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Swains IslandSwains Island or Olosenga Island, Olohega Island, Quiros Island, Gente Hermosa Island , and finally Jennings Island. The atoll has been called various names througout it's history. The current population of the island is 37. The inhabitants are all located in one village. The nearbye uninhabited Rose Island is often included with the island. The island is part of American Samoa. History Pedro Fernandes de Quiros is believed to be the first European expolorer to discover this island in 1606. He named the island Isle de la Gente Hermosa which means island of the handsome people. It was then conquered by an expedition from Fakaofo. The men of the island either fled or were killed and the women were taken back with the conqueres to Fakaofu. Legend states that chief put a curse on the island so that it became unfertile. Captain Hudson visited the island in 1841 but couldn't land because of stormy weather. Since the island was in a different condidtion he renamed the island Swains. In 1856 an American, Eli Hutchinson Jennings, started a community on the island. He married a Samoan Malia and claimed to have acquired the title for the island from Captain Turnbull who claimed to have discovered the island. A coconut plantation flourished under Eli Junior. It flourished to such a degree that Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony supposedly demanded an $85 tax. He paid the tax but took it up with the U.S. State Department and was refunded. The matter of who ownded the island was unsolved after the death of Eli Jr. in 1920 and his wife in 1921. Although they had a daughter and son in joint control the United States declared the island part of the government in American Samoa in 1925. Alexander Jennings the son of Eli Jr. became the managing owner of the island. The population at the time was around 100. In 1954 the United States demanded a local government. Since then the island has sent one non-voting member to the territorial legislature. External Links http://www.janeresture.com/tokelau_islands/swains.htm
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