP)
• George VI (1.10 GBP)
• Elizabeth II (1.50 GBP)
References
Tristan da Cunha - Wikipedia
Tristan da Cunha - Official website
Poststamps 2013 - Official site of Tristan da Cunha's Post Office
Sender: ??
sent from Edinburgh of the Seven Seas (Tristan da Cunha), on 20.05.2014
oh my is this precious! esp love the albatross stamp
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