The island of Pitcairn is dicovered in 1767 by Carteret. He names the islands after one of his crew. Pitcairn is colonized in 1790 by the mutineers of the Bounty. In 1838 Pitcairn becomes a British colony. Between 1898 and 1970 the colony is under the jurisdiction of the governors of Fiji. Since 1940 Pitcairn has an own annually elected Island Council. No parties exist. Pitcairn has since 1999 a mayor, Steve Christian.