The Juan Fernández Islands
(Spanish: Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a
sparsely inhabited island group in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism
and fishing. Situated 670 km (362 nmi; 416 mi) off the coast of Chile,
they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. The group is
considered part of Insular Chile. The islands are primarily
known for having been the home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for more than four years from 1704, which
may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Most of the archipelago's present-day inhabitants reside on Robinson
Crusoe Island, and mainly in the capital, San Juan Bautista, located
at Cumberland Bay on the island's north coast.
The group of islands is
part of Chile's Valparaíso Region (which also includes Easter Island) and, along with the Desventuradas Islands,
forms one of the nine communes of Valparaíso Province. The
islands are named after Juan Fernandez, the
explorer who discovered them in the 1570s. Robinson Crusoe Island,
also known as Isla Más a Tierra, is located closest to the mainland of continental South America, and is surrounded by a
number of islets, including Juanango, Viñilla, Los Chamelos, Los Claveles and
El Verdugo. Santa Clara), lying
1 km (0.6 mi) southwest of Robinson Crusoe. Alejandro Selkirk Island,
also known as Isla Más Afuera, is located 180 km (112 mi) further
west. The islands are volcanic in origin, produced by the
movement of the Nazca Plate over the Juan Fernández hotspot. The
seafloor around Juan Fernández Islands is rich in Manganese–Iron nodules,
which may be potential economic interest. According to data from the
2012 Census of Population and Housing, the commune of Juan Fernández had 900
inhabitants; of these, 800 (88.9 percent) lived in urban areas and 100 (11.1 percent) in rural areas. At that time there were 536 men and 364 women.
Most of the population is of European origin, mainly Spanish, British, German
and other European nationalities.
The basic stamps,
issued 1905-09 (Scott 73 and 78), have designs portraying Christopher Columbus
and were printed by the American Banknote Co. The overprints were of two kinds:
One included a denomination surcharge (5 centavos, 10c, or 20c) plus the words
“ISLAS DE JUAN FERNANDEZ,” and the other had only the Islas name. The
overprints were added by La Imprenta Universo de Valparaiso.
The overprinted
issues are a 5c surcharge plus Islas name on the 12c (Chile Scott 79), a 10c
surcharge plus Islas name on the 1 peso (80), a 20c surcharge plus Islas name
on the 1p (81), and only the Islas name overprinted on the 1p (82). As far as
the quantities issued are concerned, 1.5 million of the 5c stamps were
overprinted in dark or clear blue, 400,000 of the 10c and 20c were overprinted
in red, and 200,000 of the 1p were overprinted in red. The stamps were issued
in August 1910, and the remainders were incinerated Nov. 11, 1911. The number
of incinerated lower denominations is not known, but 146,785 of the overprinted
1p stamps were destroyed.
There are two
important varieties of the overprint on the 5c-on-12c stamp. In one case, an
Arabic “2” was substituted for the “Z” in “FERNANDEZ,” as shown on the stamp at
left in the second illustration. This variety occurs on stamp number 94 (the
fourth stamp in the 10th row) on a sheet.
One of the gems in my cover collection - Registered airmail cover from the remote island group of Chile called Juan Fernandez Archipelago , popularly known as Robinson Crusoe Islands. The affixed set of 8 stamps related to Juan Fernandez, issued in the occasion of 425th anniversary .
You can see a special postmark affixed on the backside of the cover too. The frontside one is with the picture of Lobster, one of the main income of the islanders. they harvest them and export.
amazing cover!
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