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Crescent is about 9 kilometers outside the western
boundary of the French Polynesia 200 mile economic zone, located in
international waters between the Kiribati and Pitcairn Island Economic
Zones. It is made up of 2 small islets connected by a small strip of sand at
low tide. The total land area is about 200 acres. Population of 40 persons
and economy depends on Pearl farming and the sale of crafts comprises the
entire economy. 796 Euros per annum is the per capita income. English and
Crescentese are the languages used. |
| The history
of Crescent Island, told by the Islanders, passed down to each generation by
the elders, tells much but leaves much to question. Prior to the 1760s, it
is known the inhabitants of Crescent Island were residing on Mangareva, in
the Gambier Islands, now part of French Polynesia. With the exception of two
men, all the males were former crew members from a British merchant ship
that stopped at Mangareva. These crew members decided to reside on the
island, abandoning their jobs on the ship. The women were all from Mangareva.
As you might imagine, the new inhabitants of Mangareva brought turmoil to
the local population. The men brought bad habits to the island. The men 'had
their way' with many of the young women and typically refused to help the
islanders in the daily work, choosing to consume alcohol instead. The Chief
held little power of persuasion over the sailors. For the quality of life to
be maintained in such a small and fragile population, the authority of the
rulers could not be challenged. A rigid social structure set up with the
wisdom of the rulers insured a population explosion would not put an end to
life on Mangareva. A structure for work was essential to insure the
resources of the island would be managed properly to lead to a life of
abundance. While Mangareva had thousands of people, it's resources had to be
managed well and size of the population carefully controlled. As the rulers
lost patience, action was to be taken to preserve the way of life. The men,
their women and those few who 'fell away' from the social structure were
rounded up. These few were to be purged from Mangareva. Forced on a raft,
they were sent to sea. Their future was bleak. Most people forced to sea
were to become food for the fishes. It was purely a death sentence. The odds
of landing on a piece of land and beginning life anew was remote. The dozen
or so sent to sea were the ones to beat the odds. After several days at sea,
the group, near death for sure, found their raft being torn by a reef with a
small sand bank in the distance. Making an attempt at land, the group
managed to swim to shore and set up housekeeping on what is now known as an
islet of Temoe Atoll. Feeling fortunate at beating certain death, the group
was pleased with their plight although Temoe offered little. The Crescent
Islanders found only breadfruit trees growing on their island. With no boat,
the best the inhabitants could do is navigate the sharp coral to pluck small
fish from holes on the reef. With no wood for fire to cook food, fish was
consumed raw. The islanders realized they must make do without clothing or
housing as the only vegetation on the island was needed to sustain life.
Mangareva's social structure was nothing compared to the food rationing and
hardships endured on Crescent Island. With no leader the group bickered and
fought for some time until one islander became known for wise decisions.
Although never formally 'elected' as leader, a young man from Mangareva
earned the respect of all. His suggestions were followed and life became
easier. Life was threatened no less than 5 times over the first 70 years.
The biggest threat were the ships from South America. They had a reputation
for storming an island, taking all the men, women and children prisoner.
They would be taken to South America to be sold as slaves. There were tales
of islands found abandoned with no trace of what happened to the people. As
such ships approached Crescent three different times, the defenseless
population hid amid the brush in the interior of the island, hoping not to
be taken. Two times during the first 70 years the island was awash. Once
this was due to a cyclone passing over the island. The second time was from
high seas from a nearby cyclone. In both instances, life and property was
lost. |
| It was in the
1830s that a ship carrying Pastor Nobbs from Pitcairn Island, discovered the
island. Pastor Nobbs had been forced from Pitcairn an was in exile. He was
on his way to Mangareva. Pastor Nobbs told the rulers of Mangareva of the
plight of the Crescent Islanders. The Chief asked that the Crescent
Islanders be rescued and brought to Mangareva where a 'welcome home' feast
would be held. Pastor Nobbs noted in his journal that Crescent Island was a
mere sand bank some 50 miles from Mangareva, inhabited by some 40 wretched
and meager souls survived by hand plucking small fish from the reefs and
consuming the fruit of the only plant growing on the island, the breadfruit.
