Are there an isolated, self-governing English-speaking communities?

October 9, 2013 10:03 AM

I'm looking to do my PhD research on a small community that speaks English and doesn't have a larger government controlling it/making decisions for it/policing it. I was thinking first about Tristan da Cunha, but it turns out that the British government has officials on there that are a bit controlling. I've also been thinking about Lasqueti Island, but I don't know much about it. Small tribes would also work - I'm pretty open. I want to study how people prevent other people from bossing them around or dominating them, while still making group-wide decisions.
posted by mrmanvir to Society & Culture (15 answers total)

Best answer: Would the Pitcairn Islands fit the bill? It seems that English is spoken as a second language, and they are described by Wikipedia as the smallest democracy on earth.
posted by miorita at 10:14 AM on October 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Also, if English is important for mutual intelligibility rather than as a feature in and of itself, you could dig around in this list of English-speaking countries in the world. I clicked on Nauru randomly, and apparently most people are English bilingual. You might find something by taking the list as your starting point.
posted by miorita at 10:18 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: I also came to suggest Pitcairn. Which may not be what you're looking for if you're looking for populations that make good decisions.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:18 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: Well, one of the best ways to see how something happens is to see how it fails. So Pitcairn might be a fantastic example. Depending on your angle. Anyway, Pitcairn is what I came in to suggest as well. Because, wow, decisions were made.
posted by bilabial at 10:35 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: I've also been thinking about Lasqueti Island

Lasqueti Island is not particularly isolated. It's notable because it is off of the electric grid, but it's a 15-minute boat ride from French Creek on Vancouver Island, and it's also a popular moorage for motor yachts. It's not autonomous in the least - the police frequently conduct aerial searches for grow ops.

Lasqueti is certainly insular, but isolated it is not.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:43 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: There may be communities (white, Native/First Nations/, mixed) in the US and Canadian Arctic that fit the bill. There is certainly government in the US and Canada, but tends to be at a much more remote control in Arctic/subarctic regions. Mefite spitbull might have suggestions (though, hmm, his memail is disabled; mods might be able to pass him an email message).
posted by rtha at 10:43 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: There may be communities (white, Native/First Nations/, mixed) in the US and Canadian Arctic

I was going to suggest looking at communities in the northwest corner of British Columbia, from the Skeena River to the Cassiar in the north. These are remote, culturally isolated communities, some without grid electric power or even broadband.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:44 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: You should be able to find a number of First Nations communities that meet these criteria in Canada. English may or may not be the first language, but it's a safe bet that it's spoken, assuming the community is west of Quebec.
posted by Jairus at 11:29 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: Sealand?

More seriously: Tonga definitely fits the bill -- they're quite remote and have never been colonized.

And depending on how isolated you're talking about, other possibilities might include the Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Nauru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Marshall Islands.

This list of member states of the Commonwealth could give you some more ideas as well.
posted by divined by radio at 11:54 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: I was going to suggest Nauru, but I don't know if they are as isolated as you seem to be looking for - it is independent, but there is a lot of Australian interaction with them, especially with the refugees being kept on the island these days.
posted by jacalata at 11:56 AM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: Places like Ramea, Grey River, and Francois on the south coast of Newfoundland? They are accessible only by boat or helicopter, have been culturally, linguistically, and genetically isolated for 200-ish years, and, in day-to-day affairs, they are basically de-facto self governing.

Coastal communities in northern Labrador (also accessible only by sea or air) might also fit the bill.
posted by erlking at 12:21 PM on October 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers! I'm especially intrigued by Pitcairn Island and the communities in Northern Canada (western BC, Newfoundland, and Labrador), so I'll definitely follow up with those.
posted by mrmanvir at 2:03 PM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: The outer islands of Micronesia would fit the bill perfectly, except for that most people there don't speak English. You'll be able to find enough people to act as translators, but it will be a very selective translation - you'll be presented with the idealized version of how governance there works,

The main islands have been heavily impacted by US financial support, and are only vaguely 'self-governing.'
posted by kanewai at 2:04 PM on October 9, 2013

Best answer: I work on an island like this, and I work with people who work on Pitcairn. I can put you in touch with Pitcairners if you like.

I do not actually recommend doing research in these places if you can avoid it, especially for PhD research. You want a project that you can guarantee will be completable, and the vagaries of transport to and from these islands makes it too risky. For my island, for example, there are two months a year where you can get there (illegally, actually, as there is almost no legal way to go there unless you own a private yacht). My university made me cancel this year's proposed trip due to worries about insurance and legalities.

For Pitcairn you are looking at $20,000 to $40,000 in travel costs and a week or so travel time in each direction.

Then there's the politics of small communities. Oh god, the politics.

Memail me.
posted by lollusc at 7:08 PM on October 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Oh, and for the past few years, Pitcairn (with a population of about 40 people) has three outside police and seven outside social workers put in place by the NZ government. It is not exactly free of outside control. (My island is, though, so again, memail me for more info.)
posted by lollusc at 7:10 PM on October 9, 2013