The Bizarre History of Clipperton Island

Today’s story is not about a specific event, but rather an overview of a place which might have been about as far from the forefront of the big events in Latin American history as it is possible to get, yet which saw a succession of bizarre occurrences across its history.

Despite being uninhabited for most of human history, this remote atoll has drawn in everyone from pirates to presidents on fishing trips, would-be tyrants and people hoping to make their fortune collecting animal dung.

Several nations have claimed it, and its story has been shaped by the first circumnavigation of the globe, the Mexican revolution, world war 2, and an international arbitration overseen by a pope.