Saint Helena
is an island of
volcanic
origin in the South
Atlantic Ocean
at
15°57′S
5°43′W
/
15.950°S 5.717°W
/
-15.950; -5.717
. It is named after Saint
Helena of Constantinople
. It is part of the
British Overseas Territory
of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
,
[3]
which also includes
Ascension Island
and the islands of
Tristan da Cunha
. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,084 (2008 census).
[2]
Napoleon
was sent to this island by the British and their allies as a result of Napoleon's return from the
Elba
island and loss at the
Battle of Waterloo
. Napoleon died there in 1821.
The island is on a tentative list of
UNESCO
World Heritage Sites
.
[4]
The island was discovered in 1502 by the
Portuguese
admiral
Joao da Nova
,
[5]
and he named it "Santa Helena" after
Helena of Constantinople
. The traditional date of this discovery was long thought to be 21 May, but the results of an investigation into the discovery published in 2015 concluded this date is probably wrong, the 3 May seeming to be historically more valid.
[6]
Another theory holds that the island found by De Nova was actually
Tristan da Cunha
, 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to the south, and that Saint Helena was discovered by some of the ships under the command of
Estevao da Gama
on 30 July 1503.
[7]
[8]
[9]
The Portuguese found the island uninhabited, with an abundance of trees and fresh water. They imported
livestock
, fruit trees and vegetables, and built a chapel and one or two houses. Though they formed no permanent
settlement
, the island was, for ships travelling from
Asia
to
Europe
, an important place to stop to get food and water, and frequently sick
sailors
were left on the island to recover. After 1588, the island was visited also by
Dutch
and English ships.
[5]
The
Dutch Republic
formally made claim to St Helena in 1633, although there is no evidence that they ever occupied, colonised or fortified it. By 1651, the Dutch had mainly abandoned the island in favour of their colony at the
Cape of Good Hope
.
In 1657, the English
East India Company
was given a permit to govern St Helena by
Oliver Cromwell
,
[10]
and the following year the Company decided to
colonise
the island with
farmers
. The first governor, Captain John Dutton, got there in 1659, and made St Helena one of
Britain's oldest colonies
outside
North America
and the
Caribbean
. A
fort
was completed and a number of houses were built. After
the Restoration
of the English monarchy in 1660, the East India Company received a
Royal
permit to start a
colony
in the island. The fort was named
James Fort
and the town
Jamestown
, in honour of the Duke of York, later King
James II of England
.
The importation of slaves was made illegal in 1792 and
Chinese
workers were brought to work in the farms. Many were allowed to stay, and their descendents became integrated into the population.
British rule (1815?1821) and Napoleon's exile
[
change
|
change source
]
In 1815, the British government decided to use the island of St. Helena as a place of detention for
Napoleon Bonaparte
. To prevent any attempt to escape from the nearby islands, they formally annexed the islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. In 1821, Napoleon died on the island of St Helena.
In 1858, the French
emperor
Napoleon III
got the possession, in the name of the French government, of
Longwood House
and the lands around it, last residence of
Napoleon I
(who died there in 1821). It is still French property.
On 22 April 1834, the island of St Helena became a colony of the British crown.
A local industry using the
fibre
from
New Zealand flax
was successfully reestablished in 1907 and generated considerable income during the
First World War
. However, the industry declined because of transportation costs and competition from synthetic fibres and the last flax industry closed in 1965.
In 1922, the Ascension then was attached as a dependency followed by the Tristan da Cunha Island 12 January 1938.
In 1981, the British governmente changed the status of Saint Helena and the other
Crown colonies
to "British Dependent Territories".
In 2009, Saint Helena and its two territories received equal status under a new constitution, and the British Overseas Territory was renamed
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
.
The island of Saint Helena has a total area of 122 km
2
(47 sq mi).
[1]
The centre is covered by forest, of which some has been planted. Much of the island has been identified by
BirdLife International
as being important for bird conservation, especially the endemic
Saint Helena Plover
or Wirebird, and for
seabirds
breeding on the
islets
near the coast.
[11]
The highest point of the island is
Diana's Peak
(
15°57′35″S
5°41′29″W
/
15.95972°S 5.69139°W
/
-15.95972; -5.69139
(
Diana's Peak
)
) at 818 m (2,684 ft).
[12]
In 1996 it became the island's first
national park
. In 2000 a project began to replant part of the lost Great Wood, called the Millennium Forest, and is now managed by the
Saint Helena National Trust
, established in 2002.
There are several rocks and islets off the coast, including: Castle Rock, Speery Island, the Needle, Lower Black Rock, Upper Black Rock (South), Bird Island (Southwest), Black Rock, Thompson's Valley Island, Peaked Island, Egg Island, Lady's Chair, Lighter Rock (West), Long Ledge (Northwest), Shore Island, George Island, Rough Rock Island, Flat Rock (East), the Buoys, Sandy Bay Island, the Chimney, White Bird Island and Frightus Rock (Southeast), all of which are within one kilometre of the shore.