He noted the islanders were taken to Mangareva where a feast was held. He
noted one died from over consumption and several others would have suffered
the same fate if he had not forced them to be purged of the problem. It was
about this time two French Catholic Missionaries arrived on Mangareva. They
were thought to be Gods because a lady known to be capable of seeing in to
the future had spoken of a dream where Gods appearing as white skinned men
would come to the island. The rulers threatened the visitors with death but
they appeared unafraid and quoted from the Bible all the while. This was the
proof the rulers needed that indeed these were the Gods the now deceased
woman had seen in her dreams. With the acceptance and respect of the
islanders, the missionaries set out on a plan to create a showplace in the
Pacific. The idea was that such a paradise could be imaged as the greatest
among the Pacific isles due to a strong Christian faith. The need for
workers was great. Ships were sent to every nearby island to collect the
population and bring them to Mangareva to work. The missionaries believed a
six day, sixteen hour a day workweek would be needed to complete the
restoration of the island and serve as a way to keep the islanders set on
principals of Christianity. Idle time was considered evil. Sundays was for a
day of Church. The work was enforced by cruel punishment. One six year old
boy had been jailed for laughing during a Church service. With all the
construction and congested population came more visiting ships. Now the
islanders were not used to such a long and hard day of work and they had no
resistance to common illnesses in other parts of the work. People became
ill. People died. The soul of the Mangarevan people had been stomped out.
All was lost. The old life of relative ease, compared to their current life
was gone and was not to return. The Crescent Islanders were among the group. |
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Pastor Nobbs noted in his
journal that the Crescent Islanders 'pined' for their home but states he
never heard of their fate. Nobbs was in exile for 6 years before
returning to Pitcairn. The oral history of Crescent says that the
islanders longed for their home and began planning for an escape from
Mangareva. Supplies were stockpiled in hiding places. Late night
meetings were carried out. When the time was right, most of the 23
remaining Crescent Islanders set out when the weather and the tide were
right for their home. With 16 men and women, the dangerous journey
began, but the journey would not remain without peril. Only a day in to
the journey, clouds rolled in and a strong wind followed. Three days of
stiff winds and squally weather threatened the crew. For sure they were
off course for Crescent Island. But once skies cleared, optimism
prevailed and after seven days at sea, the group spotted a set of
islands in the distance. Late in the day, they made it to one of the two
small dots of land. The group set forth planting coconuts and planting
gardens. The choices for food greatly increased over the coming years
and the hardships of the earliest days were quickly forgotten. The group
was sure this was the original Crescent Island. The vegetation was
identical. The group was overjoyed. The original islanders lived out
their days believing that somehow they had returned to Crescent Island.
It was not until the 1880s that the truth was known. A passing
ship called on the island. Their story was told. Then the Captain
explained they were over 200 miles from Mangareva. The new Crescent
Island was not an islet of Temoe, but a little known reef with two small
sandbanks covering just 200 some acres. By this time, overpopulation was
taking it's toll. Crescent Islanders had survived about 50 years with no
so called leader to guide the use of resources and control population.
The Islanders were still Christian, but mixed their lifestyle with the
old. Like other Polynesian cultures, especially Marquesasean, children,
from an early age, simulated sexual acts and a young woman was
encouraged to have many partners. The older men were expected to 'teach'
the young women. Young men were frequently with each young girl on the
island. As a result, the population of the island went from it's
beginning population of 16 to 73, it's peak. By the 1880s, food was
rationed. No person could consume more than a certain amount each day.
This was required to preserve resources and insure there would be enough
to eat in the future. By this time, the older men from each family had
chosen to meet each day to determine the jobs to be performed and
dictate when sexual relations could occur, all dependent on the
resources. This was the first island-wide form of government on
Crescent. |
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Over the years, Crescent was
discovered by a few passing ships. Most carried merchandise from exotic
ports. Islanders began to work an active trade with some of the passing
vessels. Seeing two ships a year was typical by the 1950s. It should be
noted, the Crescent Islanders never learned of World War I or World War
II until the 1950s. In the 1960s Crescent was less isolated. On average,
5 vessels called on Crescent each year. One or two were ships but the
others were private vessels with a small crew exploring the Pacific.
