Swains Island Jennings Family

A great misunderstanding that still holds on to the west's discoveries of contemporary Swains Island is that it was found on March 2, 1606 by Pedro Ferandes de Queirós, a renowned portugese sailor who set sail for Spain. This island, which he saw on this date and which he also calculated at 10 36' p. 171 W., was almost certainly the contemporary Rakahanga, which in 10 02' p. 161 05' W.[12][13] The name of his discoveries was Isla de la Gente Hermosa, which corresponds approximately to the Spanish translation "island of the fair people".

Hudson decided to call it "Swain's Island" when Captain William L. Hudson of the USS Peacock came into view of Swains Island on February 1, 1841, but the island was not in the Queirós reporting location. It was Jennings who started a coir orchard that blossomed under his own Eli Junior sire.

Senior Eli Jennings was also significantly involved in the depopulation of the other three Tokelau clefts - see H.E. Maude's Slavers in Paradise (A.N.U., Canberra, 1981). The Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (then a UK patronage, since 1979 the supreme Kiribati and Tuvalu nations) asserted in 1907 that Swains was part of the United Kingdom and demanded a $85 levy.

But Jennings took the case to the US State Department, and his funds were finally repaid. Swains was also an US property. Work problems occurred in Swains in 1953 when Tokelauan laborers chose to take advantage of the Tokelauan Almighty because they had been living off him all year round.

When Alexander Jennings had expelled 56 laborers and their homes from the island, the American Samoa government took action. Under the Implementing Regulation, Jennings's property in Swains Island was confirmed by the Goverment while introducing a system of employment agreements and a municipal government body to safeguard the interests of its people. 6 ] The inhabitants of the island were also granted a representation in the regional legislative.

On a recent trip to Tokelau, Alexander Jennings, representing Swain Island in the legislation of Samoa, expressed a wish for better trading relations between Swains and his neighbour. The NH8S DXpedition took place on Swains Island in 2012; this group landed on September 5, 2012 and left on September 19, 2012.

Altogether 105,455 wireless contact points were established.