Their common ancestors were the nine surviving mutineers from the mutiny on HMS Bounty which occurred in the south Pacific Ocean in 1789.

On 20 September 1793, the four remaining Polynesian men stole muskets and killed Christian, Mills, Brown, Martin, and Williams.

In 1935 – in the wake of their successful American blockbuster movie Mutiny on the Bounty, which premiered that year – the MGM Studios also shot a short documentary with the title "Pitcairn Island Today" (a Eugene H. Roth production, narrated by Carey Wilson).

[13][14] It tells the story of some of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, who were natives of Pitcairn and inhabitants of the only village of the island, Adamstown.

A 1962 documentary, Pitcairn People (directed by Peter Newington, narrated by Patrick Wymark), was produced by the British Petroleum Company.

Another documentary, Miracle on Pitcairn Island, was produced in the 1960s by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (filmed and written by Eric Were, narrated by Neal C. Wilson).