The
national bird
of Saint Helena is the
Saint Helena Plover
, known locally as the Wirebird. It appears on the
coat of arms
of Saint Helena and on the flag.
[13]
The climate of Saint Helena is tropical, marine and mild, tempered by
trade winds
that blow almost continuously.
[1]
Saint Helena is divided into eight districts. People that works and lives in the Jamestown Harbour and in the Royal Mail Ship
St. Helena
(RMS) are included in the census in their work places (see reference).
[2]
District
|
Area
km²
|
Men
|
Women
|
Total
[2]
|
Jamestown
|
3.6
|
354
|
360
|
714
|
Half Tree Hollow
|
1.6
|
449
|
452
|
901
|
Saint Paul's
|
11.4
|
392
|
403
|
795
|
Blue Hill
|
36.5
|
82
|
71
|
153
|
Sandy Bay
|
15.3
|
107
|
98
|
205
|
Levelwood
|
14.0
|
167
|
149
|
316
|
Longwood
|
33.4
|
366
|
349
|
715
|
Alarm Forest
|
5.9
|
135
|
141
|
276
|
Jamestown
Harbour
|
3.6
|
6
|
3
|
9
|
Royal Mail Ship
St. Helena
|
?
|
108
|
63
|
171
|
Total
|
121.7
|
2,166
|
2,089
|
4,255
|
|
|
The island had an economy of only one
crop
until 1966, based on the cultivation and processing of
New Zealand flax
for rope and string. St Helena's economy is now weak, and is almost entirely sustained by aid from the British government.
The tourist industry is heavily based on the presence of
Napoleon
in the island.
Saint Helena produces what is said to be the most expensive coffee in the world. It also produces and exports "Tungi Spirit", made from the fruit of the prickly or cactus pears,
Opuntia ficus-indica
("Tungi" is the local St Helenian name for the plant). Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena all issue their own
postage stamps
which provide a significant income.
Saint Helena has its own currency, the
Saint Helena pound
, which is at parity with the
pound sterling
. The government of Saint Helena produces coins and banknotes. The Bank of Saint Helena was established on Saint Helena and Ascension Island in 2004. It has branches in Jamestown on Saint Helena, and in Georgetown, Ascension Island.
[14]
- ↑
1.0
1.1
1.2
"CIA World Factbook"
.
Central Intelligence Agency
. 22 April 2013. Archived from
the original
on 7 April 2020
. Retrieved
2 May
2013
.
- ↑
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
"Santa Helena"
(PDF)
.
Demographic and Social Statistics
. United Nations Statistics Division. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 June 2014
. Retrieved
1 May
2013
.
- ↑
"The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009"
.
legislation.gov.uk
. Retrieved
1 May
2013
.
- ↑
"
"Island of St Helena"
"
.
World Heritage Convention
. UNESCO
. Retrieved
1 May
2013
.
- ↑
5.0
5.1
Knowlson, James R. (1968), "A Note on Bishop Godwin's
Man in the Moone:
The East Indies Trade Route and a 'Language' of Musical Notes",
Modern Philology
,
65
(4): 357?91,
doi
:
10.1086/390001
,
JSTOR
435786
,
S2CID
161387367
- ↑
Ian Bruce, ‘St Helena Day’, Wirebird The Journal of the Friends of St Helena, no. 44 (2015): 32?46.
[1]
Archived
2015-10-02 at the
Wayback Machine
- ↑
A. H. Schulenburg, 'The discovery of St Helena: the search continues'. Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena, Issue 24 (Spring 2002), pp. 13?19.
- ↑
Duarte Leite, Historia dos Descobrimentos, Vol. II (Lisbon: Edicoes Cosmos, 1960), 206.
- ↑
de Montalbodo, Paesi Nuovamente Retovati & Nuovo Mondo da Alberico Vesputio Fiorentino Intitulato (Venice: 1507)
- ↑
"Historical Chronology"
.
St Helena website
. Archived from
the original
(txt)
on 16 July 2012
. Retrieved
2 May
2013
.
- ↑
"Country profile: St Helena (to UK)"
.
BirdLife data zone
.
BirdLife International
. Archived from
the original
on 17 August 2014
. Retrieved
6 May
2013
.
- ↑
"St. Helena"
.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
. Retrieved
6 May
2013
.
- ↑
"Bird Watching"
. St Helena Tourism. Archived from
the original
on 17 September 2010
. Retrieved
6 May
2013
.
- ↑
"Bank of St. Helena - Home"
. Bank of St. Helena
. Retrieved
6 May
2013
.
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