Friendships were made. By the 1970s, Crescent had become a well kept
secret among the Pacific bound yachts. Even so, only the most
adventurous would set out for the tiny isolated island, but those that
did, became friends of the islanders, typically making it possible for
Crescent Islanders to get items and supplies they needed to make life
easier. |
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It was the late 1960s when
Crescent issued it's own currency. On being told of money, the islanders
decided to give it a go. Notes were exchanged for rice and flour. The
currency was backed up with pearls harvested in the lagoon. In recent years,
Crescent has become less isolated. Textbooks for schooling, basic food
supplies and even a solar powered radio station have taken a place on the
island. Western clothes are worn. Houses were built and roofed with tin. The
isolated spit of land is far removed from its humble start. Today Crescent
has an arrangement with a shipping company to purchase supplies for a
once-per-six-month visit. An average of about 3 cruising yachts stop off at
Crescent, staying at the guest houses built by the islanders. The Pearl Farm
is the economy and source of quality of life for the islanders. Crescent
Island is by no means easy to reach and it is still very isolated. There are
little comforts of modern life. Crescent remains one of the most unspoilt
islands in the Pacific where island traditions, society and customs are a
part of daily life. |
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Today Crescent Island is
populated by 40 people sharing a Polynesian-Anglo-Caucasian mix. The
language of Crescent is English mixed with some words of Mangarevan and
Tahitian origin. Some words are purely of Crescent origin with Polynesian
roots. It is thought the men, primarily Anglo-Saxon, prevailed in the
English language taking root. Fewer than 530 Polynesian-oriented words are
tossed in to English conversations among locals. These words are typically
absent from conversations with those from the outside, so the English
equivalent is known and used in more formal settings. A few words of local
origin have no purely English relative. Crescent Island money has traveled
off the island with various visitors in the past. It was in the 1960s the
elders decided to issue banknotes for collectors, but few were made. An
ambitious project of hiring a company to create the first coins for Crescent
Island has been worked out. The Islanders are eager to work out channels of
sales and distribution to take the coins throughout the world. It is hoped
the sale of the coins will greatly stimulate the economy of Crescent . At
present, the only sources of revenue for Crescent are the sale of pearls,
crafts and
some curios created by the Islanders. Crescent Islanders realize the need
for money. |
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In 2006 they issued a series of three unusual acrylic
coins, both to use on the islands and to raise money by selling them to
collectors. "Ile
Crescent" set consists of: 500 Poa Blue Acrylic (mintage
of 511 pieces), 1000 Poa Green Acrylic
(mintage of 503 pieces) and
5000 Poa Yellow Acrylic (mintage of 434 pieces). Poa, means “pearl".
All three coins have a similar design featuring the
sun rising over the island, with the date and denomination at the bottom. Design on coins is of an Island
and two plam trees leaning to the right. Each coin is 39 mm in diameter and
5 mm in depth as shown above. Usually these
coins come with certificates and a descriptive brochure. |
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Their designer, Mr. William
Turner (based in Cypress, TX). All 3 denominations (500, 1000, and 5000 Poa),
dated 2006, are made of fluorescent, see-through, laser-engraved, colored
acrylic (blue, green, and yellow, respectively) and were produced by a
company called Texas Laser Products. These distinctive, uniface pieces seem
to really glow in the dark! There also exists trial 5 initial samples: 2
blue, 2 yellow 500 poa and 1 pink. The manufacturer sent Mr. Turner “to show
what he could do with his equipment”. |
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Mr. Bill Turner’s fascination with
Crescent Island began at an early age, when “I read the book Pitcairn Island
by David Silverstone in 6th grade”. Years of ongoing research (combined with
a deep interest in numismatics) led him to produce his own series of
rubber-stamped banknotes for the island (made mostly of marbled, hand-made
paper) “sometime during the summer of 2004.” Fortunately, this Crescentese
currency has now been expanded to include coins. Their design “is from my
newsletter logo for Tropical Frontiers, a travel newsletter I published from
1984 to 1988.” Geographically, Crescent Island “is about 9 kilometers
outside the western boundary of the French Polynesia 200 mile economic zone,
located in international waters between the Kiribati and Pitcairn Island
Economic Zones.” It “is made up of 2 small islets connected by a small strip
of sand at low tide. The total land area is about 200 acres” and population
consists of roughly 40 islanders. According to Mr. Turner, who has written a
lengthy history of the island comprised of fact mixed with fantasy, the
original inhabitants of Crescent Island, prior to the 1760s, resided “on
Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands, now part of French Polynesia.” Some of
its men and women “fell away” from the rulers’ rigid social structure and
“were rounded up. These few were to be purged from Mangareva. Forced on a
raft, they were sent to sea.” After several days afloat, “the group, near
death for sure, found their raft being torn by a reef with a small sand bank
in the distance. Making an attempt at land, the group managed to swim to
shore and set up housekeeping on what is now known as an islet of Temoe
Atoll.” This site, 50 miles from Mangareva and containing nothing but
breadfruit trees, became Crescent Island. |
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Micro-Nations |
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Chiefa Coins |
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