In the Middle of nowhere. Tristan da Cunha -- or: A Social Contract became reality

Tristan da Cunha is an archipelago in the South Atlantic, between Capetown and Buenos Aires and is inhabited today by not more than three hundred people. In 1816 it was an outpost of the British colonial empire and had no native inhabitants. It is still a part of the British overseas domains and enjoys relative independence. A very particular legal structure was developed there since 1817 on the basis of a treaty between the inhabitants themselves. Its framework has close similarities to communist inspired social systems. The legal situation and civil traditions of the inhabitants still bear the imprint of this document. Was it a sort of "Contrat Social", a rudimentary, elementary form of the island's constitution, a contract to found a commercial firm? Adapted from the source document.