Butterworth Stavely
Encyclopedia
Butterworth Stavely is an American adventurer who instigates a coup d'état and has himself crowned Butterworth I, Emperor of Pitcairn's Island in Mark Twain
's 1879 story "The Great Revolution in Pitcairn."
Twain based his story on one sentence in a naval report by Admiral Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey
: "One stranger, an American, has settled on the island – a doubtful acquisition" and perhaps also on the life of Joshua Hill
, a real-life American dictator of Pitcairn in the 1830s.. Stavely rises to political power by exploiting the internal divisions and suspicions surrounding a lawsuit between Thursday October Christian II
and Elizabeth Mills Young waged over a trespassing chicken. His machinations lead to the impeachment of the chief magistrate James Russell Nickoy
, Stavely's election as magistrate, a revolt against the "galling English yoke," and his coronation as emperor.
Stavely's cynical manipulation of the easily corruptible islanders has been interpreted as an indictment of Western imperialism and the cultural tyranny of American missionaries.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's 1879 story "The Great Revolution in Pitcairn."
Twain based his story on one sentence in a naval report by Admiral Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey
Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey
Admiral Sir Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey KCB was a Royal Navy officer who served in the nineteenth century.-Early life:...
: "One stranger, an American, has settled on the island – a doubtful acquisition" and perhaps also on the life of Joshua Hill
Joshua Hill (Pitcairn Island leader)
Joshua Hill was an American adventurer.In 1832 he arrived on Pitcairn Island which was first inhabited in the 1790s by British mutineers from the HMS Bounty and some Tahitians who joined them. The descendants of the mutineers had recently migrated to Tahiti following the death of the last...
, a real-life American dictator of Pitcairn in the 1830s.. Stavely rises to political power by exploiting the internal divisions and suspicions surrounding a lawsuit between Thursday October Christian II
Thursday October Christian II
Thursday October Christian, Jr. was a Pitcairn Islands political leader. He was the grandson of Fletcher Christian and son of Thursday October Christian , and mother, Teraura . He was also known as "Doctor", "Duddie" or "Doodie". He spent several years on Norfolk Island but returned to Pitcairn in...
and Elizabeth Mills Young waged over a trespassing chicken. His machinations lead to the impeachment of the chief magistrate James Russell Nickoy
James Russell McCoy
James Russell McCoy served as Magistrate of the British Overseas Territory of Pitcairn Island 7 times, between 1870 and 1904. McCoy was among the first wave of settlers to return to Pitcairn from Norfolk Island in 1859. He was the son of Matthew McCoy and Margaret Christian...
, Stavely's election as magistrate, a revolt against the "galling English yoke," and his coronation as emperor.
Stavely's cynical manipulation of the easily corruptible islanders has been interpreted as an indictment of Western imperialism and the cultural tyranny of American missionaries.