Saint Helena

Categories: British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies | Saint Helena | Special territories of the EU

For alternate uses, see Saint Helena (disambiguation).

Saint Helena refers to both an island and administrative unit in the South Atlantic Ocean 2,800 km off the west coast of Angola, and to the British Overseas territory that includes not only the island of Saint Helena but also the dependencies of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; this article describes both. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes St. Helena on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

History

See main article History of Saint Helena.

St. Helena was discovered May 21, 1502, by the Portuguese navigator João da Nova. The island was uninhabited when it was discovered by the Portuguese explorers. It was settled about 1645 by the Dutch. In 1651, it passed to the British East India Company, but was retaken by the Dutch several times.

Like every remote island in the age of sail, it was a crucial resource for sailing ships that ventured into its waters. (The important ships among these were of naval and commercial nature.) Its position on the only practical route, until construction of the Suez Canal, between Western Europe to the Indian Ocean enhanced that general role. It became a British military garrison for those reasons.

Napoleon Bonaparte lived in exile there from 1815 to 1821. He died on May 5, 1821. His archenemy, Wellington, had spent a short time there in 1805, on his way home from India; he was delighted with the climate. Prominent Anglo-Boer War prisoners, including General Piet Cronje, were also detained on St. Helena.

Consult J. C. Melliss, St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, (London, 1875); E. L. Jackson, St. Helena The Historic Island from its Discovery to the Present Day, (London, 1909).

Demographics

See main article Demographics of Saint Helena.

St. Helena has a small population that remains loyal to Britain. However, the island's diminutive size and geopolitical insignificance in the modern era has led many Islanders to accuse the British government of ignoring the island. According to the statistics in the 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, St. Helena has the largest proportion of members of that faith of any country or territory in the world; one person in twenty-nine is a Jehovah's Witness (roughly equaling a total of 250 people).

Economy

See main article Economy of Saint Helena.

The island had a monocrop economy until 1966, based on the cultivation and processing of New Zealand flax for rope and string. St Helena's economy is now very weak, and the island is almost entirely sustained on aid from London.

The St. Helena tourist industry is heavily based around the promotion of Napoleon's imprisonment. Two sites where Napoleon lived and the valley where he was buried are French territory.

The Saint Helenian pound is the local currency, and is on a par with the Pound Sterling. The government of St. Helena produces its own coinage and banknotes.

Geography

See main article Geography of Saint Helena.

Administrative

The island of Saint Helena (administrative area), including tiny satellite islets and rocks like 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 kilometer of the shore, but excluding the dependencies of Ascension (1270 km Northwest) and Tristan da Cunha (2420 km SSW), is further subdivided into eight districts:

The dependencies do not have a comparable subdivision into districts. For Ascension, which - apart from a few tiny satellite islands and rocks - consist of just one island, usually a breakdown by the five settlements is given. For Tristan da Cunha, which has just one settlement, but consists of several separate islands, usually a breakdown by islands is given.

Politics

See main article Politics of Saint Helena.

Communications

See main article Communications on Saint Helena.

Transport

See main article Transport on Saint Helena.

Military

As Saint Helena is a British Overseas territory, militarty, including defence of the islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Ascension_Island, which is governed alongside Saint Helena, has a military base, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. During the Falkland Islands war, it was used as a base for the Royal Air Force.

See also

• Robert Brooke Governor of St Helena 1788-1800

External links

• Saint Helena - The Official Government Website
• The French possessions on St Helena
• Saint Helena - Geographical research of the identity of the St Helenians

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